The Front Porch Swing

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
If you decide to get him involved with horses The Best way is to partially lease one. With the trainer's recommendations.... This way he will learn the ethics of hard work and horse ownership under a guarded eye to keep him safe. The first horse is always out grown. But it also gives you the ability to shut those incentive strings if you need to or if he decides horses arent for him you dont have to sell a horse.

Some stables or boarding barns will allow a person to work to pay board on a horse... Cleaning corrals, Feeding watering, you name it.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Our doggy made it home too. I posted it all over Facebook and someone mentioned where all the golden retrievers in the neighborhood live (creepy... sort of

). One of the addresses was just down the street, so I got hubby to go knock and ask if it was theirs. It wasn't, but then two people with flashlights walked by, as he was leaving... They were searching for the dog!

Her name is Sandy and she had gotten out early in the day. Apparently some folks a few houses down noticed and put her in their yard. And she got out of that yard and came to ours where she took a nice dive in the pool with my step-son

He was loving that dog.. but oh boy, I was stressing out. My house is WAY too small for such a large dog. I was already wondering how on earth I was going to take the dog to a vet to get her scanned, in a Toyota Corolla with three small kids. So glad she went home.

Woo Hoo... youd be surprised what you can get into a very small car. I got two adults and Four Nigerian Dwarf goats into a GEO Metro..... and drove more than a hundred miles to get them home.....

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

I had the awesome experience of growing up on a farm (until 9 y.o.) with horses, sheep, and chickens. Also had 2 beautiful black walnut trees, a fantastic climbing ledge, turtle pen, pine forest, wild berries of all kinds, brook with a sand bar... absolute paradise. Horses are a lot of fun, and lots of work. And as stated by PP, capable of inflicting damage on the unsuspecting handler in a nanosecond when they get upset.

I used to take my horse swimming in a sand pit behind the barn.... About a thousand feet away from the trail access was a place where big sand scoopers would dig up the sand to sell and it left a lake of sorts. The water from the San Diego river was just under the sand about three feet so when you dug a deep hole it would fill up with water. Wed take the horses out there and the bottom was firm and not slimy.... There was a rock out there wed swim out to and I would sit on the rock and let my horse out on a long lead rope so she could swim around the rock.

Thats how I learned how to NOT drown a horse by sitting on them while they swim. That whole river bed was a constant changing source of exploration for us kids. I think I was about thirteen or fourteen at the time.

deb

 

[wyoDreamer]

My sister would take her horses down to the lake for a swim after work if it was hot and sticky - like every day in July and August. That was back in Wisconsin when I was younger. She had a bareback pad that she would use so she had something to hold onto as the horse swam out. They are really good swimmers. One of the horses, a quarter horse, liked to go deep enough to get the water up to her belly, then she would just stand there and splash and blow bubbles. You could almost see the smile on her face! The other one liked to go out deep and swim. My sister would just float next to her and hold on - kinda like Flipper!
She lived about 2 miles from the boat landing, which made a perfect place to swim, but she got alot of strange looks from the fishermen. A couple of the guys would have her hold their boat while they went up to get the car and trailer, a really nice looking young man offered her a beer on a couple of occasions, and one old guy complained to the County Board... I guess the horse was scaring away the fish or something.

 

[browncow15]

For what its worth The advice I give to people who want to get their kids involved with horses is: Find a good childs trainer They will teach both you and the child about what is safe They will have a child safe horse to learn on. They will have rules that are never to be broken. Always wear hard toed shoes with a slick sole and a heel. Cowboy boots or riding shoes can be bought second hand for children. Sneakers are not allowed. Always wear Hard hat when riding. Always. The child will learn how to halter lead and tie. yes even four year olds can do this. How to clean feet and brush the coat....LOL... though they may have to climb the mounting block steps to reach all parts of the horse. they will also learn the relative safety zones around a horse... and the fact that every horse has the potential for stepping on you or knocking you with a foot... Typical scenario... swatting at a fly on their tummy with a front or hind foot. I knew a stallion that would wipe flies off his legs by crossing one front foot over the other and rubbing it up and down... Oh and by the way he was a Leopard Appaloosa... There are a bunch of other things to learn about feeding, watering, cleaning, and health care. Then there is care of the gear too..... All this will be taught over time and while learning how to ride. My initial riding instructor taught me all this in about thirty days... with reinforcement over the next two months. by the end of that time I could go in the corral catch my horse bring her up tie her safely brush her out check for boo boos Clean her feet then bridle and saddle. All in the course of about thirty minutes. Riding took about a two months. Progressing as I was ready. I rode for about 30 years then learned how to Train and drive Carriage horses. Not a trainer but have trained my own two and helped with a third. So I have been involved with horses for almost 50 years now. me and Katee It was her Birfday. A co worker made the hat for her... Katee and me at the Del Mar Fair... in 2002 Shes my last horse.... and she turned twenty this year. deb

Great advice! Deb- can you explain why a slick sole shoe with a heel to me? I've never understood that one. I took a couple of riding classes in college and road in work boots. Probably not the best choice but the instructor never said anything about them :shrug

Well I'm definitely not going out getting him a horse anytime soon but I defiantly believe in supporting whatever sparks that excitement in you. Mine was sports. I ate, slept, and breathed basketball and softball. My parents would drive umpteen dozen miles to watch me play. Only God knows how much money they spent. I still love sports. I have a masters degree in physical education and teach elementary PE. And whatever it is that makes that spark for my boys, whether it's band, drama, sports, horses or animals, I'm going to do what I can to fan that flame.

That's awesome I wish my parents had been willing to do that for me. As an adult I feel like I'm at a disadvantage in most things I get involved in now because I didn't do it as a kid! I hope my kids feel like I'm more supportive of their interests when the time comes! And hoping their interests align some with my own too It is a beautiful day for the county fair today!!!

 

[Blooie]

Great advice! Deb- can you explain why a slick sole shoe with a heel to me? I've never understood that one. I took a couple of riding classes in college and road in work boots. Probably not the best choice but the instructor never said anything about them :shrug
That's awesome I wish my parents had been willing to do that for me. As an adult I feel like I'm at a disadvantage in most things I get involved in now because I didn't do it as a kid! I hope my kids feel like I'm more supportive of their interests when the time comes! And hoping their interests align some with my own too

It is a beautiful day for the county fair today!!!

When I was growing up, Dad and Ma had a thing about us learning new stuff. I stuttered, but Dad encouraged me to write things down because he said he wanted me to know that what I had to say was important to him. Want to learn to play the cello? Dad went down and rented one for me. Guitar? Dad went to a pawn shop and got the wrong kid a guitar for her birthday - they gave it to Linda thinking that's what she wanted but in reality she wanted a hairdryer (remember those portable hairdryers with the cap?) and I wanted the guitar. Dad didn't bat an eye when she acted a little funny about it. He just came right out and asked, and she came right out and told him, "Diane wants to play guitar, I don't." He gave me the guitar and the next day she got her hairdryer, then I got lessons to get started. Dad was big into hunting, it's how he provided meat for our table, but Ron wanted to shoot skeet. Dad learned all about it so he could teach Ron. Bev's thing was horses. Ma called a man she knew who owned a stable and they did riding lessons in exchange for working in the barns and stables. Today Bev owns LMEC Paints, where she enjoys her paint horses and the people she meets through them. Lori was a reader. Every Tuesday during the summer a cab would pull up, Lori would climb in for her pre-arranged, pre-paid ride to and from the library, and then she'd come back home with an armful of new books. (Ma never learned how to drive and we had no buses out to our area)

Dad always said, "There's only one way to be interesting, and that's to be interested." Yup, and thank you for that, Dad! I had the best childhood, despite the drinking problem Ma and Dad had.

 

[Wisher1000]

Great advice! Deb- can you explain why a slick sole shoe with a heel to me? I've never understood that one. I took a couple of riding classes in college and road in work boots. Probably not the best choice but the instructor never said anything about them :shrug

You need a slick soled shoe/boot so your foot will slip easily out of the stirrup, if you fall off or have to jump. You need a heel so it doesn't slip through the stirrup. I hope you don't mind me answering for Perchie, I was here, she wasn't.

 

[browncow15]

You need a slick soled shoe/boot so your foot will slip easily out of the stirrup, if you fall off or have to jump.  You need a heel so it doesn't slip through the stirrup.  I hope you don't mind me answering for Perchie, I was here, she wasn't.

Ah that makes sense! Thanks!

 

[Blooie]

My girls gave me an egg flower today - got a tan, a dark brown, a green, a blue, (which I didn't break this time!) and a pink! The pink came from a Buff Orpington so I'm sure it was a first egg, pigment thing, but it sure is purty!

 

[Tomtommom]

Woo Hoo... youd be surprised what you can get into a very small car. I got two adults and Four Nigerian Dwarf goats into a GEO Metro..... and drove more than a hundred miles to get them home.....

deb

Impressive