Please help

[Wish_Upon_a_Star2000]

[QUOTE=FineAlready;7969896]
Okay, THANK YOU. An extremely competent, high level rider friend that I’ve known most of my life lives in Montana now. I can tell from her pictures and videos that she’s not in some equine wasteland where the horses only get their hooves trimmed twice a year and are lucky if their owners don’t put their saddles on backwards![/QUOTE]

Well, I live in a very secluded area. I am not close to Missoula, Bozeman, Billings,or any other city. And why, can I ask, would I call the farrier, and he’d come out, and only turn me down to trim my horses hooves? The last time I had my farrier over (after I’d gotten my new horse, she needed a trim), I asked if our other horse,Cowgirl, needed a trim. He said no, and that she’d be fine until after winter. He knows her history of trimming, and knows her hooves are very well kept and rasped naturally by our pastureland. Now, our new horse may be different! Her hooves may grow faster, and may be harder to rasp down. We’ll see. And, another diff…she competes…I don’t. No wonder her horses’ hooves need trimmed more than 2x a year!
p.s. Who could be dumb enough to put a saddle on backwards??

[Wish_Upon_a_Star2000]

[QUOTE=cowboymom;7969802]
OP I’m in Montana and lived around all the major places in Montana, horse-wise.

Contrary to vivid COTH imaginations, there are a lot of lesson barns and horsemanship trainers in Montana that you would have a blast with and I can recommend several of them if you’d like, especially if you’re around Bozeman, where I know the most.

I grew up here-my parents bought me a string of ponies and then finally a 4 year old unridden colt and a halter. That was the extent of their horse investment and they didn’t want to mess with 4H or anything else. I did the best I could. There are places all across Montana right now with people that just moved here and got a couple horses b/c that’s what you do and they’re just doing the best they can.

OP if you’re for real, PM me and I will make some recommendations for reasonable vet care, a decent farrier and some fun people to ride with.[/QUOTE]

Good for you:) Wish I lived in a major place, horse-wise. Truth is, I don’t. I live far from major cities (and any city at all). I do not, however, live by any lesson barns or horse trainers. That would totally rock if I would tho!

[KSquared]

Double post… Oops.

[FineAlready]

[QUOTE=Wish_Upon_a_Star2000;7971412]
Well, I live in a very secluded area. I am not close to Missoula, Bozeman, Billings,or any other city. And why, can I ask, would I call the farrier, and he’d come out, and only turn me down to trim my horses hooves? The last time I had my farrier over (after I’d gotten my new horse, she needed a trim), I asked if our other horse,Cowgirl, needed a trim. He said no, and that she’d be fine until after winter. He knows her history of trimming, and knows her hooves are very well kept and rasped naturally by our pastureland. Now, our new horse may be different! Her hooves may grow faster, and may be harder to rasp down. We’ll see. And, another diff…she competes…I don’t. No wonder her horses’ hooves need trimmed more than 2x a year!
p.s. Who could be dumb enough to put a saddle on backwards?? [/QUOTE]

I’m not sure why you assume the friend I referenced competes. As far as I know, she doesn’t anymore. In any event, how close to Whitefish, MT are you?

[RxCate]

You live close to something with lessons as you previously stated you were taking ‘lessons’ for 2 years…

And competing or not, getting the farrier out is basic horse care, not a basis of competition schedules.

[OveroHunter]

OP, I think you really need a mentor. It sounds like there are some things that you are your parents are clearly missing.

-At a bare minimum barefoot, pasture sound horses should be trimmed approx. 4 times a year (every 12 weeks). Any horse that you actually plan on riding should be trimmed closer to every 8 weeks, especially during the warmer months. If your farrier refuses to trim more often, it’s time to find a new farrier.

-Your dad is wrong about saying you should be able to tell when your mare is better and ready to be ridden. I can see his logic, but it is incorrect because he is missing the education behind it.

-There is a huge benefit from lessons. Your parents are setting you up to get hurt. Sure, back in the day horses were seen as farm animals and kids were allowed to play around with them. This led to serious injuries. Take my mother for example. Her grandparents had horses and when she went to visit them she was allowed to play around with horses unsupervised. One crushed foot and a trip to the ER later, they sold the horses because they were “dangerous.” Clearly it wasn’t the horse’s fault. It was my grandparents and great grandparents’ fault for letting her play around with them unsupervised with no real knowledge on how to ride or handle horses safely.

-You will never be good enough. I have been riding most of life and competing for nearly 20 years. I still take weekly lessons because there will always be someone better than me in some area who can teach me something.

Please ask your parents to read this. You will greatly benefit from working with a trainer who can make sure you’re safe while still being able to enjoy your horses.

[KSquared]

For some reason my post a few pages ago was double posted and when I deleted one they both deleted. I have a few things and questions we need to think about re: Wish and her current situation.

1. She already said her Farrier comes out to check the horses for trims and trims as needed. They only get 2 trims because the Farrier only trims them that many times a year because the pasture land rasps them down. The horse is under farrier care. They see him more then twice a year, but they only need to be trimmed twice a year.

2. The lessons she gets is from her FRIEND, A Fellow teenager who was helping her learn to ride. I would not deem these are real lessons, just help from a friend.

3. It has been established that the nearest lesson area is an hour away from her and her parents are unwilling to travel that far to take her for lessons. Also it is been established she cannot walk or ride her bike to a place near her as it is too far away.

4. Does she have a trailer for her horse? Does she have a truck to pull the trailer?

5. What do her parents do for a living? Do they work in town, an hour away? Do they own/Run/Manage a Cattle ranch where being gone for 3-4 hours could mean life or death for a calving cow? If they work out of town, do they want to drive home, pick her up, drive to a lesson barn, wait an hour and then drive back home? That does cost a fair amount of money. I drive an hour to work everyday, it takes 1/4 of gas to drive 100 miles… that is a lot of gas in a small economical car. What if they only own a truck? In a truck its close to half a tank, then if they decide to take her horse, well now the truck is pulling and using even more gas. So let us break that down.
   $60 to fill the tank of a truck
   $50 for the lesson
   3-4 hours time off the job (Assuming $20 an hour - $80 less to be making. Or if it is a weekend, they do not have that extra $80 to begin with)
   A total of $110 dollars

Not only did they just put out $110 for the lesson, they are now less $80 for missing that much work… So they are now $190 in the hole for that lesson… every week… That is $760 a month for the cost of one lesson a week.

If it is on a weekend and no one is working weekends… that is $440 for a month of lessons. Now how do you expect her to get a part time job and make enough money to pay for that?

Even if she worked off her lesson, there is still the need for someone to pay the gas for that extra trip. She is still having to make $240 to pay for the gas to get there. So she still has to work to pay the gas.

When you crunch the numbers it is really easy to see why her parents say no. If they work an hour away they are already paying out $300 a month in gas, per car! That is $600 tied up in JUST gas. What if they are making payments on those cars… that is another $600 a month in car payments… so now we are at $1200 a month just for the cars. $200 every two weeks in Groceries…$1600 a month $200 a month for heating and lighting $1800 a month. Car insurance $100 a month $1900 now a month. Internet and cable? $100 a month We are now at $2000 a month. The extra cost of hay $100 a month $2100 a month. Cell phones for everyone? $200 a month now we are at $2300 a month.

Now let us take $2300 a month and add the cost of lessons…
Weekend lessons. $440 a month. A total of $2740 a month
Weekend lessons if they work weekends $760 a month. $3060 a month

So now we say they work 40 hours a week, at $20 an hour. That is $800 a week. 4 weeks in a month. $3200 dollars a month, before taxes. take out 22% in taxes, that leaves them with $2496… They are now $564 in the hole using the highest per month. Or $244 per month using the lowest total.

So no, they can not afford to take her to lessons. She will have to read a lot of books, watch a lot of videos and when she can drive and get a job, work a lot of hours after school to afford her own gas and her own lessons.

[Angela_Freda]

KSquared, she had not lost her confidence when riding for 2 years at friends, so something about that situation worked better than the present one…

And re: lessons, there are these people called trainers who might come to the OPs farm… no hauling needed.

There is more than one way to skin a cat. Unless skinning the cat isn’t really the objective?

[KSquared]

I get that Angela, but there is still a cost involved with a trainer coming to her. A lesson fee and a farm visit. So a $50 lesson could now be a $70 lesson and that is still $280 a month for lessons they don’t have.

These are just my thoughts running loose. I could be way off base and her Parents are just saying no and have goobs of money

[Wish_Upon_a_Star2000]

KSquared is right. That’s exactly how it is. My mom does stay at home, but she has no time to run me away to lessons. And, those lessons with a friend (I don’t really call them lessons, it’s more like fun;)) are not available anymore, since they sold most of their horses, and she has a full-time job. Oh,and @FineAlready, I’m very far from Whitefish.And sorry!I thought you mentioned she competed! Sorry

[Gorgonzola]

[QUOTE=KSquared;7973243]

3. It has been established that the nearest lesson area is an hour away from her and her parents are unwilling to travel that far to take her for lessons. Also it is been established she cannot walk or ride her bike to a place near her as it is too far away. [/QUOTE]

I thought a lesson barn was 20 minutes away? Didn’t I read that a few pages back??

Either way, she still needs training one way or another or will end up hurt.

[Wish_Upon_a_Star2000]

[QUOTE=Gorgonzola;7973414]
I thought a lesson barn was 20 minutes away? Didn’t I read that a few pages back??

Either way, she still needs training one way or another or will end up hurt.[/QUOTE]

Not a lesson barn! but yes, a barn. Which is where that horse camp is going to be. They don’t have lessons there, as far as I’m aware of?

[Gorgonzola]

[QUOTE=Wish_Upon_a_Star2000;7973433]
Not a lesson barn! but yes, a barn. Which is where that horse camp is going to be. They don’t have lessons there, as far as I’m aware of?[/QUOTE]

Do you know anyone who rides there regularly? Would you be able to ‘shadow’ someone to learn more about horse care/riding? Is it just a boarding facility with a trainer on site?

[Angela_Freda]

[QUOTE=KSquared;7973298]
I get that Angela, but there is still a cost involved with a trainer coming to her. A lesson fee and a farm visit. So a $50 lesson could now be a $70 lesson and that is still $280 a month for lessons they don’t have.

These are just my thoughts running loose. I could be way off base and her Parents are just saying no and have goobs of money[/QUOTE]

Horses are expensive, as are injuries that have to be treated at hospitals from said horses… personally I would rather get my kid lessons, so s/he was safe, than gamble that they will be safe without them.

The horse is always the cheapest part of the deal, as this situation demonstrates.
Learning? Priceless.

[Wish_Upon_a_Star2000]

[QUOTE=Gorgonzola;7973456]
Do you know anyone who rides there regularly? Would you be able to ‘shadow’ someone to learn more about horse care/riding? Is it just a boarding facility with a trainer on site?[/QUOTE]

No, I don’t… my one friend ,on her way to work in the mornings, will sometimes stop in the morning at the arena. I do shadow her, yes…she comes and teaches us what she’s learned, when she can find the time. A trainer is there sometimes, I think. And yes, its a boarding facility.

[cowboymom]

If you’re very far from Whitefish, are you near Great Falls, Lewistown, Malta, Sidney or Miles City? :lol: I’m dead center in the state right now BFE and I do know people around all corners of the state if that’s any help to you.

But honestly, I know where you’re coming from, OP. It’s not uncommon at all for the farriers to pull the shoes in the fall and leave the horses alone until spring. Lots of the farriers here are old school but not all of them; it’s a matter of figuring it all out and you have the added ceiling of being at your parents’ mercy. Just do the best you can.

If you’re in any part of Montana there is 4H and a horse club, seek that out. Use the internet to learn, keep your eyes open, and seriously let me know. I live between Great Falls and Lewistown and I know a lot of horse people around the state.

[Wish_Upon_a_Star2000]

[QUOTE=cowboymom;7973522]
If you’re very far from Whitefish, are you near Great Falls, Lewistown, Malta, Sidney or Miles City? :lol: I’m dead center in the state right now BFE and I do know people around all corners of the state if that’s any help to you.

But honestly, I know where you’re coming from, OP. It’s not uncommon at all for the farriers to pull the shoes in the fall and leave the horses alone until spring. Lots of the farriers here are old school but not all of them; it’s a matter of figuring it all out and you have the added ceiling of being at your parents’ mercy. Just do the best you can.

If you’re in any part of Montana there is 4H and a horse club, seek that out. Use the internet to learn, keep your eyes open, and seriously let me know. I live between Great Falls and Lewistown and I know a lot of horse people around the state.[/QUOTE]

       Well, it would be about 2 hours away from any of them! I'm closer to Idaho's side of things (if that makes any sense?:)) and I live in a very small town, which is a blessing, but as usual,there's pros and cons! Ok, there is a 4-H about 20 min away also, I will check if anything would work out, but we do not have a horse trailer. Thanks for your kind reply! I have gone and watched 4-H horse drills and other things! It's so cool, I'd love to be in it! They usually have it at an arena thats also up there,(20 min away), so I'd have to get my friend to haul me up in her trailer if I would join, and even then, she works late. I'm sure I can find a way to watch them more often, thank you!!:) have a good day!

[cowboymom]

Are you by Libby, Troy, the Yaak or Thompson Falls, Noxon? I’m from Libby and lived there for a few years until last March… or if you’re further south I know an excellent horse person south of Missoula in Victor. Certainly you don’t need to tell me where you live but I can help refer you to folks if you’d like. I think what would work well for you is to join 4H and start making friends in the scene so that you could eventually borrow a friend’s horse or make a friend whose parents would be happy to pick you and your horse up for rides or shows. Make connections without your mare with you and down the line you’ll find a way. Most 4H parents would think nothing of bringing you an extra horse to a riding meeting or picking you and your mare up on the way.

EVERYTHING in Montana is at least 20 minutes away, usually more like 30 or more… It will involve some travel for sure.

Please if you’re near Libby at all PM me b/c I know two groups there that would love to pick you up, they do rides and clinics and all kinds of activities.

I’m not trying to pin you down but it’s hard to tell sometimes that there might be a great horse person just doing their thing right next door. Backcountry Horsemen is also a good resource in Montana, you see a lot of older people but if you’re willing to help them clear trail they will provide you a horse and pick you up/drop you off. They usually have a great handle on the local horse people and can recommend someone to you.

It can be very isolating in Montana. Just do the best you can, sounds like you’re getting out there and meeting people and that’s all it takes.

My daughter is nearly 15, it’s too bad you aren’t closer b/c she is always looking for another friend, especially a horse friend. She used to post on the Young Rider forums and still has friends from there that she keeps in touch with on facebook.

[supaflyskye]

I don’t think you should sell the horse. I didn’t read the whole thread but it was mentioned she’s very well trained, correct?
In lieu of lessons, get some books, watch videos on the internet, get your hands on all the knowledge you can. It sounds like you lack confidence w horses you don’t know and that you don’t know your new horse very well yet. Spend a LOT of time w/ her, just hanging out, doing activities on the ground, anything you can that doesn’t compromise her healing. It is very important you don’t attempt to ride her until she is 100% healed and you have the vet out to tell you its okay to ride her again. I think it will just take time in the saddle to fully build your confidence w this new horse.

[Bicoastal]

[QUOTE=KSquared;7973298]
I get that Angela, but there is still a cost involved with a trainer coming to her…[/QUOTE]

There’s also cost involved in having a horse. That is what I’m so mystified by, from the parents’ perspective. Lessons-only is a cheaper route than ownership. Horses are expensive, period. Even if they’re only trimmed twice a year (this is the first I’ve ever heard of that and I’ve been on both coasts and in between) and turned out 24/7.

Some have suggested selling the two horses, for the safety of them and OP, and spending that discretionary income on education.

What is less expensive? A trainer or vet treatment for fistulous withers? A lesson or ER treatment for a broken foot?

My upbringing wasn’t a world apart from OP’s: a pivotal difference was education and a mentor. I hope you can hook up with 4H.