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Post by squiggle37 on Jul 16, 2016 9:20:00 GMT -5
Join in if you are someone who loves, owns, has owned, leases, rides, or just likes to watch these magnificent animals! We love to share stories and talk about the critters that keep us on our toes and in the saddle while on this weight loss journey. If you don't see this tread, please feel free to start it.
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Post by squiggle37 on Jul 16, 2016 9:32:07 GMT -5
I will start this thread with a short introduction. I do not have any horses at present. Last October I had to put my last 2 old horses down. It was a very hard decision. I'm now horseless after more than 40 years.
I got my first Welch type pony when I was 13 and only had him a couple of months. He died of eating some type of poison plant. The next pony was named Buck and I rode him bareback all over the place. My parents sold him and we moved out of state.
I got my first horse 3 weeks after I got married. He was a 4 yr old gaited gelding. I had him for 10 yrs until one night he got out of the barn and was hit by a car and killed. He was my first show horse too.
I started breeding gaited horses and trained my own show horses. I quit showing about the year 2001 and then just trail rode my horses with friends. We would trailer to a National Park that has trails for horses and we would camp 2-3 days there. This was rough camping but we had a lot of fun.
As the horses got older we quit riding them until last October.
Tell us your horse story.
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Post by chickadee223 on Jul 16, 2016 10:01:51 GMT -5
Hi, Squiggle! Thank you for starting this group - I am so excited to hear about everyone's experiences with these great animals. I am so sorry that you had to put your last two down, how devastating. And the sad stories about your other horses! Do you plan on getting new ones at some point? It must be very strange not having them around after so long living with them. My story: when I was 5, my parents purchased a beautiful chestnut Arabian. It was after my brother passed away (7 years old, sadly), and was a way for my dad to work through his grief, I think. My family had no prior knowledge of horses, we're not horse people, etc. I truly think my dad read a book on horses one day and said, "That's it! Now we are horse people!", ha. We boarded our horse at a lovely farm, but my dad had no one to ride with, and I was too young to really ride solo (especially since no lessons were offered as an option! I sort of can't get over that one.), so it seemed best after 3 years to re-home our horse. However, I grew up absolutely adoring horses, even though we no longer had one. I loved being around our horse, but lacked the education on how to actually do anything with him beyond patting his nose I would read endless books on horses, drew horses, pretended to *be* a horse...you get the idea! One day, when I was about 9 or 10, a friend of mine and her family took me to the barn where they took lessons, as there was a show going on that day. I was enthralled - what! There was a place IN OUR TOWN where one could have LESSONS on riding horses?! Up until then I had no idea one could do such a thing. Well! On that car ride back to drop me off, I remember conspiring with my friend and her sister on how to convince my parents to let me take lessons at their barn. We had a great argument planned, ha! Well, I proposed my carefully thought out request to get riding lessons, and...my parents essentially laughed me out the door. "We owned a horse, and you never even wanted to RIDE him!! Now you want lessons?!" Harrumph. My life with horses seemed to be over. I grew up, started getting into music, went to conservatory and became a classical singer. Took time off to have a family, and after my second child was born, found my life to be lacking something. My parents came to visit us, and I don't know how it was brought up - but my dad reiterated his exclamation from 20+ years before, "We had a horse, and she didn't even want to RIDE him!! Then she came to us, asking for LESSONS!!??" Omg, the past came rushing back to me in that instant, like something out of a movie. Suddenly, I knew what I wanted to try, to fill this void I'd been feeling! The next week, I started researching barns, and started taking lessons That was very long, and I'm sorry! But, really therapeutic to type out. I can't wait to hear of others' experiences!
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Post by keberly1 on Jul 16, 2016 11:08:04 GMT -5
Hi Squiggle and Chickadee! We have what my friends like to call a petting farm. My husband's horse is a Clydesdale/Thoroughbred cross, Mine (the one in the picture) is Reggie the Norwegian Fjord. We also have a 26 year old blind Appaloosa that we've had since he was born. Besides the horses, we have two miniature donkeys, two Nigerian dwarf goats and 3 (soon to be 4) Newfoundland dogs. We have a wide variety of pet hair. I grew up loving and wanting horses but my parents were not horse people and they got me a dirt bike instead. My dad insisted that I could trail ride the dirt bike and I didn't have to feed it or care for it if I wasn't riding it. Also, since we lived in suburbia, there was no room for a horse. I amassed an award-winning collection of Breyer horses and bought my own real horse, a spooky old Arab gelding, after I graduated from college. Fast forward 25 years and we live out in the country in an apartment at the end of our barn. We primarily trail ride with a little bit of dressage work. I did some jumping years ago, but the older I get, the harder the ground gets. I'm glad to see some other horsey people here.
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Post by ASL on Jul 16, 2016 11:19:49 GMT -5
Growing up I used to show both English & Western. I love horses and in 1985 I had to give up the horse I would get as a camp care program because I moved to NJ and they wanted too much money to transport and I couldn't afford the cost of a horse after that. I had an original deal with the barn where I kept my horse. Now, I'm in WNC and hope to one day get a horse again!
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Post by squiggle37 on Jul 16, 2016 11:47:27 GMT -5
I had model horses, paintings and anything horsey while in grade school. I would save my allowance to buy the next horse thing.
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Post by chickadee223 on Jul 16, 2016 12:11:17 GMT -5
Hi Squiggle and Chickadee! We have what my friends like to call a petting farm. My husband's horse is a Clydesdale/Thoroughbred cross, Mine (the one in the picture) is Reggie the Norwegian Fjord. We also have a 26 year old blind Appaloosa that we've had since he was born. Besides the horses, we have two miniature donkeys, two Nigerian dwarf goats and 3 (soon to be 4) Newfoundland dogs. We have a wide variety of pet hair. I grew up loving and wanting horses but my parents were not horse people and they got me a dirt bike instead. My dad insisted that I could trail ride the dirt bike and I didn't have to feed it or care for it if I wasn't riding it. Also, since we lived in suburbia, there was no room for a horse. I amassed an award-winning collection of Breyer horses and bought my own real horse, a spooky old Arab gelding, after I graduated from college. Fast forward 25 years and we live out in the country in an apartment at the end of our barn. We primarily trail ride with a little bit of dressage work. I did some jumping years ago, but the older I get, the harder the ground gets. I'm glad to see some other horsey people here. Oh my goodness, look at that Reggie - he's adorable!! You have quite the array of animals! Has your Appaloosa ever been able to be ridden? Do the other horses or animals look after him at all? I've heard stories where a blind horse will sometimes be given help meandering around pastures and such with a "buddy" animal.
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lani
This space for rent
Posts: 43,920
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Post by lani on Jul 16, 2016 12:15:52 GMT -5
I owned a purebred Arabian and also a quarterhorse/Arabian in my teens. I was a diehard horse lover as a child. Owning and caring for them got it out of my system by the time I hit my twenties, but it was a wonderful experience. Glad to see others have stuck with it!
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Post by squiggle37 on Jul 16, 2016 14:17:03 GMT -5
lani as you get older you may want to get involved with horses again in some way.
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Post by barbl123 on Jul 16, 2016 14:59:56 GMT -5
Hi All - Thanks Beth (Squiggle37) for getting this going - I along w/her have come over from WW horse board - there is a group of us who have been "together" for 6+ years! I currently own (or am owned by) a 20 yr old double reg pinto/paint mare (with no color!) i have had her for 3 years this month -prior to that I had a Morgan for 19 years - I put him down at 34! I board her out and just trail ride -in my past horse life I had several OTTB's I showed H/J & dressage. I am a mature rider (!) and just like to go easy - we ride 5-6x a week -weather permitting -she is pasture boarded 24/7 w/a "roommate" -(20 yr old appy gelding) the barn is 1.5 miles from my house & 3 houses down from conservation trails -we are lucky in that -hope this group can get going!
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Post by squiggle37 on Jul 16, 2016 15:26:50 GMT -5
Hey Barb! Glad you can come on over here. Your avatar of Penny is beautiful since the pictures are now large enough to be able to see what is posted.
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Post by ASL on Jul 16, 2016 16:01:29 GMT -5
LOL. At one time I had ALL the available Beyers horses. I still have them but all boxed up :-(
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Post by keberly1 on Jul 17, 2016 8:14:41 GMT -5
I have shelves above my windows in the combination kitchen/dining/sitting room. All my Breyer horses are there. I get a ladder and dust them once a year. They're out of the way but still on display. If I didn't live in a barn and still have horses, they might be packed away though.
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