Off The Wall

Re: And now there's four

NWBuckskinLvr — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:39:15 GMT

That's fantastic news Squeaks! Doesn't it feel great to be on a horse again? I'm riding again too! It was so fun my first time back on Ginger! Then it started raining again the next day and hasn't stopped, LOL.

SH, I agree such a trainer is greedy, and certainly not paying fairly for such hard work. Was just saying that's what my DD had to do, but then her goal was to become a trainer. And she went on to show at AQHA. Your DD has totally different goals, LOL.

Hope she finds something she likes.

Re: And now there's four

48northfarm — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:35:47 GMT

When I said working students get lessons as part of their pay, I didn't mean basic riding lessons, I meant upper level lessons from the BTT. Riding a horse FOR the BTT would be similar to actually getting a lesson, since you learn so much.

Back in the saddle!

Squeaksmom — Wed, 22 May 2013 05:56:14 GMT

So I had my first riding lesson in about 3 years last night! YAY!!! I'm sore this morning, not only my riding muscles, but my backside since the saddle that fits the horse I was riding is hard and doesn't fit me very well. As my trainer put it, "Rocket likes to conserve his energy and will probably drive you crazy at first, you have to convince him that you're an educated rider or he'll plod along on the rail and ignore you, but his gaits are very body-friendly since you haven't ridden in a while." I'd say she nailed that lol. I opted out of the jumping since my knee was getting pretty sore by the end of the lesson, but we had a small victory when I circled through the middle of the arena at a canter without him breaking gait. Another YAY!!! Hopefully the insane winds die down a bit, and we might even get to ride outside next week. It's beautiful out except for that. I'm just so happy to be back on a horse!

Re: And now there's four

seahorse22 — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:33:44 GMT

Such an interesting response - the barns here DO pay $8/hr for bringing horses in and out and putting out hay and water and mucking stalls. He already has stall hands who do that - this job was hands on horse stuff. We are NOT talking about a student situation - we are talking about a trainer "desperate for help" (his words) and he talked a stranger to horses into working for him. And 70 hours a week at far less than living wage is a sorry state to find yourself in or put someone else in. But it doesn't matter....there are other choices out there.

Re: And now there's four

NWBuckskinLvr — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:14:23 GMT

Uh, SH, work at horse barns usually does not pay even minimum wage. When my DD went to work for a trainer here (not a nationally recognized one, but well known in Oregon) she worked for free the first six months cleaning water buckets, etc. Then she worked for $ 5.00 /ride for 2 years, because she was learning so much. When she became the top assistant, she got a raise to $ 10/ride. The ride consisted of catching and grooming the horse, saddling, riding & training, and hosing down after. That was about 2 hours per horse. Trainers want people with horse experience just so they don't have to teach them how to handle horses, not necessarily train them.

Re: And now there's four

seahorse22 — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:40:01 GMT

And Fh - I forgot you also mentioned this about the other horse BB and your instruction to rate speed by turning the horse into the wall....well, some people are just slow even if their horses are fast.

Re: And now there's four

48northfarm — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:48:36 GMT

Most working students--emphasis on "student"--put up with lousy pay because they get lessons from the BTT when they are not working, and watch the BTT school the horse the student just tacked up for him. Were lessons not part of the arrangement? If no lessons were offered, or the BTT does not train or compete as your daughter does--i.e. different discipline or training style--your daughter would not get much from the job, but $5.50/hour at a stable still beats $8/hour at McDonald's, IMHO.

Re: And now there's four

seahorse22 — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:20:06 GMT

Fh - you just have all the fun don't you? 4 horses to make the smells your neighbor loves - he must be So happy with you now. Maybe you should give him an oatmeal cookie - but then the dogs might want 3 each for helping to feed him...

So, my daughter is home from college and looking for a summer job. She happened across a nationally know Arabian horse trainer who has his summer barn about 8 miles from our house and sells horses in the $300,000 range. He said he was desperately looking for summer help and asked her to consider working for him when he learned she had some horse background. She visited the barn and he is looking for someone to work 7 am. to 7 p.m. 6 days a week getting horses ready for him to ride, or grooming, or free lunging. So that is a 70 hour week with Sundays off - and he is offering the enticing sum of $400 a week, which works out to about $5.50 an hour. I must have missed a history lesson because I thought Lincoln freed the slaves. No wonder he is desperate for employees! He has several Mexican who muck the stalls - wonder if that pays better per hour? The rich get richer and expect to do so at the expense of other people. That story is getting real old.....

Re: And now there's four

48northfarm — Sun, 19 May 2013 12:07:24 GMT

You need to buy stock in an oatmeal cookie manufacturer.

Re: And now there's four

FloridaHorseman — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:13:19 GMT

The uneasy truce:

Missy is far left. Mentor far right. ~FH

UPDATE: 24 hours later it's feeding time again. Mentor & Missy in the RP and my two at their buckets on the back fence. Missy totally ignores her bucket and paces the far side of the round pen closest to where Jewel and Al are eating. She also USED to eat at the fence when she was here 2 years ago and she was pitching a fit because she couldn't get there... even after I led her to her bucket. I led her back to the feed bucket again, left the RP gate open and went back into the house.

Within minutes I could hear round pen panels clanging and rattling. This time it's Mentor. Missy left the RP to go see if there was a bucket for her at her old spot... and Mentor was in such a state of despair over Missy being with my two he was trying to climb the panels to get to her... WITH THE RP GATE WIDE OPEN! I had to laugh because when Al first came here he also would get "lost" in the RP and not find the open gate until I led him through it.

Mentor was in a complete lather and tried to run through me several times before I finally got a hand on his halter and showed him the gate. By that time my two were done eating and all three came back just as I was leading Mentor out of the RP. Everyone got a soothing peppermint treat and went back to the round bale.

And the dogs are accustomed to getting an oatmeal cookie for "helping" to feed the horses each night. And now that I'm feeding in two different locations the dogs have started to expect two cookies each for "helping" two different times.

I don't deserve this much fun. ~FH

Re: And now there's four

Jayne-Admin — Sat, 18 May 2013 07:40:52 GMT

I'm glad things have settled down at Casa FH. Sounds like it was quite the adventure. You're right, it IS a pity you weren't able to get video :)

Re: And now there's four

48northfarm — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:06:02 GMT

"A horse is a horse, of course, of course..." *hums the Mr. Ed song*

And now there's four

FloridaHorseman — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:17:03 GMT

Missy has arrived for the summer to finish the training we started 2 years ago but suspended after she and Jewel injured their shoulders. And she brought a friend, a 14 YO Arab gelding named Mentor, who will tentatively be here for the next two weeks. Mentor was supposed to be a possible new horse for my paint gelding client but it looks like that plan has been scrubbed. Her DH is now out of town for two weeks and she won't get a horse he hasn't seen and agreed to.

I had my two separated from the new arrivals and Mentor was acting like a really pee'd off stallion. He nailed my fences about a dozen times trying to kill kick either Jewel or Al and even managed to lay one good bite on Al's butt. Missy just stood back watching. And even though Mentor and Missy had half the paddock entirely to themselves Mentor chose to stay at the fence trying to pick a fight. Missy's owner, her DH, her GF who owns Mentor and I went out for dinner, leaving the horses to sort things out across the fence. It was dark when we got back but Missy and Mentor were off munching on the new round bale Karen brought with her and my two were grazing in the back yard.

I moved the two newcomers to the RP so Karen could haul out with the empty trailer. Then I fed Missy and Mentor in the RP and my two at their usual spots at the back fence. When Jewel and AL finished they of course went to the "new" RB and took it over. I clicked on my yard lights, freshened my iced tea, armed myself with a protective longe whip, opened the RP gate and proceeded to watch the ensuing melee that had all the necessary elements of a classic NHL hockey brawl, minus the gloves being thrown off. Jewel, Al and Mentor all screaming, ear pinning, biting, air kicks, contact kicks, chasing, tails flagging, snaking, rearing, pawing, teeth baring, nostril flaring... if horses do it they did it. It went on for about 15 minutes. Missy was an unwilling participant caught in the middle by Mentor trying to "protect" her from all angles.

Finally Jewel and Al bolted into the darkness behind the house to the south paddock with Mentor in hot pursuit and Missy blindly following. It was too dark to see what was going on but it was also quiet. Then more thundering hooves as Jewel and Al raced back to claim the RB. Mentor and Missy loped back about a minute later. Missy went to the RB and Jewel & Al let her in. But Mentor still didn't want her hanging out with them, cut her away from the RB and the two of them stood in the dark watching my two warily munching away.

From all initial observations I had suspected Mentor was going to be taking over the herd with his willingness to spoil for a fight. But he made the mistake of letting Jewel and Al back to the RB first and gave it up with his possessiveness of Missy. She tried to go back to the RB several times and my two even let her in without complaint. But Mentor kept sneaking in to cut her away each time. And each time he was met with either Jewel's hind feet or Al's teeth. As I sit here there's still an occasional squeal and some ground shaking. But for the most part the turf war appears to be settled. And my guys still rule at Casa FH.

I am proud of Al sticking up for himself against an older and more experienced gelding. It didn't look like he was protecting Jewel. She was doing a fine job of that on her own. It was more like he was just protecting himself by defending against Mentor's challenge up until a point he decided he'd had enough and took to the offensive. I thought my two were about to lose the paddock ownership when they bolted from the RB behind the house and Mentor followed in pursuit. But apparently is was a ploy to draw the new horses away from the RB so they could come back and claim it as their space... and it worked. Al and Jewel working as a team against interlopers. Big smile .

I'll pick up the pieces tomorrow with a bottle of Vetericyn and some vet wrap if needed. It's a shame it was too dark to shoot video. But from what I could see of it, it was quite a good show. And apparently Jewel's shoulder is working just fine.

Oh! And BTW (for JG, Bucks and SH)... regarding that TWH with the runaway gallop from the other BB that tried flaming me for suggesting the owner was getting worthless advice from her enabling friends... the owner is now reporting he is starting to rate his speed after repeatedly being rolled back into the fence AS I ORIGINALLY SUGGESTED but was told it wouldn't work because he was a TWH and that I evidently didn't know much about gaited horses.

(Copied from the BB --->) "I am not letting him run it out. What I did was let him go on a loose rein in the round pen, I let him run around a couple times without touching his mouth, then I turned him into the fence to slow him down and let him on a loose rein again, then turn him towrads the fence to slow down, pretty soon, he was not running 100 MPH because he started LISTENING to me, he neve knew when I was going to turn him into the fence. So instead of PULLING back on the reins to slow him down, I turned towards the fence. He started cantering, controlled, on a loose rein after a while. When he had that down I went to my pasture with trees and if he sped up I circled a tree till he slowed down, then would go straight, if he sped up I'd circle another tree till he slowed down and so on till I had him cantering on a loose rein all over my pasture. I'm hoping one day I will be able to canter him anywhere, in a line, on a loose rein, or gait, whatever....."

Well, it turns out a TWH is still after all ... a horse. Imagine my surprise, ~FH

Re: Stud Farm trip

Solaris — Tue, 14 May 2013 11:38:38 GMT

Ooooo, Danzig -- *makes grabby hands* I bet that mare can move then! Crosssed with a British stallion (who ironically has a ton of US blood, LOL) who brings Roberto and Red God to the table, ummmmm, hello, can you transport that baby to me because it will be a hellaciously awesome eventer, hee!

On a related note, after the Derby, I looked up Orb's bloodlines and he and Encore are close to half-brothers (quarter-brothers?)! Both are AP Indy grandsons with Swaps and a couple other classy old sirelines. It was just kinda neat -- and Orb has an incredible gallop, what a joy to watch!

Re: Stud Farm trip

Jayne-Admin — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:17:42 GMT

He's a nice looking stallion. Your story reminds me of the time, on a visit back to my parents in England, we went out to Lavenham Stud in Sussex, It was beautiful, large grassy pastures filled with mares and foals.

The stables were awesome too, with fantastic foaling stalls and the stud's stallions (one of which was of the Northern Dancer bloodline, but I don't recall the other one) had separate box stalls with spacious paddocks surrounded by tall brick walls.

I had never seen so much money "on the hoof" before - it was quite the experience.