Peanut Palomino

Since my job leaves me with copious amounts of time to dream about riding and to conduct research, my new hobby has become leaning more about english saddles.

It seems like all of the saddles I come across that I acually like are ALL made in the same city. Walsall, England. Thoroughbred, Moritz, Crosby, Ainsley, etc. The list just keeps going!

Why is Walsall such an active hub for saddle making?

We've got a similar place here in the states... it's called Texas haha. But even as a huge state, it's not nearly as active in producing so many saddle brands as that little English town.

So, what's the deal with Walsall?

It's an older used english saddle. It has a makers mark, but it has been almost entirely rubbed away. In one of the pictures you'll see it, it's green with a trophy in the center and a word "cup" to the right of it.

What brand of saddle is this?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USED-ENGLISH-SADDLE-/14083...

Its a vintage Ainsley Leicester toklat original, made in England. Its in wonderful condition, but I'm not familiar with the brand. Any info on Ainsley's would be great, thanks. Fit is fine and it has a very classy look to it.

There is a very painful spot on the left side of my middle/upper back.

I can't take a deep breathe or yawn without serious pain, can't even bend over.

To take a deep breath, I have to raise my left shoulder as high as I can, and lean over to the right.

This has been going on for 4 days and is only getting worse. All moving and breathing hurts. I've also had chest pains, and am obviously very short of breath.

I plan on calling the doctor tomorrow, but what can I expect from an exam for this? I'm only 20 and I haven't injured my back or anything, so I have no clue what could be going on.

I've been working with a woman and her two mares; freedom and midnight.

Midnight is beyond morbidly obese, far too heavy to put on a saddle. This is horse is drenched in sweat after maybe 3 minutes of lunging. She's on pasture, hay, AND grain. The owner won't cut back on the amount of food that she's feeding, but I can't train this horse if I can't do anything with her. She's fine with light lunging, but that won't be enough to get this horse in shape.

The other one, freedom, is just downright dangerous. She charges at people, kicks with the intent to actually hit you, bucks like crazy, etc. Nasty, nasty, mare. The owner can only afford to have me out once a week (it's almost an hour long drive to get there), but this mare needs someone working with her daily. She's 5 years old and has been like this her whole life. Once a week will not break this habit, but the owner can't afford anything else.

In my opinion, midnight should be put on a dry lot and be worked lightly every other day until she's at a healthy weight. The other one she be sent to another trainer to be worked with daily for probably 60 days until she's decent, and then sold. I think the owner should buy a nice gentle gelding instead, since all they want to do is ride down the road every now and then.

The owner won't do any of these things, so there's only so much that I can do. I don't want to just stop working with her, but I don't want to waste my time either.

What would you do?

I recently bought a reining saddle and I've been trying to adjust the stirrups higher. When I do that, I need to be able to pull the fender up a bit through the slot in the tree so that both sides are of equal length. Well, it won't budge. There is plenty of room at the top of the fender so I know it'll fit, but it seems stuck both ways on both sides. Any suggestions?

Should I try to lube it up with oil or baby powder??

I have a limited schedule but multiple people asking for my help.

One guy who just wants some ground work done for a new driving horse, and a lady who has 2 horses that need training and she wants lessons as well.

I'd like to be able to work with both, but I don't think I have the time to take on that much. I work full time and have my own horse, so there's only so much training I can do.

So how do you choose between clients? Just first come first serve? I'd rather work with the lady, but the man contacted me first.

I'm a female, by the way.

There was a bunch of us at a party, everyone was drinking.

One the ride home the guy I was sitting next too (he really didn't seem that drunk), he said that if I cussed he would hit me.

I thought he was just kidding and forgot about it. A few minutes later I said "f*ck" and he immediately slapped me across the face. I really couldn't tell if he was just trying to joke around.. in a stupid drunk way.. I don't know. Everyone else in the car freaked out. One guy in particular who was in the back seat really freaked out and they both started yelling at each other.

As soon as we got back, I jumped out of the car as quick as possible and left. I saw them all standing in the group still screaming at each other in the parking lot, not sure if they ended up fighting or not.

Do you think they overreacted? I mean I obviously don't think it's ok for a guy to be hitting a girl. But I think he was just stupid and drunk and trying to be funny, I don't think he was legitimately trying to hurt me.

I don't know.. I'm still new here and I don't want to be causing drama so I don't know how I should be reacting to something like this.

I'm possibly trading my f250 for a chevy blazer this weekend. (so sad to see it go, but i can't afford the gas or maintenance, the blazer just makes more sense).

Anyway, what sort of paperwork do I need? Bill of sale? Is there such thing as a Bill of trade?

I'm never tired, not in the slightest. Not at night, not in the mornings, not during the day.

It makes it very hard to fall asleep, and even harder to stay asleep. I wake up 3-4 times a night fully awake, wishing it was morning so that I could just go do something.

I used to be the kind of person who would sleep for days if given the chance, and now I barely sleep at all.

Could a change of diet do this? I finally have my own kitchen so I've gone back to the way I used to eat: all natural, all organic, non-gmo, unprocessed, etc. Just very healthy. I feel like it would be normal to have an increase in energy from this, but not to this extent.

I want to sleep, I want to wake up feeling relaxed, but I only wake up feeling like I have to go do something.

My horse is being picked up today in Washington and being delivered to me, in Illinois. He'll be on the truck for about a week, hopefully less.

He's been at the same barn his whole life, and has never hauled more than maybe 30 minutes.

So by the time he gets to me he's obviously going to be extremely stressed out. He's also been off of work for 8 months while I've been in military training.

The new barn is requiring him to stay in a stall for a couple weeks for a quarantine period to make sure he's healthy. He's been out to pasture for months, but has been in a stall for the past week and is doing alright.

He's a very high energy horse and I'm unfamiliar with how they do after such long hauls, so what can I do to make this transition easier for him? I plan on giving him a couple days off, but how long do you recommend?

BTW, I'm shipping him with Bob Hubbard Horse Transportation, so he'll be very well looked after during the trip.

I'll be traveling to Germany in the fall (October) to tour Europe with an old friend / new flame.

I'll be 20, I'm short and thin and have long brown hair. I want clothes that are comfortable and functional but stylish and flattering at the same time. And I need some incredible dresses to wow this guy.

Any suggestions on stores or styles or trends that could help me would be awesome.

Thanks :)

Combination bits have been getting very popular in barrel racing for the past few years. I've never used one myself, i tend to stick to simple snaffles, but I'm curious about other people's opinions of them.

I've heard some people say that they complicate cues because of too many points of pressure, but I've also heard that they are softer and clearer to some horses.

What do you think about them?

** Please don't go off on some silly rant. I'm not switching my horse's bit, I'm just curious about opinions.

Well things are finally about to settle down in my Air Force career, so I'll be able to have my horse shipped to me.

I will NOT be able to be there when he is loaded on the trailer, nor will I get to meet the people shipping him.

So, do you know of some reputable companies? One that preferably won't break the bank, I have a military salary after all; it's not much.

Do these companies usualy allow a saddle to go with the horse? I really don't want to make my mom mail me both my saddles.

Anything I should be aware of or look out for?

Thanks.

So I've been away from home since October. When I left, my horse was a sweet, calm, anyone-can-ride sort of horse. I've had him since he was 3 (he's 9 now) and he's always been a bit protective of me, and always had a little trouble getting along with people who weren't me.

Anyone, my mom has been taking care of him for me and riding him. I went home in December, and he was a little more antsy that he used to be. The first couple rides he was very fired up and and just wanted to MOVE. But after a couple rides like that, he went right back to being my usual angle of a horse. I was only home for 2 weeks though.

I haven't seen him since December and my mom says he's just getting worse. Other people at the barn tell me he seems depressed. He's started chewing wood, bucking, rearing, etc. My old trainer had been giving my mom lessons on him, and riding him herself several times a week. But it seemed like every week he would just go downhill.

He finally got to the point where my mom was afraid to ride him. They just say he seems upset.

I had him checked by a vet, got his teeth done, everything. He's like a little child lashing out.

I mean, I always knew he had a special "bond" with me, but can a horse really get this attached to one person that they get depressed for this long? Nothing else has changed in his life. And he went back to normal when I visited, but as soon as I left again he was just worse.

I feel horrible and guilty, but there's nothing I can do. I'm going home in 6 weeks for a 2 week visit and then moving to Illinois. And within a few weeks of that I'm having him shipped to Illinois to be with me. So it'll end soon.

Until then he's been turned out to a big pasture with other horses.

Is there anything else I can have them do? I've never had to deal with a depressed horse, Peanut has always been a very happy, loving, and VERY trustworthy horse.

Ugh I feel so guilty over this :(

It's a 1988 Ford F250 Lariat XLT with a 7.5 litre 460 V8, single cab, long bed. 140,000 miles. Gets about 9-10 mpg.

New tires, new differentials. Power windows, dual exhaust, dual fuel tanks, has a hitch. Interior is in very good shape.

Needs new paint, and a new fuel pump. But since it has dual tanks, I just run off the other tank, so it's fully functioning just can't use both tanks right now.

No dents, minimal rust. Runs like a champ, I never have any problems with it. Always starts right up, extremely reliable and has been babied it's whole life.

I already have someone who really wants it as a hauling truck, but I don't know what to price it at. I bought it for 1900 but I don't if it's actually worth that.

Thanks.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/280836740816?ssPageName=ST...

Quality? Care?

Opinions on brand, it's a Rossi y Caruso.

Found a nice little saddle, but I've never heard of the brand.

Just trying to see if any of you have opinions or experience with the brand. Thanks.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/320858058217?ssPageName=ST...

Opinions on the brand and the saddle itself would be nice.

I promise this is the last saddle question.

I can see that it's old and dirty and has obviously been used quite a bit.

But I like it's general design. I have a habit of buying, cleaning, and reselling vintage western saddles, but I've never done that with an english saddle.

Do you recognize the brand? Even if it's not worth anything, I do need a saddle for schooling.

Do you think it has potential?

http://img.inkfrog.com/click_nelarge1.orig.php?ima...

YES, i get it, it looks like crap. I know, I know, I know. But with love and a better photographer could it be better? It looks like it was nice at one point.