Regarding the Horses in our lives...

[perchie.girl]

Wow. That was something else with Donna Summer. Does this horse compete seriously?

I want to add Most likely this was a demonstration for a clinic the trainer was doing... This sort of thing would not be used otherwise... Dressage competitions are very serious affairs to be sure.

deb

 

[enola]

I saw something similar with a guy riding a bridle less Quarter horse doing dressage. In the ring with them were a guy on a motor bike, hand full of sparklers in containers, horses moving at different speeds with their riders popping bull whips....... You get the idea. Truly amazing!

 

[Bunnylady]

Having seen horses come unglued over little things like grocery bags blowing around, I have to say, seeing that horse that calm about having the tarp brought up over her was just amazing.

 

[perchie.girl]

Having seen horses come unglued over little things like grocery bags blowing around, I have to say, seeing that horse that calm about having the tarp brought up over her was just amazing.

Yes it was... And I have the poster child for Non Drama in a corral in the desert... I dont think she woulda made it through the whole routine.

I once watched Katee pick up a resin chair just to waive it at the horse across the asile from her.... OMG the whirling and the snorting and the sliding stops to the other end of the corral... barn owner told me to take the chair home... well it really wasnt a chair it was more of a Bench seat LOL. top rail on that pipe corral is five feet




Then there was the time I moved her to a place that would let me have two pipe corrals for her... neither pipe was in good condition so we took down the middle and swapped some good pipe for bad.... that involved taking down a second shelter.... it was just clamped to rotted pipe so easy to take down... My girl was in the middle of things "Helpin"....dumping buckets of tools and saying "Hey I could step over that" as he started to step over the broken pipe to get to the next corral.... I had to tie her to the fence... When the shelter came down all the other horses were snorting and bucking and tossing heads.... Katee was taking a nap through it.

Then when we were finally done and I turned her loose a plastic bag got loose and started drifting through the corral... Again Snorts and spooks and bucks and farts from the rest... Katees reaction.... "Oooh those bags have food in them sometimes..." and she followed it across her corral where I snatched it up before someone else had a heart attack.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Funny thing that picture shows Katee at six years old... back in 2000. She was somewhat fit but pretty light weight back then probably only about 1600-1700 lbs... give or take. No work means no real muscle. And Her tail is not docked at the time it dragged the ground if I didnt trim it occasionally.

So when people who don't really know the breeds looked at her they thought she was a Friesian.... LOL. My friend Denise was boarding there when we moved in... and one woman came up to Katee and was talking about the new Friesian in the barn... Denise tried to correct her... No Katee is a Percheron... the woman insisted... she gave in then and said... WEll I hope not because my friend Debbie who owns this mare bought a Percheron..... Bwhahahaha.

I had the opportunity to show Katee in 2001 at the Del Mar Fair.. Mann she had only been hitched to a vehicle for 30 days.... about the same amount of time under saddle too. My trainier said why not... so we went... I didnt have a horse trailer at the time so we pushed her into a two horse straight load and shoved her forward in order to shut the door... I am not kidding every move she made the top door on the horse trailer would bow out... I fully expected her to come out of that trailer with square corners....

...

No but she was excited to see all the stuff around her.... Tallest I have ever seen her.... bringing that neck up like its supposed to be to look around... she seemed 22 hands tall not the short stuff she was at 17.1 hands... That event was the most fun I ever had with my girl... Back then I was on crutches having snapped my ACL. The mounting block steps collapsed while I was trying to get on her...

Any way I was walking about on crutches with Katee on a lead rope... we got lots of pictures taken of us for that.... LOL. This was the Draft Horse and Mule show... and they had the Friesians in there as well. What nice nice nice people I met on both sides... Draft people and Friesian people.... All helped us when we needed it... an extra hand or a missing part...

So I found out a Vendor for hot water bathing equipment passed out cards and told everyone to come by they would be washing all comers... They setup in the Friesian Isle... So Katee and I went over and stood in line for her bath. We met some lovely Friesians and Friesian owners... a couple of famous ones too I am told. One fellow was an importer and both he and his protoge helped us hitch for a class..

Anyway while we were waiting our turn this woman comes down the aisle with her short shorts flip flops and jewelry... big sunglasses but no hat... "Shes lovely isn't she.... " referring to Katee... "Are you going to show her...?" "Um yep... our first show ever." I was busy watching her toes and paying attention to Katee who was fidgeting... There was a stallion in the stall close by behaving himself... but still.

"Are you going to breed her?" The woman was still there... "Yes probably if I find the right stallion.... " then I took it a little bit further "Most likely not to a Friesian though." The shocked look on her face was priceless... " But why not...." "Because shes a Percheron not a Friesian" HO MY GAWD that friendly kissuppy face turned cold.... "Welll... I Thought she had a common head" and she walked off...

It was our turn for a bath... they did a good job and Katee was loving the warm water...

lol... Katee has a very pretty head... even for a Friesian.

deb

 

[enola]

When I was showing my mare, my closest horsey friend was showing a black Percheron stallion. His manners were impeccable, NOTHING phase him. When it was time to put him in the show barn stall, he had to be backed in. He was too big to turn around in the stall. One of the rented stalls was never used, so the show steward moved a bunch of horses down one stall and the took down the stall divider so he could have two stalls.

 

[chicknmania]

Have you thought of volunteering with a Therapeutic riding program... Usually a bunch of other horse people are doing the same then chat them up see if they need a helper or someone to exercise... Build your network amongst caring horse people not in it for the money.

I have one friend that volunteers in New Mexico and another who started her own therepudic program in Maryland. These programs are all over and need all sorts of volunteers.

deb

That's a thought..I might look into that if I can find one close. Thanks for the idea!

 

[srutan23]

Love this thread! I started riding horses when I was 4. My first horse was a retired albino barrel racing pony named Babe. He was a little brat. He would get fixated on trees and just go in circles until someone stepped in and stopped him. I showed Saddlebreds from age 6 to 15 then again from 25-30 years old. I loved it. It was the greatest childhood experience. I have endless memories of horse shows. There is no greater feeling than being on the back of a Saddlebred on a victory pass. They are flighty at times but if they are sitting in a bridle right, they are gorgeous. Now that I have children, I don't have the time or money to do it. However I will own a horse again in my lifetime. It is something that never leaves your blood once it is there.

 

[enola]

I have suffered from ' horse fever ' my entire life.

 

[Bunnylady]

Yeah, they just do something to you, and those who don't suffer from it will never, ever understand . . . .

The thought of Katee freaking the other horses out with her antics struck me as terribly funny, but then, I have one of those "wig first, ask questions later" sorts, so I know how they can be. I have seen Syd stand so close to a burning brush pile that I feared she's catch her mane on fire, and I've seen her standing in a cloud of sawdust and smoke from a chainsaw my husband was using. On the other hand, I have also seen her brain fall out over a banner the size of a placemat that was flapping in the breeze, 100 feet away.

A week or so ago, BB2K and I clipped long lines on Syd and Blondie, and "drove" them through the neighborhood. My husband saw us coming back, and he said, "I don't understand why you don't just hitch them up to the cart and ride instead of walking." I looked at BB2K and asked her, "how many times would you have "died" if you had been hitched?" (she's a gamer; gamers "die" a thousand times a day) "I'm not exactly sure, but several," she said. I said, "with me, it would have been at least 3; the first time Syd spooked we weren't even out of the driveway, and she went sideways." Yes, we still have a lot of work to do with them; maybe now that BB2K is out of school for the summer, we can get to it.