Minnesota has the largest State Fair in the nation. It is a two week+ event and I have stores, but it has been a while and I have a few things I want to talk about:
The first is the belief that horses have "jobs." I see it time and time again where a horse is punished or carelessly sold because the horse was failing at his job. I'll admit- it's very satisfying to see a horse enjoying his work and performing well. However owners tend to forget that they have jobs, and that's to see that the horse goes somewhere that will work well for them. This also means setting realistic expectations from a horse. Who hasn't seen an ad for a horse saying "he needs a job" which basically just means he's squirrely and they don't know what to do with him. They figure chasing cows or running barrels would probably calm him down when odds are they're just overmounted.
I also hate seeing "prospect" on an ad. "Dressage prospect" "Barrel prospect" "Cutting prospect". Not wanting to be caught does not a "barrel prospect" make.
It's like hammering nails: if you use the wrong hammer, or hammer incorrectly, you bend the nail or scuff the surface. It's not the hammer's fault.
But it's also not like every horse has to be the best. Most horses are pleasure mounts. A decent trail horse is just fine for the job. You don't have to tell me that I'll get my next world champion out of this broodmare because I don't need a world champion, and if that were true she'd at least be broke.
The other thing I wanted to talk about is equine chiropractors. I'm thinking of getting a session for the Doop. It's 100 bucks. I'm thinking this because of his sway back, ill fitting saddle past, as well as the possible beating, carrying a 300lb rider on bad saddle, and leasers using a saddle that made his shoulder swell up so that the vet needed to be called. Also he was stocked up a bit last winter.
Any advice?
3 comments:
I would think that getting the chiropracter in is a good idea. Spookily, I have one coming to see my girl this weekend. She knocked her head on the roof of the float and now her neck makes some interesting cracking noises. I will be very interested to see what that is all about.
And maybe you might want to find a physiotherapist too? They can help with old problems like badly fitting saddles and give you exercies to help build correct muscles. It certainly helped my mare.
I fully recommend getting a chiropractor. When my mare put her hips out giving birth a chiropractor fixed her in one session, it's well worth the money
A chiro is totally worth the money. I'd also pick up a book on the subject, and read up on techniques before he/she comes. That way you will know a bit and can ask questions during the adjustment and get some input on maintaining your horse's comfort.
My mare was recently adjusted and it was very interesting to compare her stance before and after. I noticed a lot of improvement under saddle as well.
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