Viv

Due to the economy my parents will be unable to help out as much as they would have liked with our wedding. I am considering having a private ceremony at the court house (neither my Fiance or I are especially religious) with only immediate family and then a larger reception for extended family and friends - this would cut on ceremony costs and let us just have the reception / photography costs.

Is a private ceremony and public reception tacky? What did you do? Any other tips on keeping things inexpensive but classy?

I am looking for a semi-custom riding boot (either field or dress) which can fit my size 9 foot and 19 inch calves? I'd like something $150 or less as I only need them for a summer internship and i don't want to sink $300-$900 into a pair of boots i'll wear for one summer (I ride western mostly - am interning at a three day facility to gain English experience).

I'm considering feeding two supplements to my fillies. Both come from families with bad hooves and the msm I've read can help with general joint ailment prevention, accelerating cell asperation, so on.

I've read the materials, I know what they are supposed to do. My question is:

Have you used a biotin / msm supplement? If so did you notice any differences in your horse? If so what? How long did you feed before these differences occurred? Was there a particular reason you started feeding or stopped feeding these supplements? Any brands that were particularly effective?

I am currently leasing a mare in exchange for riding her for 60 days. She is very friendly from the ground but her only riding has been at the track. I lunge her before I get on each time and she usually bucks at this time. So far she hasn't bucked while I'm on her but I am nervous.

My ego took a huge hit spring 2006 when a colt broke my arm and I had to get myself screwed back together in order to heal. I thought that training another horse would help me so Fall 07 I was given a rescue style 2 year old that was barely halter broke and put 60 days on her. She never bucked and right now is doing really well - but this didn't give me the ego boost I needed as I never worked up to canter work with her. I kept thinking that she just wasn't ready - now that she's on the ranch where I can't ride her I know I was just scared the whole time. The good news is she got a great set of basics while I was being a chicken.

The long and the short of it is that I am nervous to canter (particularly as I don't have health insurance - being a poor college student is great). This big thoroughbred mare bucking while lunging and her experience as a race horse make me incredibly nervous even though she honestly has never put a foot out of place under saddle.

I'm doing everything I know to do - lunging first, doing lots of walk/jog and transitions. I just feel myself start to tense up when it comes time to cue for the lope. I've been riding her in a 60ft round pen as the smaller space seems to be helping my ego and I try to have a spotter with me as often as possible - so in case anything happens they can scrape me up. I also avoid riding while other people at the stable are exercising their horses to avoid having the mare exited or distracted. As I said this mare has never bucked under saddle - and even racing for 6 years is still being ridden regularly for 6 years.

What do you do to help yourself mentally though this? I know it's just a fear but the more nervous I get the more I can feel my riding position go to heck and the more tense I become (which obviously makes the mare tense).

I realize that this isn't the ideal situation to regain confidence - but I am without a trainer (and there are no reputable trainers within an hours drive) and I'm without a dead-head to let me work on confidence. I need suggestions for regaining confidence while on this green horse.

I am riding a mare for 60 days and so I am not particularly interested in buying a second $1200 Billy Cook just to ride her. She is a thoroughbred with high withers and my saddle has full quarter bars which fit down nice and snug as they should except the top of her withers can come into contact with the gullet and the whole saddle seems to move down slightly when I sit on it - which makes me think that I have an uneven pressure of my saddle on her back. I am concerned that this may cause discomfort and so I would like a recommendation.

I either want to buy a built up pad which would simply help add additional padding between her withers and my saddle so as to raise the saddle up slightly OR an Orthopedic pad as I feel that they would be a good investment to keep my horse's (or future horses I ride) backs safe and sound.

Have you ridden a high withered horse in the past? If so did you use built up or ortho? I am looking at the Professionals Choice SMx Air Ride but before I shell out $150 I want to hear from some real people if they got a noticeable difference over the built up pad.

Let me know! Thanks

I've found a 4 pack at Valley Vet for $116. Do you know of anywhere cheaper? They also have the heavy duty air ride SMX pad for $140. Know anywhere cheaper? I've been trying on ebay to no avail.

I want to put blankets on my horses so as to shed them out for spring. I am planning on putting them on the horses mid-february and as I do not have an extra $200 for new turnouts I want to (as a precaution) put a shoulder guard down under the turnout. I have read that seams on sleazies can rip corneas and etc - is this true? Also - what size should i buy? I'm putting them on a 15.3 quarter horse and a 16h thoroughbred that is a bit narrow made.

I would like some suggestions as to what to price my mare at. She is a July 2006 buckskin mare. Her sire is a race bred APHA palomino stallion & her dam is a nice little bay arab mare. She is a 15h buckskin - filling out really nicely.

I am currently sending in the paperwork to have her dual registered IBHA & American Buckskin Reg. so she will be a dual registered horse at the time of sale. She has had 90 days riding. Does all three gaits. Is learning flying changes (does them beautifully on her own - just getting the cues down now). She rides in a light snaffle. Very responsive. Rolls over her hocks and has a nice, easy to ride jog.

I would rate her a 2 out of 10 on calmness as she is of course a youngster but she has ridden with other horses or alone on the trail with no big issues. I think that by the time she's 4 she'll make a fantastic youth horse - she just loves people.

She's in your pocket. Easy to catch. Responds well to leg cues. Has not shown but will have an additional 90 days ranch training this spring.

I'm looking at selling her in the spring - what should I price her at? I know the horse market is down but she's breedable, athletic, beautiful buckskin color, and ready to go to work for an older teen today or a younger rider at the end of this spring. Very well balanced. Clean legs and sound. No vices (doesn't rear, kick, bite, crib). BEAUTIFUL head - very feminine with good quarter style jaws. Carries herself quite well - able to collect herself easily - very easy to balance in hand.

As far as area i'm in the midwest but willing to ship. I'm planning on putting her on Equine.com I realize a horse at auction like this would bring $500 or less. On Equine.com or Dream Horse comparable horses are between $750 and $3,000. Where should I price her?

I am looking at a few colts who sell the second and third day but I would like to know how the prices are before I make the trip down to Oklahoma City. Is anyone going and would they be willing to have a list of lot numbers sent to them and either email/text - somehow let me know at the end of the first sale day how those colts sold so I'll know kind of the ball-park I'm looking at?

I saw a video a few months back on You Tube that was a European dressage horse and rider doing Kur to pop music. I want to say it was Eminem? Does this ring a bell and if so i'd appreciate a link!

Are uggs still in this season? I'm thinking of getting a pair but don't want to be too out of date. They're just so darned comfy! What is the vote ladies - in or out?

I am currently working a filly that turned 2 in july. As she is not done growing her rump is higher than her withers. I am unsure if she will always be relatively mutton withered or if they will grow but for now she is slightly down hill when i sit on her. Having never before had this particular issue I ask you:

We have no dry spots under a standard felt pad but i feel slightly tipped forward at all times which can't be good for her weight distribution.

Has anyone put a built up pad on their youngsters while those withers are growing / catching up with the rump? If so what was their conformation and did you find the built up pad to be worthwhile? As i don't own one I would need to go out and purchase one and I am hesitant if it wouldn't be a problematic investment.

I am looking for ways to improve my mare's balance and self carriage from the ground during lunge work. Has anyone ever used a balance system (ie http://www.horse.com/zoom_img/WQK64.jpg) or similar? Has anyone ever done this simply with their surcingle or saddle?

I am starting a two year old filly that has a very nice, flat kneed trot which I feel would make her an excellent pleasure horse. What work can I do from the ground to slow down her jog and get her neck lower (she's got it up like a cow horse right now)

I am considering buying a mare to work with while I'm at college. I have previously owned horses and worked horses but i have always utilized pasture with shelter in which case (in our temperate missouri weather) I have never blanketed a horse unless it was ill or under weight.

Does stalling a horse mean that I need to blanket her? I'm concerned about the blanket rubbing (after all once i blanket her i can't leave her uncovered in the winter - she won't have any winter hair!), shifting, and etc.

Is it appropriate to allow my horse in its stall & run to live without a blanket and only keep one around for extremely cold nights?

I am considering moving my mare to the college I attend where they have runs & dirt floor stalls. I'm used to having horses on pasture so I am very unfamiliar with stalls.

Does anyone have a suggestion beyond vinegar & Lysol for scrubbing down the walls?

The "stall" is a 14 X 14 3 sided shelter with a run that extends out from the shelter area which is the width of the stall and three or four times as long. The floor is all dirt.

How do I keep this from becoming mud? Integral Horse Online recommended adding horse safe sawdust to the area and making it 6" deep and building up the area so it is slightly higher than the surrounding area.

Do you know any other ways to help control the mud? I'm on a budget and can't get too extravagant in 'stall-scaping' as its rented and not my own.

I'm considering buying a Diamond Nexus Lab ring. How realistic looking are these stones? The photos on the site are very attractive but does anyone own one? Do you know anyone who owns one? Do they look fake to the average eye? Can most jewelers tell they're not real?

I'm more concerned that the girls at the office will be able to tell.

I am looking at raising Betta and am considering purchasing two or three breeding pairs on AquaBid.com The auctions frequently say that a a sibling sister is available. I know in some animals breeding siblings is undesirable because they are too closely related. Providing that I am purchasing sound stock with the characteristics I desire (as line breeding will only enhance those characteristics be they good or bad) is breeding siblings from the same hatch undesirable?

I recently read in the American Journal of Veterinary Medicine that they have significantly higher numbers of neglect and abuse cases since the closing of slaughter houses in the US. They said that this combined with our economic downturn is seriously hurting the equine industry and there are no homes for horses who would have been slaughtered to go to. We all know horses are inhumanely slaughtered in mexico - my question is how can we as horse lovers and Americans say we're proud of sending horses to be murdered across the border when they were being humanely processed without pain here in the US?

I don't understand how people can react emotionally and then do nothing to support it. None of the orgs fighting to stop slaughter have enough funds to provide care for the horses that would have been slaughtered nor do they have the ability to raise the funds.

Can someone explain this to me? I hate that horses must die too - but its a sad fact of life - sometimes slaughter is necessary.