Horses!!!!!!!!

[ederob]

But I am going to do it next year so it is not forever

Good.

 

[chicken gal]

Today is the last lesson. I am literally going to cry.

I just love horses so much!!!

 

[ederob]

Today is the last lesson. I am literally going to cry.

I just love horses so much!!!

Poor you!

 

[chickenoverlord]

I'm sowwy and to everyone: I FINALLY FOUND A HOOF DRESSNG THAT WORKS. My boy used to have a problem with chipped feet, so I adjusted his diet to the best available. Still Chips. Made sure he was being trimmed properly. Still chips. Used hooflex, still chipping. Tried the e3 hoof oil and he hardly ever chips! It's natural, and it absorbs super fast without being greasy. Not to mention, it's pretty cheap at $15 for a quart and a little goes a long way.

 

[ederob]

I'm sowwy

and to everyone: I FINALLY FOUND A HOOF DRESSNG THAT WORKS. My boy used to have a problem with chipped feet, so I adjusted his diet to the best available. Still Chips. Made sure he was being trimmed properly. Still chips. Used hooflex, still chipping. Tried the e3 hoof oil and he hardly ever chips! It's natural, and it absorbs super fast without being greasy. Not to mention, it's pretty cheap at $15 for a quart and a little goes a long way.

Cool! My mare as bad hoofs I will look in to it. Thanks for sharing!

 

[SarahMG]

I could talk about the horses I've met for hours. Literally. But I'll try and keep it short and just talk about the two horses that really changed my life.

Molly: 18-year-old, Tennessee Walking Horse
When I first met Molly, I was this terrified kid that had an anxiety disorder and wouldn't even let go of the saddle horn on the Western saddle I was using. For three weeks, all I could do was be lead around while I just sat up there. But Molly's unending love and patience finally won me over. I started riding her by myself, and she took care of me. If we were about to go down hill, and I didn't lean back like I was supposed to, she would come to a dead stop and wait for the problem to get solved. If I was too stressed to ride, she knew it, and wouldn't leave the barn. She always knew what I was feeling, and what I needed from her. It truly amazed me how she always knew what to do. My anxiety attacks lessened, then finally stopped, and everything was going right for me for once. But I was heart-broken when I found out that she had been sold, and I didn't think there would ever be another horse to take her place.

I never gave up my riding, and I had my favorites that I like to ride. But there was never any horse that was as important to me as Molly. Well, there was another horse. I just didn't know it at the time....

Mozart: 10-year-old, Appaloosa Pony
When I first saw the over-weight Appaloosa Pony that had a super short neck, and pretty much no mane and tail, I thought my horse back riding trainer was crazy. The pony known as "Fred" at the time was ultra-spooky, and would bolt if you so much as sneezed. Another rider was assigned to work with him, simply lunging him in the round pen. He trusted only her at the time, but was still very jumpy. After about a month, I was asked to work with him as well, to get him used to other people. He was still very spooky, was terrified of the saddle, and his blankets. The first time I got him out to work with him, I quickly noticed something. No matter how scared Moe (as we had quickly renamed him) got, he ALWAYS made sure that he didn't bump into me, or step on me. As I kept working with him, we quickly bonded. He became my best friend, my secret keeper, and everything that Molly had been to me before. My trainer rode him twice to make sure he was safe, then I became his permanent rider. We were a perfect team. He always trusted me, and did what ever I asked him to. With time, and a strict diet, he lost all of the extra weight he had. And then we started jumping. He never refused a jump, and took it as cleanly as he could, even with his strange, thick, short neck. We had guessed that his thick neck was overly built-up muscle from his tough life as an abused trail horse. Our trainer finally had his neck examined, and we learned something terrible. That giant mass of what we though was muscle was actually calcified bone. At some point in his life, his neck had been broken, and with no medical attention, it had had to heal on it's own. But there was nothing that could change that, and it didn't seem to be effecting him any, so we left it alone.

Three months later, I came to the barn, and heard something that once again broke my heart. Moe couldn't walk. We had noticed he acted sore the week before, but we figured he was just stiff from the cold weather. But now his back legs were almost useless. He could move his back legs, and they still supported him, but when walking, he pretty much just drug them behind him. We called in the vets, the chiropractor, the farrier, and every one else we could think of. But no one could find out what was wrong. There were so many possibilities, that figuring out what was wrong would have taken some hard, very expensive tests. So everyone suggested we just wait, and see if he recovers. He became stall-bound, and was there for months. My trainer was beginning to consider her options, and she narrowed it down to two: Put him to sleep, or donate him to a large Veterinary College. Just as we were thinking about calling the college, Moe mad a turn for the better. He started being able to walk better, and he showed more interest in the world. After another month, the vet said that Moe could be turned out into the pasture for a few hours a day. Now, Moe stays in the barn only at night, and every week when I go up, I walk, trot, and back him up in the dressage arena. He is no longer dragging his feet, and trots very nicely with no stumbling or balance issues. We hope that by spring, I might be able to do some very light riding with him.

But as Moe has recovered, our bond has grown even stronger. He whinnies to me when I walk into the barn, and he nuzzles me to find his cookie. I love my Mozart, and I believe he is truly a work of art.

 

[ederob]

That is such a awesome story. It sounds like those horses really loved you. Horses are so awesome like that.

 

[IrishAcreFarm]

Agreed, there is nothing more wonderful than bonding with a horse!

 

[ederob]

Agreed, there is nothing more wonderful than bonding with a horse!

Yes. It is so beautiful.

 

[chickencrazy429]

Hi!! Could I join the thread?! I have a pinto horse/pony (he's a bigger pony) and my dad has a draft crossed with something horse. He's a chestnut. My horse's name is Legend and my Dad's horse's name is Red. I more commonly call my horse Cookers because when i was little I named him Cookie, so Cookers stuck, but Legend is his show name. Also, my Mom is getting a horse sometime soon... not sure when though.