Sunday, November 20, 2011

New Weights & Going For a Walk (Chrome Wearing Saddle)

Note: The pictures in this post were taken tonight at dusk so the lighting was awful, so I played around with them in my editing program. :)

Making "googly" eyes at a dragging rope. Silly boy.

One of my followers appydoesdressage (great blog by the way, check it out!) gave me a link to a weight calculator that takes into account different variables such as young horses and draft horses, so it's more accurate than a weight tape. Here is the link http://www.smartpakequine.com/health_and_nutrition/weightcalculator/default.aspx

So I went and got the measurements for Faran and Chrome. Faran's girth measured 82 inches and his length measured 78 inches, so it says he weighs 1589, which sounds a whole lot more accurate than the weight tape which put him at 1300lbs. :) Chrome measured 70 inches for his girth and 68 inches for his length, so it says he weighs 1010lbs. That sounds soooo much better than 890. I had a hard time believing he could possibly be that light at 15.1hh, so I'm glad to see that he probably has made it over 1000lbs. Good thing I dose a little heavy with wormer lol.

Since it warmed up a little today (I love t-shirt weather in November!!) we decided to take the horses for a "walk" around the perimeter of the pasture for a little exercise and bonding time. I decided to saddle Chrome just to make it less boring lol. I figure the practice can't hurt. I think I put it on a little too tight at first because he was reluctant to walk. Once I loosened it he was fine though. :) We had fun. Chrome didn't spook when a rabbit ran right under our feet either. He's such a good boy! My hubby practiced having Faran walk on his left side, because he's so one sided. He did really well. Sorry I didn't get a lot of pictures. It was pitch black by the time we finished our walk.

All saddled and ready to go!! I think I have it too far forward.

Hubby and Faran watching something in the distance. They are so cute.

Hehe this picture makes me hubby look tiny LOL!

I love watching these two interact. :)

They are going to make such a great team.

A picture of Chrome being balky before I loosened his girth.
He never strongly resisted. I didn't have to drag on him or anything.
He's such a good boy.

Handsome, even when washed out by the flash.

I love this shot! He's so gorgeous.

I LOVE this shot too. I wish it had turned out brighter, but still really cool.
He was acting silly over a fire the neighbor had burning. Adorable!

The same picture above, but with the color instead of black and white.
It made it even darker, but the sky looks so cool!

Anyway that's all I have for today. :D

7 comments:

  1. Chrome looks very handsome in his saddle. Faran looks handsome too...and very huggable. I just love that big drafty neck.

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  2. Yea, big-boy pants! He looks good with a saddle on.

    -DS
    Adventures In Colt Starting

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  3. Sounds like a lovely walk. Boo to how early it gets dark now. That is great practice to walk him with the saddle on. And yes the saddle is definitely too far forward but it is not like you were riding him anyways so it doesn't matter all that much. Great photos as always.

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  4. Amy, the crazy thing is I had to put the saddle that far forward because the girth was too small! :D I tried putting it further back but couldn't get the girth on so I slid it forward, but I didn't realize it was way too far forward until I saw the picture. Thanks for the compliments guys. We had fun.

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  5. He likes his saddle. Such a clever boy he will no doubt be puffing his belly before you fasten the girth.

    Love Faran going for his walks.

    Mango Momma

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  6. So glad you are happier with the "new" weight of the boys lol. He looks so cute in his saddle! I use a girth extender I picked up for $10, much cheaper than a new girth. Good luck!

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  7. Once Upon, thank you. I love Faran's big drafty neck too. In fact I think the neck is a big reason why I love Friesians and draft horses hehe. They are just so handsome.

    DS, he does look good in a saddle, doesn't he? It's so weird thinking of him as a grown up (well not quite, but getting there), because he's been my baby for so long. :)

    Mango Momma, I'm hoping I can avoid that problem by always tightening the girth slowly and keeping it positive for him. Even if he does develop the habit, just asking them to back up a step or two is all it takes to get them to relax again so it can be tightened.

    Appy, oh yes I definitely was! I just couldn't believe he only weighed 900 pounds at 15.1hh lol. I'll check out the extender. Sounds like it would definitely be worth $10.

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