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chestnutmare

OK, so who has horses? :)

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I have accidently discovered that a few of us here are horse fans (as well as chicken fans). So who has horses/had horses/rides? Let's put all of the details here. :)

 

This is my 5yr old QH mare. She was broken in at 3.5yrs and has done just a little bit of hacking and schooling. This year the plan is to get us both doing some nice flatwork. I've owned her since weaned.

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This is my 24yr old 1/4 arab x 3/4 Sec D. My amazing, wonderful, first horse. I had her since I was a child - we have a very special bond. We've done hacking mostly but I haven't ridden her for about a year due to arthritis. We're trying different tactics at the moment with supplements, vet will have another look soon.

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Your turn! :D

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They are gorgeous and so elegant, you are blessed. :D

 

My not quite so elegant dismount from my sisters mare Saphire

 

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I grew up with Brutus a nice bay cob, very gentle except when my dad was riding when he'd try and roll :roll: When I left home to go nursing he was sold and Jenny bought a fabulous irish cross that she had until she was 30years old. This is Prinnie her daughter.

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Still get excited when I see a bay cob there are so many that look like my old Brutus :D .

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That palamino is a gorgeous colour! And the chesnut mare is so pretty!

I don't have pics of mine - it was so long ago! If I do find any, I will scan them!

I was stuck on a horse at 4 years old and have been hooked ever since, hanging about anywhere where there were horses and I could cadge a ride. Didn't have many formal lessons though so a lot of the techie terms go straight over my head! I just learnt to hang on! But I was good at hanging on, so always used to be given the rogues to ride. My favourite was Drummer - a 16hh piebald cob who was a Blackpool Llandeau reject. We could only ride on the beach in Blackpool and had to cross the prom to get there - at which point Drum would attempt to gallop along the prom after the Llandeaus. I finally persuaded him it was better to cross and he could gallop all he wanted on the beach! :lol:

After that I got my own pony - a steel grey gelding called Sam who was renamed Sabre because he tried to scalp the riding school owner. I wasn't very popular so was given him to look after. He never bit me, so I bought him (if my parents had known what he was like they would never have agreed to it!) He was the softest thing going, but was sold when I had to leave home :(

Aah, I could go on forever :wink: Tell me more about your horses!

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Had a fixation with horses since I was a child. But only got to ride once a year and that was the donkies on Blackpool beach. My non horsey family just couldn't understand me. Finally got the chance to learn to ride in my late twenties and bought my first horse Merlin in 1986. We learnt togther and had such good fun over the years. He was sadly PTS May 2008 aged 27.

 

My current horse is Teddy (Imperial Gain) an American TB. I bought him Dec 2007 as a 4 year old, not long out of racing (raced 21 times on the flat). He is not a easy ride. A very sensitive little soul who carries some psychological baggage from his racing career. When he's good he's very good but when he's bad :wall: But he is very sweet natured and has perfect manners in and around the stable yard.

 

The most recent pic was taken last Jan in the snow.

 

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Well..

I've been around horses all my life, been riding since i could walk. Started having lessons at 4 years old on a little pony named Tilly, she was a old pony and died at the age of 35. Then i went onto 'bigger' ponies. :lol:

I brought Rosie when she was a foal. She is a Welsh section B who went to a new home when i outgrew her.

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A few years ago i was riding a welsh section d, at a friends riding school, and i fell off at a 4 foot jump, went over, and the horse landed on me, and broke most of my ribs and damaged my spine. :anxious: still, i got back on after 6 months off. :lol:

 

Last year me and a friend brought a welsh cross, she was a riding school pony, so wasn't very out going, would pop a little jump but LAZY :anxious: . Most happy on a hack. :mrgreen:

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Then i have the companion ponies, don't really 'do' anything. But so cute and cuddly!

Olly is a bay 8 year old shetland pony stallion, who was rescued last year.

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Wolly is a skewbald yearling colt, who was rescued when he was 6 months.

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and Chello is a tiny 7 month old (will turn)grey and white colt!

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Here is chello and my sister, see how tiny he is.

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I do alot of work on ex racehorses or rescue horses. This is Tigerlily and Archie.

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I also ride Gerry a 17.2hh Shire x Warmblood, such a big beautiufl boy. Here he is.

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And a new project.. Bailey. A cob horse. Absolutley bonkers. :dance:

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Plum, you looked to land on your feet during your dismount - an impressive landing! :)

Snowy, you sound like a very brave rider. Do you ride any more? You should scan your pics! :)

Ahhh Jules... do you fancy riding now? I remember before getting a horse, rushing for the horsey kids magazine and would read it from front to back the same day. :lol:

MMC, I like Teddy's face markings. That white stands out as it does on my mare - gorgeous.

Scarlettohara, Duke is very smart indeed! And what a rider your son looks to be.

Mollie333, that was some accident :doh::shock: . You were very brave to get back on! I'd love a lazy Welsh cross. I'm getting to be more of a wimp as I get older. :lol: I love Chello - so tiny!

 

To those who only got to dream of riding/owning a horse as a child... it's never too late to get involved in something horsey. ;)

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Trouble is it's very expensive now :( but sometimes people advertise someone to exercise their horses so perhaps that is a way to get involved again. Not many bridle paths round here. I grew up in Surrey and you could ride for miles without ever having to go on the roads :D .

 

I did look after my friends horses a couple of years ago when she was unwell for best part of a year, a very young arab and its companion a worn out old girl. I loved the old girl and used to exercise her and give them lots of attention. The blacksmith noticed how her joints had loosened up. She had to sell them eventually but I had a great year. :D

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I managed to get back into it a few years ago by volunteering to help with some RDA ponies. They weren't part of a riding school, purely RDA, so needed someone to feed and exercise them at weekends and during school holidays. I taught my oldest son to ride on a little RDA shetland to try and get them both to lose weight!! :lol: I only stopped going when I became pregnant with no 2 and at the same time they merged with a riding school so I was no longer required. I haven't ridden now for over 8 years. :( As soon as these children are either willing to come with me, or old enough to leave alone, I'll be back! :D

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My instructor told me that 'it could have been worse' :lol: .

 

The fat lazy welsh x was named Shine. She was the most laid back pony ever, i think she is being used to teach small kids to ride three times a week on hacks, so not bad for her at all. We was both way to big for her :lol: but we was going to just use her for a little jumping pony but she got bored of jumping and started playing up, i took her on a hack and then decided thats what she wanted to do, and of course, decided to 'sell' her to the riding school, where they promised for a easy life, 3 times a week maximum.. :roll:

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Wizard 14.2 Welsh D a discarded soul and my Black beauty story. Makes me very emotional

 

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Archer 15h Irish Cob. Possibly the most intelligent person on the yard.

 

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Myrrka Fjord mare 14.1 Bombproof and forward going. Built like a tank, brain of a duck.

 

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Banjo 10.2 shetland mare aka Darth Vader. Nuff said.[

 

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Used to ride - but sister nearly got killed in a car accident - her horse had to be put to sleep. I got thrown off. Sister got back on & I didn't. I gave up riding.

My sister has owned a beautiful Arab - who died a few years ago. She had a young black cob who was such a naughty boy, he was sold. He stood on her foot the day before her wedding! He also nearly killed her a few times I can tell you.

She now has a Chestnut mare & Skewbald Cob (male). They are both very very tall. :shock: They are both extremely lovely natured too & my sister can ride Archie the cob bareback no problem. 8)

I'm not a lover of horses these days - but I do like the small ones & also have a soft spot for donkeys.

 

Emma.x

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I've ridden since I was about 5 years old. Sadly never had my own horse but I'm still dreaming of owning one one day. My greatest regret was taking a break from riding when I was about 16 years old. I stopped for about 5 years, and when I started again I found I had really lost my nerve :( Before then I would ride anything and everything, in fact the crazier the better! But now I don't feel happy unless I know the horse I'm on is safe. I don't like a plodder, but neither do I enjoy charging across a field out of control whilst executing a wild bucking manouevre! :lol: Sadly the quality of riding school ponies is not always great (I guess a lot of them get spoilt by bad riding and the same boring routine), and at my local stables there's not much inbetween plodder and mad rodeo horse, but a friend and I have found a great yard in Lowestoft that we have been to a couple of times where we can gallop hell for leather along miles of open beach on safe, forward going horses so that's my real riding treat that I look forward to now..... until I get my own horse that is!

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Yes, Plum, very expensive. :( I'm going through a patch of having to spend out a lot - haylage order, farrier, vet. There always seems to be people advertising for someone to help out/part-loan their horse though. ;)

Snowy, I like your determination. :clap:

Mollie333, Shine is lovely - cute name too. I'm sure she did okay. It's hard work keeping a horse that's not suited to what you want to do with it.

Rhapsody, what lovely horses. Were they/are they all yours?

Emma, my sister was in hospital due to an accident on a horse. It was just one of those things because the horse generally was the most laid-back, laziest pony going. I've fallen off a couple of times when I was a child at a riding school. Ouch. I haven't been as confident since.

Lavenders blue, falls and breaks from riding can really knock your confidence - I should know as both have happened to me. :( Although I've never fallen off my own. :eh: Your beach rides sound fantastic - I've never ridden on a beach before.

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Beach riding is great fun - so exhilarating :P I really recommend it, even if you only get to go once. Long, uninterrupted gallops and perfect going underfoot, there's nothing not to like!

I agree, falls and breaks can knock your confidence. Luckily I've never broken anything but have twisted my spine, ouchie! However, all my nasty falls have been when I was younger and I'd just hop back on and not worry about it (my poor mum would be having kittens!) but now I do think 'what if...' and tend to avoid the more unpredictable horses. It does make me sad in a way, as I know I'm perfectly able to ride them, but I just console myself with the fact that I don't really want a broken leg (or worse!).

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Wow... you've painted a perfect picture there, sounds fantastic.

A twisted spine sounds nasty enough! I've fallen on my face, concussion, loose teeth etc. That was the fall that made me the wimp I am today. The falls before that weren't as scary and like you I'd just get back on. I had a break from riding after 'the fall' so I don't know if it was one, the other or probably a mixture of both that has made me less confident... I too 'what if'. I often hear adults saying that they 'what if' too much and when they were younger they had much more courage. So we're not uncommon! :roll:

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Beach riding is fab! I found it strange when we moved to Leicestershire that there were so few places to let of steam! We used to live in St Annes, just south of Blackpool, so most of our riding was on the beach. I'm afraid my pony was very highly trained in all the wrong ways :oops: He knew to walk onto the beach then would stand and prance on a loose rein. He wouldn't go until I leaned forward and whispered in his ear 'ready, steady ...' then he went for it! We had a couple of miles stretch from Squires Gate to St Annes of uninterrupted gallop 8)

I know what you mean about falls - someone once told me you weren't an experienced rider until you'd fallen off 100 times. I stopped counting after 100! :lol: (In my defence, I could't afford a saddle for my own pony at first, so falling off was a very regular occurrence as I rode everywhere bareback)

It all seems a bit terrifying these days though :?

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I used to love riding bareback mostly because I used to go out with my friend and dog then we both could ride some of the way. I was a lot lighter then. :D

Galloping on the beach sounds wonderful but my Brutus wouldn't have kept it up for miles. Used to gallop on the downs above Dorking though. *Sighs* for the days of my youth, freedom and wandering off for the day to go where I wanted and few responsibilities.

 

I really admire those who compete and have such wonderful control over their mounts. I entered some gymkanas but often got disqualified for failing to jump any jumps :roll: or consollation prize for coming last in the games. My mum's fault she kept encouraging us to enter. :lol:

 

To me my horse was a way of being in the open air and enjoying the countryside. :D One day perhaps I'll ride on a beach

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I was the same Plum - I did like to go to shows, but we only ever did the clear round jumping because you could enter as many times as you liked! Sabre always refused the first jump, so we retired then went in for another go. He would have been quite good but I then used to forget the route! :lol: We had fun though - all I really wanted to do was plait him up and get dressed up in 'proper' riding outfit. My Mum finally got her own horse as well, so at one time we used to have a regular summer Saturday long ride. Rode miles, then stopped for a pub lunch - one of us waited on the car park with the pones and the other got lunch. Then we held them while we sat outside and ate. No one ever sent us away, but i can imagine the landlords face these days if someone asked to bring two horses into the beer garden! :lol: We also used to ride round the back of Blackpool Zoo (I think it's all houses there now). Sabre was well 'ard and didn't mind staring down the lions and tigers from the safe side of the fence! :shock:8)

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:lol::lol: Sabre sounds great.

 

That's where I went wrong, should have gone for clear round jumping so I'd have got another go. Mind you poor Brutus was a changed horse when my sister came back from learning to be a BHS riding instructor fed him oats and woke him up. He was even used to train jockeys at one time. :lol: Don't think he'd have ever stared down a lion though :shock:

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I was terrified of introducing him to the family as I hadn't warned them of his history of scalping people! My mum had a rest home for the elderly and wanted me to bring him home one day to show her ladies. He stood in our back garden surrounded by little old ladies making a fuss of him and just lapped it up. I was terrified he was going to attack someone, but he never did it again. He was such a love! :lol:

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@ CM- Yup they're all mine and still with me and I run a livery yard from home so I have other people's around too. I am the Freaky Horse Hippy round these parts I ride mine bitless and barefoot in treeless saddles I even ride Wizard with no tack at all in the school :wink:

My ideal time with my neds is to head out into our fabulous hacking out the back gate with the dog for company and do whatever I please. I used to showjump but now I'd rather be boiled in oil than go to a show, I'm a Cowgirl at heart!

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I've looked after horses if that counts? :)

I can sit on a horse but can't ride :lol:

 

Used to look after them at a childrens farm, we had Paddy the Piebald, a few shetlands and a donkey + 3 heavies.

Taking the heavies out to the field at the end of the day was the best bit, in the mornings we'd open the gate and they'd trot up to their stables. Remember one time it was really stormy + tipping it down with rain, was taking Samson (18hh Shire) out + we just ran the whole way down to the field 8)

Paddy would kick you with his front legs if he was bored of the kid sitting on him was too fat and he wanted off :roll::lol:

 

Me + Paddy:

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Heavies in the field:

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Samson:

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Yes, horses are a very expensive hobby second only to chickens :liar: I've been keeping horses since 1986 and this winters hay is the most expensive yet (£4.95 a bale). Upside, the quality is very good and so no waste. The downside, the horses love it and are eating it faster than normal. Had to resort to small hole hay nets to make it last longer :roll:

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