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Comment by Mary-Joe Figueira on March 23, 2011 at 7:29pm

Wow a pony club for adults. Sweet!!!! I could have used an adult pony club when I started riding.

Comment by Molly Judge on March 23, 2011 at 7:18pm

Hello! My name is Molly and I live in Fredericksburg, VA. I have a Hanovarian/Pinto gelding that will be 8 years old in May. We do all types of riding, as I am a beginner and need lots of experience. I belong to an adult pony club group called OPRC. They are a great help for the new horse person. I have a geriatric Dachsund, a senior Boxer and a young Doberman. I also have a loving husband who is a big supporter of my horse riding.

Comment by vickie lawson on March 19, 2011 at 5:17pm

i had a lovely ride in the forest. hooked up with another lady going out, as im starting to worry about being out there on my own. the what if's.....  not that delph is naughty or ive ever come off her out there, but what if.....  this lady was a fountain of gossip- boy she knows everyone. so i got a good gossip fix too. hehe

Comment by vickie lawson on March 7, 2011 at 10:01pm

thanks jan and ellin! i asked the farrier why he thinks it is happening, and he said it is likely a balance issue, footing and her age. the ground has been hard, and it rained like crazy sat, so sunday it was soft and gluey. so that shoe is due to the ground i think. and as she is  5, she will have balance issues. the farrier says it is a nuisance but it will sort itself out. which is true.  i do spend time on transitions and transitions within the pace, but she just needs time and patience! last winter i took her shoes off, and will do so again this winter. her feet are good and didn't suffer any, and it sure cuts down on costs. i keep riding, but the ground is soft or i ride on sand (beach and forest) or in the arena.

Comment by Ellin McGinley Daum on March 7, 2011 at 3:48pm

A great and easy exercise to lift the front end out of the way of the back end is called Counted Walk.  This is a super collected walk where the horse imperceptibly moves forward with the hind feet taking very small steps.  The aids for this walk are a squeeze on the rein on the side of the front foot grounding followed by an immediate release and then a squeeze on the other rein as the foot grounds.  While doing this, sit up straighter with each squeeze and then relax.  You should be able to hear or feel each foot come to the ground, that is how short and slow this walk is.  The result is that the horse uses its shoulder, head and neck muscles to raise up the entire forehand.  The hind joints bend more, the croup becomes more angled, the back raises and the horse is more put together.  This will last for a few strides in the walk or trot thereafter, but needs to be repeated when the horse falls apart.  Don't forget to intersperse some good stretches in between.

Comment by Jan Jollymour on March 7, 2011 at 3:28pm

That's good news, April.  Let's hope things continue with this improved state of affairs!

 

Vickie, this is the pits!  Does your farrier hot shoe or cold shoe?  Have you tried rolled toes?  Have you tried grinding the heels (on the shoes, not the horse) down a little?  Perhaps some of both?  It can be a balance issue - the hind legs are a little too active, and the front isn't yet out of the way.  You could try either backing off a little in the demand for forward, and/or riding more transition work to teach Delph to carry more behind and lift the front a little more.  That gets the front feet off the ground a little faster, and slows the hind legs just that nearly imperceptible bit which stops the shoe pulling...if it's happening only under saddle I'd be looking to Delph's balance, but if it's happening mostly in the pasture, balance is likely involved but you've also probably got a farriery issue.  I'm hoping it gets sorted soon!

Comment by April Keays on March 6, 2011 at 2:06pm

Things seem to have calmed down at my barn for now.  I was up there yesterday and the two offending boarders were there (they always seem to be there), but they were friendly and talkative and no hostile undertones.  I also noticed that the new horses' name plague had been removed from the  long-time boarders stall door and tacked onto another stall.  I would assume from these events that the newbies had been talked to about their behavior  and that things will settle down.  I'm still in "let's wait and see" mode.  On the up note, I had a great ride and Monty was in fine spirits.  No sign of a cough now. 

Comment by vickie lawson on March 5, 2011 at 11:56pm

well my shoe problems continue!! finally got delph reshod a week ago fri. the right shoe came off wed. got it back on sat night- all good for our show sun. it rained all day sat, so the ground was very sodden-the other shoe came off at C, when we had our canter trans. i hoped the clinches were tight! but i guess not.  then..... the weather has changed- more autumn like, so delph was a silly silly girl. we were lucky to get 60's!

Comment by April Keays on March 4, 2011 at 9:33pm

Yes, you're probably right.  It's just a hard decision to make as I have been at this barn for about eight years now  and it's like a second home.  But I guess there comes a time to move on.  I doubt things are going to get better here and most likely will get worse.

 I'll be heading up there again tomorrow and see what the status is now and go from there.  Thanks for everyone's imput.

Comment by vickie lawson on March 4, 2011 at 4:37am

doesn't sound good april! i'd look around, with the owner losing his memory, it isn't going to get solved fast.

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