Octobercasper.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nr-Beautiful-16-17-18-Bl...

Does this saddle look weird to anyone else? is it just me?

I mean the shape, not the extreme bargain (Which to me looks suspicious)

We've got some large Wahl clippers (with various attachments), can they be used on horses? I mean clips like Irish or trace, not a full body clip.

The boots are rubber and my saddle is synthetic.

I hadn't ridden in the boots for a year until today. They're my show boots and I used to wear them in lesson on leather saddles and they never squeaked.

I rode in them today and they squeaked like anything. every movement. It was horrible and distracting for both me and my horse. I usually ride in my Sherwood forest country boots but my lower leg can't keep still in them so they have effectively ruined my riding.

I'm supposed to be showing in my rubber boots (jumping) but I never realised how squeaky they were. Is it the synthetic saddle that's the problem? I might be getting a leather one, will that sort it out?

Sorry if my english is bad here, I'm not with it today.

I mean like when you get a rosette for getting a clear round, it's like a fun class.

What should me and my horse wear? Do I need a number?

I want to take my horse into clear round because he's never been ridden at a show before (He's competed in inhand only), let alone jumped, so I don't want to take him into really points classes yet.

My horse came with his snaffle bit. He was from an experience owner and had never had problems with it, so I assume it fits. I measured it today because I'm getting him a new bit, and I measured it at 6" from the inside of each ring.

He's a 14.2 welsh cob, does this sound right to you? He has a pretty big head, but I've been looking on google and I've found people looking for 6" bits for their draught horses :l

Also, When I'm riding I can see the mouthpiece of the bit coming out, a little more than it should. Should I get a 5.5" so it doesn't have so much room?

Sorry if this sounds stupid...

My horse came with a synthetic GP saddle, and I don't like it :l In my lessons we ride in leather saddles, and it's like sitting on a pillow. With the synthetic, you might as well just sit on a wooden box.

What do you prefer? what are the pros and cons of each type?

Are synthetic saddles allowed in all showing classes and jumping classes? If not, I'm definitely buying a leather one.

My horse has a lot of potential with his jumping and I think with a few more months of training, we could be ready for shows.

He's only 5 and in his lifetime has only been to two shows, which he has proven to be a handful in, to say the least. He gets distressed when his friend leaves him (Won't even trailer quietly without him, so leaving him behind is a no go) and can get strong. But that's in hand. Under saddle I can't even imagine, especially with so many other horses going around him. We can't even hack alone because he lacks the confidence to walk forward without me or another horse there, and I've been having horrible visions of us stuck at the entrance of the ring, him refusing to move anywhere.

I was thinking, should I try a few stronger bits out just for shows? What would you recommend?

He is currently ridden in a single jointed O ring snaffle, which I am considering changing for a french link snaffle or either mouthpiece with full cheeks. I don't know to be honest.

How could I desensitise him to the noise and crowds at shows, without taking him to one? We don't have a trailer but a friend says we can take him with hers, but I don't want to take up the trailer space if I'm not even showing him.

How can I get him to be more confident at things like this? I mean in general now, because him stopping and refusing to move has become a frequent thing. I've taken people's advice and I've sat there and waited, I've used a whip, nothing works. If I ask him to move backwards into the scary spot he does it but then refuses to turn back around :L

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/580...

Would this be considered a good photo to judge conformation? Obviously not overall because it's only one angle.

My horse is 5 and wasn't this bum-high before (definitely, because I have similar photos from before), does it mean he will stay like this or will he fill out? I'm not asking to judge all conformation because it's not a great overall picture and it would be unfair.

Please don't mention his weight or amount of muscle. He's been on and off work because of flooding and being lame so we've yet to get him back on form.

My new broom went missing a few weeks ago. We searched everywhere and have just given up. It's just a broom, no big deal.

Now my hay's gone walkies. Everyone at the yard has an area of separate storage space, and almost everyone has a space with their hay and straw. No one shares, and everyone knows the rules. Well, everyone exept said theif.

On Monday I gave my horse some of his newly ordered hay. This meant he had half left. On Tuesday, all of it was gone. Yard owner hadn't moved it, mice hadn't chewed it up and nothing happened that day to lead to missing hay. It had definitely not been given to my horse (who was in the field) or put in his stable.

What can I do? I have no way of finding the reason for the missing hay because there's no cameras.

I was going to put a sign up ( won't do anything but hey ho), what should it say?

I've been experimenting with various calming oils on my horse because when he tenses up, there's no calming him down. Today there was a few horses trotting up the road which made the herds gallop around, which only made my horse more irritated. I put some lavender oil on my hand and he started licking it, and he calmed down instantly.

Have you ever used oils and flowers on horses?

What should I be careful of? Obviously I'm not going to go pick every flower I find and feed it to my horse, I'm doing research on it first.

I've heard boiled nettles are good to keep horses healthy, so I was going to add that in with some mint leaves in his hard feed.

With reins like these:

http://www.equestrianclearance.com/cms_media/image...

Which end goes on the bit and which is on the roller/girth? Does it matter?

I don't mean every day for hours, just a blast in a feild when hacking.

My horse respects me on ground and under saddle. He will follow, move out of my space, back up and won't put a foot wrong if he can help it. Every exercise we do, I demand respect from him. The problem is of course, biting.

This confuses me so much because he seems to have so much respect yet he's doing something that is considered highly disrespectful.

I've tried punishment, the '3 second' thing, making him move, everything. These things work for everything else but it's just biting that he ignores all aspects of punishment. He will go for me once, I correct him, then a few seconds later he goes for me again without hesitation. I'm not doing anything unpleasant to him, he will try to bite at the littlest of things.

Don't think I'm like a nursery teacher like 'Oh no, don't do that please'. When he bites I try to make him feel like it's the end of the world but it doesn't work.

He also does this behaviour in the field. In the pecking order, he's like in the middle, yet he will happily bite the horses higher than him. They will kick and bite back, but he doesn't learn. He's always been with other horses so it's weird that he doesn't know how to be a horse :L

I don't handfeed and he has never been handfed.

I rode my horse today and I could tell something was up. He was completely sound at walk, but in trot he felt funny, like his back leg was out on sync.

He didn't seem to be hesitating and made no attempt to stop or play up (Complete opposite in fact) and I cantered him for a few strides and he was very willing and sound.

I trotted him around on lunge and he was fine in a fast trot, but when he was asked to slow down he was definitely hesitating with his left hind leg.

I felt it and there was no major heat or cuts. I felt for bruising and he showed no pain anywhere up his leg to his hip. He was bending his leg fine and putting weight on it.

His tack is fine, I haven't changed his diet and he hasn't had his exercise changed. His hooves were trimmed 2 weeks ago

one thing I can say is that on Friday I loose jumped him 70cm and he knocked his leg, nothing serious He didn't limp then. I originally thought he might have bruised himself but surely he would be showing pain when I checked?

Also, Sunday he spooked and had a bronc, so maybe he hurt himself then?

I was going to ask for an opinion from Ri's previous owner (who's at my yard) but she didn't come up

. If he is the same tomorrow I'm calling the vet.

My horse is really struggling at canter. Sometimes he goes and does it well, sometimes he'll go but drop out of it and other times he'll just run on in the trot .

No matter how much leg I give or push with my seat, no matter if I use a whip or not, he struggles. I don't think it's me because I can easily get other horses to canter. His tack fits fine and he's got no problems or pain. I've been giving him clear voice cues but he just seems to switch off.

Also, he will not stay on the track. I've tried to leg yield him out and push him hard with my inside leg but he just runs through his shoulder.

He canters fine on the lunge, and I think this canter problems are due to lack of balance.

What else might be causing this? what can I do?

I might be getting a trainer if I can find one- It seems as soon as I got my horse all the trainers and instructors took their adverts down and hid away :L

My horse is currently in a single-jointed loose ring snaffle, and I'm considering changing. He's very resistant to pressure and refuses to soften, or even lower his head for that matter. He'll work very nicely in an outine on lunge so I think the 'nutcracker' action of the single-jointed bit is what is restricting him. I've asked my instructor and she says it is very likely this is what's happening. I would like to change him into a french link/double jointed snaffle and see if he responds, is this a good idea?

I have fairly soft hands and seat

He's had his teeth and back recently checked, and his tack fits fine.

Well, my first show didn't go well. He acted up completely in the inhand ring (Spun, barged, turned to bite me) and because of the heat and being forced to wear show jackets, I got heat stroke and had an asthma attack in the middle of the class . What's worse, the judge was the only one who couldn't tell what was happening and assumed I was having a breakdown because we didn't place :L

My horse has a very natural scopey jump which I know can take him far, but the only thing holding us back is the showing scene. He was very nervous and highly strung at the show, and got worse when we took him away from his horse friend at the trailer. Picturing us jumping at a show, I can count the things that will make him spook, plant and rear.

I'm going to do some 'bombproof' training with him that will include noises, flags and bright colours, pretty much anything that will pop up at a show. I also want to take him to a show but not compete. Is it okay to take him and ride him there (using the practise fence also) or will this just be getting in the way of other people? What else can I do to prepare him?

Just in case anyone is assuming I'm going to throw him in at the deep end, don't worry. I won't decide to show until he's completely ready, even if it takes years worth of training.

I used to do a lot of horse drawings for people, but due to getting my horse I no longer had the time to commit to my hobby. After starting it only an hour ago, I've just finished my first drawing and I quite like it, but I would like some advice on it :]

http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/p48...

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/255...

First show in the morning! :D

I'm confused about numbers...

Do you get them for in hand classes?

Where do they go?

What should I take with me to hold my number on? I have no sort of holder.

much obliged.