Hills and Horses

[WesternChick]

she is not shoed, (should I shoe her?) and she has had many injurys to her ront feet...... one time she got a stick logged in the corronett band and had to have a mini operation to get it out and one time she was galloping in her pasture and her right hind hoof met her left front leg and she got a bad cut pretty deep too.......

 

[WesternChick]

theres a pic of her

 

[freemotion]

Personally, I wouldn't shoe her unless she needed it. Which she may. Spend some time getting her fit and working with her first, then discuss front shoes with your farrier if need be. If you are working her regularly, she may need front shoes, at least. If the footing in your area is like what I see in the picture, she may not need shoes. It is a very individual thing.

 

[big brown horse]

She is a tank isnt she? She looks so fit and strong. Beautiful!

I love duns. I had a lined-back dun shetland pony as a child. That little bugger lived to be 40 years old! He raised many children on his back.

 

[WesternChick]

she's strong thats for sure and she uses it to her advatage

 

[pitchfork]

Freemotion is correct about the shoeing, it does depend on terrain and the length of time she is being ridden, etc. Also as Freemotion said, start with just the front feet because they take most of the weight and it is safer not to have shoes on the back, because of kicking at other horses, and perhaps you, Ha! Just as an example if you have recently had her feet trimmed and go out on a rocky trail she will almost certainly be a little ouchy after an hour or two. If she has had a few weeks since being trimmed she can stand the rocks longer etc. And sometimes it depends on the horse. My brother raises mules and he long held to the belief that a mule does not need shoeing, until we spent a couple of days riding in some really rocky areas and had to practically carry two mules back to the trailer at the end of the second day, a third mule had no problems. Over the years we learned that certain mules could cover the same trails for several days if they had three weeks or so to grow out since trimming but were sore within a couple of hours if they had been trimmed the week of our ride. With front shoes they had no trouble ever. Others could go anywhere and never need a shoe, still others needed shoes on the front if we were riding in the hills with a lot of rocks for even a short time. So we learned that some need it and some don't.
Now about your mare's injuries, it doesn't sound like the kind of thing that would be an on going problem, but I, of course, couldn't know for sure with out a lot more information. Your vet would be the one to work with on that.
If she goes down hill when she is fresh but balks after a few hours on the trail and the trail is rocky I would think she is just foot sore. If she always balks then I would think she may be out of shape or have a problem with a shoulder, knee or foot. Even a saddle sliding up onto her shoulders as she goes down hill may cause her to hesitate.
You just have to start eliminating things until you find the answer.

 

[Countrymom]

Your pasture area around the horse doesn't look particularly rocky to warrant shoes....and unless she has a lot of damage like white line or navicular to her hooves I wouldn't say shoes will be a miracle worker here. Also know this is the horse that won't stand still for you when you go to mount I am going to say that this horse has your number and is again not respecting you. A horse should obey your request for forward motion with respect...even over obsicles and up and down hills. She has plenty of muscle to be able to go up and down. Please get yourself a trainer. This is the kind of situation I see a lot and usually end up retraining both human and horse after an accident.

And I hate to burst some bubbles on front shoes only. I generally shod the back first and foremost on our young horses. Why? Because we stop hard and fast and I want all their tendons and parts of their hoof in the back with the best protection. Fronts come later.....

 

[big brown horse]

It is sooo nice to have so many experienced horse peeps around here! We are all in good hands aren't we?!

 

[WesternChick]

It is sooo nice to have so many experienced horse peeps around here! We are all in good hands aren't we?!

LOL thats for sure!

 

[allenacres]

What are you doing when you go down the hill? If you are pulling on her mouth, you are teaching her to be heavy on the forehand to go down that hill. You are teaching her to pull. Shaking her head, she is saying LET GO. Shake didn't work, so then she bucks. She is sending you a strong message.

To go down hills you need to be in the proper position, and that is not pulling on this horses mouth.

You need to get rid of that twisted wire snaffle bit. Bits dont stop horses, and such a sever bit is doing much more harm than good. Switch to a full cheek snaffle and use your seat and legs more, not less. Ride from your seat, use your legs to steer. If you want to slow down, slow down your seat, you want to speed up, move your seat like you are walking. Going up a hill, lean forward a bit, going down a hill, lean back and put your feet forward and dont pull on your horses face, get back over her haunches and help her balance down that hill properly.

Also remember to breath. Breathing is a huge part of our riding.

You need to mentally slow down a horse, not physically. You can not do it physically. Your hands need an education, not a more sever bit. Control of a horse does not come from the bit. It comes from a partnership, a feel, trust. She isn't with you mentally.

I have to ask because of your posts with this horse. What training do you have? Do you have a mentor or a trainer? Someone who can show you things from the horses point of view? It often isnt the horse that needs the training, its the human before they get on that horse.