I had horses for years, but had to quit riding due to bone damage from early onset arthritis in my lower spine - just too painful to ride, or my whole lower half would seize up after mounting, and - no legs for around 10 mins! My last horse used to think this was hilarious and take himself off for a little walk with me as a passenger, since he knew I had no means but the rein to stop him, and I'd never use a rein for a brake. He was so cheeky! Thank goodness he was quite elderly and kind, and didn't want to gallop anywhere.
I'm really fond of American breeds and have had Appaloosa, Paint, Quarter Horse and QHxArab.
Thanks all for sharing your pics, it's nice to see other people's lovely horses and remember my own.
As for horses and what kind of pets they are - they're hard work and expensive (vet bills! farrier bills! feed bills! oh my!), and proper care and training is a massive commitment on both accounts. That said, they're totally amazing - most of my horses were rescues with horrible feet and saddle sores, etc, and they always seemed so grateful for the care, even if they didn't know how to trust me at first .. makes me cry, lol.
Friends of mine breed mini-horses, and those make good pets if you remember they are horses and not lap dogs, and teach them good horse manners (like lifting their feet/standing still/leading/lunging nicely). If you don't, they quickly turn into expensive little monsters. Miniature horses are fun to show, and while they aren't -that- much cheaper than keeping a full size horse as far as feet, vet, food, worming, etc goes they are wonderful and totally rewarding pets for horse-loving non-riders (and sooo tempting..).
My ideal mini-horse.. though he could have a better shoulder...
Check out the eBook Betta Fish Care Made Easy
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(Thank you for sharing!)
