rubyxtwoxshoes
04-04-2007, 09:39 AM
Howdy!
Just registered on Canter Culture, hope to get some great horse information and great horse friends while I'm here. I guess I should tell a piece about myself.
I'm 15, been riding on and off at various places since I was about 7 or so. Two years back I tried out English jumping, it was alot of fun, but not exactly the place for me and when I fell off [my fault totally] my dad blamed the horse and the barn and so I couldn't ride anymore until last summer. I rode with my friend on a trail ride in the North Georgia Mountains, you can ride there too! Its called the Georgia Guest Ranch. They're awesome! That really sparked my love for horses again [although it never died, and never will] and at school I met a friend who is also horse-crazy and she owns 5 of her own. Two other horses are boarded at their place, too. They don't own a massive stable or any fancy place with 10 stalls or anything. They just have their own pastures, a small riding arena and a small enclosure for the really bad weather or if a horse gets lame, which has happened.
Just yesterday, her Quarter mare, Kate, became lame in her right front. We're trying to keep the swelling down as much as possible by hosing her down for about 10minutes every hour or so. My friend also tried putting a ice pack on her by means of a leg wrap but Kate wouldn't stand still. Her other horse is also lame, which is really bad because they're trying to sell him. He's not as bad as Kate, but he limps in his right hind leg and pulls it all the way off the ground when he walks. Its funny to see, but it still hurts me knowing he's in pain.
My horse, Ruby, so far hasn't had any major problems - knock on wood. She's 15.1hh and 15yrs old with a reddish bay colouring and lately she's been getting a wee bit of roaning, which makes her a lighter colour. Yesterday, I barely recognized her because she wasn't as dark as she was when I first got her. Its been 3 & 1/2 weeks and she's improved amazingly! And despite her age, she's the spunkiest horse I've ever been on. She never wants to stop and when she does, she fidgets and inches forward. I'm working on that and also her mounting up problem. When I go to mount up, she moves away right as I place my foot in the stirrup. Its a good sign when you're on a horse when they move, but thats also when you ask them to move. Its not too good when you're getting up because it can be dangerous, I've learned. So I'm working with her on that, definitely. The only other thing she's got bad going for her is that she won't slow down when she's walking or trotting, sometimes I swear she was a race horse and doesn't know how to walk slow. But she does and I'm just messing around. It just depends on the day and her mood. But I do need to get her to listen when to what I want and not what she wants because we're on the Drill Team through our 4-H, and that could be a problem if we were walking and she all of a sudden broke out in a trot or canter. She's never broken into a canter from a walk or halt, unless I ask her to, which is awesome. I've never had a horse listen that well or have that kind of power, to move directly into a canter/gallop from a stand-still.
But anywho, I guess I should lay off for a bit and let you read and reply. Thanks to those who took the time to read my introduction of sorts. I'm off to see my pony now!
Just registered on Canter Culture, hope to get some great horse information and great horse friends while I'm here. I guess I should tell a piece about myself.
I'm 15, been riding on and off at various places since I was about 7 or so. Two years back I tried out English jumping, it was alot of fun, but not exactly the place for me and when I fell off [my fault totally] my dad blamed the horse and the barn and so I couldn't ride anymore until last summer. I rode with my friend on a trail ride in the North Georgia Mountains, you can ride there too! Its called the Georgia Guest Ranch. They're awesome! That really sparked my love for horses again [although it never died, and never will] and at school I met a friend who is also horse-crazy and she owns 5 of her own. Two other horses are boarded at their place, too. They don't own a massive stable or any fancy place with 10 stalls or anything. They just have their own pastures, a small riding arena and a small enclosure for the really bad weather or if a horse gets lame, which has happened.
Just yesterday, her Quarter mare, Kate, became lame in her right front. We're trying to keep the swelling down as much as possible by hosing her down for about 10minutes every hour or so. My friend also tried putting a ice pack on her by means of a leg wrap but Kate wouldn't stand still. Her other horse is also lame, which is really bad because they're trying to sell him. He's not as bad as Kate, but he limps in his right hind leg and pulls it all the way off the ground when he walks. Its funny to see, but it still hurts me knowing he's in pain.
My horse, Ruby, so far hasn't had any major problems - knock on wood. She's 15.1hh and 15yrs old with a reddish bay colouring and lately she's been getting a wee bit of roaning, which makes her a lighter colour. Yesterday, I barely recognized her because she wasn't as dark as she was when I first got her. Its been 3 & 1/2 weeks and she's improved amazingly! And despite her age, she's the spunkiest horse I've ever been on. She never wants to stop and when she does, she fidgets and inches forward. I'm working on that and also her mounting up problem. When I go to mount up, she moves away right as I place my foot in the stirrup. Its a good sign when you're on a horse when they move, but thats also when you ask them to move. Its not too good when you're getting up because it can be dangerous, I've learned. So I'm working with her on that, definitely. The only other thing she's got bad going for her is that she won't slow down when she's walking or trotting, sometimes I swear she was a race horse and doesn't know how to walk slow. But she does and I'm just messing around. It just depends on the day and her mood. But I do need to get her to listen when to what I want and not what she wants because we're on the Drill Team through our 4-H, and that could be a problem if we were walking and she all of a sudden broke out in a trot or canter. She's never broken into a canter from a walk or halt, unless I ask her to, which is awesome. I've never had a horse listen that well or have that kind of power, to move directly into a canter/gallop from a stand-still.
But anywho, I guess I should lay off for a bit and let you read and reply. Thanks to those who took the time to read my introduction of sorts. I'm off to see my pony now!