A crazy day

I spent yesterday running all over the show trying to get a myriad of stuff done. The farrier was coming at 8.30am so it meant I had to be out of the house by 7.30am. I have to take the motorway to get to the club and the roads that lead up to the motorway get jammed by motorists heading into the city for work. Thankfully I'm heading the opposite way so once I'm onto the motorway itself its free flowing. The District Camp started yesterday which meant there was heaps of people arriving with their massive trucks and floats. My friend S, arrived just as I bought Jack down from his paddock. She was heading off to a Games camp. Since it was only 8am I walked up to get Brandy, her games pony, from his paddock. We doubled him back which had us in fits of giggles everytime we trotted.

D, the farrier, was nice and early as usual (he is soo good compared to all the other farriers I've had). Jack was getting stud holes put into his shoes. I like the way that D does his stud holes. Instead of drilling the holes in to the shoe, he heats the shoes and puts his special stud stick thing in which pushes the hot metal back into the shoe making them stronger. Jack was being a right pain the whole time D was working with him. He was way too interested in all the things going on around him and wouldn't keep his dam legs still. This wasn't good when D was dealing with boiling hot metal shoes. D was sweating hard by the time he was finished. I really like D, he actually cares about the horse and remembers things about them. Last time he came to shoe, Jack was obese. This time Jack has trimmed down a lot and D noticed and congratulated me on it. It is actually quite hard to manage the weight of all the horses at the Club. The grass is lush and rich and the horses pack on the pounds easily. Most everyone wants to get their horses and ponies put in the fatties herd but there is no room left there. Being a hack, Jack gets put in the bigger paddocks with the richest grass. Currently he is only getting a small feed daily and thats only because he needs to get electrolytes. Otherwise I wouldn't need to feed him at all. D also takes the time to talk to you and to explain what he is doing with your horse. Past farriers just grunt at you when you asked questions. I'm going to miss D as a farrier when I move to Palmerston North but he said he would get me the name of a good farrier to carry on with Jack!

Then it was off to another appointment I had way back over by my house. I was at the appointment for a grand total of 10 minutes and was told I need to come back tomorrow. Seeing as I had some free time that I hadn't anticipated I went to the library and stocked up on heaps of different non-fiction books and also some Audio Books (which I have only recently discovered and are loving). I still had some un-anticipated free time so I went home and washed all the dishes that I hadn't had time for last night and got some lunch.

Then it was back on the road. I had to head up to the feed place to get some electrolytes, molasses and a couple of other things. On the way back I bought some delicious fresh fruit. Then it was back to Jack. The vet was coming to give him another Strangles shot and I needed to put Jack's keepers in his stud holes since I didn't have time to do them earlier. He was a little ass when I was screwing in the keepers, but he was being plagued by flies so who can blame him. I skipped the ride since it was so hot and headed home.

I pretty much lazed at home the rest of the night. The house was a bit of a mess but I couldn't be bothered cleaning up. I've been flat tack the last few days running around the city so I decided that tomorrow would be basically a day at home. I still had to go ride Jack but I wasn't going anywhere else.

Using Studs on your Horse: Part III

Part I
Part II

There are heaps of different studs around and each of these studs are made for different conditions. Below are a number of the more basic studs that are avaliable.

Stud Keepers

Keepers are designed to keep the stud hole clean and undamaged when the horse is turned out in the paddock or in the stable. There are three main types of keepers avaliable in New Zealand (as always there are more avaliable overseas). Metal keepers (Pictured), Rubber Stoppers, and Stromsholm Keepers. I prefer the metal keepers as they are simple to take in and out. Rubber plugs need to be pried out with something sharp and Stromsholm Keepers use Alan Keys to get them in and out. Some people also prefer to plug the hole with cotton wool.

Road Studs
Road studs are usually used on roads or on very hard ground. Road studs can be used on the front or back and on the inside and outside of the shoe. Generally road studs are the best studs to use on the inside of the shoe as they are blunter then other studs and are less likely to cause damage if the horse should stand on itself.


Grass Studs
Grass studs are avaliable in a few different sizes. Grass studs are longer and generally narrower than road studs so they can dig into hard, dry ground. Contrary to the name they don't have to be used everytime you ride on grass, road studs can be used too. Grass studs should be used the when the ground dries up and gets hard, which can cause your horse to slide on the slick grass. They can also be used when it has rained on hard ground, causing the surface of the ground to be really slippery.

Mud Studs

Mud studs are used for very wet and soft riding conditions where deep traction is needed. Some mud studs are called Olympic Studs and these are used for extremely slippery ground. Generally, small mud studs are used in the front shoes and slightly longer mud studs are used in the back shoes when conditions are wet and slippery.

When the bowl is not microwave safe

It SAYS it's microve safe! But I stuck the dish cloth around handle and "HOLY CRAP!!" it burst into flames! I quickly smothered them. Now I have to explain this to my parents haha.

Into the Wild

Waiting to head off

We went for our first ride in the forest today and it was awesome! S took her eventer Rocky and I of course was riding Jack. This was the first trip away from Pony Club since I got Jack and in truth I expected him to act a bit crazy. His previous owners told me that he was a great floater but since I hadn't floated him before I was a bit aprehensive. Well Jack proved me wrong by walking straight onto the float after Rocky! Yay! No bum ropes, whips or natural horsemanship required.

Woodhill Forest is situated a nice 20 minutes from our Pony Club. A Equestrian Park has been established there and has a lot of a great trails to ride on. Endurance Races are held in the forest and there is a campsite that is open to hire. Our pony club camps there every Easter which is a lot of fun. Right next to Woodhill Forest is Muriwai Beach and is accesible on horse back which means if you have enough time to get out there, you can go for awesome gallops along the beach.

The carpark was filling up fast when we arrived. Horses of all shapes and sizes with all sorts of riders were being tacked up and ridden out into the forest. When Jack came off the float I noticed that his tail bandage was no longer on his tail. He had given his tail a good rub on the bum bar and the tail was sticking up in all places. When I looked into the float, the tail bandage wasn't there either. Somehow he must have flicked it out the back of the float in transit. Can't say thats ever happend to me before.

Again I expected Jack to act crazy after coming off the float since it was his first time away from the club in quite a few months. Again Jack proved me wrong. He was as cool as cucumber and was no more fidgety then his normal self. We tacked up and headed off into the forest.

Tacked up and ready to go

And again I expected Jack to be a bit crazy, but again he suprised me. Are we seeing a pattern here? Man I love that horse. Both the horses were calm and we rode happily along at the buckle. The trails are marked with posts with either a green or orange horse on it. Green is going away from the carpark and Orange is coming back to the carpark. We didn't have enough time to make it out to the beach and back so we just meandered in the forest. Its quite hard to get lost in the forest but it can be done (I know because I've done it before). We stayed on the marked trails keeping mostly at a walk. The footing is really deep sand in most parts and hard on the horses legs. Most of the trails were only wide enough for one horse and Rocky liked being in the lead. But Jack was never far behind, he face planted into Rocky's butt a few times :). We found a wider trail that had good footing and was big enough for both of us and went for a good gallop along it. Jack came straight back to a trot when I asked him. Man I love this horse! There were also some great logs set up as "natural jumps" along the trails so we had fun jumping those.

S, Rocky and Jack (S has a very strange smile here haha)

Both the horses were very brave, they both had a couple of spooks at horse eating logs and bushes but were generally well behaved. Rocky actually spooked when he heard the noise of Jack's poop hitting the ground. It was halerious.

Since S's parents were waiting back at the carpark for us we headed back just after an hour. It seemed way longer then that though and we covered a lot of ground in that time. Both the boys were super sweaty so we sponged them down before booting them up and heading back to club. We found my tail bandage in the middle of the road on the way back haha.

S grabbed her pony and we gave the 3 boys a bath when we were back (this was after S and I raced each other to the bathrooms. We drank a lot of water on the ride). After the baths we let them graze on the lush green grass by the pens.

"Munch, Munch"

After a few photos the boys were fed and put back in their paddocks.

It is hard to get two horses to stand nicely when there is
lots of nice grass right under their noses.

I headed home to do housework and clean the outside and inside of my car. I don't know about the rest of you but my car gets fithly, dirty when I have my horse stuff in there. It really annoys me!

Mr "Don't Call Me Crazy" and me
(perhaps I'm a tad more crazy then him)

Anyway, it was amazing day and it really showed me how much more Jack trusts me. He keeps revealing little bits of how great he is going to be one day! I think I am in love :)

Using Studs on your Horse: Part II

Part I
Part III

Like everything else horse related, using studs on a horse involves a plethora of gear if your going to do it correctly and safely. Listed are the basic items you need.


A Selection of Studs

A selection of studs are needed for different conditions that may be ridden on. Different shapes and sizes are avaliable and need to be used correctly to avoid injury. More on this later.








A Tool Box

Containing:

1. A couple of different size wrenches. Used to loosen and tighten studs when putting them in and taking them out.

2. A "Tap". This is used to clean and re-thread the holes in the shoe so the stud screws in correctly. A tap doesn't need to be used if you keep "keepers" in the stud holes when they aren't being used.

3. A stud hole cleaner. As the name says it is used to clean the stud hole. Again, it doesn't need to be used if a "keeper" is kept in the stud holes.



Protective Boots

This is a must as mentioned in Using Studs on Your Horse: Part I horses can easily stand on themselves and cause great damage to their legs. JJ mentioned this story in my comments which shows exactly what can happen if a horse has been studded with no boots, and trailered with them in:

"I don't use studs, but I know a girl who left her trainer's horse's studs on while they trailered him to a show. The show was only twenty minutes away, so I guess they assumed that he would be all right. When they got to the show his legs were pretty much torn up. The vet said put him down. He ended up recovering a few (long and painful) months later, but never enough to go back to work. I agree that boots (for the horse) are ABSOLUTELY necessary. If it kicked itself just a bit, it could tear its leg up"



A Stud Girth

The stud girth is used instead of a normal girth and is used to protect the horses chest from being pierced by the studs when jumping.

Usually made out of a tough leather, the stud girth is a must for any horse wearing studs. Another option is to buy a stud guard that slides onto a normal girth, this is often the cheaper
option but works just as well.



Lubricant

There are lots of different brands that can be used for this . This keeps the studs in good condition and will keep them usable for longer. Cleaning studs after using them is a good idea.

Have you got something else that is great when it comes to studs? Tell us.

Part III: What studs to use where?

Using Studs on your Horse: Part I

Part II
Part III

Up until recently I haven't seen the need to use studs on my horses. Intro eventing doesn't involve much technicality or speed as the higher levels and so horses can be ridden on most surfaces without too much trouble. But as I start moving up I see more and more that studs would be useful for bad grounds, especially after a number of other riders have chewed up the ground on the course before me. In this series we will learn all we need to know about using studs on a horse.

Studs (or caulks) are small metal devices that are screwed into specially made shoes. The studs grip into the ground to give better traction on muddy, slippery or hard ground.

Basic Rules for Using Studs:

1. Always wear strong, covered footwear when using studs on a horse. You know how much it hurts when a horse stands on your foot without studs, imagine having a stud stabbed through your foot.

2. Always use small, blunt studs on the inside of the shoe. A horse can easily stand on itself and large pointed studs can rip the leg up pretty badly.

3. Horses must wear protective boots when wearing studs. As above, a horse standing on itself with studs in, is not pretty.

4. Put the studs in just before you ride and take them out as soon as you are finished.

5. Use the smallest stud possible for the job. While slipping can be dangerous, a little bit of slipping is better then jarring your horses legs with over large studs.

6. If your horse kicks other horses, or humans you need to limit the time a horse has studs in greatly. Studs may not be an option for you.

7. Never travel, turn your horse out, or stable your horse with studs in.

8. Be sensible and don't use studs if your horse is lame.

Do any of you use studs on your horses? What other rules do you consider are a must to know?

Tomorrow: The Basic Tools and Gear needed for using studs.

Cross Country Lesson

Jack suprised me today by behaving nicely for the lesson today, even though he had the past couple of days off due to New Years. Sue, who helped me a lot with Red, was my instructor.We started off the lesson by doing lots of transitions. First it was 8 strides of trot, then halt and repeat. Then 4 strides of trot, 4 of walk. Then 8 of canter, 8 of walk etc. She wanted him to get much softer in his transitions and soon she had me try getting downward transitions by breathing out and not using the reins. It took him about a minute to grasp what I wanted but he was soon doing it perfectly. He is a very, very sensitive horse and responds beautifully to the lightest aids.

We started off small and went bigger. I had my faithful dad following me around with the camera and part way through the lesson my mum and "auntie" arrived to watch.

It seems that Jack hates having his head interferred with from about 5 strides out of the jump and 3 strides after. As soon as I let him have "his strides" and sung to both of us to keep an even rythm he jumped very nicely. No galloping away after the jumps and no head tossing.

Sue had us jump a ditch during the lesson. I've jumped a couple of ditches before when I was living in Taumarunui but I really don't know much about them. Jack refused the first time but on the second time he jumped it. Really, really big. Even though it was a massive jump I felt really secure and not at all un-balanced... Thank you Red! Sue told me to stay sitting up over the jump, that I don't need to lean forward for it. It looks like I didn't listen to her very well if the photos are any indication. (Click to see the bigger version)

Next it was onto the Water Jump. We all remember my unfortunate incident with the water last time. He jumped into the water like a star and would canter through the water as fast as he could. The cool water refreashed us both I think. One time when we jumped into the water he cantered straight towards a massive bank. I don't know what he wanted to do but I pushed him the other way at the last minute and my knee was almost taken out on a wooden post.

After schooling a few more jumps we stuck most of them together for a course. Jack was a star and jumped everything without looking twice.

I don't know if you noticed but I've got some mean man muscles coming through on my arms. Which shows especially on this photo. They are getting pretty big haha.

We finished off the lesson there since it was our first Cross Country Schooling together. I learnt a lot about Jack in this lesson. Sue really likes Jack which helps a lot. She says he has "unlimited potential" which is very encouraging.

There is an ODE on the 1st of February and I think I will compete at Pre-Training lesson. Hopefully I can fit one more Cross Country lesson in and then we should be good to go.