Do You Ride Horses? V.4

[landofmakebelieve]

This is Molly. She is my 16 hand appendix mare. Lately I've been having a bit of a problem with her. I know it's common for horses to nip when the girth is being tightened, but the second you even pick up the girth she tries to nip. Is there any way I can teach her not to?

[HorseLover!]

@Matted Tail



Here is the matted tail I was talking about, I haven't done anything because I don't know where to start plus his owner wasn't up so I didn't have the right to bring his horse in and such. As you can see it's pretty bad.

@Copper



There's a picture of coppers tail for whom was asking then I was talking about @braiding and @plaiting help.

We had alright ride yesterday, I mean it was gale winds so he was spooky and not very good but I don't really blame him, he did have a good canter though and he pretty much cantered within a few strides of me asking which is a brilliant improvement from having to fight with sticks and shouting to get him moving

Since he is basically improving on everything I have started to improve his jumping as we do want to start show jumping and he is doing well, people are complaining he isn't actually jumping but the jumps I'm putting up I wouldn't expect him to jump properly as they don't even come up to his knee.

[Hime]

@Hell On Hooves: My mare does the exact same thing with the girth. Though she has gotten better with it and mostly it's just threatening to bite. For her it has started with bad fitting saddles and possible muscle injury that the girth caused pain to. So I'd start from checking that there's nothing on the saddle causing discomfort and that her back is okay. With my mare getting correctly fitted saddle, her back checked(and massaged) and being nice and gentle when tightening the girth has helped out a lot. She's still pissy about it in general(more on some days than other), but lot better and after looong break in riding she actually nickered when I brough out the saddle. XD
If you can rule out any physical issue being the cause, then usually firm no helps(maybe a tap at the nose with a finger if she's really trying to bite, but it has to happen at the exact moment when she reaches out to you), also teaching that by nipping the girth isn't getting any looser. You just have to keep eyes open in general.

@HorseLover: o_o Yeah, that tail needs to be cut really badly. But you might need to talk to his(?) owner about it before doing it, and probably need to talk bunch of stuff in general. But seriously, that tail can't be good for the poor horse...

As for tail plaiting tips: make it tight and make sure you are adding from the very edges/under the tail. Like the idea is to kinda wrap the tail and the bony part inside the braid. If that makes any sense...

[stirrupirons]

@Hime: They're all gorgeous aren't they??! I'm going to have to block tack shops from my computer, I'm gonna spend all my money on breeches too! They're 20% off right now and I just ordered another pair in black and white c:
Oh I should have clarified, the saddle would be for the lease since we have to have our own for our horses at my barn :)
He has! He's shown first level dressage and is currently schooling second level. He's 9 years old and his name is Butter. c: My barn owner sent me a video of him and I loooove him. He's super quiet, a beautiful mover, and looks very light in the bridle. I'll take some screencaps of the video :)
Glad you had fun at the party! That's how Seren is on trails, too. She starts rushing back to the barn and it scares the crap out of me. xD

@Nocte Luna: I'd stick to greens, blues, and purples and avoid warm colors. Teal would look amazing, and so would hunter green and navy as well as neutral colors. c: Cream would look gorgeous, too! Cream stuff is pretty hard to find though

@t'challa: Thanks!! Go buy them, they're 20% off right now w/ the code piperfun14! c;
Is Gracie your horse? You've probably said it before but I completely forget, so many horses to keep track of! xD
I personally use Bronco because it works well and is pretty cheap. One of my friends uses Pyranha Spray n Wipe and it works pretty well, too, and is very strong.

--

Seren was good yesterday! (I feel like all of my personal posts start with that) but we just had a relaxing work day. Lots of long rein forward trotting trying to get her to seek out contact instead of me taking contact. She felt a lot lighter after that work. We did some lateral work; shoulder fore on the long sides to help with bend and lots of leg yields. I sat the trot for the bulk of the ride and my abs and hips hurt so much right now.
I'm talking to my trainer tomorrow about Butter! I'm gonna show her the video of him and then if she likes him we're gonna set up a day to try him. :D I have the option of a full or half lease and I'm so torn. Full would be more expensive but that's 6 days a week of riding as opposed to just three. My dad came with me to the barn yesterday and he said that he knows how much I love this sport so he's going to help me out with the lease... I think I honestly may go with full because we would progress much quicker. I hate his name though. xD It's Butter and I wanna rename him to Dante but I probably can't do that since I'd just be leasing him.

Here he is! He looks more like a Dante than a Butter lol... but I love how light and uphill and forward he looks

[Fortunea]

This is Molly. She is my 16 hand appendix mare. Lately I've been having a bit of a problem with her. I know it's common for horses to nip when the girth is being tightened, but the second you even pick up the girth she tries to nip. Is there any way I can teach her not to?

Maybe distract her with some treats? I'd use some likit but the one in the small tub, if you can get some. If not just anythung that'll keep her occupied. If not, just tap her on the nose the second she tries to bite.

Tinker was funny today. He was a bit strong, but he was OK. Then I did some figure of eights, and he decided he'd had enough and took off. Silly boy. He was in the arena so I don't know what he was thinking. I pulled him up soon-ish and made him trot it, then canter it and he was fine. He just get excited as he doesn't do that kind of stuff often. <3

[sylvauna]

Hi! Okay, so I fell off for the first time a couple months ago while jumping 18-24 inch jumps (note it wasn't a bad fall, just hurt my back for a couple days). Anyway, ever since, my confidence towards jumps have been low. I have been able to jump 18 inch jumps somewhat confidently, but only after I do it a couple times. I really want to be able to jump 2 foot again, but I am deathly afraid of it! Does anyone have advice on how to come over my fear?

[Hemalily]

This is Molly. She is my 16 hand appendix mare. Lately I've been having a bit of a problem with her. I know it's common for horses to nip when the girth is being tightened, but the second you even pick up the girth she tries to nip. Is there any way I can teach her not to?

We have a mare with this issue too :3 One cause of this behavior is that she's been pinched before and anticipates being pinched again. What I usually do is distract her, and get the girth on loose(not loose enough that the saddle falls sideways). I then lunge her for a minute or two and go back a tighten it a bit more. It used to take a several rounds of that to get her to calm down, but now we can do it once and she's fine. It takes some time, but it's worth it. If that doesn't work, then the other suggestions should help.

@ThunderChase
I'd say that you're doing the right thing. Work repeatedly on the 18 inch jumps, doing them in different directions, different approaches, everything. Keep doing them until you feel you have complete control and that you feel perfect over them. Then try your two foot jump (we all have to take a leap sometimes ). Always remember to look up/forward and tell yourself that you can do it and you've experienced the worse already.

[Fortunea]

Hi! Okay, so I fell off for the first time a couple months ago while jumping 18-24 inch jumps (note it wasn't a bad fall, just hurt my back for a couple days). Anyway, ever since, my confidence towards jumps have been low. I have been able to jump 18 inch jumps somewhat confidently, but only after I do it a couple times. I really want to be able to jump 2 foot again, but I am deathly afraid of it! Does anyone have advice on how to come over my fear?

Dn't focus on the jump! Just slowly work your way higher with a horse you're comfortable with. Don't worry too much, or your horse'll pick it up and run out or something.

[Stonefly]

Guys I need your help with something going on at my barn. I have a friend how is boarding her horse for free since it stays in a large field and it doesn't get hay or anything..But I also keep my horse there and I ride in that field since I have nothing else to ride in. So I do have to lock up her horse. but when I do Dusty(The mares name) starts freaking out, neighing, kicking, pacing back and forth. And because of that my Mare isn't always paying attention or is wanting to go back to my friends horse. So half of the time I can only get a short crappy ride for the day. But about two months so I have decided to sell my mare and go for a younger gelding since I outgrew her potential. (I am wanting to jump higher and my mare can only take me to maybe three feet?) But because I am wanting a young horse, about 3-5 years old that has just started training I am worried that he is going to get attached to Dusty and I am going to have the same problems. So I asked if she could find a new place to board he horse and she said she was looking. But a month later, nothing. So I told her a month later that I really need her to leave since I was going to pick up and horse and I didn't have the stall room for three horses (Fall weather is going to start soon so I need a stall for the horses if it starts pouring for like five days.) But lucky/unlucky for me the deal fell through the day before i was going to pick up the horse. the owner sold it to someone who offered a little more money and could pick it up that day. -.- . But still today, two months since I told her she needs to leave her horse is still here. And earlier today I sent her a text her telling her that her mare MUST be gone by the end of the month. I am beginning to worry that she wont be able to find another place since she cant afford it (She shouldn't even be owning a horse since she cant even afford buying hay for the winter..its about 50$ a month for the fall/winter) But I need this space. What should I do if she is still here by the end of the month? Because I am sick and tired of telling her to leave? Do I have the right to do anything about it?

Also, she does not ride this horse. She is scared to ride it. So it sits there and she never sees it..

[stirrupirons]

@Stonefly: If you own the barn, check this link: http://equinelegalsolutions.blogspot.co ... rding.html
If you don't, you have no right to tell her to leave.

@Thunderchase: I've struggled with confidence issues as well. I wouldn't advise doing what you're comfortable with for too long - you will get no where! I tell myself that worry accomplishes nothing. Find your motivation to keep on trucking - mine is wanting to ride like my trainer one day.

@Hell on hooves: That's how my mare is, but it's because she's very hormonal and mare-ish. I just smack her if she tries to bite me and ignore her when she pins her ears back. If you don't make it a big deal, she won't make it a big deal.