Anyone Own Horses?

[hunter185]

You guys touched on something too. Horse ownership is a way of life for me rather than a hobby. I couldn't / wouldn't live without mine either. But even with 5 horses I don't find it that expensive, although hay is fairly cheap compared to some places I've heard - I'm paying $45 for good alfalfa round bales that keep the 5 of them fed for 10 days. I do my own trimming, vaccinations etc. The only other expenses are vet bills, which thankfully are rare, but in any event are way way cheaper than small animal vet costs (in this country, anyways!). If you're just getting into horses theres a bunch of fixed costs:saddles, bits and bridles and whatever misc tack you need, trailer - but those are one time costs for the most part. That takes care of ownership. What I spend on top of that is for activities...gas in the truck to haul to the mountains, entry fees for events,,,beer and pipe tobacco for a camping weekend ha ha!

 

[guitarguy86]

I've never owned horses, but I rode one on the beach in Mexico years ago, and my grandpa owned a ranch with horses before he started fading away.

 

[hunter185]

Sdcowboy, how did hocky games go? New Years we usually do a big get together with some friends that drive. One f them has a covered wagon with a wood stove in it, which seems to be popular! I bring a couple of horses and tow the kids around on sleds. Lots of food and fun. The weather around here is like rolling dice and the forecasts are out to lunch (typical mountain weather). But there is a warming trend this week...fingers crossed!
Yep, I just wrote a little article about riding bareback. Was reminiscing with some friends the other day about one of our (dare I say it - alcohol induced) adventures. Well after midnight, middle of the winter, racing around in a few feet of snow through the trees. I got off my 'borrowed' horse to drain out some beer and the snotty mare took off on me. We found her the next day. So had to double back with a friend on her horse - bareback of course. Her horse was a stud and a green one. But he put up with all our antics - I came off him 8 times on the way home, no fault of his. Bred my mare to that stud - he had such a cool head.
I've yet to try smoking a pipe and riding bareback though...will save that for a warmer day! That's one way to put proper seat and balance to the test.
What year is your F350? I got a programmer for mine to cut the costs down. Was just underneath it yesterday trying to figure out why the block heater wasn't working. They ran the cord right by one of the belts, and it basically cut the cord in half. Did the best patch job I could with freezing fingers, but at least it's working.
Well...almost 5AM...not going to get to sleep...bright moon out there...very tempting to go for a ride. IF it wasn't or the -30 part.

 

[sdcowboy]

Well Hunter, the hockey games didn't go very well. This is my son's first year on the varsity team. He is a sophomore, so he is one of the younger guys on the team. Because of that he plays both Junior Varsity and Varsity. This means on any given weekend he plays five games (2 jv and 3 varsity). His team has now played the two top teams in the state in the last three weeks. I expect our guys to be seeded fourth by the time the state tournament rolls around in March. So far, they have a record of 2 wins and 7 losses. They lost all of their games to the two top teams so far. That's okay. They are young, but talented. They get better every week. I think this team will definitely be favored to win the state championship when my son is a junior and a senior.
Your New Year activity sounds like a blast. It sounds like some skijoring is in your immediate future. We had a decent amount of snow over the last couple of days. It has been VERY cold as well. Next weekend the temps should be back in the 40's, so maybe I can get out and ride.
I enjoyed your story about bareback riding. Riding double bareback can be a real challenge when you're riding on the rear. Maybe its my control issues, but I'd rather be the driver!
My F350 is a 2005 with the 6.0 diesel. That is the motor that has a pretty bad rap. I haven't had any real problems with it other than an occasional FICM issue. Mine isn't under warranty anymore, so I bear the cost of all repairs now. The good news is that it is paid for! With the -30 temps it is good for you that you fixed your block heater. I don't have one on mine. I keep plenty of Howe's diesel additive on hand this time of year to prevent fuel gelling. I've had mine gel up a couple of times, so I don't want that to happen again.
How much is diesel in Alberta? Right now it has come down to $3.63 per gallon (roughly $.90 per litre). We have been as high as $4.59 per gallon, so this is welcome. It appears that fuel is on a significant downward trend right now. I've read that North America is now energy self sufficient, so that might have a lot do do with it.
Merry Christmas!

 

[sdcowboy]

Guitar Guy,
If you think you're interested, try leasing a horse for a while. It will help you to get your feet wet to see if it is something you enjoy.

 

[sdcowboy]

Madmurdoc,
How steep is your uphill forest? If you don't mind feeding hay, you don't really need to have pasture. If you have a fenced area on your property for them to get some exercise, you could just put out a round bale feeder. You might think that they'll do nothing except eat, but they won't overeat. Once they realize that the hay is there all the time, they will cut down and only eat when they are hungry.
If you already live in the forest, you have a great area to ride and enjoy horses.

 

[hunter185]

SDCowboy, 5 games a weekend must keep him pretty busy! The skijoring is a blast. I was unable (at -27C) to convince anyone to go for a ride though...I'll have to see what I can rig up so I can be on skis and drive a horse. Something stupid that I haven't tried yet!
Diesel here is about $4.16/gal. It's been up and down a lot over the last few months. Right now it's more expensive than gas by about $.01/l. Oh well. I had to start it a couple years ago at -38C and it hadn't been plugged in. No problems but I hate hearing it whine!
You guys must have some winter ride & drive activities out there?

 

[hunter185]

I have a friend that used to own 10 acres on the side of a forested hill. She didn't have a shelter because she was on the downwind side of the hill and the trees offered cover for the horses. She did what SDcowboy suggested - just put in a round bale and let them go for it. They grazed a bit in the summer, but not really enough pasture for them to get more than a couple of months out of it. I'm just looking at moving to a 20ac spot with great pasture. Right now I have them on round bales from mid-October to June and I just throw it over the fence.

 

[hunter185]

Any of you get any good riding in over the holidays? Like pulling the kids on the toboggan at breakneck speeds? New Years we do an annual event where everyone shows up with their horses and wagons. One guy has a covered wagon with a wood stove in it...kind of popular on a cold day! Here's a shot of me towing a guy on an inner tube:

 

[sdcowboy]

Nice photo Hunter. That looks like a lot of fun. Of course I'd rather be on the horse. It looks a little safer. I got out yesterday and spent 4 hours in the saddle and got them all rode. The weather was great (35 degrees, sunny, and no wind)...perfect weather to ride and enjoy a pipe. Actually I had three bowls-one for each horse. I mixed it up a bit and had two bowls of Frog Morton on the Town with a bowl of Town Topic in between.
Today the weather wasn't nearly as good. It was sunny, but the wind was blowing from the north at 20 miles per hour. Not good pipe weather! With the chill in the air I decided to ride bareback. With the right layers of clothing cold weather riding is just fine. The warmth of the horse helps as well. The footing was great because even with snow on the ground it wasn't icy. It also helps to ride on gravel roads.
Hopefully we get some more warm days this week. I like to keep the ponies in shape, and you'll never find a better way to enjoy a pipe than from the back of a horse.

 

[crpntr1]

Did a little colt working today at a friends place..I've had the flu all thru the holidays

 

[Perique]

I did some holiday riding and working games with the youngin' (7 year old Tasha). The older mares seemed happy for the attention. Starting to get cold now so getting into round bale season (even in the South). But seems plenty of locals selling rounds on the cheap. Picking up local fescue rounds for $20. You western guys may thing 20 degree nights are nothing , but they're cold for our girls down in Dixie! We even have blankets out.
On that note, however, we're looking at property in Montana. So I suppose the girls need to work on their cold hardiness! I've always been a believer in you can take 'em west but you can't take 'em east.

 

[hunter185]

Winter is a crappy time to try the 'pipe from the back of a horse' thing around here. I'm looking forward to spring already so I can try that on a trail out in the hills. Whenever it's warm here it's windy during the winter, which like you say, is not great pipe weather. Although I did duck between the horse trailers for a bowl of Three Blind Moose - the last of the package! At least I could watch the horses from there. Another purchase hopefully showing up this week. What's your pipe of choice for riding?
I rode a couple horses bareback today too. And Chris, I'm battling a cold/flu thing too. It started Christmas eve. So I'm trying to take it a little bit easy. Seems like every second person I talk to has it. Apparently there was a 4 hour wait in emergency at the hospital here for people going to get checked out. I'll just take some cold medicine and go ride a horse. Was that your colt you were working with or your friends?
Sothron- that's funny! When the forecast looks like it's going to be below -5F for a while, I think about getting blankets out! It's all what they (and us) get used to. Mine all have really good thick winter coats. I'm not that far from the Montana border though...so get your woolies out ha ha! If you end up in Montana, let me know - we can organize a pipesmagazine trail ride! Have wanted to do some more riding down there.

 

[crpntr1]

@hunter it's my friends, my horses pasture with his and have for many years so we both work with each others pretty regularly

 

[sdcowboy]

Seeing the picture of Hunter doing the skijoring gave me an idea. I'd like to see photos of your horses. I'll post a few of mine here.
This is my big Palomino, Samson. We are crossing a deep stream up in the high country of the Black Hills. I'm demonstrating the proper technique of keeping your feet dry. A tall horse helps!

This is my paint, Dillon. We are climbing Harney Peak here on this past 4th of July. This is the highest mountain east of the Rockies, and it is only 20 miles from my house.

The final picture is my old rope horse, Gunner. I'm working our Freisian colt, Dierck, from horseback. Gunner is a seasoned rope/ranch horse who knows what to do when we're gentling a colt.

How about it? Do you guys have any photos to share?

 

[dunringill]

Beautiful Horses. Love the Palomino. My Grandmother used to raise Palominos when I was little. My sisters used to think it was fun to drop me on the back of the young ones that had never been ridden. It is amazing I survived my childhood. lol

 

[hunter185]

Hey nice horses! And awesome that you have riding like that, that close to your house! Jealous...
Ok, you might regret starting the picture suggestion LOL - Chris if you're reading this lets see some of yours too! I have thousands of pictures but tried to pick a few recent ones that have a bit of meaning. The pic a few posts back is my thoroughbred mare, Belle. She sets the bar for the rest of my horses.
I got bit by the Palomino bug too. Actually this guy was a rescue. Here is a picture of his first real ride - which we did in the mountains. He was a little apprehensive, but after about an hour it was like I'd been riding him for years in the hills.

This is about 4 hours after my colt was born. Belle wouldn't let anyone else near the pasture - I like this shot because it really shows what kind of trust we have. The colt is doing great (2 1/2 now) and putting rides on him.

This is from last month. I got this horse as a 5 year old, untouched, from outfitters that I worked for. He's smart, very athletic, but overthinks everything. Training him has been work. We recently started from square one again, with a different approach and it worked. This is a horse that will come up and sleep beside me when I'm sleeping under the stars out in the mountains (we usually let most of them graze). He's worth the effort.

3 1/2 years ago the black horse, Ty, broke his neck. He's 19 this year, and I've got a lot of effort into rehabilitation. This picture was his first mountain ride after the injury. It took about a year and a half before I was even able to get on his back again.

 

[sdcowboy]

Beautiful Horses. Love the Palomino. My Grandmother used to raise Palominos when I was little. My sisters used to think it was fun to drop me on the back of the young ones that had never been ridden. It is amazing I survived my childhood. lol

@dunringill
Wow, you were breaking horses without even knowing it! Do you still ride?

 

[sdcowboy]

Hunter,

Hey nice horses! And awesome that you have riding like that, that close to your house! Jealous...

It looks like you have some nice country to ride in up there as well! I really like the mountain shot with Ty. It looks like a tourism brochure!
I like the bareback shot. I've heard that women can ride bareback a lot easier than men because they have a lower center of gravity. I know that on some horses it takes a great deal of concentration to stay on when I ride bareback.
Yesterday was another one of those perfect days for riding. Temperature was in the mid 30's with plenty of sun and no wind. I spent a nice day getting all of them ridden. The snow was getting sticky, so I had some snowballs in the hooves to deal with. I let them get out and run a little bit.
Being that the wind was calm I enjoyed a couple bowls while riding.
How was your event yesterday?

 

[dunringill]

@sdcowboy
I don't know if I was breaking them, I think they broke me a couple of times. lol. I know my sisters got a laugh out of it every time. I haven't been on a horse since the early 80's. Right around the time I got married and had a son..... hmmm? Which is a shame, because I used to love to ride. You know life happens and you get busy.