Thursday, April 2, 2009

New Stuff/Hobbled Grazing

UPS left Arabee's new girth on my front porch today. Can't wait to try it out.

I hope riding tonight won't push her too fast. There are little tiny hairs beginning to grow back on her bare patches, and the skin looks pretty normal. It doesn't look like it's "peeling" anymore, like a sunburn the way it used to - now it looks just sort of flaky, but mostly normal. I'll at least go out and try the saddle and girth on to see how it looks, adjust the breastcollar since the girth doesn't have a D-ring, and what have you. Whether I actually ride or not will depend on both the mare's skin and the weather - rain is forecasted.

Those of you who've dealt with girth chafing problems before - how do you know when it's safe to try riding again??

I also ordered a helmet - a Tipperary. The helmet I'd been wearing was near 10 years old, and had never been very comfortable. It always dug into my forehead, and had started to give me headaches if I wore it for very long (like more than 2 hours). I decided that if distance is the sport of choice, then a comfier helmet was necessary. I really like the Tipperary - I wore it while making macaroni and cheese right after it arrived! Hopefully I get to ride in it today. I had my husband try it on - and he said it didn't feel like he was wearing a helmet, more like wearing a hat. Pretty accurate. But then, my old helmet may have just been that poor of a fit!

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Yesterday, 29 year old Jack (my first horse) learned a new trick. I taught him how to stand hobbled, and he acted as if he'd done it all his life. First I used the lead rope around one foreleg at a time to move it around, then used the rope as hobbles, and when he'd proven that didn't phase him and that he understood giving to the pressure - I hobbled him up in the grassy yard. He GREATLY enjoyed this, and will likely begin having grazing sessions like this much more frequently.

Arabee is sure she got the raw end of that deal. Not only did she have to stay in the paddock by herself, but she also had to endure watching that gelding eat grass and get groomed while she whinnied and bucked and snorted to no avail! After Jack had proven he was comfortable with the hobbles, she got some exercise. What I'd hoped was to sort of free-longe her in the paddock, what I got was a tail-over-the-back prancey trot, occassional leaps over muddy spots, and a way way too out-of-breath horse. I should have known better since she was so indignant that Jack got priveledges she didn't, but I think she quite enjoyed herself (and I enjoyed watching her!).

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What kind of girth did you get? I'm not sure about when to start riding her. Did you put palm pressure on that area to see if she would show some kind of discomfort?

Michelle Detmer

All Who Wander said...

Nicole,

Let me know how the girth works out. I have to decide tomorrow what I'm doing as far as where I'm riding. A group is getting together at Brown County so that is a possibility as well.

Jacke

Lei said...

What girth did you get?

I'm thinking of getting a Tipperary. I have an IRH Equi-Vent right now that's less than 4 years old, but I kind of think it sits wrong on my head. I like the low profile of the Tipperary.

Nicole said...

I've now posted pictures of the girth, but I got it from Trumbull Mtn. Saddle Shop, it is actually made by Thorowgood (same brand as my saddle) called an Ovation Airoform Dressage.

Here's the link to the maker's site (it's the Canadian link - the US link doesn't give much info)

http://www.thorowgood.com/canada/accessories/girths.htm\

I really like it so far, seems like it should work well for us, but haven't ridden in it yet.