Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Sally PB]

I would be terrified to being disease home with me.

Oh, me too. I would never buy chickens at an auction. I think I *might* go to a show, some day. Like you, I'd be afraid of bringing home disease.

 

[Folly's place]

I go to one poultry show, not far away, and I park far from the door. When I get home, everything, shoes on up, goes in the washer, and I shower. No birds come home with me, ever.
Years ago, when the MSU equine department had an annual Arabian horse auction, my friend opened the bidding on a nice gelding, just to be helpful. She was the only bidder, and bought herself a very cute horse, who's still with her. It was beyond funny at the time! (And is still pretty funny...)
Mary

 

[picklestheduck]

I go to one poultry show, not far away, and I park far from the door. When I get home, everything, shoes on up, goes in the washer, and I shower. No birds come home with me, ever.
Years ago, when the MSU equine department had an annual Arabian horse auction, my friend opened the bidding on a nice gelding, just to be helpful. She was the only bidder, and bought herself a very cute horse, who's still with here. It was beyond funny at the time! (And is still pretty funny...)
Mary

Wowwww. That’s cool! Yeah I would get a horse from auction, but I would have to have a better set up here, with a nice quarantine area and enough money to cover possible hidden ailments or injuries. Rn I’m just not in the space for it

 

[1muttsfan]

MSU has some beautiful Arabs. You can go out to the horse barns and walk around, very fun in the spring when the foals are born.

 

[picklestheduck]

MSU has some beautiful Arabs. You can go out to the horse barns and walk around, very fun in the spring when the foals are born.

That’s awesome. I never thought I’d be but I’ve somehow become a sucker for Arabs without me even realizing. I’ve got a Morgan Arab cross and recently just started working with a little Arab gelding. So many people see them as high strung and more dangerous but it just seems to take more of a gentle and understanding hand is what I’ve found. I will say they are complicated but seem to be more delicate than “high strung”

 

[Folly's place]

Smart, and alert, fun trail riding. My mare always was aware of her surroundings, and noticed things first every time.
Mary

 

[picklestheduck]

Smart, and alert, fun trail riding. My mare always was aware of her surroundings, and noticed things first every time.
Mary

Same here. My mare is the leader of the herd and it’s a good thing since she’s super aware and protective. Once a farmer was doing a controlled burn of thr friekd next to the pasture (I was not pleased but it’s not like I could stop it) and my mare quickly gathered her herd who were lazily middling around and moved them farthest from that fence line. She would definitely spook here and there when I used to ride her but she would be the first one to go through a scary water crossing or under some really low brush. She just had a lot of trust in me and I in her. A connection I never really felt with other horses so much. I have two years on her before she went dead lame and we found some very severe arthritis in her elbow. Really hard one to give up riding on. I still walk her around from time to time since she needs to get her joints moving but it’s not the same

 

[picklestheduck]

Same here. My mare is the leader of the herd and it’s a good thing since she’s super aware and protective. Once a farmer was doing a controlled burn of thr friekd next to the pasture (I was not pleased but it’s not like I could stop it) and my mare quickly gathered her herd who were lazily middling around and moved them farthest from that fence line. She would definitely spook here and there when I used to ride her but she would be the first one to go through a scary water crossing or under some really low brush. She just had a lot of trust in me and I in her. A connection I never really felt with other horses so much. I have two years on her before she went dead lame and we found some very severe arthritis in her elbow. Really hard one to give up riding on. I still walk her around from time to time since she needs to get her joints moving but it’s not the same

But I wouldn’t give her up for the world.

 

[1muttsfan]

I've always thought of Arabs being more reactive than necessarily spooky. I used to ride a very bright Arab gelding, you'd be trotting along and all of a sudden he would shoot sideways 10 ft. At which point you were either laying on your back on the ground, or still thankfully on him. Not maliciously, just because he thought he might have seen something.
Even at 20 years of age he would still go on all day trail rides and try to beat the other horses back to the trailer, and would get very grumpy if you held him back.

 

[picklestheduck]

I've always thought of Arabs being more reactive than necessarily spooky. I used to ride a very bright Arab gelding, you'd be trotting along and all of a sudden he would shoot sideways 10 ft. At which point you were either laying on your back on the ground, or still thankfully on him. Not maliciously, just because he thought he might have seen something.
Even at 20 years of age he would still go on all day trail rides and try to beat the other horses back to the trailer, and would get very grumpy if you held him back.

Yep. I agree. Arabs have crazy endurance too. My mare is nearing 23 and has arthritis that is slowly crippling her, and as tradition I always ride on thanksgiving, well I did so again since the vet had cleared me to ride her for 15 minutes or so when she’s doing good, and I just went bareback since I thought it would be chi. Nope. She had the energy of a four year old and was hopping straight into the air and then later bucked when I tried to lope let her into the big long narrow field after our ride and she took off bolting and broncing