Boosiler, just saw from your last post that you must still be hanging around waiting (Been there, done that. LOL The only consolation is knowing that you really won't be pregnant forever) Anyhow, for my two cents. Minx is five-year-old Kentucky Mountain and has never been shod. She's used for trail riding although I'd love to get my act together and do fun shows or maybe dressage with her. Someday when the house and the barn and the pastures are in order (so probably never, LOL) Had her

Those are great!! Brought a smile to my rainy Monday morning. My mare suffers from some strange malady in which being tied in the barn aisle for grooming and tacking up acts as a laxative. Last week one day she didn't poop in the barn aisle and I was considering calling the vet. And here's a good one on me. After the mare had a genuine lameness issue and was off for several weeks I was pretty worried about every little bobble. So if her gait got the least bit choppy, I'd assume she was

I'm not sure you really need a winter blanket ever. My girls are turned out 24/7 with access to their stalls for shelter. I've gone out and found them with icicles hanging from their manes because it's sleeting or snowing and they prefer to be outside. When I check their chests and bellies, they're nice and warm and dry under there. I do make sure that they have plenty of hay when it's cold to keep the engines stoked to keep them warm. If it's really, really cold, they will

Boy! I hear you. I miss my riding buddies at the boarding barn. So far, DH has done pretty well and has a naturally good seat. And of course the long legs help with staying on, too. But since my little mare is only 4, it would be nice to have someone else take the lead occasionally so that she can relax (and me, too). We tried it with him in the lead for a short while the other day on our little bridle path, but Eb would rather not and Minx gets very impatient at her slow pace. I'm afraid to

[quote user="JMFriedman"]try to get him to give in to wearing a helmet[/quote] When we moved to the farm we bought Eb for the DH and anyone else who's a total beginner. Guess who complained that the neighbor's husband didn't wear a helmet. Normally, I don't come off sounding like DH's mother (and normally, he doesn't come off sounding like a whiny teenage boy), but I mentioned that neighbor's husband has been riding forever and DH just started this year. I'm

[quote user="JMFriedman"]she struggles to extricate a pedal appendage from the stirrup[/quote] I'm just green with envy about anyone who can actually get a foot in the stirrup from the ground!

When Minx was boarded my vet floated her teeth and she always sedates and uses power tools. Now that we're on the farm, I had my girls' teeth floated a few weeks ago by an equine dentist who did not sedate. He put the speculum in and manually floated. After each small area, he closed the speculum to let them rest. Neither of the mares was a big fan of the procedure, but they didn't do anything worse than walk around him while he was working on them. He just walked with them with his arm

Hey, Judy, I'm finally back after lo these many months of getting the farm going and hours and hours of playing with the horses and loving it. Now back at work parttime to pay for the very necessary truck and trailer. Anyhow, love the list. Only have one to add. Straight faces must be preserved when a hapless rider is given a leg up by said rider's spouse and the three of them mosey down the path, rider face down on horse's back trying to get enough rein to stop the horse as the spouse

Thanks, guys. I've ordered the Frelonic mats. When they're all hooked together they weigh 200 pounds. So I'm hoping there won't be any serious sliding. I'll let you know in a few days.

Well, we're finally bringing the girls home this week and I'm still nattering about stall mats. Our stalls have concrete floors and I was all set to get the heavy interlocking rubber mats. Then Equisearch ran an article about the lightweight, softer mats. Has anyone used the interlocking lightweight mats like Freelonic? My big concern is do they slide around too easily? I'm going to call the guy tomorrow to grill him, but I'd like an unbiased opinion. Thanks Sue