Category Archives: Horses

On the Fourth Day Of Christmas: 4 Custom Shoes

A while back I asked my blacksmith what constituted a good client: Someone with many horses and therefore much business? Someone whose horses have difficult but expensive shoes? Easy but low-paying shoes? Someone whose horses behave? All my horses learn to stand for the blacksmith, load on trailers, ground-tie for grooming, etc. I was hopingContinue reading “On the Fourth Day Of Christmas: 4 Custom Shoes”

On the Third Day of Christmas: 3 Feed Sacks

This is what we feed our 17h, 1300lb horse. A minuscule amount. For comparison, Mathilda is six inches shorter, 300 pounds lighter, and gets twelve times the amount of food (1 cup vs 3 quarts). They both eat three times a day. Rodney is fat. Not just ‘in good flesh’. He sports pokeable pads ofContinue reading “On the Third Day of Christmas: 3 Feed Sacks”

On the Second Day Of Christmas: 2 Talking Steeds

“You hold on with your knees,” said the Horse. “That’s the secret of good riding. Grip my body between your knees as hard as you like; sit straight up, straight as a poker; keep your elbows in.” Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis [HarperCollins 1954] p. 15 Heretofore, my instructors had explicitly told meContinue reading “On the Second Day Of Christmas: 2 Talking Steeds”

… Answer

Answering the question from yesterday’s post: As I mentioned in my National coverage [Part III: Photos], ultra-slick turn-out for saddleseat involves taping the ends of one’s gloves to one’s wrists. In addition, the tops of one’s jodhpur boots are taped closed to keep the extra leather from making unsightly lines in the leg of one’sContinue reading “… Answer”