My amazing new horse!

[tab_xo]

Bits will not pinch the gums if the bridle and bit are placed correctly!!

I have very soft hands, so i dont rip at his mouth to turn, when hes further trained the hands are really no longer needed because leg movements will choose his direction! but he doesnt have a clue what leg movements are, so we will work on that

and unless the horse is trained with a rope bridle, they wont have a clue what you are doing!

I have a rope bridle for when i jump on bareback, but Kitai has had a bridle and bit his whole life..

Then, if i train at home with a bitless bridle, when i start eventing, you are changing your training methods as bitless bridles arent allowed in the show ring, so the horse will then be confused!!

Its just like saying, a girth on a saddle can pinch their belly, but only if placed incorrectly, and riding bareback is more natural, but of course, thats not allowed in shows I did hop on bareback yesterday afternoon, such a good boy haha

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Thanks tab, You are obviously more horse savvy than I am lol One of my friends has quarter horses and is very skilled in reigning and barrel racing. She did really well in barrel racing but when she got Twinkie she started into reining. It's amazing to watch her and her horses, she's so accomplished for her age. I can see what you mean by the bit, she also uses a bit but like you uses the snaffle bit but controls with her legs.

Since you like horses I'll tell you about her amazing boy

This is Twinkie(gelding). One of her kinda friends bought him for $20,000 from family friends, that high price was actually a steal for him( horses prices are crazy D: ). She destroyed him in a year, she had him doing barrel full speed for the first time after a WEEK of training and was borderline abusive. In a year he was a shell with serious issues. She sold him to my friend for only $5,000 and she wasn't even finished paying for him yet. After she sold my friend twinkie she bought a Thoroughbred for much less and did it all over again. After my friend made Twinkie into the horse he was meant to be she begged her to let her buy him back, but no way!

a pic I took of him getting up from a roll

 

[Mayden]

Beautiful horses, I'm so jealous. Wish I could ride! You're a very lucky girl Tab, I hope you know that! Between Fargo and your two horses, just wow

 

[tab_xo]

Hahaha Well i have been riding since i could walk basically I have always been a soft rider, because my mum would tell me never to pull on the reins! I remember when i was younger and a riding instructor kept telling me to tighten my reins and my pony was so upset by it! I ended up cantering away crying hahahah

OMG.. That is horrible about Twinkie, poor guy!! Its people like that who shouldnt own horses, just buy a great horse who does everything, but then just ruining the poor thing!
So glad he is back at a nicer home now!

We have 10 horses.. They are all either ponies or very old and retired.. So its just Kitai and Klaatu who are the babies in the paddock, even though they are the biggest haha

and i think only 3 of them HAVNT been rescued!
Klaatu was just tied to a stump in the middle of a dirt paddock when he was a foal..

At school i had a very close friend who rode horses, she did barrel racing and the cow chasing stuff And she went to America to ride and actually won this national junior barrel racing championship thing!


And we just had another ride this morning, was a perfect boy, getting in tune with each other now!

Thank you Mayden, i know i am very lucky, they all so amazing!

 

[Blue]

Lovely new pony! (I call them all ponies, even our Belgians who are close to a ton)

I would LOVE to take Fargo to horse shows !

that's one way to win all your classes... have Fargo scare all the other horses

 

[tab_xo]

that's one way to win all your classes... have Fargo scare all the other horses

Hahahaha That might just work Kitai loves him though!


We went to our first event on saturday, was just a training/sporting kind of day.. At first he was very nervey and excited, but he calmed down VERY quickly, someone said to my mum that if it was any other rider he would of gotten even more worked up, but because i was just calm and confident and just kept him on a loose rein he was happy straight away!

Even though i dont want to do sporting, but at least it was good to teach him to bend and stop, although he didnt even flinch when i leaned down to pick stuff up haha

Everyone commented on how quiet and stunning he was!

And he was the biggest horse there, so the instructors would say 'ok, big fellas up' hahaha








We have a cross country training clinic in 2 weeks, and then 2 weeks after that our first dressage show!

And 2 places have sponsored me!

 

[Zazoothehahns]

Beautiful! I would love to see pics of your Clyde cross. I love the " hairy" drafty breeds. Love the pic of your bird on your horse's mane. I was a horse obsessed little girl that would peer into every horse trailer we passed hoping to catch a glimpse of one,....I grew into a horse obsessed woman who drives my husband and kids crazy. I love my four legged critters! Your memories of the horses you have in your youth will stay with you the rest of your life! Enjoy.

 

[drlisaort]

Beautiful!!!! I LOVE horses. I had an awesome white Arabian horse named Pasha when I was growing up. I'm so happy for you. You are living the ultimate dream--a beautiful horse and an amazing parrot. Yay for you!!!!

 

[tab_xo]

Thanks guys!!
This is my little man Klaatu, he is getting super hairy for winter, has a nice beard growing through
But he only has a small amount of feathers, more than a normal horse, but no where near the amount a clydesdale.. He goes brown in summer and black in winter







and his rump, so round, and he has the clydesdale stand


Ohh i have arabs too, when i was younger, bit moody hehe

 

[Zazoothehahns]

Lovely. Having two gypsy vanners, I have a soft spot for the feathered breeds I love my minis too, but nothing beats the enchanted look of a lovely feathered horse.

 

[sonja]

Non-horse person here.....why doesn't Kitai have blue wrap around his one leg? Then they would all match the outfits!

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Non-horse person here.....why doesn't Kitai have blue wrap around his one leg? Then they would all match the outfits!

I would like to know as well lol

Also, what is the use of using leg wraps? The other horses in the photos don't have it.

 

[tab_xo]

hahahahahah he actually only has 2 legs bandaged if you look closely, his front ones, his back leg has a matching colour vet wrap bandage because he had a small injury a few weeks ago (doesn't hurt at all) so just wrapped it to be safe

Bandaging legs gives support, and protect if you jump, Klaatu has a shin splint on his leg because the trainers put too much pressure on his legs!

In dressage no bandages are allowed in the arena, but show jumping and cross country you will put protection on horses legs, so when they hit poles with the front of their legs, it doesn't hurt as much!!

The reason he only has 2? He was VERY excited and just wanted to get going, so I just put 2 on him and didn't do the other 2!

The reason only he had them, because maybe Kitai is very spoilt, he was also the only one with matching outfits hahaha and it was only a sporting day so it was pretty casual

 

[tab_xo]

There we go, now he has all 4 wrapped for training at home :09:

 

[tab_xo]

Lovely. Having two gypsy vanners, I have a soft spot for the feathered breeds I love my minis too, but nothing beats the enchanted look of a lovely feathered horse.

Oh my mum absolutely loves gyspy vanners, however they are about 15 000 dollars here !!

I LOVE feathered breeds as well, last year i went to the heavy horse day, our town actually hosts one of Australias biggest show! Everyone comes with their big breeds.. I just wanted a shire, but mum said that there isnt much i can do with them, because they are too big..

So i got a clydesdale cross, he sort of has a clydy look, but then he is an AMAZING jumper But Kitai is perfect for what i want to do!

This was a HUGE shire cross percheron i fell in love with, the old man let me ride him after i spent all day at their truck just patting him :09:



The show is actually next month! So excited, now that Fargo goes on his harness we might make a day out of it!

 

[Featheredsamurai]

wow that's a beautiful horse! Your so lucky you got to ride him. He is HUGE!!!

I watched a documentary were they dissect things, they did a Thoroughbred(injured badly and needed to be put down)They put the leg on a vice to see how much pressure the leg would have when at full gallop, the ligaments are so tight that when they barely touched it with a blade it snapped! I cans ee why you'd want to protect your horses legs XD

Here's the documentary if you'd like to watch it. It's very interesting,
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsvS6gEBJuE"]Here's[/ame]

I rode a shire quarter horse mix on Kauai when I was in high school, he was so gorgeous! His name is Pohaku at the princeville ranch. I felt like I was riding a knights horse XD He was very tall, it's hard to tell though since he's sinking in the mud lol. He was over 16 hands, also I'm 5.10"

 

[tab_xo]

Oh wow Ashley! This documentary is great, thank you so much i am 20 minutes in!! I cant believe how horizontal the hoof/leg gets! I honestly had no idea about this haha

and OMG.. When the scalpel hits the leg

2 racehorses die out of every 1000 racing?!

But the pressure the legs and hoof get is incredible, most of them have TERRIBLE hooves because of this

Kitai only ran 8 races, and he already got pressure marks on his coronet band on his hoof, and alot of splits in his hooves, which have been compacted with a plaster cushioning type thing to help until they get back to normal, which will take about a year!


and i think selective breeding wouldnt always work, just because a parent is a great racehorse doesnt mean the off spring will be ! Just look at Kitai, his dad was a million dollar race horse, and Kitai only won 800 dollars ! haha

Pohaku is gorgeous! They certainly do look like knights horses hehe Even with the big draft horses, they look huge even if they are small.. at the heavy horse show, there were some clydesdales that were only 15hh, but because of their size, they looked huge compared to a 15hh lighter horse breed! Kitai is 17hh, but he seems tiny compared to a 17hh shire

 

[Featheredsamurai]

aww his poor hoof! I'm so happy he found a good home, many race horses(at least here) don't. Horse slaughter is illegal in nearly all the states, but they are still bought and simply trucked over, or too Mexico to be slaughtered I wish all got a second chance like how he did with you.

I don't remember if it was that documentary or a different one, but they mentioned how any horse can be a million dollar horse Like a lottery lol

 

[tab_xo]

Oh yes it is the same here!

The champions live out their days happily, like black cavier who will now be used as breeding, the ones who arent as successful usually only live till they are 7 years old or younger.. They can be used for animal, or human food. apparently that became legal in 2010 :20:

There are alot of rescue centres that rehabilitate as many as they can, but apparently 18,250 foals are born each year in Australia, thats just ridiculous!

Well at least Kitai got a second chance, he will spend the rest of his life at our place!

 

[Featheredsamurai]

In other countries, like Belgium, Japan, and a few European countries, horse meat from the united states is considered prime and sought after for a higher price tag

In California it's illegal to buy or sell horse meat, I'm not sure about other states. It's suppose to be a flavorful dark red meat, and it probably is good. Horses have pet status though, and they were so vital to people through the ages that I find it morally wrong to turn them into food.