Horse Talk

[PeepersMama]

Anybody here have a Gypsy Vanner??

I don't think so. Those aren't very common at all - though they should be. They're supposed to be really smart.... But I think I've already got too much to deal with with Smoke. XD

 

[ShrekDawg]

I remember seeing that! It was SO COOL.
Some people think that a horse is only as good as it's pedigree.... ugh. They aren't wrong - knowing about a horse's lineage is especially helpful when you're breeding, But if you don't plan on breeding, their great-great-grandsire doesn't matter half as much. Nor can their bloodline affect the temperament of the foals they'd have - cuz they wouldn't have any!
But can you imagine how tough a mustang MULE would be......

He can open the gates now.
He takes the hose out of the trough and throws it around.
He opens the gate WITH HIS TEETH
He kicks the bathtub-feeder out of his way so he can make sure there isn't any hay underneath
And he takes the buckets off the fence and plays with them.
I'm so screwed

They might eventually, but since QHs are so popular and there are sooooo many of them, I doubt it'll ever become a serious issue.


XD I said the same thing once

Then we got horses. XD
But now we're set up for them and Dad keeps getting freebies (like Smoke XD) and we can't seem to get away from them.

Right!? I loved it so much. Kind of want to watch it again haha and yeah, exactly. If you're not breeding, it doesn't matter as much and sometimes unnecessarily raises cost. Although that said I'm sure it does have it's uses. Like for example, some horses have horrible confirmation so if they have good lines maybe there's less of a chance of that. But to me, training is far more important than breeding. And of course good, sound confirmation and temperament too. But the horse could have the best breeding in the world and have been ruined by some novice or jerk and take way more time and effort to fix or maybe it's unsafe or spoiled or whatever meanwhile there could be another horse that has maybe lesser known breeding but has good confirmation, temperament, and training, hasn't been ruined yet, and knows a lot of stuff. I'd rather have that one or a mustang.

LOL probably impossible! They have a lot of mules? donkeys? burros? In right now at one of the facilities.

Oh wow he sounds like a handful!!! But a character. Maybe you should get him one of those horse Jolly Ball things to play with! He might like it.

And you know some people train horses to open and close gates. That was a selling point on a lot of the CO horses I saw. I think cause people on the big ranches or going on trails or whatever like to have the horse open and close the gates to go through them so they don't have to get off to do it I guess? Maybe it saves time? Or maybe lazy. But maybe you could teach Smoke to do that under saddle lol

And ohhh okay that makes sense. That's true that there are a lot and even if they're related they maybe come from a different son or daughter of his so they're not too closely related, it's pretty far back at this point

Anybody here have a Gypsy Vanner??

No but I love them. Friesians too

 

[PeepersMama]

Right!? I loved it so much. Kind of want to watch it again haha and yeah, exactly. If you're not breeding, it doesn't matter as much and sometimes unnecessarily raises cost. Although that said I'm sure it does have it's uses. Like for example, some horses have horrible confirmation so if they have good lines maybe there's less of a chance of that. But to me, training is far more important than breeding. And of course good, sound confirmation and temperament too. But the horse could have the best breeding in the world and have been ruined by some novice or jerk and take way more time and effort to fix or maybe it's unsafe or spoiled or whatever meanwhile there could be another horse that has maybe lesser known breeding but has good confirmation, temperament, and training, hasn't been ruined yet, and knows a lot of stuff. I'd rather have that one or a mustang.

LOL probably impossible! They have a lot of mules? donkeys? burros? In right now at one of the facilities.

Oh wow he sounds like a handful!!! But a character. Maybe you should get him one of those horse Jolly Ball things to play with! He might like it.

And you know some people train horses to open and close gates. That was a selling point on a lot of the CO horses I saw. I think cause people on the big ranches or going on trails or whatever like to have the horse open and close the gates to go through them so they don't have to get off to do it I guess? Maybe it saves time? Or maybe lazy. But maybe you could teach Smoke to do that under saddle lol

And ohhh okay that makes sense. That's true that there are a lot and even if they're related they maybe come from a different son or daughter of his so they're not too closely related, it's pretty far back at this point



No but I love them. Friesians too

Couldn't have said it better myself.

They'd be so tough I can only imagine. Probably have some seriously solid feet too.

He is! He's so, SO smart, but SOOOOOOO DRAMATIC. He spooks at random non-existent scary things so I'll be nice and get off him so he doesn't have to work.
Wait.
Oh.
I see now.
THAT'S what I've been doing wrong!
Oh he'd loooove a jolly ball. XDXD Next time I get into Murdoch's... it will happen. >:}

Really? Huh, that's cool. If I could teach him that under saddle... Geez I'd save so much time!

 

[ShrekDawg]

Couldn't have said it better myself.

They'd be so tough I can only imagine. Probably have some seriously solid feet too.

He is! He's so, SO smart, but SOOOOOOO DRAMATIC. He spooks at random non-existent scary things so I'll be nice and get off him so he doesn't have to work.
Wait.
Oh.
I see now.
THAT'S what I've been doing wrong!
Oh he'd loooove a jolly ball. XDXD Next time I get into Murdoch's... it will happen. >:}

Really? Huh, that's cool. If I could teach him that under saddle... Geez I'd save so much time!

Thanks!

Yeah, probably! And sorry for all the names, wasn't sure what they called them lol

Oh wow lol yeah, I'd stop getting off him and try to work through it if you can, unless you think he's just done. The place I used to ride at this one horse would try anything to stop working. He'd start walking backwards, he'd just stop randomly, he even tried little mini bucks sometimes (he was too old to really buck) because it scared people and got them off. He was like 24 and had been a lesson horse a while so he knew like every trick in the book to stop working or do the bare minimum, knew what he could get away with. He was so smart. BUT. He was not a bad horse by any means and he wouldn't do all that in one time, he'd pick what to try and some days he wouldn't try anything. He was an amazing horse and would do anything for his rider, loved to please, once you gained his respect and trust. If you were more experienced and/or earned his respect, he'd do anything and wouldn't try anything. Of course earning his respect included working through his bad moments. Because.... He took advantage of the kids and beginners lol although he actually was a great lesson horse and loved kids, took care of rider, and wasn't mean or anything, he was pretty easy to ride, but once you got more advanced, he could do that too and started testing you lol

Anyway, one time some older lady tried him out for a lease and he hated her (I think she had somewhat rough hands) so he tried the buck thing and I think she got scared and got off, maybe cried, idk, so then when I had my lesson later he tried it with me because it got him to get out of work. I was scared at first but I rode through it and he wasn't really bucking anyway and then once I worked through it, he actually did amazing and we had an amazing rest of the ride. But it took maybe 10 or 15 minutes. But eventually he realized I wasn't going to let him get out of work that easily lol

And oh yeah, you should definitely get him one!!

Yup, it's a real thing! Though sorry, I meant CL as in Craigslist, not CO as in Colorado. Stupid autocorrect LOL but yeah, I kept seeing "opens and closes gates" in the ads lol

 

[Kusanar]

And you know some people train horses to open and close gates. That was a selling point on a lot of the CO horses I saw. I think cause people on the big ranches or going on trails or whatever like to have the horse open and close the gates to go through them so they don't have to get off to do it I guess? Maybe it saves time? Or maybe lazy. But maybe you could teach Smoke to do that under saddle lol

The HORSE doesn't open and close gates, the RIDER opens and closes gates while on the horse, it's a specific maneuver that is fairly hard to do on a horse not trained specifically to do it as it involves side passing, backing and turning on the forehand.

But the confusing thing is even within western there were so many price ranges, even for used saddles, and then there were all the different sizes and QH bars (full or semi) and ones for barrel racing, etc. Does that mean you can only use it to race in? And what are bars? And some had front cinch rear girth or maybe it was front girth, rear cinch. They used different names for the 2 but I had never heard of 2 belly straps, we always just did one?

And how do you fit it to the horse?

I have no idea what to buy if I ever get a horse lol

The different price ranges are due to brand and level of wear, the same as a used Dodge Viper is going to sell for more than a NEW Ford Pinto... It's just a better car/saddle.

Bars on a western saddle are the same as a tree or gullet on an english saddle.. It defines how wide the saddle is. I believe the Full QH bars are the widest ones but I don't ride western so I'm a LITTLE fuzzy on western stuff.

A barrel racing saddle doesn't HAVE to be used for barrel racing, but, it is a lightweight saddle that is only really meant for you to be in it for 5-10 minutes tops, so it likely isn't the most comfortable.

2 cinches is not unusual for a stock saddle, if you are roping, and the cow hits the end of the rope, it will pull the back of your saddle up off of the horses back, the rear cinch keeps that from happening. The front cinch goes where it normally would, the rear one is about a foot back from the front one, a lot of the time there is a strap between the front and rear cinches to keep the rear one from slipping back. The rear cinch should TOUCH but not apply pressure to the horses sides, it is ONLY to keep the saddle from standing up on end.

How to fit a western saddle is something I'm not 100% on, but I'm sure there are lots of good youtube videos from saddle fitters that you could find.

 

[Bunnylady]

A barrel racing saddle doesn't HAVE to be used for barrel racing, but, it is a lightweight saddle that is only really meant for you to be in it for 5-10 minutes tops, so it likely isn't the most comfortable.

The cantle (part of the saddle that is behind the rider's behind) on a barrel saddle is higher than that of a "regular" western saddle. Also, the seat is made with suede leather, so the seat of the rider's pants will stick to it rather than slide - both details meant to keep the rider in the saddle during the high acceleration of barrel racing. It's a lot harder to become unseated from a barrel saddle, so someone who hasn't developed a good seat might prefer one. (Also, the horn is reduced in size, so it wouldn't be very useful for someone who meant to use a saddle for roping, etc)

 

[Kusanar]

The cantle (part of the saddle that is behind the rider's behind) on a barrel saddle is higher than that of a "regular" western saddle. Also, the seat is made with suede leather, so the seat of the rider's pants will stick to it rather than slide - both details meant to keep the rider in the saddle during the high acceleration of barrel racing. It's a lot harder to become unseated from a barrel saddle, so someone who hasn't developed a good seat might prefer one. (Also, the horn is reduced in size, so it wouldn't be very useful for someone who meant to use a saddle for roping, etc)

Thanks for the clarification. Only time I ever barrel raced it was in a wintec all purpose saddle...

 

[ChickenLover200]

Hey guys! Jumping in on the conversation, I’ve been teaching my horse to stand still and also teaching her to move with me while I open and close gates from on her back. Hard work!!

 

[Kusanar]

Hey guys! Jumping in on the conversation, I’ve been teaching my horse to stand still and also teaching her to move with me while I open and close gates from on her back. Hard work!!

Yes, it is. It is easier if you can teach each movement separately and then just combine them when teaching the gate opening maneuver.

I am going to add a portion of this page which describes the steps to opening and closing a gate on horseback: http://www.horsekeeping.com/horse_riding_and_mounted_training/gate.htm

The simplest way to work a gate is to ride alongside it and stop with your leg at the latch. Give your reins to one hand and with the other, unlatch the gate. Then, while sliding your hand along the top of the gate, back the horse a few steps so that his head is now at the latch. Swing the gate away from the horse so that he sees an inviting opening. Later, as the horse progresses, instead of swinging the gate away from the horse, you can have the horse "work the gate" with a few steps of side pass (similar to a full pass) or turn on the hindquarters. Which one you will use will depend on the length of the gate and how close the horse's haunches must work to the hinges - a very long gate will allow the horse to do more of a side pass while a short gate will require more of a turn on the hindquarters. In any case, once the gate is opened, the horse is walked forward until his shoulder is at the end of the gate. Then perform a turn on the forehand (about 340 degrees) to position the horse parallel to the opposite side of the gate. Then as many steps of side pass or turn on the hindquarters as is required to close the gate.

 

[ChickenLover200]

Definitely going to look into this. I’m new to all the movements like sidepass, etc.