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Horses, Horses, Horses!

12K views 139 replies 18 participants last post by  LadyVictorian 
#1 ·
So as most of you know, i am obsessedwith horses. I currently just lost an American Quarter from old age. He was a rescue, around 25-30 yrs.
I am currently helping care for a German Warmblood Hanoverian (25yrs). I ride mostly western, and love going out on trail and just being with horses.

My other pets are listed in my signature:-D

So, anybody want to share anything about the sport, riding, horses, their horses, etc?

POST AWAY LOL!:-D
 
#2 ·
We have 3 geldings. 2 quarter horses and 1 paint. Had them for well going on 11 yrs this Christmas. We lived in Montana for 10 yrs and just recently relocated and brought the boys with us. And we now live in a horse community and have the horses right behind our house! We ride western pleasure :)
 
#4 ·
Horses are apparently in my blood.

My great-grandfather (my mother's father's father) was the caretaker for his cavalry units' horses in WWI. There is an old photograph floating around, though I have yet to see it, of him with said horses.

Then, on my mom's side of the family yet again, (this time on my mother's mother's side) they had a farm, which is still in operation today, where they once raised Belgian draft horses to be their "tractors" and plow the fields and stuff (they were very poor immigrants from Belgium and couldn't afford a real tractor so they had those big horses).

Onto my my mother, who grew up riding a horse of her own, a horse named Blue Boy. He wasn't any particular breed, essentially just mutt of a horse, but he was a good horse, although a very nervous one, and they learned how to ride together. Mom often rode bareback as there was only one saddle to be shared by her and her three sisters and their horses. Besides, the horses never really liked wearing the saddle she says. They would run in the other direction when the saddle came out.

There were three horses to be shared among Mom and her four sisters, mainly because the forth sister was born a little later than the first three, and money was kind of tight. One of them was an actual quarter horse, a bay named Sugar, who was ironically anything but sweet. She would balk and buck and bite all the time and try to get the rider off her back. She wasn't really wild, just a little resentful and untrained I believe. I think she was named that because she liked sugar cubes.

Me? I used to want to ride horses, and even did several times, but I am deathly afraid of falling in general so being in the saddle, off the ground like that, it makes me nervous. That and a horse is a lot of animal to handle IMO. I apparently didn't inherit the family horsemanship gene.
 
#5 ·
I am a lifelong professed horse addict. Unfortunately I am not in the financial position to care for one right now.. I sold my two when I was in college. I so dearly miss riding! I live in the heart of foxhunting country in Maryland, where taking lessons just to ride is anything but cheap! *sigh* The only consolation is my equine best friend is doing wonderfully with her owner, who is taking her to college for an equestrian program this fall! I mostly rode english; huntseat equitation and some low level dressage. Doodle's (my mare :p) new owner trained her in barrel racing, and did really well on the 4-h circuit! Which was really awesome, because in the middle of western Colorado a 17hh Thoroughbred is not often seen barrel racing among a sea of QB's and Paints!
 
#6 ·
I pretend to own a 7yr old Tennessee Walker gelding :-D Geronimo, Gerry for short. He is technically owned by my Mother's friend, but I'm the only one who rides him and such! He is amazing :shock: He is "Champagne" colored, AKA light beige/almost white.

I ride Western, and just for pleasure ;-) Though I am hoping to take English lessons just for fun soon! :-D
 
#19 ·
Lol, haven't been watching the post, but we have a guy like that ^_^ terrible for jumping, he barely changes his stride over them! He an go FOREVER too lol. I seem to be the only one that gets him because I like to go fast too. I can control him better than most peopel at the barn, and if I ride a horse other than him and go over a jump, I go into two-point at the wrong time because I go when HE would take off. LOVE that guy <3 He loves another barn worker more though. If she shows up at all during my lesson, it's trashed, I lost him for the day lmao.
 
#20 ·
Hehe I love a fast, hot horse which is why I prefer TB's! I had to borrow this old fat paint for a show once, he was sooo slow and he did NOT want to go faster than a meandering walk! Boy was I glad when my own horse was back in commission!
 
#32 ·
I grew up in Colorado, so it was all about paints and QB's. They aren't especially more pricey than other types of horses, in my area there were a lot of backyard breeder type people or ranches with cow horse breeding programs so you could usually find a nice paint for a relatively low cost. Of course, they were usually green, and only partially broke.
 
#37 ·
Oh, no! I ALMOST fell. I really suck at balance so I felt like it. The pony was doing just fine. The saddle was fine and it's personality was awesome, too. My actual favorite horse is a Mustang, but ehh. Even Arabians are nice. ^^
 
#39 ·
I still need a lot more space and money for a horse so I have to wait. They need like acres to run, right? There's a ranch near me that people could ride with them and take horse trails. I wanted to go there but I'm not sure if my parents will say yes. I want to know what it feels like to ride a horse without somebody else. Just myself, you know. I also went on this field trip and the police there were riding horses. They kinda stunk, though. :/
 
#40 · (Edited)
Why don't you just board your horse at a stable? Then you get all the amenities: horsey neighbors, walker, arena, jumping equipment,small arena, large trail.....

Are you not allowed to ride a hors without somebody leading it?

Boarding is VERY expensive though, heck, anything having to do with horses are expensive. But, when you love them like i do and other people, they are worth every penny! Just look at my avi, thats how i feel about horses and riding, there is never a bad day(unless you get bucked, kicked or bitten lol-well that kinda defeated my purpose...)!

Hope you can ride soon!
 
#42 ·
I don't have a horse... I just wanted one... Sorry if I made it seem that way.. haha :oops: yes, they are worth every penny even if I don't have one. it would be really fun, though.
 
#41 ·
I also went on this field trip and the police there were riding horses. They kinda stunk, though. :/[/QUOTE]

You mean mounted police? Yep, that looks like a really fun job! It is hard to get that position though, and you still have to go to police academy. Not as many mounted officers than you think, except maybe in Canada(they have the largest amount of mounted police). I would like the job, just i would be constantly worried about my safety and the horses safety, more worried about the animal though.
 
#43 ·
I have been riding since I was 7, so for the last 19 years. I got my first horse when I was 16, he was a 17 year old solid red dunn appaloosa gelding named Phoenix. He is not 28, retired and living with a friend out in Kentucky. My current horse is named Amber, she just turned 8, I got her as an unbroke 4 year old and have done almost all of her training myself. She is a 16.2 Percheron/Thoroughbred cross.

A couple pictures of us from our ride today :)



 
#46 ·
Your Horse is GORGEOUS!!!!

A Percheron! i LOVE Percherons! i am a big fan of the draft horses out there xD

Kudos to you for doing all that training, it is VERY hard work lol, but totally worth it !!

I also love Appaloosas!

You seem like a great rider! Nice to hear from those who are knowledgable and and even inexperienced out there! it gives my a greater perspective of horsemanship! Thanks for sharing!
 
#49 ·
A friend of mine drove all the way to FL (3 days from where she lives just to pick up a new young racehorse, as her other one was too old and retiring). Well, she was very happy when she finally came back (they drove all over the USA to get him trained) and kept me updated with what was happening at the stable where he lives. Just a few weeks ago, a "minor" injury that he had(I'm not sure what) acted up. It was not minor at all but the vet never realized. The poor horsy was on the verge of death. My friend went to the stable and checked on him for about 8 hours every day. He went through a minor surgery but did not get better. He had to take medicine daily for a long time, still not getting better. The day before yesterday, my friend was allowed, for the first time in a long time, to walk the horse and exercise him. He was still very weak and what will become of him is still unknown.

I feel really bad for the horse and my friend. I just really hope they can both pull through okay.
 
#50 ·
@Moonshadow - your horse is gorgeous!
 
#54 ·
Oh my goodness! i am so excited for the new horse(we will see how he looks first) if we decide on getting him!!!! I still miss my Quarter that passed though :'(

I have his braid in a shadow box. It still smells like the bath i gave him that day, along with some shavings in the hair :'(
 
#55 ·
My neighbor owns a fresian and a hackney,I sneek from the woods to his farm and I feed the horse treats. My favorite memory is when the hackney escaped or jump his fence,the neighbors daughter was chasing the horse(Chloe) around but the girl gave me the bridle and asked if I could
Catch Chloe so I took the bridle and chased after chloe.After awhile I gave up but then I felt a nuzzle on my back I turned around and it was chloe. I put the bridle on her and I hopped on her back and rode her
Back to the stables:)

My neighbor recently had his Fresian(Sydney) breed and she gave birth a few weeks ago and and he is a beautiful solid black with one white sock
 
#56 ·
My neighbor owns a fresian and a hackney,I sneek from the woods to his farm and I feed the horse treats. My favorite memory is when the hackney escaped or jump his fence,the neighbors daughter was chasing the horse(Chloe) around but the girl gave me the bridle and asked if I could
Catch Chloe so I took the bridle and chased after chloe.After awhile I gave up but then I felt a nuzzle on my back I turned around and it was chloe. I put the bridle on her and I hopped on her back and rode her
Back to the stables:)

My neighbor recently had his Fresian(Sydney) breed and she gave birth a few weeks ago and and he is a beautiful solid black with one white sock

WOW You sound like a horse whisperer :D

SOlid black??? WOw, that is not a common color! Tell your neighbor congrats!!! XD
 
#60 ·
I lease a draft cross mare I ride her both english and western pleasure. I'm currently riding english mainly because I use a wintec synthetic saddle and it is soooo much easier to lift than the big,heavy western saddle.
 
#61 ·
She sounds beautiful! I LOVE draft horses, especially Clydesdales!

I know western saddles can be heavy, but they are more secure and comfortable for me :)

I have never been in an english saddle, nor ridden English. I hope to learn soon, along with starting jumping. Can you jump in a western saddle while riding western? Would it be best to start with ground poles?

Thanks i am excited for the new horse!
 
#65 ·
Please don't start jumping outside of lessons with a qualified instructor. It is too easy to not give a proper release and catch your horse in the mouth. You could also easily unseat yourself if your horse jumps big (which can happen with a horse not used to jumping) and make you fall. Jumping is wonderful, but definitely not safe to do without an instructor present at first.

I would start with cavaletti and raised cavaletti, work on your 2 and 3 point over those. Once you're confident you won't fall out of position, you can take some lessons to start jumping. Good luck!
 
#64 ·
I have horses. I own a boarding barn so there are 6 on the property, 2 are mine. :)

I have a 13 yr old red dun QH gelding...the love of my life. I've had him for almost 6 years (6 on august 1). I've done everything with him, h/j, eq, eventing (he looooves xc), trail, some gaming, and even some basic reining! We mostly trail ride now b/c that is what he really loves. I get him out on the trails and his ears go up and he gets this AWESOME 10+ walk and off we go. <3 my boy.

My other boy is a 20 yr old drk bay TB gelding. I've only had him for 2 years (brought him over as a companion for my QH when I bought the farm) but he is QUITE the character. He makes faces, grabs bracelets, and is a big ol' love bug. He has a grade 3.5-4 heart murmur and has had lymphangitis twice in his LH so he is mostly retired. I sometimes take him on a quick trail ride and he absolutely adores that. He goes out by himself no problem and he is usually kind of herd bound so I figure he must like it! But his claim to fame is a decade long racing career (very unusual!) and winning over half a mill. Yet I got this fantastic guy for free.

The other horses on the farm are a 14 yr old QH mare who is a hussy ;), an 18 yr old TB gelding, a flipping adorable morgan pony gelding who has a TON of hair, and a 25 yr old TB broodie (now on trail duty!). Gotta love horses. :lol:
 
#71 ·
Thanks Pog for the advice, i really appreciate advice from knowledgable people like you!

I have been riding for almost 3 years, and have recently started learning english. I wasn't going to start doing verticals, just small ground poles or cross poles. I agree with you, i have a weak heart for anything horse-related :)

I always worry about the horses because of the bits in their mouths. I also hate kicking horses for any reason, because i feel it is abuse, but my coach thinks differently unfortunately :(-we only kick on the SUPER stubborn ones

Thanks for all the advice!
 
#72 ·
Np ^_^ I LOVE western :D I haven't ridden in awhile tho cuz the one western horse at our barn has asthma D: Good luck! Btw, kicking doesn't hurt them unless you have spurs or something. I had one instructor who always wore cowboy boots with spurs just for decoration, but whenever she got on to show me soemthing, the horse would jump >_<

so yeah ^_^ good luck
 
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