This message is from: Mary Thurman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
--- Jean Gayle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > This message is from: "Jean Gayle" > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> . We had this discussion > about six months ago and > many of us decided it is a fjord thing. Two things, > have your ferrier do a > "wild horse" trim, The toes are squared off so > there is a quick break-over > for the front feet.. Second, ride with him on the > bit, this keeps him > balanced and paying attention and off the fore. We have the same farrier as Jean does. He does a wild horse trim (square toes) on our Fjords as well - plus he always rounds the edges off on their feet so there are no "sharp corners" to catch. My Fjord is short and stocky with pretty high action in the front. I've only had him stumble once with me. However, his dam and granddam will stumble over a pebble! They have heavier legs, so that may be why - but I suspect it is more inattention. My husband's horse is a long, tall Fjord with medium to heavy bones in his legs. He is quite close in the front, since he is still young. He will go down at a moments' notice, because he is very "uncollected" most of the time. This is his second year under saddle and we have begun to be able to control this some - by keeping him trimmed short (square those toes front and back) and keeping him focussed and on the bit (a cute trick when you ride Western). We find the biggest problem comes in the transition down to the trot from the canter. If you don't collect the horse up (push him into the bridle) and get YOUR weight back off his front end, he will put all his weight onto his front end as he comes down into the trot - stumbling on his toes (or actually knocking a knee out from under himself with the opposite foot) and going down on his nose. Not fun, as sometimes they then do a summersault depending on how much forward momentum they were carrying! If he is collected up, ie. paying attention, and the rider's weight is back off his shoulders (don't lean forward when coming down, lean back slightly) he has no problem at all. This horse has good natural extension in the trot and a very nice slow canter with good front leg action, so he is clearing the ground nicely when he is in stride, it is in the transition down that he gets his front feet and legs all out of sync if he isn't paying close attention. I have never seen him do this when he is out in the pasture, only in the round pen - either ridden or just being worked from the ground - when his attention is on something else other than what he is supposed to be doing. If he is fighting the rider during transition - pulling on the bit, or throwing his nose out - he will stumble, guaranteed. So we handle it by keeping him trimmed and keeping his attention, plus paying attention to where OUR weight is on his back. It is easy to get "sloppy" in a Western saddle which feels so secure. Hope this helps. Good luck. Mary PS. Our farrier was "satisfied" with our horses' feet and their trims too - until he saw my husband's horse go down and do a summersault with the trainer! The farrier was standing right there and saw exactly what happened. He took the horse out of the arena, squared and bevelled his toes, and then sent him back in to try the same maneuver again - with decidedly different results - much to everyone's relief! That is why I always ride or work the horse in hand for the farrier now if I am trying to explain a problem to him that might be corrected by different trimming. He needs to SEE what is happening and how the horse is travelling on his feet. === Mary Thurman Raintree Farms [EMAIL PROTECTED] _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
