Horse Talk

[abigalerose]

Ooh, being ran under a tree branch is the worst, I'm like what the heck were you thinking my heads not THAT much higher than yours! And yeah, I wear the same, I don't so much mind the sweating as I do feeling like I'm dying a slow hot miserable death, lol! But I tried wearing shorts one day and the leather pinched my legs, so back to jeans I went

 

[Bunnylady]

Sometimes, it's a case of the horse not thinking about you at all (I mean, really, why would they? They don't think about the size of a cart when they pull one; it's why they often wind up in such terrible wrecks when horses in harness run amok). Sometimes, though, they are thinking about you, in a very calculated way - I have known horses that would deliberately go under low branches to try to get rid of a rider.

But yeah, something between you and the saddle is a must. Fabric that absorbs sweat and breathes is about the best you can do - and trying to schedule your rides for the cooler parts of the day. After all, that saddle doesn't breathe; the horse gets hot, too (our current temperature is in the upper 80's, and the humidity is up there. Latte is dark with sweat, and all she's doing is standing in the shade, swishing flies).

 

[abigalerose]

It was 97 today here, plus humidity. I didn't go outside

 

[Bunnylady]

Well, for the third time in the last 3 years, Latte and Sunny have been within a hundred feet of a lightning strike. This time it was a pine tree at the end of a chicken pen. The chickens are fine, apparently so are the horses, but I swear, I don't know why they aren't all deaf!

 

[abigalerose]

Your poor horses! They're probably traumatized lol. I got to my grandmas this evening and June looked like what I'm assuming Latte looked like today. All sweaty and flies bothering her, one bit her and she took off running to get away from it and Penelope started chasing her (of course, becuase they're attached at the hip), which reminds me, Penelope runs weird, idk how to explain but it's very weird looking, maybe it's just a gait that I'm unaware of since she's a fox trotter or maybe whoever said that she might have a bit of arthritis further back in this post was right. Anywho, I'm gonna get some apples sometime and fix and then fill up our... Trough? (Big black oval tub, whatever it's called) with water, and cut up the apples and put them in it and let the horses bob for apples, I saw a post about it on Facebook and it seems like a fun way for the horses to cool off and stay hydrated.

 

[Bunnylady]

Yep, that's pretty much what Latte looked like. The deer flies are a real nuisance around here, too.

The horses were pretty much their usual selves when I fed this evening, maybe they are getting used to it? The first time was probably the worst for them. That time, they were in a run-in shelter, and the lightning bolt struck a martin house on the fence line of the pasture. This bird house was made from a piece of heavy gauge PVC pipe that was mounted vertically and had holes drilled in it and wooden inserts that divided it up inside - it was probably 6 feet tall and 8" in diameter. It had been mounted on a 20' tall pole that acted as the pivot for a gate in the fence. When the lightning hit it, the plastic pipe absolutely exploded - I found pieces of it over a hundred feet away in the pasture. I even found a couple of pieces in the run-in; they may even have gotten hit by flying debris. It wouldn't surprise me any, they were all as jumpy as cats for a couple of days afterward.

Didn't you say Penelope is only about 6 years old? That's awfully young for arthritis. Gaited horses aren't supposed to move like a "normal" horse at any gait - whatever speed they are moving at, they are always supposed to have at least one foot on the ground at all times. That trait is neurological; while it can be refined, they are supposed to do it naturally, and yes, it can look pretty odd (but it's supposed to make them very sure footed and smooth to ride).

 

[abigalerose]

Oh good point. I always forget how young she is since she's already been through so much and looks so rough right now. Maybe it is just becuase she's gaited, it also might've looked extra weird since she doesn't have any muscle or much fat yet. I've never seen a gaited horse canter, is it different from a non gaited or no? I've heard it both ways.
And I can't wait till she's ready to ride and all trained, I'm gonna have my grandpa ride her on trail rides with me, I think she'll be perfect for him becuase her smooth gaits won't be hard on his bad back, plus he can reminisce about when he rode Missouri fox trotters with his uncle when he was young.

 

[chicken19]

Sounds like fun!!
Some gaited horses can canter and when they do it's the same as a normal horse's canter.

 

[Bunnylady]

If the canter looks a little odd, count the footfalls - this "rocking horse canter" is a 4-beat gait (the diagonal pair don't quite hit the ground together), while a "normal" canter is 3 beats and a pause because the diagonal pair hit at the same time

 

[abigalerose]

Thanks! So I was going to get on here yesterday, but i had a chicken emergency. It appears that all my chickens have starved out one of my little lavender Orpington hens. I went in the coop and she was just laying there and I thought that was weird so I walked up to her and she didn't run off which was weird again, so I poked her and she didn't get up and I was like "oh no" so I scooped her up and took her in the house, and I tried putting her under a heat lamp but of course it had to burn out after 5 minutes, but she was cold, her poor little feet were cold, so I wrapped her in a towel and held her, and I couldn't get her to eat anything so I boiled an eggs and I had to pry open her beak and stuff it in to get her to eat it. After about an hour she was eating the egg a little better and trying to fight me when I opened her beak, so I took her out and out her in a little cage with food and water in the garage (it's nice and warm in there) for the night, and when I left she was standing on her own, I'm about to go check on her now, so I hope all is good.