Well, that was good. You didn't have to go far. It was just a test run, I mean, test trot.

I sure wish you could get someone to help you with the heavy work, unloading, etc. I know you don't like to be bothered with others helping. Just easier to do it your way, yourself.

I know...riding him will be work and you'll have to fit him into your day. I can tell by your description.......he'll be sooooo worth it. Your a good person to attempt this Marilyn.

So glad that it was a good first ride! Love the way you described it. I felt like I was right there with you. Nice that he has a smooth gait. As a teenager I bought a pacer. So much easier on the ovaries. :)

Nothing is convenient here...I hate having to drag out the saddle. I put it in the back seat of the truck, because he is in a round pen quite a distance from the house. I really wanted an old horse to just plug along that I don't have to ride every day. If I am going to ride every day, I'd rather ride Mariah, but I hope he will settle down a little. Hope he isn't too old and set in his ways! Val has a lot more energy and get up and go than I do. I will cut him some slack....he has been through a very stressful ordeal, so I expect him to take awhile to get over that.

You'll find your groove with him. Both of you need time to trust the other :-) I'm glad that you were able to ride him and I hope you have some ibuprofen for that soreness.

I've been taking Ibuprofen and it has helped a lot. I probably need to have surgery on my hip but I don't want to take the time off to do it. Jody should be back to work in a week or so, and he really does need to work and shrimping will start picking up in the spring. So I can't really have surgery any time soon because he needs to work and there would be no one to take care of the horses. I want to go for a couple of days and ride with my best friend from high school. We have talked about getting together to go camping with horses....and we aren't getting any younger. She still rides all the time, but at our ages...you never know what is going to happen. It would be a shame if we never got to do it.

I normally would have done that.

Also, maybe once he gets to be out in the pasture, he will be able to get out some energy. It's no telling how long it's been since he has been ridden consistently, perhaps many years! He just needs to get into the hang of things, I think. If I were your neighbor, I'd come ride him daily! :)

This is a great update! I didn't realize that you didn't want to ride him everyday. I didn't know you didn't want to ride every day. Because you've always had a horse, I assumed you were a daily rider. I too think he'll get some of his energy out when he's out to pasture. That will be exciting for him.

I remember when you unloaded a truck full of food before, by yourself. It's an awful job for one person.

You can bet that if we all lived closer to you, we'd be there by your side. Many hands make light work, and Arkansas Girl and I and others would be taking turns (or fighting over) riding him and brushing him.

You've been so good to him, he's probably just "feeling his oats". It probably feels good to him to feel so good. Who knows how long he's been starving.

Your such a good mom to him!!

How awesome for both you and Val! Is there a neighbor or friend who could ride with you? I don't know a thing about horses, but we have several neighbors with horses and there are a couple of women who ride together or with a group often.

Nice progress report!

It sounds like it went as good as it could, with some minor bumps.

I am so jealous of you having to ride every day! I so wish!!

No neighbors to ride with. I have a lot to do, so by the time I finish my work, I usually am not very interested in riding. Jasdip, I didn't ride for about 20 years. I always had horses but my horses were old. I took care of my mother, raised my daughter and then 8 yrs taking care of Ken. I decided to do something for myself, so I bought Mariah. I couldn't ride her for awhile though because I had to I had to have a knee replacement. The first time I got to ride her was my 68th birthday. The only problem with Mariah, she was green broke. (I bought her in Mississippi... not a kill pen horse.). She is very gentle but needs to be ridden every day. So I really wanted a horse that was old and didn't need riding all the time. Then my hip got really bad. I got Val, thinking I would have time to get my hip fixed while he was getting back in decent condition, but he needed shoes and the farrier told me to start riding him now. He is wearing shoes called rockers and he needs to be more "up" on his hooves because they had grown out so long, and this is supposed to help him along those lines.

(Bane came in between Mariah and Val...he is a special case...a true rescue.... as crazy as a pet coon.)

I wish I could come ride with you!!! I love following your posts. Thanks for all you do.

How special that first ride was! I hope you are not too sore from riding, I know how that can be if you have not ridden for awhile.

Sue

Lunging him should help a lot with tiring him out before you ride. I have had a couple full of their oats horses and always lunged them before I rode and on the days I didn't ride I still took 15 mins a day to work them in the round pen. If yours is sandy like mine was it will be good to help build his muscles back up.

High protein food will also give them a lot of energy. I had a horse that always ran hot so I had to drop him down a bit which wasn't convenient since the others all ate the same protein ratio and I had to make sure to buy special feed and give him his special food and not forget and give him the other horses food.

What you have done is truly amazing. I want to be like you when I grow up and be in a position to rescue all the special animals that need a forever home that I can take care of. You are a rare person to be so caring and sacrificing to give these animals such a great home.

In my younger years I trained Western Pleasure, Halter and Cutting horses even had a few of them go to World and Congress and win. I miss doing that so much. If I lived closer to you I'd be willing to come over and help you feed, do stalls and work horses. That would be a dream for me to do.

Sounds as if things are going well for you and Val. I think it's wonderful that you were able to ride him. Don't know how you're doing it with that painful hip. You and I are the same age and couldn't even imagine riding a horse. All that hard work you've done all your life has kept you in better shape than the average 70 yr old. Keep it going girlfriend.

Can you lunge him first? Maybe if you give him exercise he will quiet a bit...
So of course I didn't read the entire thread first. ;~)

April, I used to raise Quarter Horses. I had a stallion, ten broodmares and a couple of geldings. They were all the old foundation bloodlines. My stallion was a grandson of King. I had two granddaughters of Hollywood Gold and two granddaughters of Joe Bailey and a granddaughter of Ed Echols. I also had a granddaughter of Sugar Bars. Then a mare by Jody Bars, which went to Triple Chick and Go Man Go. I bred her to a grandson of Three Bars....Rivera Bar 9 by Rivera Bars by Three Bars.

At my old place, before I moved here, I had a big barn, pens and open pasture to ride in. Plus I was across the road from the former fairgrounds, and they had two arenas...an open rodeo arena and a covered arena. You could use them any time. Plus there were lots of holding pens and even chutes if you needed them. I could go over there and turn on the lights and ride any time I wanted. When I moved here, I had nothing....no barn, no pens...no house, really. My last old QH died in the mid 80's. I had my daughter's half Arabian and a great grandson of Native Dancer and a couple of others but not a very good place to ride, but I moved here to get away from just about everyone. I wasn't riding very much and then I got busy taking care of a former neighbor (and friend). I thought that would last a few weeks, but it lasted 8 years. I knew I would always have horses, but I wasn't that keen on riding.

I got interested in trying to rescue some donkeys....that failed and I bought 3 donkeys. I met some people on FB who had mules and I got a mule. I wanted to buy an expensive mule that I found in Oklahoma. Let someone talk me out of it. If I had done that, it would have been a whole lot better. I have never ridden the mule that I have now. I don't have a saddle to fit her, and she is very, very quick. She can turn on a dime. And I have osteoporosis, so I have to be very careful. A bad fall could put me in a wheel chair or a nursing home even.

Even though I don't have neighbors to ride with, I have a lot of FB friends from around here who haul their horses to some big ranches, not too far from here and ride. So, I can do that, and I do plan to meet up with my high school best friend and ride with her sometime this spring. She has always had horses and never stopped riding.

I don't mind riding by myself though. Kind of prefer it most of the time.

This is Mariah, who is Mr San Peppy and Doc Olena bred.

And here we are on my 68th birthday, the first day I rode her.

I'm not sore after riding Val, but I was kind of stiff when I got off of him. I can't tell any difference today though. :)

Love the pic of you and Mariah!

Beautiful photo. Thank you for sharing. I'm enjoying vicariously more than you know!

April mentioned feed. I forgot to say what I feed him. Val is an old horse and is very thin. He has gained weight since I brought him home on the 6th of January, but he still needs to put on at least a hundred pounds and I would like to see him put on more than that. I want him to look like Mariah. ;) BTW, when I bought her, and went to Mississippi to get her, I thought, "My gosh, that is an ugly horse." I think she is beautiful now, but she was also skinny and her head looked like a watermelon on a stick.

I feed Nutrena Safe Choice Senior to all of my horses....including Mariah. She is 14 years old. Val is at least 20, Gypsy is 16, Tue Lo is 30 and Bane is probably 14 also. It has done such a good job for all of the others. Val is starting to shine. He had so many bites on him and his hair was falling out in clumps and he is growing new hair over all the bald spots he had. I also feed a coastal bermuda hybrid hay. It is very fine textured. It isn't cheap. I spend $40 a day feeding just the horses. I only feed square bales since round bales, though cheaper tend to be dusty, and dust is very bad for horses, especially old ones. I have put down three horses that had heaves, which is like COPD in horses. They were old, but still... None of my old horse have trouble breathing now. Oh, and I was very happy that Val didn't get a nosebleed after I rode him. That has had me worried. He hasn't had one in several days now. (That I have seen.....I should add). I feed Val three times a day and wet his feed, which melts very easily.

This is Gypsy and Tue Lo. Tue Lo is the 30 yr old. She is sway backed from age, but she is in good condition for a horse that old.

Thanks for taking us with you on your adventures, Marilyn.

My knee does some complaining when I go up stairs ... but I guess I'd better quit complaining, when I hear the stories that several of you have to tell.

Does Native Dancer that you referred to have any connection with Northern Dancer? That was a horse from Canada that drew some attention, a number of years ago.

Wish I could send you down some hay ... some local folks ship some to Florida and other areas for the horse trade.

I'm glad that your first ride went so well, and hope you have less physical trouble and more enjoyment from the next ride.

ole joyful

Marilyn, I had a Mr. San Peppy, Doc Bar and Tenino San Colt. His mother was Miss Tenino San. My stud was from the Doc Bar line his name was Ima Dandy Bar Dude. I bred him to Miss Tenino San and got my colt Pal. My stud was Palomino. He had quite a few babies and grand babies go to World Classy Bar Dude and Classy Bar Belle.

Sports pedigree http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/ima+dandy+bar+dude

We had a brood mare who was also Doc Bar and Impressive. She was Hypp negative thank goodness and when I bred her with Sport my stud 9/10 she gave me a Palomino. I had a couple of her babies sell for halter at 3 months old for over $15,000. She was a wonderful mother. I miss breeding and showing so much.

I used to love February. We would run lights and breed early so we could get those halter babies born as close to Jan 1st as we could. We had a stud barn and I would breed 8-10 mares a season. Stud fees were great. I'd breed my brood mare and usually lease a mare or 2 with good lines with a breed back for the next year for the person I leased from. Win Win for all of us.

I loved training Western Pleasure and Halter. Cutting horses I mainly rode and showed there were far more qualified trainers for that.

I could talk horse talk all day :)

When will we read that Marilyn has rescued a *boy* -- to ride her horses and help her out, while she sets *him* on a good bath?

A good path or a good bath? Don't look for me to take in a "boy". Jody hired a guy to help me when he used to work on the tow boat and was gone for two weeks at a time. Big mistake. He was just out of prison, a crack addict, stole from me and was lazy. I hired a woman to help me, and I came home one day to find her here raking leaves. For one thing, I didn't want her to show up just any time she felt like it...especially if I wasn't home, and I don't rake leaves and I am not paying anyone to rake leaves. Most people who come here just want to pet the animals, which I understand, but it isn't helpful to me. I don't let anyone ride the horses.

I know it makes me sound like an old grouch, but animals have their problems but they pale in comparison to the problems many people have. My life is fairly simple. I don't have anyone bugging me....no family issues...and I have gotten pretty good at running people off if they bother me very much. I wish I had learned to do that years ago. That is one thing my friend, Ken, taught me. (Before he became an invalid). That was to say No....and not have to give an explanation.

April, I used to really enjoy the foals. I bred a lot of outside mares to my stallion too. I also bred mares for a lot of the kids that lived around me. When I was a kid, a rancher friend of my parents, kept my old mare all summer one time and tried to get her in foal. She never settled...she was probably well into her 20's, but it was such a nice thing for him to do. So I bred mares for a lot of kids when I grew up and owned a stallion. His stallion was a Thoroughbred named Dublin Star. He got him in a claiming race in Florida.

Joyful, Northern Dancer's grandsire on his dam's side was Native Dancer. I knew they were related, but had to look it up to see just how. ;)

I rode Val again today. He was perfect. Much more relaxed. Walked on a loose rein, side passed to the gate so I could open it without getting off, and he is very patient to stand still while I mount and dismount, because after riding for about 45 minutes, my hip was really starting to hurt. I didn't take him out on the road because I didn't want to have to get off to open that gate. It is too hard to unlatch from on a horse. I am looking forward to riding him tomorrow. It wasn't such a chore today.

Marilyn, you've gotten so much done. I left town for a couple of days and came back to all you've accomplished - I even missed your first ride. When you're done for the day and can go in, do you ever try heat for your hip? If I could get flat, with some heat, mine would quit hurting - at least until I was up and busy again but that meant I could sleep well and that helped.

My hip was pretty bad and someone here suggested Motrin. I went to get some... Found out it is Ibuprofen, so I have been taking that, and it doesn't bother me much at all now, except when I go to dismount or after sitting in the truck for a long time, but once I move around a little it is okay. I never have trouble sleeping. I have trouble staying awake. I usually can't sleep on my side now though, so that is the only thing. I do have several heating pads...for baby possums and other animals (if needed), so if it gets very bad again, I will try that. I need to see my doctor but I got busy with my horse. I had planned on seeing about a hip replacement, but now I don't want to take the time to do it.

Marilyn do you use DMSO on the horses? We used to use it on them for sore legs. I actually used to use it on my sore joints and muscles. I actually had a doctor that swore by DMSO for a lot of things.

It really does work well. I have also used it in conjunction with asper cream. Put the asper cream on then rub some DMSO on. It helps the asper cream absorb.

Marilyn, I'm very glad that your second ride on Val went so well. Sounds like he is settling in nicely. Do you think that it will turn out that he doesn't require riding every day?

Sorry about your hip. Hope you are able to find some relief until you have the time to see your doctor about a replacement.

OK, no helper for you...or for a helper. You are right. Animals are a lot easier than human beings.

April, I used DMSO on a horse back in 1970. I don't think it was very commonly used at the time. I may be wrong about that. My vet recommended it for a filly I had that had injured her front legs. I remember him saying it caused you to get kind of a odd taste in your mouth. I think he said oysters. Oysters are my favorite food in the whole world....I can't imagine the taste being like oysters. :) I notice now you can buy it at the better feed stores, etc. My old horse isn't sore....he just had shoes left on him a long time and his hooves had grown out. The farrier wanted him to be exercised with his new corrective shoes. He said he won't always have to wear them....which is good. I spent more for his shoes than my entire "wardrobe" would cost if I had to replace it. (Not sure where I'd find a bunch of worn out old tee shirts, except a rag bin, though.)

Dawn, I don't think I will have to ride him every day, but who knows? I may start enjoying it enough that I will want to. I think I need to ride him more for my benefit than for his. I have been thinking of some places I can haul him that aren't that far away to ride. There is a park about 25 miles from here and I think they have trails there. I contacted my high school best friend about getting together and riding...maybe in April. She lives about 100 miles from me but there is a big ranch there that allows riding and camping. Another one of my friends who lives about 8 miles from me has a trail obstacle course set up at her house and that is something else that I can do with him. Plus, there are various little shows around in the area, and I can haul him to those.

Marilyn,

I was talking about using the DMSO for you not the horse. It actually helps with joint and muscle pain for people like it does the horses. I was thinking it might help your hip pain and soreness you have mentioned :)

I'd have to think about it. I don't think I am hurting enough to want the after taste. Do you mind the taste? I know you don't drink it....it is a carrier...but I've been told it leaves a taste in your mouth if you use it on yourself.

I'm getting over being sick and exhausted from being out but Chisue, your misprint really made me laugh myself silly. Sounds like you're asking Marilyn to hire a young man to help with horses and baths. I'm punchy. :) Haven't even read the rest of the thread.

Marilyn, I think I tried everything from aspirin to acupuncture and in between with my hip and that includes DMSO. Garlic was my take on the odor, not oysters. My breath and skin wafted of garlic which DH confirmed. And it didn't help my hip, it was a very short lived trial ;0)

I am so picky about tastes, I don't think I will try the DMSO. I don't recall that it helped the horse that much either.

I rode Val again this evening. I just love that horse! I think he has figured out that I am not going to ask him to do anything strenuous, and he has relaxed and just goes along. I rode him in the pen, in the pasture and started down the road, but the neighbor who lives at the end of the road, has a dog that ran out, barking. That caused my crazy dogs....the whole pack of them....to run down the road and bark at her. He never flinched when all those barking dogs ran past him. It got on my nerves though. I can't stand barking dogs...and from now on when I ride him, I will pen them up.

He must think he is a kiddie ride pony, packing me around. When I get on him....after standing on a milk crate to reach the stirrup, and I throw my right leg over and whump him on the rump with it....not intentionally, but my hip only rotates so far, and not far enough to clear the cantle as easily as I'd like. Same thing when I dismount. And he stands as still as a statue through that. Quite remarkable, I think.

I am riding him now more for my benefit than his. :)

I tried to take a selfie of us....didn't turn out very well, but you can see what a kind eye he has.

Marilyn, I love the photo! You both have pretty eyes. I get it with the throwing your leg over - that range of motion just isn't there. I got the giggles over stirrups one time myself, but not attached to a saddle, it was at the gynecologists and I couldn't get my knee up high enough to reach what she was asking ;0(

I was at the point I could just about do one-legged squats on my right leg, and only limp on my left. I'm glad Val is turning out to be such a good patient boy, he's learning, getting to know you well. You'll be so glad to have each other.

Do you think you could come up with something more stable than a milk crate for your mounting block, something solid?

The milk crate is just something that is easy for me to carry to the pen he is in. I could bring him up to the truck and stand on the back of it and get on, but the milk crate works okay. I saw a mounting block made out of zip typing three milk crates together in a step fashion. Two stacked and one for the first step. That would probably work better. I used to be able to swing up on a horse....bareback. I should have kept it up. Heck, I should have kept riding. That 20 year lay off didn't do me any good.

How wonderful, Marilyn! I know Val knows you have turned his world into a Heaven on Earth--why else would he ride so well for you? :)

I sent you an email a few days ago, but haven't heard back. No hurry, I just want you to know I sent it. (Links)

Oh, okay. Thanks for telling me. Otherwise I might not check my email for days on end. I will take care of that tonight.

Marilyn, you need a "selfie stick" to take a wider shot of you and Val. LOL. As if you don't have better things ways to use your money.

What a wonderful story - I can't tell you how happy I am for you and Val that things are going so well. As for the not very good selfie, I think that is one of the best and sweetest selfies ever!