# Horses!



## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

i just posted this cause me falina and jeanel(sorry if i misspelled your name) were talking about horses in the dog post. anyone with horses or who had horses or just wanna talk about them are welcome to share in the conversation. :wink:


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

Aaaahh....yes. Horses. My first love. I think I was born with horses in my blood. 

Love your Morgans Crazy4fish. Do you guys breed them and show them?


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

yah we do. we bred shila tessy and trinny on our farm and we have bred portia who is do in april. i show my horse Happy and we also show Midnight, sometimes Portia, and we show Tess, Trinny and Shila in-hand. we used to show splendor but then we bred her 3 years in a row and now she is kinda out of shape. lol! we just got George last year and we are still working with him. he is gonna be our breeding stallion! did you ever show horses? 8)


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

Yes, just at the local shows...nothing big. My sisters and I would enter equitation classes, pleasure classes, some jumping and I even entered my pony (the Welsh/Hackney) into a halter class. She had beautiful confirmation. We also used to go to gymkanas alot, I still have my box full of ribbons up in the closet lol!

We had a thoroughbred mare which we bred and had the colt trained for the racetrack. He ran one race. But we retired him because he bowed a tendon. My oldest sister ended up taking him with her to Oregon when she went to college. She worked with him and did 3 day eventing with him...stadium jumping, dressage and cross country.

But alas, once I moved away from home, got married and had a family I didn't have the money (or time!) to keep horses anymore. One of my sisters still has a horse and the oldest one teaches riding lessons occasionally.


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

im not into anything major either. i do a mix of pleasure and equitation classes. i ride hunterseat but really want to ride western. i love trail riding too. so does my horse. i dont really do jumping except little ones for fun. i like briding bareback as well. when you rode did you ride western, saddleseat, or hunterseat?


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

My mom was a horsewoman (she and her sister used to ride their horses to school in Montana!) and she has us girls in a saddle as soon as we could hold ourselves up in the seat LOL. We took both English and Western riding lessons. We showed mostly English but when we went on trail rides (which is mainly what we did) we rode Western because it was more comfortable for long rides and we could pack saddlebags with lunches and drinks, etc. We used to ride all day on the trails. Such fun!


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

we ride in western saddles sometimes but none of our horses are neck reined. i am working on it with midnight and she started to get the hang of it. your mom was so lucky!!!!! i wish i could ride my horse to get places in stead of driving. when i go on trail rides they usually dont last all day(a few hours) cause there are only a few trails near my house.


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

hay guys.......
any pictures of your horses ?
i have only tried horse riding twice,to be honest they scare the
pants off me,but i think they're beautiful.


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

Hmmm. None on the digital camera. I'll have to try scanning some.

If you look on the Dogs thread Crazy4fish has some beautiful pics of her Morgans. Then we decided we better start our own horse thread! lol


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

yeah we kinda changed the "dogs" one to horses in the process. lol!
:lol: i can post a few more if you want.  









this is tessy. and the one below is tess as a baby.
















this is shila
shila as a baby.

















this is portia.









this is just a few of them playing in the snow. and the rest are a few of them playing around too.









































hope you liked them! :wink:


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

omg crazy fish your horses are gourgeous

ive always wanted a horse. ive been riding for 7 years, but cant get a horse because livery is expensive here and i dont have the time to go to a stable everyday. its my dream and goal to get a horse lol


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

yeah they are expensive and a lot of work! lol but it is really fun to ride. southafrica, have you ever been to a horse show? it sounds like you are a pretty experienced rider. the reason most people dont get horses is because of land. is that a reason for you too? i know some people who board their horses at other stables because of land issues. luckily i have a bit of land for my horses. :wink:


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

yea were i live there isisnt big plots of land to buy, so the only option is stables and they get expensive. i acually havent been to horse shows i have no one to go with lol


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

oh yeah i forgot lol! you could borrow one of mine lol! :lol: what kind of horse do you take lessons on?


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

hehe thanks if it not to difficult to get it around the world in a day hehe. all kinds really, most are just your average riding school, lazy horses lol. but there is another stable that uses ex polo horses to ride with and they are amazing


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

hmmm interesting. i have never played polo have you? i actually never even seen it played.


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

nope i havent played it lol. ive seen them being trained and they are amazing horses


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

what style do you ride?


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

just your normal school style riding lol, im not so great with names and technical terms lol  etc


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

thats ok a lot of people arent lol!


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

hehe lol yea. whats your style of riding?


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

i ride huntseat. but i really want to ride western. and just so you know there are 3 types of riding: western, huntseat, and saddleseat. huntseat and saddleseat are sometimes both put into one category called english. hope you got that. lol :wink:


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

hehe ok thanks can you describe hunt seat to me ?  

i love the idea of western its so free


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

Here's some old pics I scanned. Hopefully they'll turn out ok.

This is Tavianne, our Thoroughbred mare.









We bred her once and got this guy, Taviloma.









This is going way back to when I was just a kid. Me and my friend Tracy in a pairs class. I'm on the right on my pony Peek-A-Boo.









Peek-A-Boo









A more recent pic. My sister, Deanna, on her horse Brass. I'm on the right on Jake, the Palomino.









My Morgan/Arabian, Silky Sue.


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## Mirta (Apr 21, 2007)

It's a whole other world! Fantastic creatures! 

Could anyone explain the difference between saddleseat and huntseat?


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

those are such cute horses!  i love the colors of brass and jake! and southafrica and mirta, huntseat is the style that jeaninal is riding in the third pic. it was created for fox hunting and is very popular now. (thats the style i ride) and saddleseat is more fancy. you wear more showy clothes and the horses hold their heads up high and lift their feet as high as they can. it isnt as relaxed as western or huntseat, you want your horse to be pumped so if performs to its best. i'll give some pics below. :wink: 









this is a western horse and rider. it is very relaxed and laid back. the speed is very slow and the horses head is lower and it doesnt lift its feet too high.








this is a western saddle. it always has a horn on the front and usually has some kind of silver on it. western bridles usually have more silver on them too.








this is huntseat. it is faster than western and the horse carries its head a bit higher. the rider sits leaning foward just a bit because this is how you would sit if you were fox hunting and jumping over brush.








these are huntseat saddles. pretty plain right? same with the bridals. unlike western the rider wears a helmet when riding huntseat. you also wear a short coat and "breeches" or the tight fitting pants. you also wear boots.








this is saddleseat. im assuming that just by seeing the pics you can now tell the difference between this and huntseat. in saddleseat the horse in excited and ready to go(they have to be to lift their feet that high) they hold their head up and lift their feet. they only go a bit faster than huntseat but only because they are so pumped.








this is a saddleseat saddle. it is even plainer than the huntseat. the only obvious difference is that the huntseat has a pad where you knee would go. you can tell by the pics that the outfit for saddleseat is very formal. you wear a long coat with slacks and a hat called a derbie. you have to hold your hands higher than you would have to in huntseat or western.








western








huntseat








saddleseat

hope that helped


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

That's a very good explanation, Crazy4fish. :wink:


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

thanks i tried not to make it too complicated. :wink:


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

great now i know the differnce lol  jeaninel your horses are gorgeous 
in huntseat the reins seem to be much longer?


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## Mirta (Apr 21, 2007)

Thanks so much! I do believe it is better to support any explanation with visual aids!  Now even I know the difference. I have never been around horses due to many circumstances. We do have enough land to keep horses but we have to live in the city for the time being...  

Maybe someday we'll be bold enough to get a pony. Horses are gregarious, so one pony would not be enough. Then they will have babies - and before we know it we might have a little horse farm! :roll: 

So far I can only enjoy horses when I go the stables with my daughter who takes riding classes. Now i will study her saddle and her style knowingly. It is not western (which I think is the best, no matter how elegant English can be), that's for sure. I do not know which direction to take. They have jumping and riding - dancing - not sure how to call it in English  Dressage - ? :? It could be better for a girl. Right now she is taking private lessons in riding.

I also wanted to remark how lucky you are (of course, you work hard for that  ) to have such wonderful horses! We wish you all the best with them!


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

glad i could help and glad you learned somehting! and yes it is called dressage. it it kind of like huntseat in apperance b  ut much trickier to learn. you have to make the horse do all diiferent kinds of things by using pretty much JUST YOUR LEGS. :shock: i havent tried to accomplish that and dont think i ever will. it just seems like to much work to enjoy the riding. my horse "Happy" knows how to do dressage. her old owners taught her and it is fun to play around and see if i can get her to do some of the steps sometimes. (usually i have no clue what the cue is :lol: ) one day i was cantering her around and was trying to slow her down a bit so i pulled back on the reins a bit and she kept cantering but in shorter and shorter strides. i actually got her to canter in place!  she move her legs like she was cantering but stayed in one spot. it was really fun! so i guess once you laern to do dressage it wouldnt be so bad. :wink: 

and by the way.... the reins can be a bit longer in huntseat but usually they just look longer because you give the horse more slack. in saddleseat you have the reins really tight to keep the horses head up. :wink:


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## Mirta (Apr 21, 2007)

As I was reading how you were slowing Happy down, I was actually visualising the whole thing - it appeared to be really beautiful!  

How do you give names to your horses?


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

everyone names their horses a different way but i like to wait and watch them for a few months before i give them a name. i like to give them a name that fits their character or apperance. when you breed show horses you might name them after a famous parent. we have done that twice. george's real name is SpectaCall. we capitalized the "c" and added an extra "l" to make the word "Call" because his father is a well known morgan named "call to order" tessy's real name is Intensity. we didnt capaitalize the "t" but in her name is the word "ten" because her father is "Tennison". we didnt name happy but her parents names were "pazzaz" and "happy time" so she was named "happy hour". so there are many different ways to name your horses.


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

That's also common for naming race horses. Our mare was named Tavianne. She was bred with King Loma (his dad's name was Donut King lol) so we named the colt TaviLoma. But most of our other horses either had names when we bought them or, like you said Crazy4fish, got their names from their personalities. We had a white quarterhorse appropriately named Marshmallow because she was white and a bit on the "heavy" side. She was very comfortable to ride bareback because she was soft as a marshmallow lol!


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

i like the name donut king the best! lol!


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

have any of you guys ever barrel raced? doesnt have to be in a competition but even at your house or barn?


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

Yes, I have . It was just in a local gymkana. It was fun!


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

i havent really barrel raced but at my lesson barn we try to barrel race around water buckets. it was really fun so i just wanted to know if anyone had actually done it the right way. :lol:


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

hehe whats barrel racing?
ive done a small gymkana and two mini dressage competitions when i was younger.


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

Barrel racing is when 3 barrels are set up and you race around them in a cloverleaf pattern without knocking them over. You have to cross your tracks when you go around the barrels. Fastest time wins. 
(I tried to do a diagram but it didn't turn out)


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

oooo ok 
thanks jeaninel, dont worry about the diagram, its the thought that counts really


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

how did you do in your dressage things?


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

Ahhhh, just discovered this topic goin on in here, knew I should have waded into the Off-Topic sooner 

So, basically horses are my life, I work at a National level Arabian farm and then I also have an appendix QH (that's a thoroughbred/Quarter Horse cross) that I show locally but haven't gotten to do much with these last couple years . I started riding him when my first horse was too sick to be ridden since she had heaves, and got along with him really well so we showed a bit and then my trainer-his owner-passed away (not suddenly but it still sucked very very much), and I ended up inheriting him. His name's Spenser and I'm hoping to show this summer, we shall see. Right now the weather's been too cold so I haven't done anything with him.


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

ooo Flashygrrl your horse is gourgeous  and its know we have another experienced horse keeper 

crazy4fish in my first dressage i was young and my horse kept on riding out of the arena lol, so i had spent alot of time learning the dressage, but my pride was broken when a women took me around the course. I cried so much lol. my second one was much better and i didnt do to badly


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

Hi Flashygrrl!
Spenser looks very handsome. What kind of showing will you be doing with him?


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

We just do little local shows, I stick to the hunter classes. We were working on other stuff like showmanship and western and trail and then Kim got sick and passed away and I lost a great trainer, so now I'm stuck in a rut 

And thank you for your compliments, he was actually a rescue from Florida and came up here because he has skin allergies that keep under control better in Michigan so it's doubly great to have him here.


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

he is a beautiful horse! :wink: is he a stallion or gelding? do you have any more pics? we would love to see some more!

and southafrica dont feel bad... i have had some not-so-great shows too. 

at my very first show we brought 2 horses one for me and one for my sister. they apparently didnt like the fact that only one could go in the ring at a time. i was riding splendor and my sis was riding a horse named flo(she unfortunately passed away).
i went into the ring on splendor and she wouldnt move at all! i was sooo mad! one of the show workers had to come and lead me to the rail and get her moving. once they did that she wouldnt stop moving! she kept trotting faster and faster and wouldnt slow down!!!!!

the whole time my dad is trying to hold flo still and isnt doing a great job of that. flo is trotting back and forth behind the ring calling to splendor and getting her worked up. it was just terrible!!!!!!! my sister was going to ride flo in one of the next classes but we couldnt get flo undercontrol so that didnt happen.

it really wasnt a great first experiance....... i dont know why i ever wanted to show again after that!?!?!!? :lol:


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

Gelding. I don't really have a whole lot of decent pictures because some got lost, some are old, and some just look pretty crappy  But let me look really quickly.

Hmmm...these are at a "fun" show a couple years back, we were FREEZING cold.

















Yeah, I looked like death warmed over by that point.

And another show...not freezing for sure! This was before I got the darn coat tailored. 


















Silly pony  And that was when I was still actually actively working on my riding. But the weather's getting better so here's hoping we start working on it again soon.


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

he is so pretty. our shows are for fun too. we TRY not to get too competetive. :lol: but sometimes when you can just feel you are going to win (or when you see the judge look at you and smile) its kinda fun to show off.


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

lol, I got 3rd out of 16 riders in Sr. Horse Pleasure at the fun show and I swear I was going "neener-neener" as I left the ring. Either that or laughing my butt off at my barnmate.


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

lol! dont you love the feeling you get when you hear your named called in the top 3? well when you hear your named called at all? lol! its even better when i win or place well because my older sister is in ALL my classes with me and i love to place above her! lol! she always thinks she is the best at everything and its nice to know i can beat her at someting. lol


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

LOL, my sister hasn't ridden in years since she didn't do much to help take care of our first horse so everyone lost respect for her and she wasn't able to get any new rides. I always had very specific directions that she was never allowed on Spenser :tease:


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

lol! well my sister can still ride cause she takes care of the horses but when she rides she is usually on one of our instructors horses.


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

which horse is your favorite out of all the horses you have ever met?


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

Oh God, that's a slightly loaded question...I love Spenser lots and lots but I also have a favorite at work, her name's Bebe and she's been through a good deal of stuff. First when she was a baby she wasn't being treated too great by the guy who was supposed to be working with her but it flew under the boss's radar, then she got hurt and he wasn't taking care of it and this was the point where I had just returned to working at the farm so I took over her care and taught her a bunch of stuff and got her to turn into the most mellow laid back horse. Then last winter she developed slight laminitis but it was caught right away so eventually she got to go into small turnout and THEN she hurt her back leg, we seriously thought she had broken it but it turned out to be some weird old injury that all of a sudden flared up, she healed from that, goes out into the big pastures now and is starting conditioning so YAY!

I'll always also be kinda partial to my first horse Flash. She taught me a whole lot about loving....and losing...


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

man... i feel bad for Bebe.
 one of my favorite horses wasnt well taken of either. we bought her and (her name is midnight by the way) and you couldnt get anywhere near her haed/face. she had a huge fear of people especially around her ears. we never figured out why she was so afraid of people near her ears :? but after many months we got her over it. :wink: sometimes she still has days where she will freak out but not that often.

she also had something wrong with one of her back feet. she would kick you, the black smith, or anyone who tried to get near it and look at it. i dont know what that was about either but that has stopped completely now.  her old barn paid so little attension to her that she was accidently bred and they didnt even know! :shock: so we ended up getting 2 horses for the price of 1. :lol: 

my other favorite horses are happy because she is my very first horse that i actually own! and George because he is our first stallion, he is hilarious, he is sooooo cute, he has the best personality, and he is just so awesome!

at my riding barn my fav horse is Charlie aka Chuckles. :lol: he is cute fun and my instructor said that he must really like me because he gives the other riders a hard time but ever since the first time i rode him he was a perfect angel for me.


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

hehe you guys are lucky i would love a horse of my own. i know its hard work but it pays off at the end


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

yeah i try to remember that when i have to clean stalls.lol :lol: my horse's stall is the worst in the world!!!! she goes to the bathroom all the time. i mean at least our other horses go in the same spot all the time so you just have to clean 1 spot... but happy goes every where and then guess what she does... she walks in circles all day so that the sawdust covers her poop and it takes me like an hour to clean her stall completely.


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

That is a hard question! I love all horses! lol I would have to say my favorite horse we've owned would be Jake, the palomino (the one I'm riding in the previous pic I posted). He had such a sweet personality and had the smoothest gate I have ever ridden on any horse. He was a rock on the trail and never let anything get him rattled but he also had flash.

What is your favorite breed? Mine would have to be Friesians. They are absolutely stunning and are such beautiful movers. We went to the Friesian Extravaganza in Reno a few years back and it was awesome!


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

oh man! i cant pick a fav breed but i do LOVE freisians! they are so beautiful with all their hair and the way they move. i also love gypsy horses, they are like freisians with spots. well not all have spots but most do. here are some pics.


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

Those are beautiful! Are they used as a draft horse?


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

I don't really have a favorite breed but I have a least favorite: saddlebreds. They're nuts.

Midnight sounds like she was wickedly abused before you got her, but it sounds like she ended up in a very good home!


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## Monsterpony (Feb 13, 2008)

Always good to meet more horse people. I am a vet student planning on specializing in equine nutrition. While right now all I am doing is trail riding and packing, I am an avid polo player and three day eventer.


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

jeaninel they could be used as draft horses i mean any horse could, but they usually arent. they are usually used as graceful show horses.  and flashygrrl i dont particularly care for saddlebreds either. no afense to anyone who likes them i just dont like the way their heads are shaped. :? thats the only thing that bothers me though. monsterpony, good luck in becoming an equine nutritionist! :wink: it must take a lot of work to get there. i love trail riding but never did polo or three day eventing. what's it like to be in such a big competition?


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## Monsterpony (Feb 13, 2008)

Friesians/gypsy horses: I love them though I am still uncertain why they are being used as dressage horses. Great horses for pleasure riding (one of the best I've ridden was a colored cob) and draft/cart work. I would love to own a pair for pulling a cart (another love of mine, training cart horses).

Saddlebreds: I like them natural and flat shod, but not a fan of the padded ones.

crazy4fish- Horse nutrition is mostly hard to get into because it is a very small field, but learning about it isn't too difficult. I have been obsessed with nutrition since I took a course in undergrad and it has all snowballed since then. As to polo, the big tournaments can be a madhouse with the big players and their 15-20 horse trailers and grooms running all over. I mostly played collegiate polo, so it wasn't as big and everyone played on the team's horses. I tried to play on my eventing horse and...well...this was me:









But I love to go to the tournaments to take pictures. These are some of my favorites:


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

i cant imagine how crowded some of those tournaments are! and i love those pics that you took! you should be a photographer! my favorites are the first, third, and fourth ones.


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

Monsterpony, those are great pics! How fun it must be to play in polo tournaments. Keep the pics coming! Got any of the 3 day eventing?


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

yeah we would love some of the 3 day eventing.


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

Is it just me or do all of the horses "ankles" seem to hit the ground in those pictures? Hope not...and the last picture's rider did a very poor job of wrapping her horse's legs.

Yeah, I automatically critique wrapping jobs. It's pathetic.


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

in some of the pics they arent really touching the ground i think its just the angle right? but when they are running that fast they might be hitting the ground a bit.


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## Monsterpony (Feb 13, 2008)

Thanks for all the compliments. I really move photography. Sorry, I don't have any pictures of eventing. Up until this fall, I used my polo friend's camera for all the photography so only polo pics. But I will sure flood you with pics if I manage to get to an event this summer. I do have some jumping pictures though, they are on my deviant art site: http://monsterpony.deviantart.com/ (sorry, I don't have any on my image hosting site to post here at the moment).

More polo pics:

































Flashygrrl- those are boots, not leg wraps, but they do look a little loose :roll:. The fetlocks are designed to extend that far as they are part of the suspensory system of the leg. Without that level of extension, the concussion on the legs at the speed those horses are going at would break bones and rupture tendons. If you look up pictures of horses jumping or racing, you can see the same thing. Also, the horses are running on grass fields, so their hooves are obscured, artificially lowering the fetlock.


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## herefishy (Dec 14, 2006)

Growing up, my maternal grandfather was a dairy farmer/truck driver. I spent many a summer farming grain, bailing hay and straw(I liked the straw) and helping with the milking operation. My very first paying job was salting the hay with mineral salt, one layer at a time, while the older boys stacked it in the haymout. I was all of 6 years old. But it was my first paying job. 

Grandpa, I remember, had his pet bull. Max was a HUGE charlais bull. But his passion was draft horses.

His first set was a team of Belgians. Big brutes. He ended up with a 4-horse hitch eventually and a dray wagon. Then came the Percherons. Those were the neatest. He had some Amish craftsmen build him a Conastoga replica for the four of them. My favorites came next, the Clydesdales. What a horse! Somehow, somewhere he met a lady and her husband that raised horses for Budweiser. His 8 clydesdales were horses that Budweiser didn't take. Usually it was because they were marked wrong or their hooves were the wrong color. The blaze may have been too wide or too narrow, down the wrong side. Budweiser had its set of standards and they made sure that their teams matched! 

These horses were so large that he built a rack for their harness that they had to walk into and have the harness dropped on them. And, yes, I know what a crouper is. Been there many times. I can remember adding fly netting to the harness for parades, polishing the heims,collars, and harness, wiping down each horse with a kerosene mix to keep the flies off of them, buffing hooves, tightening shoes, taking three tries to get the collars over their necks...........

He also had ponies for us grandkids, well that's what he said. 42" shetlands. We had a one horse sulkey, a 2 horse cart, (2) wagons, and a Tom Mix stage coach for parades. Altogether there were 18 ponies one for each of the 12 grandkids witha couplethrown in for goodmeasure And then there was Starrpopper. One crazy, insane 46" sorrel shetland. His name fit
.
We went to an auction in northern Indiana, Shipshewanna, actually, and came back with a head shy Apaloosa mare. We had to pull her down and lay on her neck to get the first halter on her. Then tie her offand let her pull until she gave up. We worked with her for 2 years. Finally she got to the point where she'd take an apple right out of your shirt pocket without getting the fabric in her mouth or ripping the pocket. Had her bred to a quarter champion quarter horse.

The foal was absolutely gorgeous. He was a dark chestnut, and I mean dark, with a white full flank blanket. As he grew so did the fence heights. Grandpa eventually sold him to a girl who was a part of the US Equstrian Team. I often wonder if he did well. Honey, his mother, passed at age 27 in the pasture.

I think grandpa's proudest moment was when he got an invitation to participate in the Orange Bowl Parade. I can't recall the year, late 60's early 70's. That crazy old Irishman drove, not buy truck or livestock hauler, I mean DROVE the whole circus from the Ohio River to Miami Florida! We did haul the animals some, but for the most part they pulled the wagons, stage coach, everything to Florida. It took 56 days. He even got on national TV news. 

The ponies were sold to a local gentleman and they still showed up in many local parades for quite afew years afterward. The draft horses were all sold to friends of grandpa after he had a heart attack and couldn't care for them or take them to parades any more. Max, the bull? I think gandpa made hamburgers out of him.


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

my grandfather has a cow farm too only his are used for meat mostly but i think some are used for milk. he has a huge black angus bull (i forget his name) but my grandfather says he is the best in the world. you can feed him and pet him and he will never hurt you.

i love belgians! i think they are sooo cool. i love any draft horse i dont know why but there is just somehting about them that gets my attention (besides their obvious height). 2 other horses i like arent draft horses but they look like draft horses in mini size. i absolutly love fjords and haflingres! i think they are so beautiful! below are some pics. :wink: 

these are fjords

























these are haflingers


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

Monsterpony, more great pics! The 3rd pic cracked me up for some reason. lol

Herefishy, I really enjoyed reading your story. I love draft horses too. Every year my sisters, my mom and I go to the Draft Horse Classic in Grass Valley, CA. Teams from all over the US compete there and every year it gets bigger and better. Last year they had they Budweiser team complete with Dalmation as an exhibition. Such an awesome display of horseflesh.

Crazy4fish, LOVE the Haflingers and the Fjords are cute too!


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

jeaninel said:


> Monsterpony, more great pics! The 3rd pic cracked me up for some reason. lol


Was it cuz the rider looks like he's about to tip?  

Lordee, I couldn't even tell those were boots (kinda dirty, I think). And what's with all the equipment? One thing I've noticed looking at all those polo pics is that the horses that have slipping boots also have the most stuff on them and they do NOT look happy. :roll: All the other horses look like they're saying "get outta my way, that ball's mine!!!!"


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

> Was it cuz the rider looks like he's about to tip?


LOL Yeah, I think that was it. :lol: 
Polo horses definitely have to have courage and not be afraid to get close to other horses at full speed.


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

I'd be scared spitless if someone were galloping at me with a big wooden stick...


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## Monsterpony (Feb 13, 2008)

Herefishy- that is a great story. Drafts are amazing animals.

The guy leaning so far off his horse is a really good player brought up from Argentina as a pro (someone pays him to play for their team). He actually isn't in any danger of falling off though. When you go to swing off one side, you actually bend your opposite knee and bring your lower leg parallel to the horse's back bone and brace it against the saddle.

My fjords and haflingers and various crosses (actually they are some of the horses in the herd at the riding school I teach at):

Luke- Haflinger









Dreamy- HaflingerXwelsh









Majestic- FjordXdraft









Delling- FjordXArab









Bree- Fjord









Bandit- FjordXpaint









Ookie- Fjord









Clovi- Fjord









Fleke Bonn- FjordXappaloosa









Blakken- FjordXQH


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## Mirta (Apr 21, 2007)

Thank you all for the pictures and the stories! This is such an enjoyable thread! Friesians, Haflingers, Fjord, Gypsy, all draft, also - Morgans, and Andalusians, and Arabs, oh - and Lipizaners (I'm not sure about the spelling), it can go on and on... Every breed has its own appeal. What is it about these creatures that makes them so attractive to the human eye?

I think Friesians and fjords, as well as ponies retain some primeval beauty, not touched by breeders. Friesians were in high esteem among Romans, when they had reached that part of Europe and found out about these horses. All those breeds are also History and Culture.


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

man those are some unusual crosses but they are all sooooooo cute!  my favs are dreamy,majestic, BANDIT, and fleke bonn. i think bandit is my all time favorite out of all of them. he is just adorable! :greenyay: :redyay: :blueyay:


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## Monsterpony (Feb 13, 2008)

Bandit is my favorite too. If I could, I'd buy him from my school in an instant. Here are a couple more shots of him:

Running through the arena
http://monsterpony.deviantart.com/art/Patches-of-Light-and-Dark-74226785

My favorite shot of him
http://monsterpony.deviantart.com/art/Bandit-Up-Close-70771208


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

is he for sale? lol :lol: the second pic is an awesome shot! did you take it?


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

ok i got great news! yesterday me and my family went to a morgan farm and picked out a stallion to breed to Happy (my horse). he is the one i have been wanted to breed to ever since since i saw him last year! he is soooooo beautiful, i will post some pics if i can find them. i am so happy!


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## GalaxyGirl (Feb 1, 2007)

Your horses are all so pretty!

Horses are my life too, i'm a stable hand and I have been for many years now. My ultimate goal is to be a racetrack vet, but along the way I also want to be a professional rider and someday I want to own a rescue. Right now I have more horsie teachers to go though 

I just sold my jumper pony, she was imported as a hunter pony but disliked it. She was mistreated along the way of life, so she was my first "rescue". Shes with a new little girl right now, they couldn't be happier together =)
































Then there is Izzy, shes 28 on April 1st, but she can still throw a buck and keep me on her back better then any horse I know. We do everything together except show because of age and injuries. Shes my soul mate, no doubt about it 








Then lastly there is Shetan, my playboy Arabian. He jumped 5' in his day, now he is teaching me to ride. He doesnt work if I dont ride correctly lol, there are days I get off and throw hissy fits because im so tired of having to be proper!


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

i love your horses! they are all so beautiful! i like rescuing animals too. (not just horses but EVERYTHING). one of our horses, midnight, was mistreated when we got her but she is better now. i think izzy is the cutest. hehe. what kind of horse is she?


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

I love the expressions on both your faces on pic #4.


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

*eyes up GalaxyGirl's horses* Wait a sec...the pink halter was a dead giveaway.

I'll give you three guesses who I am...bet you get it


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

every ones horses are amazing, i think my dream coloured horse would be a palamino


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

i like all kinds of colors! black, palamino, appaloosa, paint, buckskin, and grulla are my favs!


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

ive always wanted an appaloosa called cappachino lol. i like quater horses to. 
GalaxyGirl are you on a horse forum?


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

one of the moderaters PMed me and said that i shuld go to horseforum.com but i havent got the chance yet.


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

lol, I've wanted to sign up in there too but I don't need to feed the addiction (actually, I'm getting kind of burnt on working with them everyday).

There's also catforum.com which is just too darn cute...


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

hehe how wierd crazy i have just joined the horseforum its great ive learnt alot about horse


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## Monsterpony (Feb 13, 2008)

If you are interested in horse genetics with a great emphasis on coat color genetics, I recommend equinecolor.com forum.


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

thanks Monsterpony, ill look into it sometime


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

theres a cat forum?..... that is sooo cute! i'll definately have to check that out! 


southafrica, whats your name on horseforum?


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

crazy its the same name lol, on any forum im going to join it will most probably be the same, so i dont forget


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

thats a good idea.... but i dont think i could use crazy4fish on a horse forum lol!


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

crazy4fish said:


> thats a good idea.... but i dont think i could use crazy4fish on a horse forum lol!


haha yea i dont think it will work to well


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

bump, any one still posting ? :lol:


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

LOL, not much to post about. I haven't ridden as much as I should be but Spenser's been good lately  He wants to be western now...figures. I was hoping to make it to a show next weekend but nobody's got an empty trailer spot


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

aww sorry to hear that  i have a competition today though jumping but very small jumps though lol


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

i havent been on here in a while and a lot has happened in that time.

i had a competition 2 weeks ago (the Vermont Spring Classic) and even though me and my horse didnt place it was really fun.

today i am going to pick up my horse from another barn. she was there to be bred....i cant wait for the baby!

we do have another new baby though...born may 8th its a bay colt with a star and snip and 2 white hind legs. havent named him yet...i'll try to get some pics on here.


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

Aaawww...Can't wait to see pics.


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

awwww good luck crazy4fish


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

Horse showing....wait, I remember that! It's where you get your horse all pretty and put him in a trailer and take him somewhere and win ribbons!!!!

Yeahhhhh...now my horse just looks at me like "Go to hell" when I go to bring him in. I don't blame him, I haven't ridden much at all. Besides...I can't find my blasted hunt coat but I think my sister "borrowed" it for Halloween. Grrrrrrrr.....


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

hehe siblings what can we do about them lol . yea i didnt place in the compitition but the horse i was riding still did really well, and i know now what i need to improve


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

I guess horses and bettas aren't too far apart...this sickened me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rJq67JaM_Q

I will warn everyone. This brings up a video that shows extreme cruelty, plain stupidity and a few pictures that I'm not sure why they're on the except the horses are just plain badly bred.

By the way to those those unclear on the subject: This is the result of trying to educate the stupider ones and be patient about it. The government finally stepped in and passed a few bills, unfortunately they took the wrong steps first and made a bad problem worse. What needs to be done is regulation of breeding, harsher punishments at shows for those who mistreat their horses (and yes, soring IS abuse!!!!), and god knows they needs to regulate the end-of-life care too.


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

yea i think horse abuse is a big problem, they are animals that need alot of care, more then your average house pet, and i dont think people realise that. thats why ive decided not to pester my parents about getting a horse anytime soon, as i know that right now i have no time to care and ride him/her, and i only want to get a horse when i know more about the care plus have well educated people around me that can help me along the process and know what they are talking about, plus i want to be in a house where i know ill be for a while. my friends keeps her horse at a stable that takes in a lot of rescues and they are skinny as ever, but lovely horses. thanks for posting 

edit: could only watch a quater before exiting. those horses who are so skinny is what upsets me.  :blueworry:. i also work here at a dog shelter and some of the cases are terrible (alot of skinny and sunburnt dogs), im just very lucky that i havent seen the worst cases in my 1 and a half years of being there.


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

yea i cant stand animal cruelty. no matter what kind of animal it is. they dont deserve to be treated like that. :evil: 

i found this on youtube a few days ago...I cant believe they allowed it!!!! i cant wait to sign the petition!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cBBudN0_-E

what really shocks me is that no 1 in the museum did anything!

edit: the dogs eventually died on display in the museum :sob:


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

Yay crazy4fish is back XD, only joking (but long time no see lol). 
yea if i had a few wishes, i would diffintly get rid of animal cruelty (along with other things).


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

Yea sorry i havent been posting lately  i havent had much time to get on the forum.....been doing a bunch of shows that usually last a few days. :wink: 

i did really well at my last show... i won my first 2 classes but then i didnt place in the last cause my horse was getting really tired (she is 20 years old and pregnant) and she wouldnt go into a canter. but it was fun. oh, and i also went into a trotting race and got second! i was sooo happy cause i beat my sister! lol  

i tried to attach a pic but it wouldnt show up :? any idea why?


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

wow congrats on the winning , and on a 20 year old pregnant mare, thats not bad . About the picture, did you upload it through the forum or upload it onto the internet on another site the just posted it here? if you used another site then maybe the forum doesnt allow it (?), or the tags werent closed on the image tage (?) i have no idea XD


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## Little-Fizz (Aug 19, 2007)

crazy4fish said:


> yea i cant stand animal cruelty. no matter what kind of animal it is. they dont deserve to be treated like that. :evil:
> 
> i found this on youtube a few days ago...I cant believe they allowed it!!!! i cant wait to sign the petition!
> 
> ...


Was that the starving dog art???? For some reason my computers trying to make me download the latest version of flash... Even though I know I have it. and when I try to re download it, it won't work :roll: I HATE this computer.

But yeah I signed that petition like soooo long ago, I got invited to the facebook group I believe. 

Have you guys ever heard of Lolita? Shes a huge killer whale who lives in the miami sea prison. She is confined to a dolphin tank, she used to have a roomy Hugo, I believe that was his name. He was massive, when the trainers fed him, his head would fully be out of the water and his tail resting all along the bottom of his prison. But he has long since killed himself, the show business was a little to much for him and he died from massive brain hemoraging because he smashed his skull against the side of the tank one to many times. 

Anyways, just thought I would let you guys know, theres lots of petitions you can sign for Lolita, I would love to see this beautiful creature get the respect she deserves. She is literally dying to entertain you. (Not you but you know what I mean :wink: )

Oh and Lolita and Hugo aren't the only poor souls suffering at the miami sea prison. Check it out. http://www.miamiseaprison.com/

Free Lolita!!!



EDIT: Sorry, I just looked up Hugo to make sure that was in fact his name.
And it wasn't hemoraging it was... 
"He died in 1980
suffering from a brain Aneurysm.
If you really want to see Hugo,
you'll have to take an outting to the Dade County Land Fill
because that's where we dumped him."

Hugo lived in the manatee pool, and was 23 feet long... When he was captured. Heres a picture of Lolita and Hugo putting on a show in their little kiddy pool, looks fun don't it? 









The pictures tiny I know, but you get the picture. I recommend that everyone goes to that website. Theres so much people don't know about captivity. But you should seriously try to find the video of the guy who first captured Orcas for the entertainment business. It will totally change your opinion on the whole thing. The guy doesn't give a fly crap about the whales, straight up admits that and all he can say is "They make good money" 

And now I'm getting REALLY off topic, lol sorry guys ans gals. Just figured being fish enthusiasts you would feel just as disgusted with this as I am.


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## Little-Fizz (Aug 19, 2007)

OH YEAH! 

And don't try to ask Miami seaworld about Hugo. Because your answer will be "Hugo who?" 

Hah, they actually try and deny the existence of this whale.


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

i went to the death chart on that link and i cant believe how many animals have died on their watch! some didnt even make it for more than 2 days! and i really cant believe they expect Lolita to live in that small pool! and it gets me even madder to know that they dumped hugo in a f****** landfill! whats wrong with those people?


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## Little-Fizz (Aug 19, 2007)

crazy4fish said:


> whats wrong with those people?


Money, thats whats wrong with them :roll: . The website is made by ex staff there I believe. I was so horrified... I feel so bad for Lolita... Shes the longest living whale in captivity... Somehow. She doesn't even get any shade from the sun. She just sits in that pool all day and bakes. She is like 22 feet long and her pool is 18 feet deep  She really needs to be saved... I wonder if ALF would do it.


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

Money is the problem with all the worlds problems sadly. I dont want to hear animal abuse stories but im faced with them regularly (because of the dog shelter) and i try and deal with them by helping out how i can. Like i say why should i sit at home feeling sorry for whats happining when i can be out there helping the animals, if everyone wasnt money obsessed then earth would really beautiful


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## Little-Fizz (Aug 19, 2007)

Oh, you brave soul, I worked at a shelter, and everyday I was holding back tears. It was so bad... I'm going to make another thread about Lolita and Hugo, with a link to a petition. And if I can I'm writing a letter to miami sea aquarium. I can't stand the thought of her suffering, and poor Hugo  He may be lost, but never forgotten. I wish I lived in Miami, or anywhere near there because I probably would have started a massive protest a long time ago.


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

Yea ive had to hold back alot, try to be naive and not think about it to much, i get more angry then sad, but still i try to avoid talking about what happens. Its sad to see how much the dogs really need someone, even though they have been through so much, thats the worst


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

yea money causes all the stupid problems around here! :x 

it surprises me that animals that have been badly abused can still recover and learn to trust people again. i mean after what some of them have been put through i would expect them to never get anywhere near another human.

i would start a protest too if i was in miami. that banner they have flying was a good idea though. i cant believe it costs 300 dollars an hour to keep that up! :shock: :shock: :shock:


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

Dogs are actually quite forgiving, and soon learn to overcome their fears and trust again. All they want is love, and they need the care, so they soon learn to trust, i suppose its like a pack thing, if they were in the wild, and were kicked out of the pack, they would have to learn to trust a new pack, in order to get in, and be safe and secure. 

Wow when a banner costs that much no wonder things like that keep happining and are never stopped :evil:


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

yea i guess you are right. :? they would have to be able to trust again if they wanted to survive.


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

oh to bring it back to horses, i went riding on my holiday and it was the best ride of my life, the scenery was beautiful and we got quite alot of cantering in


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

Yippee!!!

I've been trying to work Spenser but since I haven't done a whole lot with him the last couple years he's started to get "old man syndrome" and he acts like his hocks are bothering him. I started him on some joint stuff and hopefully that'll help to the point where I can get him going again. Poor boy.


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

oohh poor boy, hehe how old is he?


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## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

Only 10...he's had two years of going out into the pasture every day and not much else but he was so used to being worked every day before that so I hope he's just stiff. We shall see.


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## southafrica1001 (Nov 18, 2007)

aww hope everthing turns out ok , and he is just a bit stiff.


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

wow i havent posted on here in a while!

well right now its friday and on sunday me and my family are going to Mass. to help a friend of ours with an "Open Barn" event. we helped out last year too. it was really fun.  basicly anyone can come to the barn and she will be showing off all of the horses that she has for sale. and people can bid on them. its a silent auction. and of course we have food and everything lol. it was really successful last year and we hope it will work just as well this year. im really excited cause i will be riding one of the horses for her. :-D i havent been able to ride my horse in a while cause she is pregnant and gets tired too easily. :/ i cant wait for sunday! hehe


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

The Barn Event sounds fun. I know you'll have a great time. Nice that you'll get to ride a little again. When is your mare due?


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

yea it was nice to get some riding in again. my mare is due in april or may, not completely sure....cant remember exactly when we bred her.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

Glad you had fun being back in the saddle!
April or May...it seems so far away.....


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

yea it seems like spring will never come.

but the day of the open barn she really had me scared. i got up early and was getting ready to go when my mom came in and said you should go outside and help your dad walk Happy. she is showing signs of colic. i was sooo scared because we had already lost one mare to colic (and she was pregnant too). i went outside and was walking her until the vet could come (it always seems like it takes at least an hour before they can actually get there) and she kept trying to lay down and she was walking really slow and looking sleepy. but then after a while she started to look better and was trying to eat the grass on the side of the road. so i brang her into her stall and she finished her breakfast that she wouldnt eat before. i was starting to think she would be ok. the vet came and checked her and her baby and said everything was fine she just had a lot of air in her stomach from cribing. so once the air got out she was fine, but i was really worried for a while. im so glad she is ok now.

i really hate it when pets scare you like that!


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

I'm so glad Happy is fine! Colic is such a scary thing. 
I had to go through that experience once with a horse and I hope I never have to again! It is so scary and you feel so helpless. You just walk, walk, and walk and hope the vet gets there quick...

I'm looking forward to the pictures you'll post of her foal come spring. 
Hurry up Spring!!


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

oh my gosh! have i really been away from fishforum that long??? wow things have been so crazy i havent had time to get on here... well im going to try to catch up with some of my old threads, and it seems this one has been neglected... well lets see if we can get it going again 

well obviously happy has had her foal by now. its a boy and his name is Neon Flight (we got the flight part because he has a marking on his leg that looks like a flying bird) but we call him Neo for short ;-) im going to try and upload some pictures... (if i remember how to lol) hope you guys still remember this thread and reply!

btw IF the pics work, Neo might look a little funny in some of them cause he is in the middle of sheding his light coat for a draker one haha


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

Yes, you have been gone that long and welcome back!
Neo is positively adorable. Soooo cute.


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

thanks for the welcome :-D its good to be back! i've missed this place. and yea he is a cutie isnt he? he looks a lot like his mother. he's got her personality too lol... hes such a character. but he's one of the best behaved foals we ever had. he's such a pleasure to be around. i'll try to find more recent photos...those were from a while ago... oh and i found one tht shows his marking a little better, it looks like a bird flying up his front leg. there are a few older pics in there but they were cute so i had to put them in hehe :lol:


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