Equine Therapy

[Gloria]

Western horses do what's called the jog. It isn't a trot but more like a slow trot and is very easy to sit to. Karma was extensively trained in English so it took a while to teach him to do the jog. All my horses ride English or Western but just hate posting so much. I just hate it. I can sit to any horse's trot and just don't do it. I went to Ireland to take advanced riding lesson under an arrogant Olympic medalist. He got so mad at me for always sitting to the trot that he made me ride the entire rest of the time without stirrups - which was fine with me because I have very long legs and I rarely need stirrups to stay in the saddle. I have always been criticized for riding with my stirrups too long but for me bareback is the best. I actually feel safer riding bareback since I saw a woman get killed because her foot was caught in the stirrup and she got dragged and her skull crashed. NOW, I ride with zippered paddock boots and never zipper them so they will slip off if I fall.

Junebug, if you come visit me, you will cantering on Karma first lesson. It's easy to ride Western/Australian. On Australian saddles, they have (I forget what they are called) but they have fenders on the saddle to hold you down. I also give you suede chaps to wear so you won't slip as much. With Western, you steer with only one hand so I have my students hold on to the saddle horn with the other. The only person that ever got injured or fell off is me. I fall off when I ride bareback all the time but it is just kind of slipping off and landing on my feet. I ride Rosie bareback with just a string from the hay bales on the botton of her halter. She will do side passes and turn 360 degrees in a 6X6 space and do whatever I tell her to do. However, when I put the saddle on, she acts like a brat and stomps her feet and shakes her head and wants to gallop until she drops.

I'm so happy. I'm power washing and steam cleaning the inside of my barn. I got all the things that I am going to sell sorted and priced and out of the barn. It never smells bad in my barn but it will sparkle after today. That's what I dreamed of as a little girl. I took a class on quantum physics which can't be explained in under a day. But this is one of my favorite sayings "If you think you can do something you might but if you don't think you can do something, it can never happen". All my life, I just kept wishing and hoping and working toward this farm. Yesterday, finished fixing the cupola with the horse weather van on top. My farm is turning into my Disney Land - so clean and so fun.

 

[Deleted member 6617]

I ride aussie too. It is so comfortable! I do ride western sometimes too. Just depends on the horse and what saddle fits what horse. Saddle fit is so important so you don't hurt their backs and for the freedom of movement. I hate seeing horses with the white patches on their withers that show that they have a poor fitting saddle and are being hurt by pressure points. Drives me crazy! Hate causing them pain. Riding should be as enjoyable for them as it is for us.

LOL...I have tried to ride English on several occasions. I am not good at it at all. My legs are soooooo short I never could get a seat. I used to do endurance riding and we would ride for hours in a two point position. No posting, just basically standing in the stirrups and using your legs as springs staying off thier back. Oh man did I love doing the endurance riding. Got too expensive for me to keep it up though. Someday I would love to go back to it. Someday!

Yes Anni...it is awesome land and they are very hardy. Some of them reach 15H. Most of them are probably closer to 14.3 or so. They are not tall, but man are they hardy and for the most part in really good shape. If you look close enough though you can see all the battle scars on the stallions. Yes, some are true black and absolutely beautiful. Some of the herds in other parts of Oregon are even paints. This is a fairly small herd that stays around 40 horses in the entire area with the families breaking up into groups of a dozen or so. The most thrilling thing I ever saw was two stalliions going at it. OMG....they are vicious. It was thrilling and scary at the same time. A very rare thing to actually witness. I am getting goose bumps just thinking about it. It is in one of the pictures I posted.

Love this thread! Thanks Gloria for starting it. This is my gelding Kie. He is the one I had to sell...loved him!

 

[anni]

Oh, I think it's what one is used to. I look like an idiot riding Western- you'd laugh your backside off because it really, really is funny. I'm just not used to that kind of long leg in that place and keep getting left behind- it's hysterical. Plus the saddles are wider and am just not used to that for sitting trot, besides which I'm lazy these days and posting is easier. Hee- you folks have alllll my respect, sitting so well for hours with that jog. 2-point is my favorite also, though and probably why cross counrty is such a blast sometimes, you know?

TRUE blacks- ah. The pics looked that way so was hoping!!!!! Sigh. Am in heaven now, thank you!! I thought they looked possibly 15- maybe shorter so cool. I don't care what anyone says they look very well put together to me-I've ridden T-breds who couldn't get outa their own way, you know? Like terminal 12 year old kids or something, just could never quite get it all together to get everything moving at once well. These guys look like something you could take anywhere- it would be interesting to track some and see who has done what with them, wouldn't it? I have a 'thing' about chests, also necks-also horsey backsides :). They just fit together the way I like, that's all. Do you guys find they need to be adopted at least in pairs, since they've got the whole herd thing? I can't imagine they'd do well as a solitary horse, but I never like to see that anyway- horses are such social beasties. I'm not too surprised to hear there's real paints, either-seems right. It's a little annoying to see these official paint societies, where the registries require 'xyz' to allow the animal 'in', and some lines cost a zillion dollars. They started out THERE- if any horse deserves the papers, it's the dam Mustangs, for heaven's sake. The others have other breeds carefully introduced to keep the markings but make them 'prettier'- can't remember what but they're not pure any more, just exepnsive.

Rambling when I seriously need to get a million things done- I knew would love it and regret it coming to this thread!!! I'm not sorry though and thanks SOOOO much for answering the questions! Yes, great thread although Gloria, saw 'Equine' and looked around for my college prof- he was grumpy. :) Hee- always connect that with the horse skull he had on his desk- who DOES that? Yes, I realize he was teaching us 'science' but still- we also loved horses and I kept getting distracted in class wondering who the horse was.

Another picture I can maybe swipe? :) Just asking......

xo

Anni

 

[scott_1971_h]

For me, it's dogs. I have rescued several abused dogs :-) A bit of sublimation therapy.
Scott