The "Mane" Equine Community on LJ

((tap-tap)) Hello? Hello? Is This Thing On?

edgeofthewoods — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 13:53:01 GMT

Sooooo.... I know it's dead as a doornail around here, but most of my equestrian friends are no longer on LJ, and I miss having other horse folk to chat with on here... Are there any other equestrians with an active LJ out there? Let's connect!

edgeofthewoods — Mon, 13 Mar 2017 20:11:02 GMT

I'm rehabbing some tack - it's all in really great shape, and has been fully conditioned with Leather Therapy, but I'd like to get a nice polish on it. Usually I would just use old-fashioned saddle soap, but I'm wondering if there's anything new out there that might be better/easier - what you got for me, fellow equestrians?

Video Ideas

lantairvlea — Sat, 21 Jan 2017 23:35:17 GMT

So I have been thinking about putting together a few videos on some training and general horsemanship topics. I know there's already tons of videos out there already on YouTube, quality varying both on information and presentation. I doubt I have anything new to add under the sun, but I'd like to be able to point my students to it and I think the process of getting it put together will help me solidify and think through my own process as well.

Anyway! I want to touch on various subjects and I see this as a long-term project. Some subjects I'm thinking about already include the following list:

Emergency dismount, reasons to use, demonstration from halt to walk and trot from both sides, how NOT to do it and why.

Moving the fore and hindquarters from the ground, both away and towards the handler, building towards asking the horse to "park" next to a mounting block or as an introduction to whip aids in driving applications and in-hand work.

Use of the reins (direct, indirect, leading, etc.) and their effect.

Driving training related subjects, like how to introduce pressure from the traces and breeching, rein and whip handling, etc.

Turn on forehand and haunches under saddle, etc.

I have a place to start, but am happy to hear more ideas. If you could request a subject to be covered on a video (I'm thinking segments anywhere from 5-20 minutes), what would you want it to be about? What process, subject, technique, etc. would you be interested in? Would you be more interested in step-by-step training things, theory, or a bit of both?

I'd be happy to share what I come up with here if there is interest too.

Thanks!

Megasus Horserunners

lantairvlea — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 23:42:22 GMT

There is this Kickstarter campaign for a new type of equine hoof protection:Kickstarter Campaign

I've already thrown my hat in and the project is funded so I am super curious to see how these actually work through personal experience once they ship out next year!

Any thoughts on these? The people behind them also started the Easywalker shoes (those yellow and green plastic shoes) and have been working towards hoof protection innovation for a long time.

I like the fact that after the initial set-up they are easy on-off and have less bulk than your typical boot. I do like my Renegade hoof boots, but my Arab gelding does brush them with his right fore (wings in just enough to hit the heel captivator/top portion of the boot with them on, but not enough to hit himself completely bare). My main concerns are durability and how the tape holds up in our summer heat, but I'm willing to give it a shot!

So again, what do you all think?

What type of footwear do you currently use on your horse(s)?

My personal herd have four barefoot, one who wears boots when he's ridden, and two with front shoes, though I would like to transition them to barefoot with boots (or maybe horserunners...) eventually.

Projects and Progress

lantairvlea — Sun, 02 Oct 2016 02:50:22 GMT

Today marked yet another milestone for our HaflingerxBelgian filly Tru-D. This summer I acquired some more harness bits so I could advance her driving training without having to buy a full one before she has finished growing. She'll be three in April so she has close to a year to grow height wise and then another two to three to fully fill out. This Spring her body was too short for my Fjord's harness, which is why I picked up a breastcollar and kicking strap to double as a trace holder to use with my training surcingle set up. I also found some rope traces, which I used as her first thing to drag this Summer and introduce the feel of drag and more things touching around her side and haunches.

Here she is sporting all of her training gear. She's currently working bitless (has worn one a few times, but don't plan on working in one until she has a full mouth). The breastcollar is secured to the surcingle by some large spring snaps so it doesn't slide forward and the traces snap into the buckles on the breastcollar with panic snaps. The other end of the rope traces have 2" rings so you can attach them to whatever you're pulling.

So today I had an extra set of hands with one of my working students and took the opportunity to hook her to the tire for the first time.

I started with my student dragging a singeltree around for noise while I ground drove Tru-D. She had dragged the singletree well previously. I also put some weight in the traces so she could feel some drag before we hooked her up. We then dragged the tire for some noise before hooking her to it. The tire has a large U-bolt with a heavy duty spring snap and a panic snap. The panic snap has a small eyehook on it that I tied a long string to so it can be released either by pulling (in this case I had my student holding the string) or stepping on it.

I asked her to walk on and she initially bounced off of the pressure on the breastcollar. She tried stepping sideways to find less resistance, but with a little vocal encouragement she stepped into it and pulled the tire. I stopped her after about ten feet and gave her lots of verbal praise and repeating.

I had my students take some pictures.

I took her around our small ring once in each direction before calling it a day. Other than the initial "are you sure I can pull this?" question she was awesome. I couldn't have asked for a nicer first pull.

Plans going forward include more tire pulling in small doses, ground driving, ponying, and trailering out places.

So what are you all up to? Any fun projects or goals you're working on?

Olympics!

lantairvlea — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 22:37:07 GMT

NBC's network of Olympic Equestrian coverage

Do you plan on watching the Olympics? Anyone or country in particular you're rooting for?

The USA is a bit of a barren wasteland when it comes to coverage of equestrian events so I try to soak up as much as I can during times like this, especially since my internet is too slow to stream.

I plan on watching as much as I can and don't realy have a specific horse or rider I'm rooting for because I'm just cheering the fact that there are horses on TV!

Where horses go while you're at College

emotionalbitchx — Tue, 31 May 2016 04:14:03 GMT

Hey guys! So I am very new to LiveJournal and to this community so please bare with me as I am confused on how exactly this works, but I'm willing to give it a try!

I am wondering what everyone does with their horses when they go off to college? I'll be attending college starting next fall and my dad wants to sell my horse. I'm pretty upset about it because I wanted her to come with me and stay at the university's stable, but they didn't have any room for her, as they gave priority to the Equine majors. I'm currently trying to convince him to just lease her out instead, but I'm worried about either situation. I'm upset that I have to let go of her, and I want to know how other people have handled similar situations with their horses and college.
Thank you in advance!

Danielle

Tru-D Training

lantairvlea — Sun, 08 May 2016 02:35:45 GMT

Last year I had mentioned the BelgianxHaflinger filly my husband and I picked up as a project in this post and figured I'd share some progress and pictures.

Here Tru-D is as she turned two!

I admit, part of me is really anxious to get on and feel her gaits. I've had the Western saddle on her a couple times to introduce it and the stirrups barely move when she trots or canters.

In the last year she has learned how to:
-load in a trailer
-be caught and lead nicely
-fly mask and spraying
-have her feet trimmed and cleaned
-work both in a roundpen and on a lunge line (briefly!)
-long line a half dozen times with a halter
-Introduced the (bitless) bridle
-Worn a bit (because if my Grand Plan of doing some competitive Dressage and Driving happens she'll have to use one eventually ... unless rules change before then ... one can hope!)
-Introduced whip aids
-Accept vaccinations and deworming
-Taken walks off-property with traffic (also very brief right now)
-Worn and briefly lunged in a full harness

I didn't think we had accomplished all that much, but writing it out like that definitely puts into perspective how much this former wild child has learned in the last year!

We also discovered she is related to our full Haflinger mare through her sire, which is cool.

Wearing her hand-me-down bitless bridle that might not fit her by the time I really start using it! She flexes nicely with it and I've used it while doing some work in-hand like turn on the haunches and forehand.

Standing next to my Arab gelding a couple months before she turned two. She was close then, but she definitely has him out-massed now! She hit 15 hands (same hight as Kash) and measured around 1100lbs on her birthday.

Wearing a bit for the first time. She couldn't figure out why she couldn't get it out of her mouth. I'm still working on her taking it and giving it back well, but she is reasonable and has stopped pulling faces with it on.

Wearing the saddle like a big girl.

First time wearing the harness. She was very good for it and only had a brief moment of worry while lungeing her. The harness is a little big on her because it actually belongs to Kitt our Fjord, but she may grow into it. No reason to get her a harness of her own until she is done growing. It actually fit surprisingly well except for the length to the breeching.

Any of you have some fun things coming up or progress and accomplishments you're proud of?

Bree

kusanar — Fri, 08 Apr 2016 14:47:47 GMT

I'm not sure if ya'll remember this sad little filly that I posted about a couple of years ago now:

Tsuthren Breezy Bayou will be turning THREE in June and will almost be ready to start under saddle!

Last year as a two year old I took her to a couple of Arabian shows and she kicked some major butt in the half-arab sport horse in hand division up against grown mares!

With some more Arabian shows to hit again this year, I cannot WAIT to see what my little filly can do! She's been an absolute dream come true for me!!
>/lj-cut>

Even The Pros Fall Off

lantairvlea — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 15:26:06 GMT

A story too good not to share. Les Vogt relating an experience he had with three horses in a finals competition.

Breech Recommendation

lantairvlea — Sat, 02 Jan 2016 01:26:43 GMT

Back in the beginning of 2015 I was down to my last pair of pants and had to make a decision: buy more jeans or buy breeches. I loved my jeans, Carharts that were tough and practical and each lasted two to three years of tough use, including riding. I went with the breeches because they were the more practical choice since I don't actually like riding in jeans and they are cooler in the summer and you want to do anything you can to be cooler in a desert summer!

I went cheap and bought three different pair because I wasn't quite sure what I would like. I do have three pair of Pikeurs I love from eight or so years ago on an impossible 60% off sale and while they are still servicable the fabric is starting to lose its stretch so they bunch funny here and there.

Anyway, two out of the three breeches I bought at the beginning of last year are already starting to show serious signs of wear (the third pair fits pretty poorly with a HUGE waist that I have to cinch my belt down on). I think I am going to have to spend more on breeches that are going to last longer because buying new breeches every year isn't going to cut it for me. I am an instructor and am in breeches 5 or 6 days a week even if I don't ride myself that day. So, fellow equestrian, what are your recommendations for some good breeches?

I can't afford $200 a pair otherwise I'd simply replace the Pikeurs that have served me so well. My range is around $100 or less (preferably less as I'd like to get more than one or two pair).

Thanks in advance!

Reflocking?

lantairvlea — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 20:53:11 GMT

I have an English saddle that will soon be 12 years old. It is a General Purpose Wintec 250 and has seen a fair amount of use both under me (until I realized it was too small for me, ha!) and under students. I have never had a saddle reflocked and figure it might be time. I would rather fix up what I have than buy a new one if at all possible.

I have tried contacting some saddle shops and the one I am familiar with that sells just about everything referred me to an English-specific shop, but the big English tack/appearal shop has no one to refer because the guy they used recently retired so I'm not quite sure where to go from there. While there is more English type events going on here than there used to be Arizona is still a very Western-oriented state.

But here are some questions for those more in the know than me:

How do you know your saddle needs to be restuffed?
How often should it be done?
Would you recommend anyone who might accept a mail-in? (You can message me on that one.)

I use the saddle on a few of my horses and I am not noticing any weird sweat patterns or soreness, but my goal is prevention and I'd rather not wait around until it becomes a problem.

Thanks in advance!

Riding in a busy ring

rolypolypony — Mon, 28 Sep 2015 17:35:57 GMT

So anyone have any mental tips on riding in the ring while lessons are going on and you're not in the lesson? I'm super-excited to finally part-lease the schoolie I love, but there'll be no avoiding riding at the same time as lessons. I think I can avoid the large group IEA lessons, at least. Anyway, I know the general ring rules - calling when passing, yielding the rail to faster gaits, generally being aware of other riders/horses. But how do I make myself not get so flustered by the other riders that I end up just bopping around and not doing anything? My plan right now is to ALLOW myself to bob about the first couple times, just so I can get an idea of what the ring is like at the times I'll be there.

It's not that I haven't ridden with others in the ring before, but I've always been the one in the lesson so had direction and a plan to follow. I'm worried that my lack of confidence will lead to unproductive rides!

Recent Cinnamon Video

lantairvlea — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 04:48:18 GMT

Thanks for the responses on my last post about how to cue for gait and trot on a five gaited horse.

After another couple months off and on I am gearing up to work Cinnamon in earnest and hopefully get her well-broke instead of just green as she has been the last four years....

This is ride two. I noticed her canter is a little lateral on occasion and she does do some intermediate gait steps from walk to trot while lungeing.

I think we're doing a little better separating the gait and the trot, using "trot" and both legs for trot and "step-up" with alternating leg aids for the gait. Not as much success in getting her to hold the gait, but I figure so long as she's trying it's good in my book.

Cell phone on the mounting block, feel free to ignore the random conversation with a client and turn down the volume. I trimmed up the parts where we disappeared from the framr. I did cut out about 5-8 minutes of lungeing her in the middle after she kicked out at my "go" aid, which is something she did a lot when I first got back on her a year ago after the other trainer worked with her. Escalating my aids causes her to escalate her response so I've learned to keep asking quietly and if I get a grumpy response we "talk" about it on the ground and then she goes much better.

I think the hardest part right now is following with my elbows as I ask her to gait as she wants to invert a bit right now. She's OK, but not at her best. I think I'm still working through some recalcitrance built up with the other trainer. I thought I had worked through it last spring, but life happens and she sat again so there you go.

Still working towards relaxed and forward and hoping that if I can manage two or three rides a week on her we can make actual progress and I can hang up the vest. My arena is fairly small and I do have access to a larger one, but she's worked in this one for years and is fairly comfortable. I figure after a month or so of consistent work we can think about working in the other one.

Commentary welcome. I think she looks at least a little better than the last video I posted, but I admit she hasn't had a whole lot of work between then and now (so many horses so little time).

Part of my goal is to get her to where one of my more advanced students can pick up the ride on her and she can get miles put on her better than I can manage (two kids, six horses, riding lesson business, etc., in-law's mare takes a bit of a back seat unfortunately).

Gaiting Gawkiness

lantairvlea — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 02:51:21 GMT

My in-laws have a mare who is a little behind on her training. I feel partially guilty as I have done pretty much all of the work on her except a few months that they had a trainer out to put a few rides on her while I was pregnant. It's been a bit of a fault of circumstance. I got her going fairly well (walk/trot, out on trails ridden twice) before I was pregnant with child #1. Between kids I had my own filly I started under saddle and after child #2 arrived I again focused on my filly getting her riding and driving well until her untimely passing last year (heart failure, sucked a lot).

The short version is I am FINALLY getting back to Cinnamon Strudel and trying to get her going well undersaddle. We had a slight set-back with her being resistant to go forward because the trainer had less-than-stellar timing when it came to getting her to move out. That appears to be mostly sorted now, but the "problem" I have now is that she decided she was gaited in the last year. There were some suspisions as she grew up, but she didn't really start to show it consistently until last year at eight (she'll be nine in December). She is a Quarter HorseXFox Trotter and just as happily gaits as she trots and apparently she just as happily canters as she gaits and trots all at approximately the same speed.

This is where I have my dilema: figuring out how to aid/cue for all of her gaits as at the moment she pretty much offers whatever feels best. Because of the aforementioned issue with her "go" button I am not discouraging any forward movement right now, which I realize perpetuates the "problem" to an extent, but I'd rather have her move forward willingly instead of bucking, rearing, or otherwise being sour.

The funny thing is that she doesn't gait when lungeing. She does know "walk, trot, canter" by voice form the ground, but the latter two are a little weird right now under saddle as sometimes she trots, sometimes she gaits, and sometimes she canters.

How would you go about teaching a horse to differentiate it's gaits? I know some of you have worked with gaited horses before so I figured I would pick brains here.

Here's a video of the stinky monster gaiting:

Vacations/resorts with horses?

julnar — Mon, 27 Apr 2015 15:54:43 GMT

My fiance were discussing honeymoon plans, and I had the great idea to look for a dude ranch. However, my fiance has never been on a horse, so a horse-focused vacation doesn't seem ideal. I like the idea of an all-inclusive resort-type place that has quality horseback riding but where horses aren't the main focus, and/or there are plenty of other activities. US, Caribbean, or Mexico.

Any ideas, personal experiences, recommendations?

Sway bars for trailers?

eyelikerancid — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 16:04:27 GMT

I recently bought a horse trailer and am getting comfortable hauling it. So far, so good!

Question: Are weight distribution hitches (aka sway bars) recommended?

It's a small, 2-horse, straight load bumper pull with no tack room (so short); pulled by an F150. Only reason I ask is because we have them on our travel trailer... and they make a BIG difference. But the travel trailer is 30' long.... the horse trailer's half the length of the truck. Just want to be safe!

Thanks!

Clinic Costs

lantairvlea — Sat, 18 Apr 2015 03:36:48 GMT

So there is a big name clinician doing a three day horsemanship clinic down the road and I dropped by to see how it was. It was $50 per day to audit. The last time the clinician was here a few years ago it was $25 a day. I decided to pass on it and figured I would buy a training video from my wish list instead.

I don't go to a whole lot of clinics, but $50 a day to audit seemed steep. What do other clinicians charge to audit that you are aware of?

Projects and Progress

lantairvlea — Sun, 15 Mar 2015 05:08:02 GMT

What have you all been up to lately with your horses?

Last weekend we did a Draft Horse Show/Expo during our local rodeo and took three of our horses, my husbands two mares Ruby, a Belgian, and Charm-N a Percheron as well as my Fjord mare Kitt.

We think we know why the rodeo put us in the arena they did ... it was right next to the carnival with the ferris wheel and the centrifical force rides that whirl and spin and cause people to scream. All that considered the horses did great. Charm-N buggered slightly once in the cart as one of the rides made a strange noise, but came back to me quickly enough and Kitt was actually mostly bothered by the audio system over anything else. Ruby was awesome and rock solid and my husband drove her most of the time.

Charm-N wondering if we'd help her remove her collar the rest of the way...

Kitt and I doing a breed demo with a lady and her Clyde I asked to join us (afterwards I realized Kitt probably couldn't have cared less about having company). This was the first time I had have ridden Kitt in her bitless bridle in public, which she did really well in (especially when I remembered to use my legs, eesh).

Kitt has also been brushing up on her driving skills and figuring out how to jump, which I need to get some decent video of. We've gone 2' thusfar (I am sure you hard core jumper people scoff at such a low height, but it's a big thing for her stubby legs!).

We also acquired a coming yearling filly last month. We weren't really looking, but it was one of those perfectly timed things that just fell into place like it is meant to be and so it is. She is a HaflingerXBelgian cross and went from a barely-handled wild child to a friendly pest in five weeks. We're excited to see how she matures over the next few years.

And she's pretty cute.

Happy birthday dear Josephine!

quietann — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 22:22:51 GMT

My Morgan filly Josephine is one year old today. I never would have imagined buying a foal but I am so glad I did.

These photos were taken on Saturday when she was enjoying bouncing around in the snow. Filthy, furry, and butt-high, but man, she can MOVE.

https://picasaweb.google.com/103634878102801472104/Josephine2015#

(In case anyone is wondering, I do still have Feronia. She's actually doing remarkably well; this is her first New England winter living outside, and what a winter! We are both sick of the indoor but I guess I'm happy it's there, so I can ride at all. She is starting to show her age a bit... 17 is not old for a Morgan, but she's not your typical Morgan in most ways.)

Colic

kusanar — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 06:52:45 GMT

Friday on my way to work I got one of the first horrid calls ever made. "Melody is colicing.... it's bad. We're taking her to Mountain View."

I pulled a quick U-turn and sped home to change, then raced up the road the 2 hr drive to the Equine Hospital.

When I raced in the door the first thing the vet said was 'She needs surgery. She has a bad impaction in her small intestines.' My heart sank, after my three years of constant surgery there wasn't any money to slap down the 9k needed. I attempted to beg and plead and cry at my parents, but they told me 'She's not worth dropping the money on.' The vet said she understood so we went to plan B, Mineral Oil, lots of pain meds, and lots of prayers. As long as Melody didn't thrash or try and hurt herself, they were willing to give it a try.

I stayed in her stall until they kicked me out for the night promising to call if anything changed, and I was in a daze for most of the night. (still in a daze, I apologize if this reads awful.)

The worst phone call came at 9:30 pm. 'Melody is no longer responding to her pain meds and is thrashing. I need your authorization to put her down.'

The words caught in my throat as emotions flooded me and I barely choked out 'Put her down. I'll be there in less than 10 mins, please wait if you can.'

The vet said, 'I will not wait, she's going to kill herself thrashing and slamming.'

I don't know nor care how fast Marcie drove, but we made the 10 mile trip in record time. Sliding into the parking lot she jumped out of the car and started into the stable, but I couldn't make myself move, we were coming to see a dead horse. I knew she was gone.

Stealing myself I climbed out of the truck and met Marcie at the door so we could enter together. To my absolute and utter amazement we found the vet and Melody standing in 'the death stall'. The vet looked at us and shrugged, 'I don't know what happened, but she doesn't appear to be in pain...' I ran to Melody and threw my arms around her neck. The needle was sitting by the vet's feet ready to go.

'I'll reassess in 30 mins.' Was all he said as he moved the lethal injection to a shelf outside the stall.

After 45 mins of me and Marcie standing in the stall Melody was slowly becoming more alert and her body stopped trembling. Then, she farted. About this time the vet walked back in and checked her gut, pulse, temp, and gums. He looked baffled. Turning to us he said, 'There are normal gut noises in all four quadrants, her heart rate and temp are all normal.'

He left and quickly returned with a handful of hay which Melody happily took a bite of. 'You know,' he said, 'I'm not saying she's out of the woods, but if she survives the night it will be nothing short of a miracle.'

We both laughed and told him we believed in miracles, and left. Jess was kind enough to let us crash at her house since she was 15 mins from the Equine Hospital, but I didn't sleep a single wink. My eyes stayed glued to my phone all night.

Around 8:45 the vet called again just as Jess was finishing saying 'Oh he only calls if it's bad and their dying.' With dread I answered. His first words were, 'You have a miracle.' And I tried not to cry. 'She's alive,' he continued, 'She's pooped several times, and she's eating and drinking normally.'

She doesn't get to home until Monday morning, but my mare pulled through AGAIN. This is the third time I've been told "Your mare shouldn't be alive!" by a vet. (The first was a bad accident that she got gored by a fence post, the second was a surgery 7 months later after the accident when we discovered there was a huge chunk of post IN her leg.)

I'm still in a daze from the emotional whirlwind, but I've never been so happy to see a standing horse (and horse poop) in my life!!

((X-posted from my journal))

(This picture is from last week of Melody chilling in the never ending snow)

Cramps while riding + bareback pad suggestions?

invalidsync — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 17:56:18 GMT

Hey guys! I have a couple things to ask about. First, I love riding bareback and I wish I could do it more often. However, I have an extremely narrow-built Thoroughbred. High withers, very bony back, impossible to ride bareback. I have tried riding him bareback with a thick pad, but it didn't help much. I'm interested in investing in an actual bareback pad, but I am unsure what kind to get. I haven't looked too deeply into my options yet, but I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience with this kind of situation and if you've found a bareback pad that makes a significant difference on an extremely uncomfortable horse.

For fun, the beastie in question taking great care of a friend of mine without too much riding experience(so proud of him for that!):

As for my second problem. This is something I've struggled with basically my entire life, as I remember it happening a few times when I was a child, but seems to come and go randomly and has been getting worse lately. When riding sometimes I will get cramps in the side of my abdomen, my mom calls them "stitches". It can be an extremely sharp pain and once it starts, will usually not go away unless I get off the horse and sit still for a while. It's not possible for me to just ride through it most of the time. I cannot figure out what the hell is causing this honestly. I have worked on my breathing, making sure I am breathing properly, tried breathing differently than I normally do, even tried HOLDING my breath in a fit of desperation. I have tried not eating for hours before I ride, tried eating normally, tried not drinking before riding, tried drinking more, tried drinking different things, just water, everything. It just seems to come at me randomly no matter what I do, whether I've been riding regularly or just coming off of a break(I'm in college now so during the semesters I'm unfortunately away from riding often). Happens on all kinds of horses. Sometimes I'm perfectly fine. But once it starts, I can't get it to stop as long as I'm moving at all. I cannot figure it out but it is really upsetting. Has anyone else had this sort of problem? Have you managed to figure out what was causing it/how to stop it? Could it be that I'm just not breathing right despite my best efforts during these times? But I don't feel like I'm breathing any differently from the times I don't get the cramps? I just don't know. I'm open to ANY ideas at this point.

Help!

morbidmissfit — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 17:08:38 GMT

I have to sell my lovely mare due to finance and time restrictions. She has been for sale for a year and I am getting nowhere! I have her listed on equine.com, equinenow and horsetopia. Behind the cut I've included a couple of pictures and videos of her as well as the text from the ads I have posted. I am wondering if anyone has any advice as to what else I could say or add to this? Should I go into more details about her breeding? Her training? I have no idea! I'm a little frustrated because I have been getting inquiries from kids, asking me silly questions like "what size blanket does she wear?" This is not a horse for a kid!

Lovely 6 year old mare out of the stallion Tacorde. Rowan is a registered Canadian Warmblood and stands 16.1hh. She loves to jump and has great form over fences. Fancy enough to do the hunters, is bold and has enough scope to do the jumpers. Rowan is still green, so she does requires an experienced rider or someone working with a trainer. Great project horse, price is negotiable to the right home! Very sweet mare - Loads, clips, bathes and is good for the vet and farrier. UPTD on all shots.

http://youtu.be/rUuScKgVlco

http://youtu.be/NFWIa1avoqk

http://youtu.be/EiW_t5U9Dcs

I have her listed at $16,500 (negotiable) - I realize price is a fickle thing and it really depends on several factors and some of you may think she is over-priced, under-priced, whatever.

Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Moving again....

fishwithfeet — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 21:53:25 GMT

And this time back across the country. After moving my mare from Florida and establishing myself in Washington, I've just learned that we will be moving to Michigan in late January, early February. I will also be moving my mare once we buy a house (which requires that our house here in WA sells)

We'll be in a 40-60 mile radius from Warren, MI and keeping the horse at home and I'm looking for references, names and numbers. If I were boarding I'd utilize those at the barn, but since this move is going to be making a childhood dream of mine come true, I'm turning to the next best thing!

I'm looking for farriers, vets, a decent feed store, tack stores, a reputable saddle fitter that preferably has some knowledge of thorowgood saddles and trainers. I ride dressage right now and wouldn't mind jumping training. I'll likely use the same shipper from before since we had a good experience, but I wouldn't mind more names so I can shop for a good quote.

Also, where are your favorite places to trail ride in Michigan?

Thanks LJ! Have a photo of Goober Pony just 'cause.

Tack Room Clearout: IT ALL MUST GO!

dreamswept — Sat, 06 Dec 2014 07:36:51 GMT

I'll be honest, not all of it is going. I'm retaining my two driving harnesses, one western saddle and my trail gear for trail riding on my Haffie gelding, a bareback pad and a sidepull for my mare and some odds and ends I can't live without, but as I have a very small tack room, and having recently made the decision to cut back on riding in favor of driving my gelding and with hopes, dreams and aspirations of upgrading to a better cart (or possibly even a 4 wheel carriage) in the hopefully-not-so-distant-future, I need to clear out all the tack associated with the riding stuff I didn't do very well (or possibly only dabbled around in pretending I sort of knew what I was doing) so we can focus on the one thing that Mitch does better than anything else (besides eating). And that's driving.

So here's what I've got. Let me know if there's anything you really like and might want to discuss prices with me. Nothing's particularly firm, I'm flexible enough most of the time if I get the right offer. Shipping should be fairly inexpensive depending on the size of the box, I will ship USPS flat rate where I can, and USPS priority otherwise, and I can combine shipping as necessary.

--------------------------------------------------------------

18" Tekna dressage saddle
This is the version with the suede seat, a deep seat and generous knee blocks. With easy clean material on most of the saddle, it is great for schooling and riding on days when the weather might be less than optimal. Comes with a Tekna saddle cover.

Medium-wide gullet installed

Comes with XW and W gullets, and the tool to change the gullet.

Includes Wintec Pro webbers, 4 3/4" jointed stirrup irons and a 28" synthetic fleece lined Toklat dressage girth

$500 + shipping (~$30)

--------------------------------------------------------------

17.5" Tekna Club AP saddle
All synthetic easy clean material, feels very soft (almost leather like without the maintence) and a very cushy seat. Includes knee and thigh blocks

Medium-wide gullet installed

Includes Narrow, Wide and XW gullets and the tool to change them

Comes with brown Wintec webbers and 4 3/4" irons

Includes 48" Ovation Airform girth

$400 + shipping

--------------------------------------------------------------

Wintec Cair Girth - 48"
$45 + shipping

--------------------------------------------------------------

Padded Dressage Bridle with Crank Noseband and Flash
I believe this is either a Full or Oversize as it has been used on a Haflinger (and you know what their heads are like). The flash can be removed and the little tab tucked up into the noseband. It has a padded chin crank, and a padded noseband and browband. The crownpiece is the mono-type where the strap for the noseband is part of the crownpiece rather than seperate. Buckle ends on the bit. Comes with moderately decent web reins.
$50 + shipping

--------------------------------------------------------------

Tekna Hunter Bridle (Cob) & Tekna Hunter Bridle (Horse) & Tekna Snaffle Reins
Synthetic easy clean material (I literally threw it in a bucket of warm soapy water, and scrubbed and then rinsed it off, and towel dried) Traditional stitching on browband and noseband, hook stud ends. I have one in Cob size, and one in Horse size, and one pair of reins that can be included with either size (please specify)
Bridle: $35 + shipping
Reins: $10

--------------------------------------------------------------

Suffolk Dressage Bridle
Padded noseband, Horse Size. White leather lining on noseband and browband. Includes black laced reins. Hook stud ends.
$25 + shipping

--------------------------------------------------------------

Chetak Bridle
Black leather bridle with noseband. Hook stud ends.
$10 + shipping

--------------------------------------------------------------

Korsteel Short Shank Hackamore
Fleece noseband, leather curb strap. Adjustable
$10 + shipping

--------------------------------------------------------------

Davis Bell Boots - Size Large
White with green Christmas trees. Never used.
$10 + shipping

--------------------------------------------------------------

Davis Splint Boots - Size Medium
Black, lightly used (less than 5 times)
$10 + shipping

--------------------------------------------------------------

Tekna Standing Martingale (Cob)
Made from synthetic easy clean material. Matches bridles listed above as well as the AP saddle
$10 + shipping

--------------------------------------------------------------

19" Mohair Dressage Girth
Roper style with dee rings on either side of the girth and 1" english buckles. Neoprane padded backing for the buckles. This is 100% pure mohair. Would be perfect for endurance or trail riding.
$50 + shipping

--------------------------------------------------------------

24" Mohair girth
1.5" buckles, with leather to protect the horse from the buckles. 100% pure mohair. Double dee rings.
$50 + shipping

--------------------------------------------------------------

32" Mohair dressage girth.
Roper style (wider across belly) with double dee rings. 100% pure mohair, black and natural blend.
$50 + shipping

--------------------------------------------------------------

Pink Nylon Braided Split Reins
Nylon popper ends with nylon slobber straps
$5 + shipping

--------------------------------------------------------------

Korsteel Full Cheek Snaffle with French Link
~~1 - 5"~~
1 - 5.5"
$5 each + shipping

--------------------------------------------------------------

17" Clincher Browband
Black with silver link chain.
$10 + shipping

--------------------------------------------------------------

Brown Nylon Stirrup Turners
Use on your western saddle to turn your stirrups to a better angle to put your foot into the stirrup.
$5 + shipping

--------------------------------------------------------------

Brown Leather Western Breastcollar
Brown with white/natural braiding trim
$15 + shipping

--------------------------------------------------------------

Black Dressage Pad with white trim
[Photo Coming Soon]
$10 + shipping

--------------------------------------------------------------

Pink Equine Dressage Pad
Hot pink dressage pad
[Picture Coming Soon]
$10 + shipping

--------------------------------------------------------------

Pink AP saddle pad with matching fuzzy fleece saddle cover
[Picture Coming Soon]
$15 + shipping

--------------------------------------------------------------

That's everything! I can be reached at leianafurlong(a)gmail(dot)com if you'd like to make an offer for anything. Thank you for looking!