Since Fiz had already been out all morning the last snow day, he wasn’t so interested in playing. This time however, he had been in his stall all night. We have been having some really cold weather, so he’s had to stay in a little more often than I think he would prefer. He got out in the fresh snow and played and played. It was so much fun to watch and photograph! See the pictures and short video below. 🙂
I am convinced that Fizzy is the poster child for spoiled rotten. He has had a great Christmas. He’s gotten lots of nice new tack to wear, and he looks so handsome in it. He got a new german martingale, a new work bridle, a new show bridle, and new bits. I just wanted to share a few pictures of him wearing his new things. I don’t yet have pictures of him in all of the things, so I will update this post later with pictures of him wearing all of his new things. So, here is Fiz modeling his new work bridle and then below that, his new show bridle and show bits. Excuse the poor picture quality, they came off my cell phone. Even though he looks like a wooly mammoth instead of a refined saddlebred, you can still see that he sports his new gear quite well!
As a warning, this is a little off topic from any happenings with Twisted Sisters or our horse, but it does share relevance to the overall scheme of our endeavors. From time to time, I might share with you some things I come across that baffle me, shock me, or things I might struggle to understand. This leaves a wide variety of topics open for discussion, and this is one of those times.
As part of the AOT world now (Amateur Owner Trainer for those unfamiliar with the acronym), I look at a wide variety of things online and I know Cindy does too. I stalk forums and tack swap sites and I look for advice from those more experienced than myself. I am not too proud to ask for help and I am not above gathering tips from other experienced horse people. Gathering as much information and knowledge as we can will only aide our success with Fizzy. However, every now and again, I run across something that just blows my mind! Today was one of those days.
Now, if you have read my background, you know that I have been around horses essentially all my life. I have seen a lot and done a lot, and I would never, EVER take on this challenge of AOT if I didn’t feel educated and capable enough to handle it. I know that Cindy feels the same way. She and I both have a great deal of experience working with horses, so I feel comfortable and confident that we will be successful. I would never subject Fizzy to the kind of incompetence that some people subject their poor horses to. You know when you hear people say there is no such thing as a stupid question? Well, those people are wrong. There is, in fact, such a thing as a stupid question and here it is:
SERIOUSLY? If you need to ASK what type of bit would be good to START a horse, maybe you should consider seeking professional help. Nix that, you SHOULD, by all means, seek professional help. Not only for the safety and well being of your horse but for yours as well. And by God, if you are unsure what a snaffle bit is, then I would venture to say you need a LOT of professional help before you should be working with horses on your own. Do yourself a favor, and take the time to educate yourself and learn from experienced horse people as the rest of us have done.
This isn’t to discourage anyone from trying to learn. I encourage everyone who is willing to love horses and learn the sport, but, let’s face the facts here people. If you can’t identify even the most basic equipment, It’s probably not likely that you’ll be successful in trying to “start to train” a horse by yourself. You will ruin your horse, you will ruin your love for them, and your desire to ride. You will ruin your chance to be a part of something amazing, something fulfilling, something incredible. Do yourself a favor and find a trustworthy trainer and allow them to help you learn, have good experiences, and enjoy your horse the way you are supposed to.
We got an ice/snow storm on 12/6/13. Unlike normal places where snow comes every year, this place acts like it’s some kind of newfangled thing that has never happened before in the existence of earth, and the entire area just shuts down like it is some kind of snowpocalypse. Not us, not Fiz, no… we would not be defeated by icemageddon; We braved the strange white surroundings the following day. We conquered and we survived.
Not only did we force him to be a subject of photography among the strange white stuff, we also saddled him up and rode. (Thanks to that awesome indoor arena, where it is dry and not windy, we were able to do that!) I think he actually enjoyed both the snow, and working indoors. We spent some quality time with him cooling him off in the indoor as well. He enjoys following us around and harassing us for peppermints and/or treats. He licks like dog. Begs like one too. It’s quite pitiful, actually.
After a really long weekend, Fiz and all of his stuff have finally gotten settled in at his new home at Hunters Brook Farm. At Hunters Brook, many things are going to be different from his old home. Instead of being out on pasture 24/7, only getting fed hay in the mornings in winter, and not having an option of being inside, there are many new amenities we will enjoy at the new farm. Fiz will be fed as much hay as he wants to eat, he will be fed grain twice daily, he will be inside in a stall during bad weather, he will be outside as much as possible when the weather is nice enough, and he will enjoy working in an indoor arena as well as outdoor. He will have complete full care, and he deserves it.
He will also be surrounded by many other animals that he did not get to see at the old farm. There are chickens running all around the farm. There are also goats, cows, and mini horses. He seems most interested in the chickens and the goats. Once the farm owners see his personality, they will decide who they should try and turn him out with. Hopefully he will find some friends on the farm. I am sure there is at least one horse on the farm that he can get along well with. He needs interaction with other horses, and it will be very good for him once a good match is made!
We are very happy about our decision and look forward to spending more time at the new place. So far we have been very pleased with them. They purchased the hay we bought at the old place, and they let us bring our cabinet full of Fiz’s stuff (bridles, saddles, harnesses, and equipment) and our jog cart to the farm. We are grateful for the new farm and are happy we found such a nice place for our boy to live. We are very happy he is getting the daily attention and care that he is very much deserving of and we are looking forward to seeing if and how this type of care will change his appearance and demeanor. I am sure there will be plenty of pictures in the future of him at his new home.
It’s a new day, a new adventure, and a fresh start. Again. It’s a good thing. 🙂
Now, in the saddlebred world, we are a little weird about our horses feet. Good feet are of the utmost importance in any discipline, and the condition of Fiz’s feet weren’t in great shape when he came to us. They were trimmed very short as a result of not being reset while out in the field (as told to me by the previous owner) and we assume he pulled his shoe(s) off thus, messing up his feet. We waited and waited to get him trimmed until his feet had a chance to grow out some! We were finally were able to have a farrier come out just to do a little trim to even out his feet. So, here’s some pictures after they were all trimmed up. If you know anything about saddlebreds, you will notice how short the toe and the heel is. The farrier suggested we use turpentine on the bottoms of his feet to harden them up, since he was so incredibly tender footed. He also said white feet are usually always softer than the dark feet, which is news to us! The turpentine has worked wonders for Fiz’s feet, and has allowed us to consistently work him for the last several months without him being sore due to feet issues and tenderness. This is a trick we will have to remember for future reference!!
Most people don’t realize, horses need dentists too. Their teeth never stop growing, and the way they eat causes their teeth to develop jagged edges and different issues, making bridling and riding them painful if it’s not taken care of. It also makes chewing difficult if the teeth get really bad. Horses with bad teeth will not be able to chew well and they can lose food out of their mouths, causing them and their owners to have to work much harder to get the amount of nutrients needed to maintain a healthy weight.
We wanted our guy to be pain free, and have no excuses to be angry in the bridle or develop any weird issues due to trying to compensate for his mouth hurting. So, we had a dentist come and float his teeth. It’s called floating, but it’s essentially filing down all the jagged edges where the teeth are smooth and even inside the mouth. Equine dentists also remove teeth that are troublesome. Fiz did not need any teeth removed, but his teeth were pretty sharp. Dr Adrian Robertson of Bannon Woods Equine came and floated teeth for us. Here she is with her assistant, working on Fiz! Fiz thanks her for his smooth, pain free mouth and so do we!
We posted about our trip to get our first cart, but what we did not include in that post is that we met the seller at an all breed show. While there, we sat down and watched some of the show. And a show is just what we got. Check this out… These are gaited MULES. Yes, you read that correctly. Mules. That are GAITED. So naturally, we HAD to get a video. I mean, GAITED MULES people.
Yeah, we are a little crazy. We went and bought a show cart and harness, stuck it in the back of Kayla’s dad’s truck, hauled it 2 hours home, and immediately hitched Fiz up and drove him! He was a little bit confused by our antics, but he played along.
******UPDATE****** Just a few short weeks after the first cart, we got a SECOND cart. A very inexpensive one we plan to use for regular jogging. It needed some work. One of the pieces was bent causing the wheels to be inverted, and the cart not useable. We used our skills and cheapskat-edness to take the cart apart and repair the bent pieces. We painted the rusty wheels, and we put it all back together!! That’s right, we hang jog cart wheels from our trees to paint them. But that’s OK, the end result was nice.
Then of course, once we put the cart back together, we hurried up and got Fiz hooked to drive yet again!! Here he is checking out his new equipment: And also, protesting being hooked it would seem…
But again, he went along with us, and drove right along like a good boy.
******UPDATE*******Since our first few drives, it’s not been all “Driving Miss Daisy. We have had some temper tantrums thrown and some issues have been had (which are not exclusive to in harness, they are under saddle as well) but we will be starting to work on them in the VERY near future. Even Fiz’s worst temper tantrums aren’t all that scary. For a young Saddlebred we are pretty fortunate. He could be a LOT worse!
Most people probably think we are insane for celebrating our horse’s birthday. We took the opportunity to combine Fiz’s 5th birthday (July 27th 2013) with Kayla’s 30th birthday (July 28th 2013) and have a nice little party at the barn. We had a nice turnout and good times were had by all. Fiz and his friends enjoyed the birthday cake made from molasses and grain, carrots, and apples.
We thought it would be fun for Fiz to go out on a nice relaxing trail ride. We went out through a corn field on some cleared paths and he behaved very well. The scariest thing in the world to him is apparently a giant mound of gravel, with which Fiz was very unimpressed with. Barking/running dogs, rabbits, trees, tall grass: all fine! Mound of stationary gravel: It’s going to eat him alive. Cindy got to do the honors and ride him on his first trail ride-in an english saddle! Don’t laugh, it’s the only thing we had with stirrups short enough to fit her short legs! Don’t they look cute??
This horse is SO funny. He has such a personality. He is the sweetest, most affectionate horse. However, he does some really weird things sometimes. I’m not exactly sure why, but he throws his head back to where his neck and head are literally in a straight line. I have never seen a horse do this before in my life. He does not do this when you ride him, only when out in the field or in a stall and sometimes while standing in crossties. Pay attention, one day, you might catch a glimpse of this craziness!!! Check it out below. Seriously!?! What is this!?!?!
*****UPDATE***** We now have VIDEO evidence of this strange quirk our horse has!!!
JUNE 6, 2013. Primarily Saddleseat girls, we don’t pretend to know much about anything having to do with western. However, we were able to get a western saddle rigged up on Fiz and we each got to take him for a spin! He seemed receptive to everything, and didn’t mind the squeaky western saddle all too much. Doesn’t he look good in teal?
After we had Fiz for one month, we decided to take a comparison picture to evaluate his condition. In the month we have had him, he’s been given the world, considering he is the only horse we have to worry about. He has had personalized care, private pasture, hay, grain, and veterinarian care. A picture speaks a thousand words, so here is that comparison shot. In the bottom shot, you can still see where the hair is growing back after it was shaved to do an ultrasound on his “bulge” that we had previously written about. He is on the right track to where we want him to be. 🙂
Twisted Sisters Saddlebreds 