Regarding the Horses in our lives...

Pics

perchie.girl

RIP 1953-2021
9 Years
Nov 29, 2010
28,492
64,634
1,392
San Diego county High Desert
It seems I tend to want to talk horses .... Offending hijacker of threads here.... LOL

I have had horses now since 1967. I was twelve years old then LOL.

I am NOT a horse trainer but feel every one trains their horse by handling them. So I have ownd and handled a grand total of seven over the years. My training started with Calvary style traingin my original teacher was the granddaughter of a Canadian Mountie... From there I moved to English and finally dressage for my riding preferences..... Then I discovered Driving through Dressage training.... and was hooked.

Fast forward to 2000 My dad had died the year before and I had been without a horse for about ten years. Raising my son took precedence as a single mom. But I watched my dad over the years mourn for the fact that his eyesight took away his pilots license... Yearning for what he loved till 1999. So I decided it was time to go back to the thing I loved for so many years.

In the ten years I had become Fluffy... so I wanted a horse to Drive and could do Driven Dressage. But I also wanted a horse substantial enough to pack my Fluffiness without other people thinking.... Oh Poor horsey... At first I though Draft horse cross.... I loved Percherons so was looking at Percheron crosses... Too much money because people were buying them for sport horses...

But then I read some more and Pure Percherons were used for all sorts of things.... Riding, even Fox hunting, Dressage (look up Cotton Wood Flame), AND and Driven Dressage even Combined Driving (the three day event for driving horses)

So I got on the internet to find out how much Pure bred Percherons were... OMG they were the price I wanted to spend on a crossbred. I found a picture on a horse sale website that was posted waaayyy up in San Fransisco area. She was the size of a postage stamp and I fell in love....
Her name is Rocking Jolly Kateen The picture below was when she was about four. I call her Katee or Baby Girl. She is seventeen hands one inch tall.





For the homesteaders out there I can answer a few questions about using horses for work on the farm and can steer you toward resources...

Here is Katee as a six year old here in San Diego at her first boarding facility.... She was romping in the arena...



Percherons come in may blood lines some are used for heavy work like plowing or logging and some are used for Carriage work the ones that are used for Carriage work are called Modern or Hitch style... Katee is not quite hitchy enough for the hitch horses but she defiantly isn't a plow horse.

deb

edited to add the pictures that didnt show up... I am a dufus
 
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Loved reading about the horses in your life. I have never heard of percherons before but love your pic she looks great.
I too am an avid horse lover having started out on a friends pony at about 6 years old. I have had my current horse Harry an ex racer for the last 11 years. My better half bought him for me as a surprise birthday present as a 7 year old. Best birthday present I've ever received. I wouldn't swop him for the world even though ex racers get a bad reputation, he's all I could want. My 12 year old son has started to have go riding him now and he's been great. At 18 now he's just started to show a few age problems ie joints, arthritis a dodgy tooth. But seen as how he started racing at 2 I don't think he's done too bad to get to 18 with no serious problems. Hope fully with the right care from me he can give me a few more years of pleasure riding and hacking out, we don't do any thing too fancy.
Thanks for sharing your story :frow
 
Loved reading about the horses in your life. I have never heard of percherons before but love your pic she looks great.
I too am an avid horse lover having started out on a friends pony at about 6 years old. I have had my current horse Harry an ex racer for the last 11 years. My better half bought him for me as a surprise birthday present as a 7 year old. Best birthday present I've ever received. I wouldn't swop him for the world even though ex racers get a bad reputation, he's all I could want. My 12 year old son has started to have go riding him now and he's been great. At 18 now he's just started to show a few age problems ie joints, arthritis a dodgy tooth. But seen as how he started racing at 2 I don't think he's done too bad to get to 18 with no serious problems. Hope fully with the right care from me he can give me a few more years of pleasure riding and hacking out, we don't do any thing too fancy.
Thanks for sharing your story
frow.gif

Hi Yorkshire.... Its just not my story its for all of us who have stories to relate.

Your Harry sounds like a Jem.... I have found thoroughbreds to be quite sweet and expressive and willing to do what you want once they know the "rules" I rode a few for friends helping them to sort them out.

Off the track usually means the more you pull on the reins the faster they go... did you find that to be true with your Harry? Oh I have ridden at least one harness horse a trotter.... He was a Hoot once you got that steady pull on him he could out trot my mare who was at full gallop.

Percherons come from France they either come in Black or Grey in the US... Grey usually becomes white by the time they are ten or so.

My Katee is now 20, and living the life of a queen. But with good care horses can live till their mid forties...

deb
 
Thanks yes he is a star. The only thing with him is he's not keen being on his own and he likes order and routine. He's not naughty on his own it's more the noise he makes calling his mates. When we hack out you can see people curtain twitching thinking oh god what's that out there!!
To be quite honest he's always been good rein contact and brake wise. Always been in a snaffle bridle and good to stop when we go for a gallop in the fields.

I will check out the percherons over here to see if there are any about.

My friend who keeps her horse at the same place as me recently lost her first pony a Shetland x who was pushing fourth. In fact we have had at least 4 who have made it into there thirtys over the years. Harry's current field companion Cyril the squirrel is also another geriatric at 28. Just shows what TLC can achieve.
 
Oh yes herd bound.... its a tough one... but as long as he doesn't get physically into a tantrum over it life is still good.

Percherons are big... My girl is 2000 pounds now... That would be 142 stone? or 907 kilos Most certainly they are in the UK... Look up the breed site. or registry...

I have ridden her about ten times total.... even with my weight she didnt even notice I was there. I rode her out on the trail for our first trail ride and we were about a mile from home before she realized she was alone...

She let out an EEEEeew and twirled her head sort of like Arabs do. And started to turn around... As I was in no position to do battle I streightened her out and chose a place to turn around by my decision....

What I got was she settled and turned without fuss but after about a quarter mile she relized we were going home.... Snaffle bit only... So I did half halts the whole way and got the loveliest Passage over three quarters of a mile long....

I have never had a riding companion with her so we havent gone out on trail under saddle again. Done Trail drives though... An awesome way to travel.... and you can take a non horsy friend with you.

deb
 
Here are some pictures of Percherons in the UK

Percherons in the UK

I sooo love the dappled greys.... too bad they loose their dapples and become white.....

OH I love the whites too.

Actually I love all horses.... The breeds I have had have been Quarterhorse, Standardbred, Saddlebred, Running Quarter, Half Arab, Thoroughbred, and Percheron.

Katee will be my last unless I get her a companion horse...

deb
 
I've been horse crazy all my life - as a preschooler, I was afraid of the merry-go-round at the fair, but not the pony rides. Where it comes from, nobody knows, but my mother says one of her greatest regrets is that they couldn't get me riding lessons as a kid. I'd pretty much resigned myself never to actually own a horse, and then a few years ago, Betsy came into my life. When I got her, I told my mother, "I have been the recipient of the proverbial gift horse. Or maybe, half a horse. Or maybe half-of-a-half-a-horse." Betsy is a 33" mini mule, and what can I say? We are bonded. I had always thought mules rather funny-looking; I knew I had 'crossed over' into the world of the long-ear lover when I saw a pic someone posted and thought, "Now that's one good-looking mule!" Sadly, even for a mule, Betsy is funny-looking; her back is too long and her head way too big, but she forgives me for my shortcomings too, so we're good.

The person who gave me Betsy was a small scale horse trader, and I wound up working for her and a few other people at a barn near here. Over the last few years, I have had at least the part-time care and feeding of at least a hundred different horses. Some I scarcely remember, others haunt me.
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Some of my favorite characters have been off-the-track-Thoroughbreds. I've dealt with several people who say they hate them, but I find they keep me on my toes, generally in a good way. I have to "check my attitude" around them, they seem to "pick up the vibes" more than many other breeds and get antsy if I am feeling irritable and stressed out. When I'm mellow, they're mellow, and life is good!
smile.png


At the moment, I own a total of 5 equines: Betsy the mini mule, Blondie, a 35" mini that I bought for my daughter, Syd "the man-eating mini" - at 40", actually oversized, though both of her parents were registered miniature horses, Sunny, a 14-hand Quarter horse that I also consider my daughter's horse, and Latte, a QH that's a bit under 15 hands.

Right now, all of my "littles" are at the fair, where we seem to have the long and the short of it this year. There are a couple other miniature horses, a couple miniature donkeys, and everything else is a draft or draft cross. There's one gorgeous grey Percheron that I swear must be 18 hands.
love.gif
 
This is the son of my first pony.

RJ - 1980 13 hand 1/2 Arab 1/2 Hackney pony gelding

rj_2000_bn.jpg

RJ at Ram Tap, 2002
sm_rj.jpg

RJ at Eventful Acres, 2002

RJ at Silver Lining, 1987 - Photo by Ed Lawrence
-Kathy

Katy Is that you jumping tell me it is..... Awesome... Those jumps scare the begees out of me though to think of going over them...

deb
 
I've been horse crazy all my life - as a preschooler, I was afraid of the merry-go-round at the fair, but not the pony rides. Where it comes from, nobody knows, but my mother says one of her greatest regrets is that they couldn't get me riding lessons as a kid. I'd pretty much resigned myself never to actually own a horse, and then a few years ago, Betsy came into my life. When I got her, I told my mother, "I have been the recipient of the proverbial gift horse. Or maybe, half a horse. Or maybe half-of-a-half-a-horse." Betsy is a 33" mini mule, and what can I say? We are bonded. I had always thought mules rather funny-looking; I knew I had 'crossed over' into the world of the long-ear lover when I saw a pic someone posted and thought, "Now that's one good-looking mule!" Sadly, even for a mule, Betsy is funny-looking; her back is too long and her head way too big, but she forgives me for my shortcomings too, so we're good.

The person who gave me Betsy was a small scale horse trader, and I wound up working for her and a few other people at a barn near here. Over the last few years, I have had at least the part-time care and feeding of at least a hundred different horses. Some I scarcely remember, others haunt me.
roll.png


Some of my favorite characters have been off-the-track-Thoroughbreds. I've dealt with several people who say they hate them, but I find they keep me on my toes, generally in a good way. I have to "check my attitude" around them, they seem to "pick up the vibes" more than many other breeds and get antsy if I am feeling irritable and stressed out. When I'm mellow, they're mellow, and life is good!
smile.png


At the moment, I own a total of 5 equines: Betsy the mini mule, Blondie, a 35" mini that I bought for my daughter, Syd "the man-eating mini" - at 40", actually oversized, though both of her parents were registered miniature horses, Sunny, a 14-hand Quarter horse that I also consider my daughter's horse, and Latte, a QH that's a bit under 15 hands.

Right now, all of my "littles" are at the fair, where we seem to have the long and the short of it this year. There are a couple other miniature horses, a couple miniature donkeys, and everything else is a draft or draft cross. There's one gorgeous grey Percheron that I swear must be 18 hands.
love.gif

Oh I want pictures of your Mule.... and minis.... Me loves em all Minis Drafts Mules and Donkeys....

Eighteen hands is mid sized for a hitch horse.... I had a friend whos wheelers were 19 hands as three year olds.... Babies Babies I tell ya.... Barring injury they should have topped out around 20-21 hands big ole sweet Goobers

I fell in love with drafts when I saw a big Belgian standing in a box stall at the fair.... the only thing keeping him in the stall was a screen door hook.....
gig.gif
He too must have been 18 hands....

deb
 

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