Horses!

[BigBlueHen53]

I don’t own a horse, but I do take lessons once a week.

I’m pretty new (only been riding since October!) but these are some (very basic) skills I’ve learned:

• Leading a horse
• Grooming a horse-currying, stiff brush, soft brush, and hoof pick. So far haven’t washed yet.
• Walk
• Trot-no posting *yet*
• Canter-just starting to learn how to support and help the horse during this.
• Stopping (obviously!)
• Tacking up/taking off tack
• Catching from field
• Walking over uneven ground poles
• Cones
• Bareback-only a few times, but still with the bridle.
• Probably some other things that I’m forgetting.

This is the horse I ride, Rain. She’s part AQH.
Very sweet, but can be a bit slow and stubborn.


View attachment 3163407

Very nice, Lemon! She's pretty and I LOVE her name! You're getting some good skills, too!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Sorry to keep posting! I love horses!

I did have a few questions though:

• I was rubbing Aoifas neck because she was rubbing it on the fence. I did it, and she started leaning into it, which I thought meant she enjoyed it. She then started lightly biting my back and legs, though. Was she unhappy, or was this a way of expressing she liked it?

Sounds mutual grooming. I wouldn't encourage it. Horses can bite pretty hard! So you scratch her, and if she starts grooming you, stop. Scratch her again, and whenever she tries to groom you, just stop. She should learn it's not okay to groom you. If she continues after three or four times, just quit entirely. Pet her somewhere else.

• Alli, one of the horses, I was also rubbing her. She’s allergic to flys (and during flu season, which is now, she gets really itchy). I was with her in the pasture, rubbing her. There’s 3 other horses in the pasture with her. One of the other horses (the 3 others are unbehaved… they’re still quite young) started pushing me. Alli stepped in front of me, standing between the pushy horse and myself. I moved towards the gate, and one of the younger horses started ramming into me again. Alli stepped between the horses and me again, and flattened her ears. My question is, was she doing it to protect me? If not, why?

Sounds like she was protecting you. I'd move out of the way. Horses can start biting and kicking at each other, and you REALLY don't want to be in the middle of that!

• Hay… I don’t mind the nets. However, previously they were using square bales, and are down to a few round bales. So we have to use round bales. Is there any way that’s faster to get hay out of the round bale than just pulling handful by handful? It takes a long time to get just one net filled!

Yeah I don't know anything about round bales. Ask someone. Maybe use a pitchfork?

 

[Nksg75]

One thing I noticed right off the bat when we built the stalls for our horses, is that the chickens are a real help with working on spooking. When the horses arrived the chickens would constantly spook them, and now 3 years later I have many pics of chickens on the horses back, and no reaction from the horses!

 

[ButtonHoarder]

Hay… I don’t mind the nets. However, previously they were using square bales, and are down to a few round bales. So we have to use round bales. Is there any way that’s faster to get hay out of the round bale than just pulling handful by handful? It takes a long time to get just one net filled!

Are they sitting on end? If they are you might be able to unroll it a bit at a time -- like a cinnamon bun -- and rip off chunks.

 

[Lemon-Drop]

I tried moving the round bale to a different area…

Most of it stayed together, but the rest… fell apart.

Any tips to get it back together? Or make it look less like a tornado blazed through the area?

I would appreciate quick feedback since it needs to be taken care of in a couple hours.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Sorry, no clue

 

[ButtonHoarder]

I tried moving the round bale to a different area…

Most of it stayed together, but the rest… fell apart.

Any tips to get it back together? Or make it look less like a tornado blazed through the area?

I would appreciate quick feedback since it needs to be taken care of in a couple hours.

How did you move it??? Did you roll it?
Sorry I don't know how to put them back together... I just take them apart.

 

[Lemon-Drop]

How did you move it??? Did you roll it?
Sorry I don't know how to put them back together... I just take them apart.

Star and I just pulled it

I ended up just smooshing it together best I could.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

One thing I noticed right off the bat when we built the stalls for our horses, is that the chickens are a real help with working on spooking. When the horses arrived the chickens would constantly spook them, and now 3 years later I have many pics of chickens on the horses back, and no reaction from the horses!

This made me smile. I can see that chickens would soon cure horses of spooking at flapping things fluttering along the fround! Like plastic bags on a windy day, etc. Good birdies!

 

[ButtonHoarder]

Star and I just pulled it

I ended up just smooshing it together best I could.

Ookay. Our round bales are like 1500lbs.