Re: Re: Re: Re: Horseshoes???

["owens" <owensall@sierranet.net>]

Dear Sharon Saare;
Yes, the essence of saddle fit IS the fit of the saddle TREE.  My horse was
a fidget downhill,(walking like a little old lady in high heels), had
intermittent offness in one or the other front side(vets said he "landed
heavier" on one front), and got more and more difficult to catch as the
season progressed.  He was unwilling to keep up with his friends on rides,
and I figured he was just not cut out to be an endurance horse.  I was
wrong.
I finally fit him with a tree(I do this, too....)and made a saddle for him.
He moves like a dream, eager and willing to be ridden, happily covering
miles uphill and down...positively flies.  He is a totally different horse,
my dream horse now.
We are on the same track.
Katee Owens
Heels-Up Saddlery

>You said a mouthfull re: lameness occuring because of saddle fit.  With our
>bare tree fitting system, we sure can see how even 3/8 of an inch of no fit
>can change a horse's behavior and performance.
>And it happens to MY horses too...not just the other guy.
>My three year old Akhal Teke gelding was a model "child"....easy for
trainer
>to work with....at four two things happened...he developed quite a
trapezius
>muscle...the culprit of many saddle problems....and became less
enthusiastic
>about being ridden and also a little hard to bridle.  I refitted him...and
>sure enough he had outgrown his A tree and had become a B but even that
>wouldn't accommodate his trapezius.
>So...we developed the saddle many of you saw at the convention earlier this
>month...with english stirrup bars so we could give him more room on the
>underside of the tree for that stinker of a trapezius...
>Result...he wants to go again...he isn't hard to bridle now...how many
>people would relate hard to bridle with saddle fit....
>Am I surprised?  No...just reconfirming what I know and practice every
>day....its amazing how much faster you can run when you take the rock out
of
>your shoe!
>Sharon Saare----- Original Message -----
>From: owens <owensall@sierranet.net>
>To: Sandy Bolinger <bolinger@bigsky.net>; ride <ridecamp@endurance.net>
>Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2000 10:53 AM
>Subject: RC: Re: Re: Re: Horseshoes???
>
>
>>
>> Dear Sandy;
>> Ain't that the truth?  I've become aware that lots of lamenesses
originate
>> from saddle pain and pinching rather than the feet.
>> Katee
>>
>>
>> >seems to me one of the most perturbing aspects of being a
farrier...would
>> be
>> >taking the blame every time a horse goes lame...ie...person over-rides
>> >horse...horseis off--rider blames bad shoeing......
>> >----- Original Message -----
>> >From: Maggie Mieske <mmieske@netonecom.net>
>> >To: diane knapper <knaptyme@uswest.net>
>> >Cc: John Bass <jbass@beattynv.com>; <ridecamp@endurance.net>
>> >Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2000 8:08 AM
>> >Subject: RC: Re: Horseshoes???
>> >
>> >
>> >> Your farrier does sound much like Nelson...he becomes very perturbed
>when
>> >> people notice a problem and don't let him know about it right away.
As
>> >> much as we appreciate the "we know you're coming soon and we'll take
>care
>> >> of it then" attitude, he feels as if people aren't being up front with
>> >him.
>> >>  They get chewed out, too.  But that is an exception, I think.  There
>are
>> >> folks that we like so much, we will always be loyal to them because
>they
>> >> have shown us the same loyalty and respect.  We won't ever be too busy
>> for
>> >> them.  But there are some that I can't wait to drop...to be honest,
>> >finding
>> >> good clients is almost as hard as finding a good farrier.  Bad stuff
>> >> happens to farriers sometimes and they can have a bad day...they are
>> >human,
>> >> too.  But they have to maintain a business and customer relations is
as
>> >> high on the list as skill at what they do (I think so anyway!).
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Maggie Mieske
>> >> Mieske's Silver Lining
>> >> 10601 S. Richards Rd.
>> >> McBain, Michigan 49657
>> >> http://www.netonecom.net/~mmieske
>> >> mmieske@netonecom.net
>> >>
>> >> ----------
>> >> > From: diane knapper <knaptyme@uswest.net>
>> >> > To: Maggie Mieske <mmieske@netonecom.net>
>> >> > Cc: John Bass <jbass@beattynv.com>; ridecamp@endurance.net
>> >> > Subject: Re: RC:   Re: Horseshoes???
>> >> > Date: Monday, March 20, 2000 10:35 PM
>> >> >
>> >> > Maggie;
>> >> >
>> >> > I have a feeling that Brandon is a lot like Nelson.  More
>> >> > than willing to answer questions.  My fear comes from a
>> >> > farrier that I felt was good...but when my horse started to
>> >> > wing...told me he always did it.  He apparently did not like
>> >> > being told that he may have done something wrong.  OK, face
>> >> > reality, we are all human and make mistakes.  He was what I
>> >> > considered a competent farrier out in Las Vegas, but the
>> >> > minute I called him and told him what was going on....he
>> >> > refused to come out and correct the problem.  Said my horse
>> >> > had always done that and it was my imagination.  Did I get
>> >> > the guy out of the yellow pages????  Absolutely not, he was
>> >> > referred by several good friends.  One of them told me, that
>> >> > he was going thru a very bad divorce, and maybe he just had
>> >> > an off day..then also said, by the way, don't tell him he
>> >> > did anything wrong...he doesn't like that.  First mistake, I
>> >> > told him he did something wrong, because my horse had never
>> >> > winged in his life.  Thank god, it was common to ride the
>> >> > desert in bell boots and sport boots, otherwise, I wouldn't
>> >> > have had an ankle left on either front foot based on what
>> >> > the bell boots looked like after a casual ride.  Needless to
>> >> > say, I got a new farrier after that and was very happy with
>> >> > him.  But it sure set a poor taste in my mouth about
>> >> > questionning my farrier.  I had one when I moved to MN that
>> >> > I thought was great.  Guess what, I threw 4 shoes in 4 weeks
>> >> > and couldn't get him to call me back.  Well, I have to admit
>> >> > after the first 3 phones calls, my messages got nasty.  Did
>> >> > he deserve it -- you bet.  I paid a price for service well
>> >> > done with a guarantee.  All of a sudden that guarantee means
>> >> > nothing and the money I spent was gone.  I had to pay
>> >> > someone else to first pull one back shoe and then the other
>> >> > front shoe before I found a new farrier.   Are all farriers
>> >> > like this...god, I hope not.  Brandon has done Phoenix for 2
>> >> > years and I couldn't be happier.  Last fall, he was talking
>> >> > about cutting down his territory...I asked him what happened
>> >> > if I moved out of the specific area.  His reply was that he
>> >> > would always do Phoenix no matter where I lived...he enjoyed
>> >> > spending time with both of us.  I truly hope I can believe
>> >> > his statement.  Because I tell you what, I don't want to go
>> >> > thru finding another good farrier.  Like Branddon, who when
>> >> > my horse started clipping himself 4 weeks into a shoe job
>> >> > and I decided to wait the extra 1.5 weeks to tell him about
>> >> > it...I got chewed out.  His exact words where if that
>> >> > happens again, call me immediately.  Brandon has been very
>> >> > good and he is very concerned about the horse.  I guess I
>> >> > could say that he is "MN Nice"...but you know, I'm trying to
>> >> > stay away from becoming too Minnesotan<vbg>
>> >> > Diane
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >>
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