|
Post by jlynn on Nov 6, 2016 18:12:15 GMT
I would guess you don't get in front of the hounds and hunt master....
|
|
|
Post by horseguy on Nov 6, 2016 19:37:53 GMT
Yes, the rider is ahead of a Staff person. That can happen accidently, but when it does a Field rider (in black) must stop turn their horse 90 degrees to the line ridden by the staff and wait for them to pass. This is so the Field rider's horse's butt is never facing a Staff horse.
There is another issue, smaller.
|
|
|
Post by horseguy on Nov 12, 2016 16:44:59 GMT
I have been in a very low energy state lately. I got my hopes up about the new barn and it didn't work out. The people running it are self taught horse people and I probably tried to tell them more than they wanted to know about caring for horses. They leased the farm to live out a dream and I think I woke them up. I have stopped riding there. Too weird. The cat thing has made them very hostile.
I have been thinking about my youth when I was a competition skier. I reached a level of competition that is respectable, qualified for State championships, etc. Won some, lost some. Later in life it became clear that "recreational" skiing was something I couldn't do. Too social, too slow, too boring. I have stuck with riding because it's about the horse for me. Since leaving equestrian competition nearly 20 years ago, I have remained intensely involved in riding because I have found good challenging prospects. I had been looking for one to start at this farm and I was finishing the TB mare for hunting doing terrain work with her that was basic but deemed "too dangerous" by the barn operators, which is wasn't at all. Pretty tame stuff actually.
I am and have been feeling this week that maybe the time has come to do what I did with skiing. I was telling Karen the horse world I loved is essentially gone. The old school Hunt Masters I admired so much are all gone. The so called crazy riders I played polo with are nearly all gone too. The horse world has changed so much as to be unrecognizable to me now. Leaving the farm meant leaving the anachronistic preserve I had created. Now I am in the horse world without a buffer, looking into boarding barns that tend to be run by back yard pretenders or money grubbing show people. I am starting to think there isn't a place for me in this horse world.
Even though I skied for the last time when in my early 30's I kept a pair of skis, poles and boots up until I was cleaning the barn 10 or so years ago. Then I unceremoniously put them in a dumpster feeling that keeping them for 30 years was stupid. I don't want to be stupid about this. I want to be real. I don't have the energy to put up with what I see. Maybe it's time.
My last ride at the barn, maybe my last ride ever, at least on my own horse.
|
|
|
Post by Jlynn on Nov 12, 2016 19:18:26 GMT
Six years ago I retired and moved to a more urban part of Michigan. I was excited because it is an area with a lot of horse farms and the veterinarians and farriers to go with it. I used to haul my horses 40 miles to see a vet and he did mostly cattle - now I have an equine clinic with three vets within 5 miles of me. I also thought it would be easy to find a facility to work at part time. I've always enjoyed cleaning stalls and feeding horses, I can drive a tractor, my schedule is flexible, I don't need the money and I keep my own horses at home, so I wasn't looking to ride in exchange for work. Six years and seven barns (not counting the ones I went to and knew they wouldn't be a good fit) and I saw all sorts of stuff that amazed me - I quit one place because they were feeding moldy hay, and continued after I told them. But this spring I finally found a place. It is a small farm with jumpers owned by a husband and wife who have been riding and showing for years and years and years. When they aren't jumping they are hacking down the dirt roads and around the fields. Everything is clean and functional without being over the top elaborate. There's twenty some year old barn manager who works her tail off and is there to soak up everything she can. I'd bet the farm you are looking for is out there, but they aren't easy to find.
|
|
|
Post by horseguy on Nov 12, 2016 23:22:40 GMT
... Six years and seven barns ... this spring I finally found a place ... I'd bet the farm you are looking for is out there, but they aren't easy to find. Thanks Jlynn for your support. For me it's been 15 months here, 3 barns. I had great difficulty finding a farrier at all, there are no local equine practioner vets. All the equine amenities you describe are either north or south of here. I am in an equestrian Bermuda triangle. Not sure I have the energy anymore to deal with it. Horses have been my life and the loss is great. Hopefully I will get some energy next week and go at it again. "All things must pass."
By the way, in the hunt picture crossing the creek, the figure 8 nose and is totally wrong, but today you see everything and anything. Some are important standards like the no running martingale rule because if a rein catches on a bush or branch when the reins are through running martingale loops, it sends a huge unforeseen rein cue to your horse. Standing martingales are permitted. But you see running martingales even on Staff horses these days.
|
|
|
Post by jlynn on Nov 13, 2016 12:09:33 GMT
I don't know enough about the equipment to know what figure 8 is used for... I can guess it is intended to keep the horse's mouth shut and stop him from evading the bit - but that would be just a guess.
|
|
|
Post by horseguy on Nov 13, 2016 12:57:29 GMT
I don't know enough about the equipment to know what figure 8 is used for... I can guess it is intended to keep the horse's mouth shut and stop him from evading the bit - but that would be just a guess. That's pretty much it, keeping the bit in the correct place in the horse's mouth. Common sense would tell a horseman that a hunt is typically at least two hours long and can go five hours, even longer, so therefore it is cruel to put a device that restrictive on a horse for that long a time. They became popular in the show jumping ring, a very brief competition, then crossed over into eventing where a horse might be out on a cross country course for 15 minutes. They are trendy in my opinion, and to take that trend into a 3,4,5 hour experience for a horse is unkind, unconscious on the part of the rider, in my view, and by rule is incorrect. Nonetheless, here is a hunt picture with a Staff person, who sets the example, on a white horse using a figure 8.
|
|
|
Post by horseguy on Nov 14, 2016 19:54:33 GMT
I'm looking at a barn north of here tomorrow, more in a "horse area" than locally. It will mean more driving but maybe worth it. It's a large mixed discipline place, two indoors, several outdoor arenas, well kept, not amateur, several instructors. The place grew out of western direction. That probably will be good for me, I think. Sorry for not posting on the true Horsemanship part of the forum lately, just low energy around horses.
I did however accidently come across a nice prospect, a Welsh/QH/TB cross (not the one, a mare, I posted about a couple weeks ago). This one is from the same breeder, will be 3 year old in the spring. Great mover, very aware, a little hyper vigilant. Shows a lot of curiosity. I like his conformation, solid and direct, not fancy. I like that kind of mind too, a little edgy but wants to connect. We'll see if I can find a comfortable barn, and if so, maybe buy him and get him started. Life goes on.
|
|
|
Post by rideanotherday on Nov 15, 2016 13:06:31 GMT
I'm looking at a barn north of here tomorrow, more in a "horse area" than locally. It will mean more driving but maybe worth it. It's a large mixed discipline place, two indoors, several outdoor arenas, well kept, not amateur, several instructors. The place grew out of western direction. That probably will be good for me, I think. Sorry for not posting on the true Horsemanship part of the forum lately, just low energy around horses. I did however accidently come across a nice prospect, a Welsh/QH/TB cross (not the one, a mare, I posted about a couple weeks ago). This one is from the same breeder, will be 3 year old in the spring. Great mover, very aware, a little hyper vigilant. Shows a lot of curiosity. I like his conformation, solid and direct, not fancy. I like that kind of mind too, a little edgy but wants to connect. We'll see if I can find a comfortable barn, and if so, maybe buy him and get him started. Life goes on. I wish you luck. The prospect sounds like a fun one.
|
|
|
Post by horseguy on Nov 16, 2016 17:44:09 GMT
I had a good experience meeting the barn operator/trainer at the facility yesterday. It's a huge place with a giant indoor and a smaller insulated indoor. We are in the process of finalizing an agreement. Looks promising.
|
|
|
Post by rideanotherday on Nov 17, 2016 12:50:46 GMT
I had a good experience meeting the barn operator/trainer at the facility yesterday. It's a huge place with a giant indoor and a smaller insulated indoor. We are in the process of finalizing an agreement. Looks promising. Good luck.
|
|
|
Post by horseguy on Nov 19, 2016 18:23:19 GMT
I finalized the agreement at the new barn today. I'm very happy with the arrangement. Looking forward to a winter of riding there.
It's primarily a western facility, 4 outdoor arenas - 1 stone dust, 1 grass, 2 sand, 2 indoor arenas, all good size. Today when I was there a fellow was teaching a kind of reining clinic with one calf, no ropes. I was shocked to see how many riders rode with wide held split reins and threw their horse's heads around trying to work the calf. Primarily long shank leverage bits, the person giving the clinic had a snaffle. My overall take was it seemed a very heavy handed way to ride and control cattle and a little hectic at times.
|
|
|
Post by rideanotherday on Nov 21, 2016 12:07:00 GMT
I finalized the agreement at the new barn today. I'm very happy with the arrangement. Looking forward to a winter of riding there. It's primarily a western facility, 4 outdoor arenas - 1 stone dust, 1 grass, 2 sand, 2 indoor arenas, all good size. Today when I was there a fellow was teaching a kind of reining clinic with one calf, no ropes. I was shocked to see how many riders rode with wide held split reins and threw their horse's heads around trying to work the calf. Primarily long shank leverage bits, the person giving the clinic had a snaffle. My overall take was it seemed a very heavy handed way to ride and control cattle and a little hectic at times. Reined cow horse? Ooohhhh yeah. I've been spoiled with good instructors with cow work. I've been to clinics where people are throwing themselves around. I think it's a product of not really having a good "handle" on their horse and not understanding how cows move and what makes them move. Working cattle can be super fun though.
|
|