Of riding and the inevitable fall...

We went riding yesterday at our riding lessons. Our horse, Scarlet has a cut on her leg we wanted to let heal so we both, the kid and I, rode stable horses. I rode the horse that the kid normally rides. He has a very jarring trot. I am appearantly still learning the proper way to sit through a trot. The kid was on a 19 yr old Arabian hunter. She's beautiful!! She's gray with a beautiful long silky tail. Anyway, so we went in the arena and started riding. My stirrups had to be adjusted so the kid started walking her horse around the arena. We then got into the trotting. I was, as I said, having trouble with the trotting when the kid passed me. As they passed, the horse kicked up her speed a little. The kid did NOT like this and got scared. The kid shrieked for the riding instructor. When the kid did, the horse got spooked and went faster, which prompted the shriek again, and the spook. Every time the kid shrieked, the horse went faster. At one point, the kid was quiet for a second and the horse slowed down. Then, the shriek again, and the horse sped up. This time the horse stumbled and there went the kid over the saddle and the horse's neck. She landed on her helmet. The helmet cracked and her forehead has a nasty red bump. It cracked from the vent hole to the front of the brim, as well as from that crack around the helmet where the brim attaches to the helmet.

You know, I was kind of lax about requiring the kid to wear a helmet. After this accident, I don't think either of us will ever ride without one again. If this happened to the helmet, think about what would have happened without the helmet.

Riding and riding

We have attended 3 riding lessons. The first, I have already discussed. The second lesson was a bit different since there was no riding. We got there and it was raining. Instead of riding, we worked on horse care and grooming. We learned a while back that Scarlet, our mare, had a fungus on her legs. We thought it was gone, but discovered that it is still as strong as ever. We shaved her legs up to her knees and the next day I started to apply generic Listerine to each leg. It's looking better now but I have to continue until they are all good.
This week we rode again and worked on trotting and "half-halting." This is where you slow your horse down but it stays in the same gait. For example, going from a fast trot to a slow trot.

Today, we went to the stables to work. We cleaned some of the stalls, pulled carrots from the garden, and helped bring in horses. We also got a chance to ride. The riding instructor, Lisa, has many beautiful Arabian horses. Some so light grey that they are white. Some are bay, sorrel, and black. She has one poor bay-colored baby that has pneumonia. It is so sick and looks really bad. She has so many doctors working on this one horse that you'd almost think it would get well by osmosis.

Meanwhile, poor Tonto is still up for sale and is being practically neglected. I feed him and groom him as often as possible, but I don't know what to do with him for training. And I do not want to get on him because I can't afford to get hurt. He is right now a very spirited pasture ornament.

Sunday, we went to my dad's house to visit. You would not believe the work that this entailed. We decided to go ride horse and ATV's at his house. Here's how it went. We started getting ready around noon. First, we had to groom the horse and hook the trailer to the truck. We have a 3-horse slant trailer with a tackroom. We had decided that the 4-wheeler should be in the front of the trailer in case there was a problem and we needed to unload the horse quickly. We ran the 4-wheeler up into the trailer and tried to close the front slant gate. It didn't fit. We removed that gate (they come out fairly easily) and closed the other gate.

We then had to find our tie-down straps, tie down the 4-wheeler, and bring the horse around. We had locked Tonto and June in the pasture. Scarlet is very finicky about getting in the trailer. We finally loaded her and I was tying her to the trailer when I heard June (remember, the goat) outside the trailer. She had escaped the pasture - again. We (the husband) wrangled her back in the pasture and we had to tie her up to keep her in the pasture. We made sure all the tack was loaded and almost left the bridle in the house. Then had to load our house horses, the dogs, into the back of the truck. We needed their obedience collars and their leashes.


We finally got to my dad's house and had to unload it all. dogs go first so they don't hurt the horse. Then the horse and tie her just outside the trailer's tackroom. Then the 4-wheeler. Had to re-groom the horse and tack her up. By the time we did all this I was hungry, so it was inside for a quick sandwich. Dad and husband stayed at the house to put together a seeder/spreader. Sis, kid and I went off into the pasture. Sis and kid on the ATV and me on the horse. Woo Hoo!!

I started to follow the 4-wheeler but Scarlet wanted to run after it so I turned her away and went towards the back of the pasture. My dad's cows followed us around for a little while. We went all over his pastures. Through ravines and over logs. Well the 4-wheeler went over less and smaller logs. I had a blast. Scarlet went everywhere I wanted her to go without complaint except into the stock tank my dad has close to his house. I think that the mud was too muddy for Scarlet to follow my instructions into. After instructing her for about 10 minutes to go in various places in the pond, I finally decided that the horse may know something about the mud that I don't and walked her away. We trotted a little in some places that we had already walked across. I was really concerned about animal burrows and other various holes, but when I found a track of land that was solid, flat, and free of holes, I allowed her to trot. She did this willingly enough.

I am learning that Scarlet likes to neck reign better than direct reign and I switched her bit to a ring-snaffle bit. The ring with a bending post through the mouth. We had a shank-snaffle on her, but our riding instructor recommended the ring-snaffle. I guess that I have the names correct.

Internet Games

My kid introduced me to a internet game for horse lovers. It is originally made in France and has been formated to fit the American screen. The address is www.howrse.com and it is FREE to play. There is a cost involved that is purely optional and in no way is required for fun on the game.

The objective of Howrse is to become the best breeder of horses in general, and your favorite breed specifically. You start with a foal and raise and train it to compete in English riding events. The competitions include trotting and galloping races, cross-country events, and show jumping competitions. You can also breed, buy and sell the virtual horses in this community and run an Equestrian Center (EC).

There has been some discussion about adding Western competitions to the game, but I don't know if that is in the plans or not. There are competitions for virtual prizes for the players, and forums for discussions of various kinds. These forums are HIGHLY moderated and if there is unseemly language or discussions, they are removed. The moderators and administrators of the game work very hard to keep the game PG rated. As always, parents should monitor their "kids" on any internet site to ensure their safety. Any repeat offenders are locked out of the game completely.

This also has a small amount of educational activity mostly about the horses. However, it does encourage reading and writing, money management, and responsibility towards animals.

If you want to try it out, use me as your sponsor. My username is d2cmom. Also, you can see my horses and EC.

Hoof Care

Ok. So I have been having problems with Thrush on my horses. I had been using a store bought thrush medicine that is green, thin, stinks and expensive. I would try to use a little each time but the liquid was so thin I always wasted some. At $10+ a bottle, I was getting kind of aggravated that I would waste so much and the horses still had thrush. The real owner of Scarlet (She's really just on loan) suggested that I mix water and plain bleach. She said this wasn't dangerous for the horses since they don't lick their hooves. So I got a small cosmetic spray bottle and mixed half bleach and half water together. I have used it to help clean the hooves. First, I scrape and brush the packed dirt and stuff out of the hoof. Then, I spray the hoof with the bleach and brush again. I may spray again and brush again if needed. Last I hold the hoof for a couple of seconds to allow the hoof to dry a little.

This has been a wonder! Their hooves all look (and smell) a lot better. THANKS, GIRL-FRIEND!!

HORSE FOR SALE

We have reluctantly decided that Tonto is WAY too much horse for us amateurs. We are asking $800 for him. He is an upper level intermediate or experienced rider horse. He has learned to back and lunge since we got him, but he has a teenager attitude. I don't think we are good for each other. If you know anyone who needs an Appaloosa, feel free to respond.

Official and Professional and everything

Yesterday, the kid and I went to our first professional riding lesson. We had to be there at 7:00pm and there was so much we needed to learn and discuss. We didn't leave until 10:00. First, I learned the proper way to hold a hoof-pick so that it's comfortable to go from the back of the hoof to the toe. Then I discovered that Scarlet will neck reign very well. She will trot, but not over pipe obstacles. I found out that you have to do "The Twist" when trotting for more comfort for the horse and myself. In other words, keep the shoulders still while twisting your tail. Of course, I can't quite get it, yet. But I'm practicing.

The stables where we are taking our lessons have several beautiful Arabians. Their website is: http://rlarabians.com/index.html. She offers Western and basic English lessons, as well as bareback.

I think we're going to have fun.