Soon.

I must apologize for the lack of posting! I am trying to sell my horse and this dressage show could do it! Anyway, I'm working on it and it is starting to sound good! Just though I would let everybody know that you have not been abandoned! So, here are some hideous pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Typical of Me To Do This

I have decided to do a series of posts regarding horse discipline stereotypes. Each one will have stereotypes, truths, falsehoods, and anything else I come up with. I hope to stir ciplines that I have friends in such as:
-eventing
-dressage
-showjumping
-endurance
-halter
-trail
-rodeo
-racking horses
-saddle seat
-hunter
-western pleasure
-racing


    PLEASE, please, please! This is a time for submissions of suggestions or articles that you have written (I am in dire need of some driving and Arabian horse showers liberty etc). I don't know everything! Yet. Dun, dun, duuuuun! ;)
    
But really I would appreciate some help on this! Twitter comments, facebook, etc. Any help would be wonderful! To kick off this event I will start out by clarifying what stereotypes are. According to Wikipedia: 


"A stereotype is a popular belief about specific types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings. Stereotypes are standardized and simplified conceptions of people based on some prior assumptions. Another name for stereotyping is bias. A bias is a tendency, most of these are good, but sometimes stereotyping can turn into discrimination if we misinterpret a bias and act upon it in a negative manner."
   
One equine example might be that ponies are evil or thoroughbreds are all crazy. Typically I have found that some truth can be found in these but approximately 50% exceptions. Yes, there are some snooty hunter/jumper out there, but some are also really down to earth.


     Anyhow... I am looking forward to this and I am so excited about it! Tune in for more posting trot! As easy as 1,2,1,2,1,2,1,....

Dusty Trails Horse Rescue

   Dusty Trails horse rescue center is located on a farm in Alabama. They take on severe cases as requested by law enforcements. Not only do they provide a safe environment for their horses, but they have the smarts to became an established organization. As I was scrolling through their website I noticed that under Available they had four options listed: Donkeys/Mules, Mares, Geldings, and Stallions. WHAT?! OK, respect lost right? Wrong. In all of my fury I clicked the link, and just what did I see?

"All stallions coming to DTHR will be gelded (castrated) before adoption."

   Do I hear singing angels? Hallelujah! Whoopee! Hurrah! Thank you so much DTHR for your wonderful knowledge into equine society. As I was exploring I also saw that they had an Arabian stallion in rehab. Another smart thing that they did was place him into an experienced foster home and are waiting until he is healthier and calmer to geld him. Three cheers for DTHR!

      However on the other end of the spectrum lies the little known rescues, good and bad. I have come across many nice, small facilities that were positively remarkable. I have ALSO found some people whose stabling/living conditions were unacceptable, no matter how good intentions were. I found some pictures from a user in HGS forum. Turns out they "rescue" these horses. It seems as thought he user has some knowledge about horses (food, water, some handling)  but they seem to miss the obvious things like fencing, halter fit, grooming (I have yet to find one picture where these horses aren't caked in mud and manure), and the fact that their feet should be rotten with thrush with all that muck they are standing in! There is hardly a dry place for them to stand, at the back of the paddock (which is too small) is a "grassy" area that is teeny-weeny.

 First Picture Posted (at this point I am giving the benefit of the doubt)

Note the horse's tail draaaaaging on the ground with burrs in it

Horse looks better but that fencing! Call me a snob but EWWWW! Plus all that debris is dangerous!

Wireeeee!

   Truly the horses really did get better overtime, but the conditions of the farm never did. But, I can't complain too much because I know that they are all in a better place and much healthy/happier at the moment.

    From good rescues to rescues that need rescuing, hard work pays off in the end. Later on this week: a post/rant about non-horsey morons people.

The HGS rescue is located just south of... Ignorantopia!

Worry Not!

Sorry about not writing the last few days I have a 30 page thesis paper due on Thursday that I feel is important. Hey, maybe ya'll will get to hear it! It is on Natural Horsemanship!

Don't Try This At Home!

For you viewing pleasure:
Watch This!

Sorry about the lack of posts but... EXAMS ARE EATING ME ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!

News!

Two big new things!
1. We are now on twitter! @ThePostingTrot
2. Our new design is awesome! (and easier to read)

Enjoy!

Ad Categories

         I have spent so long on this! With exams coming up I have only had five minutes here or there to work on it. So... enjoy!

---

       Unfortunately, I am in the market for a new horse. I have been searching all over the Internet looking at ads an various websites (none of which are craigslist). I realize that not everybody is a professional horse person nor can they afford one. But why, might I ask, do people (even some "professionals) seem to use the most unflattering pictures of their horses? There are many problem areas that absolutely make no sense to me. None of them relate to how much money a person has, just laziness and/or incompetence. I have compiled a list of common problems that I have found from photo ads.
1. Wrong Information
     These types of ads are usually posted by the craigslist horse people. The kind that name their horses Midnight, Lightning, and Spot. It doesn't matter how long they have been around horses, they will never learn. Just not born a horsey person even though their intentions are sometimes the best (of course sometimes not, too). These ads typically send a grammar-Nazi in to seizures. Here is an example:

     I could talk forever about the presentation but that is not what this example is about. The ad says a few things that just don't quite match up with the picture.

-Black- Nope he is most defiantly dark bay. Even a horse that at times appears back but fades is not truly a black horse. So.... FALSE!

-15.5hh- Um... what? In what world would a horse be 15.5hh? 15.0hh, 15.1hh, 15.2hh, 15.3hh....ready for the next one? 16HH! What is this? You mean to tell me that there are only four inches in a hand? 

-1000.0lbs- I can't figure out if he is 15.2hh or 16.1hh, but either way he does NOT weigh 1000lbs! My 15.1 petite TB mare weighs at least 1100+. He doesn't look that skinny but what ever you say! I know that isn't right!

-GENTEL- What is this speak? Oh, it is all coming together now! 15.5hh and GENTEL! You are from outer space on the island I like to call Ignorantopia. Here is a map:

       But not to worry! Who ever buys that horse is probably from Ignorantopia, too.

2. Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire! 

    Of course another good way to make me foam at the mouth is to lie to me. I will not post an example of this kind of ad from the Internet because it is impossible to find (or just hard and I am lazy?). Either way this is bad! People do this all the time drugging the horse, wearing it out before the rider gets there, not telling about diseases and vices when asked, etc. This is why, when I invest in an animal I always get a pre-purchase exam. Not exactly the full-body x-rays, but I have a thorough medical exam done by my favorite vet. Trust me always worth the extra cash because if, for whatever reason, you decide to sell the horse and you discovered a disease such a navicular is present then, it is going to be extremely difficult to try and sell the horse (at least for me, I would never lie to a buyer). Even if you don't find the disease the next owner might! POOF! There goes your reputation! The Bad-Luck-Fairy strikes again!

3. Background

    Not to say that  the fanciest farm needs to be behind your horse when you take an ad picture but, at least make it simple, safe, and not distracting. I mean, I could barely see the horse around all that stuff laying around! Of course I once more got distracted by the horse (more on that later).

4. Proper Set-Up

      I don't mean that the horse needs to be braided, square and in a silver plated halter conformation shot; but I shouldn't have to squint to make the horse look good. I also shouldn't need glasses to find which end is his head. Candid shots are cute but really not the best if you ACTUALLY want to sell your horse. I always do a double-take when I come across an ad like the one above, and not just because of the background.

     Why would you choose to post a picture of your horse like this. It is impossible to tell anything about this horse (except for the malnourished part). I costs no more money to take a picture like this:

5. Bad Riders

     Not to nit-pick and be one of those people that gives advice when not asked, but this is another interesting topic that I feel I should bring up. I will not show it but I recently just watched a video of a rider and a horse competing in showjumping for the sale video. Now, in this video I found it impossible to tell whether it was the horse pulling the rider or vise verse.

     Another instance I found was a rider that sat down FAR too early over the jump. This was causing the horse to jump hollow and incorrectly. I could NOT see what this horse had to offer. What a shame, he was out of my price range by about $50,000. (Yeesh)

6. And of course, the ever common bad color coordination, dangerous situation, taking jump pictures at the wrong time, etc. These are things that can easily be fixed!

      

     Sometimes it is possible to look past these things and use a well trained eye to spot a diamond in the rough. This is not always easy or possible. Spending just five extra minutes on preparation, safety, and not to mention color coordination, can make the difference between a trip out to look at the horse or hitting the back button on the search bar.

Ignorantopia

Dear fellow equine enthusiasts,
   

                                                     I. Am. Speechless.

       I have just recently made friends with a girl in my study group who, as I happily discovered, owns horses. I was so happy to finally have a horsey friend that I can see on an everyday basis. She boards her horses at a self care barn just across the street from my favorite tack shop. Every time I drive by I think "What a lovely place." It is one of those quaint farms that are just so.... artistic. Upon meeting this girl she proceeds to tell me that she is retraining her two western paint horses to do eventing. So of course I am thinking "YES! Finally somebody I can have REAL horsey conversations with! Wa-hooo!"
    But no. She then proceeds to tell me that one of the horses wouldn't stay on the rail when she pulled on the outside rein and she couldn't figure out how to fix this. Here is our conversation (thoughts in red) I would like to point out that at first I gave her the benefit of the doubt:

Me: WTF! And you are training this horse? You madame, need the help of a professional coach. So, do you have a trainer or a coach that can help? 

Her: No, I do everything on my own. I started to ride a year ago and quit lessons about eight months ago. I don't need a trainer I watch Clinton Anderson videos and do Parreli.

Me: What... why... how... when... um... Do you need any help um... exercising your horses. I hate to be a know-it-all but maybe I can squeeze in a few helpful tips on the side. She has no business training horses. Either her, her horses, or somebody else is going to get hurt.


Her: No, it is OK they only get ridden 1-3 times a week anyway.

Me: Oh, they must be young and you don't want to stress them out, riiiight, okay I get it now. So, how old are they?

Her: 2 and 1 and 1/2.

Me: It probably isn't the best idea to be riding them that young.

Her: It is OK. They already have plenty of training in them.

Me: Just walk away before somebody gets hurt. Oh well if you ever need any help you have my number.


Her: Actually, since I want to go to Rolex as soon as possible would you mind teaching me cross country?

Me: Um.... maybe that's not the best idea. You would need a professional coach. And maybe a psychologist! 






      On another particular occasion when doodling occurred and she drew a horse with cloven hooves (she is an AMAZING ARTIST!):

Me: Oh, that's cool is it some sort of unicorn type horse?

Her: No, just a normal one.

Me: Dafuq! Horses hooves are one piece...

Her: No, stupid! Some can have cloven hooves it just depends on the farrier's specifications.

Me: What kind of farrier are you dealing with? *insert questioning look here*




      A very good (and attractive ;D) guy rider that I am friends with said the most... well dumb thing I have heard this weekend, I don't know how he survived pony club. We went to a XC schooling and my horse was sweating and breathing hard. Here is how the conversation went:

Me: Oh, she needs to be cooled down I will be right back.

Him: Give her a big bucket of cold water right now, that will help her out.

(please tell me somebody gets this)

      No joke. These were things that were actually said to me. Why people. WHYYYYY! Please explain to me why, in a world in which Google exists, do we not have any knowledge of the horse what so ever! Ugh. Please. I don't want to sound snooty, but really guys (especially the first girl I told you about) how can we not know basic horse management! This is a reason why certain people should NOT be around horses. Or they should at the very least do some research.

   
     As far as the "trainer" girl goes I really have no words to describe her. We are no longer friends because of an argument over why a picture I saw over her riding in shorts, flip-flops, and a baseball cap was dangerous. She. Was. Jumping.

     People with thick skulls (myself included) really puzzle me. The ones that have no knowledge of horses really get to me (cloven hooves?). They have the nerve to give right minded horse-people advice, but no sense to take advice from people that know what they are doing.

     Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention. That girl? The "trainer"? Yes, I asked her how she found the time between work and school to take care of her horses and do you know what she told me? "Oh, I only clean their stalls out every three days. It is basically the same concept as a hamster cage."

JUST. NO.

     I feel that this is a perfect time (given the_____ of these two people I have discussed) to present to all of my thepostingtrot.blogspot.com readers a brand new land that I have discovered. Ignorantopia! Here lives the utterly and hopelessly clueless:

Whenever I feel as though this is the birth place of the subject I am discussing, this lovely new map will be presented. Enjoy!

Yours Truly,

The Posting Trot

You have got to be kidding me...

      Terribly sorry about my recent spike in YouTube rants on the horse world but I really can't seem to stop watching them! Wow, it is so hard to believe how STUPID people can be! There are so many things wrong with this here. I mean, what was that moron thinking?! Every sane (true) horse person knows that horses and concrete don't mix. So why, for the love of pickles, did this guy think that these poor creatures could walk across TILE? I have a hard time my self traversing my small bathroom floor, and I don't weigh Lbs. Oh, wait a minute, what is that whistling sound? Oh yeah, that's right, what I am hearing is the steam pouring out from my ear holes! I find it very hard to find (appropriate) words to describe the way I feel right now. This was the result of one of two things:
1. Ignorance- Which is why I strongly believe in equine education (for the human of course)
2. Idiotic noggin overload- Dur! I don't care about my horses, durrrr, they are just like cars right?
    Come on, people! We can do so much better than this! Why must we not cater to the needs of the animal that not only relies on us for survival, but has carried our fat, lazy butts into battle for thousands of years! (not to mention loyally worked themselves to death and help build society as we know it)

For the Love of Wiffle

    I am sure that most of my readers have heard about the wiffle bat woman video but if not, then look here. I will not go into detail about the sheer idiocy of this "horse woman" but talk about something interesting I found while browsing the interwebs.

  Excuse me? In what way is it better than a whip or crop? It can hurt the horse and yes, you could use it for desensitizing, but NEVER to hit! Easy to use. Oh please! I can see how people could be tempted to use this to "move and control the horse's head". Nice training methods guys! *Sarcasm*
    But really, I should comment on one thing that I noticed about the horse in the video. He has stopped moving   and has locked his legs. I call this shutting down. I have seen it multiple times when the horse has repeatedly been punished or whipped (mostly at the water on XC, in front of a jump, trailers, etc.). At a certain point the horse is to scared and just SHUTS DOWN. Once you get here, it is very hard to get back. The best thing to do is get the horse moving again.
   If anybody reading this ever has issues with loading here are some quick (BUT TEMPORARY) fixes:
1. Open ALL windows and escape doors especially in slant-loads with feed doors.
2. Make the opening to the trailer as wide as possible.
3. If possible, collapse the back tack room of a slant load
4. In a straight load push the divider over.
5. Walk confidently BESIDE the horse.
6. Let him sniff the ramp/step and slowly get in, let him back out if he needs too and reward with scratches while he is IN only, not out.
7. If the step up/ramp is too steep find better ground but make sure that no dangerous gaps are present.
8. Wear gloves.
9. Walk forward with horse up to the back of trailer and DO NOT HESITATE!
10. Don't forget to take things slowly and no mater what: do not get impatient.
11. If the whip MUST be used have it in your left hand and use it being you on the horse's rump.
12. If a SAFE escape route is available and easy for the person to exit but not the horse then do walk up with the horse.
13. ask him to load with encouraging clicking sounds
14. Of course a bucket rattling with feed helps too!
15. sometimes a friend of the difficult horse can set good examples by loading in front of the difficult one

But remember: these are only temporary EMERGENCY fixes every horse should have a day or two set aside to teach loading and unloading in the trailer.

YouTube is... interesting!

     YouTube is an interesting place for horse lovers. I took a sick day yesterday and basically spent the day watching videos. The pure insanity and stupidity of some of these "riders" made the vomiting worse (probably).  I found a few interesting horsey categories.
1. Animal Abuse
     I find that some of these can be particularly accurate and tear inducing. My attention is draw, however, toward people that have created these propaganda videos without the proper education and research. (sounds like PETA to me). This one really makes me mad. I believe that this is what is wrong with the fight against animal cruelty today, people with weak arguments (and grammar) that make these uneducated videos. Here is how the "story line" of this video goes: 1. horse is great; preforms well dressage or otherwise 2. falls down 3. owner/rider beats the horse and starves it. See it here. First off, only a mentally insane person, or an asshat would do something so stupid. Second, WHY WOULD YOU BEAT A HORSE FOR FALLING DOWN?! The person that created this video is obviously uneducated. What is that you say? But maybe that is just her well thought out opinion. I bet ALL of her horses are spoiled! Yeah the probably are. Any person that thinks an impatient pawing horse tied in concrete cross ties with no breakaway capacity is cute should not have any say in the debate, not because they are stupid, just uneducated. And with that I end my animal abuse video rant... maybe not.

    This next video, like the last, has some valid points. It is a good video that flows well and is mostly agreeable. Except for a few BLATANT things. Starting from the beginning: 1. around 0:13 a picture of a cave drawing comes up when Makala is talking about people riding horses. Um... yeah... the people in that video... they uh... ATE THE HORSES! Not really good for her argument. 2.at approximately 1:32 the text says quote "Why did you make me jump so high?" So now jumping is cruel? Trust me if the horse didn't want to jump he wouldn't, and I have the hospital bills to prove it. Plus, she jumps her horse Ringo in this video... hypocrite much? 3. at about 2:18 there is a picture with a horse that has some drainage in his eye. Makala is trying to pass this off as a tear of sadness from the horse. Reality check: horses don't physically cry. And lastly: number 4. How come jumping and dressage were attacked but not racking horses that have had the soring process done? Which one do you think is more cruel? Excuse me? Yeah, that's right.

   Please don't misunderstand what I am trying to say here. I love horses. I am against cruelty and will do anything to help out the cause, but I ALWAYS do my research! I have worked at a racking horse barn just to see first hand how the horses were treated (not very well I'll tell you that much). People just REALLY need to take the time to further educate themselves. Opinions are OK, that is what this rant is, but FACTS must be straight or the whole argument in invalid.

2. Barn Tours
     Type barn tours into the search bar on the main page of YouTube and about 60% of the results will be breyer/model horse tours, 20% will be actual barn tours, 10% will be random stuff, and the last 10% of the results will be horrifyingly dangerous situations that are basically death traps for horses. I could write an entire blog on what is wrong with this farm. But I will leave the watching to you, the reader. Enjoy!

...

     I know, right! These poor girls are unfortunately uneducated and misled by the irresponsible adults who paid for this institution. Behold, my reactions to this video:

Wow maybe this category came out a little harsh. Anyway... on to the next category!

3. Horse Breeding Videos.

   Just. No.

4. Videos that make me sick to my stomach

    Like this one

There are many other but you are probably getting tired of listening to me so, until further notice I bid you goodbye!

I LOVE this guy!

People that complain about NYC carriage horse abuse need to watch this and ACTUALLY do some research.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXPiZYl3a_o&feature=related

Oh noes!

I am sure that most of you have seen this picture before. This picture is a XC disaster! The turn-out of the pair is dangerous and unacceptable for use on the XC course, schooling or other wise. THIS IS NOT OK!

1. The horse is wearing ZERO boots. Not good. XC is very stressful on a horse's legs. This horse needs at the very least a pair of well-fitting bell boots. The best thing would be bell-boots on front and taped boots on all four legs to protect cannon bone, splint bone, fetlock, and tendons and ligaments.
2. I believe that at this level NO MATTER THE SADDLE FIT a breastplate is very important. It keeps the saddle more secure, especially when going down drops. It is true that the horse is wearing a "breastplate" but the only purpose it serves is to hold the standing martingale.
3. Standing martingales are OK for lower level eventing (just amoeba) however above that they become dangerous because they do not give if the horse falls. I have seen on two occasions (at tadpole level and training level) where a horse has fallen and the accident was made worse by the restriction of the horse's head. Only a running martingale should be used because the loops make it able to slide effortlessly around when no contact is exerted on the reins however it remains useful while the rider had contact.
4. I can't tell but the bit looks too large.
5. The rider is not holding a crop. There is no excuse not to ride with a crop on XC. (if your horse was abused, then desensitize it!) It should always be carried by the rider in case of problems (which are inevitable on XC at some point) If the rider is not experienced enough to use a whip properly then they should not be riding XC.
6. The lower leg position is good and look like she may have had a fight right before the horse leaped into the water. This is a schooling picture, and from experience, learning to do XC for either horse or rider is not always pretty. Trying to figure out the "drop" position can be tricky and scary.
7. Cute face on the horse though he looks pretty smart.

How is this amusing?

Some people just don't get it. I did a google search for "funny horses" and I will admit somethings were pretty dang funny.

   But mixed in among these humerus horse follies are some pictures that aren't quite so funny (usually posted by non-horsey people which isn't surprising)

I don't even think that this is real but, um... WTF?!

Lions, tiger bears, oh my! How is an animal scared out of its mind funny?

Not laughing yet?

FACT: Pony rides are cruel

I hate pony rides. The kind that where the ponies are hooked up to a hot-walker and just walk in a circle,  particularly tick me off. Problems with pony rides:
1. Boring life for animals
2. constant circles are hard on joints
3. most that are uses are minis and some Shetlands
   -Shetlands are OK for use with small children but NOT FULL GROWN PEOPLE!
   -minis should NEVER be ridden by anything but an infant
4. most of the pony ride operators have no clue about how to act around horses

Poor things... here are some examples:
BEST EXAMPLE
Watch till the end
not as bad but still bad
radio show ponies
Now THIS is a pony ride! This is OK with me! (and cute...)
so cute!

Howrse has something in common with real life?!

      Everbody knows that sometimes horse sellers aren't allways legit, honest, or even fair. this even flows over into the digital horse world. Howrse is a popular horse breeding game that I am VERY involved in. check me out at here. So I have a "rescue" where I buy mixed breed, uni-rejects, and you name it for 600e. I train them up to their full potential and then sell them to new players for 800e to let them have a good horse for less price since most are on a tight budget. So I sold someone a mustang to help them out but... just look! They turn the price right around and made a 9,200e profit!

    Here is another one that I found:

          I actually feel sorry for this person. Neither one of us knew how much the donkey was worth (even though she couldn't be used for breeding. This sort of thing happens in the real world all the time so LOOK OUT!

P.S. Love ya'll so I made a funny blog for horse peop

Go Snarky!

So, I am an avid reader of  the snarkyrider blog. The new (I think new) site badge is AMAZING! I agree so much with it and love it that I must create a similar badge of my own. Now what shall it be?

I just LOVE it! (sorry guys about the lame post, I am in fact lazy)

Dover Fail: Elite Edition 2012-2013

   So, personally, I love Dover. They have the best stuff ever. I get all of my show clothes from them. I also love Professional's Choice(PC). I have never EVER seen another elastic girth that I like for the price. Both companies have good, quality stuff. However, on a funny note, I do question their photo shopping skills. Gina Miles has partnered with PC to create a line of bits along with an endorsement. She is a wonderful rider and in 2008 she competed in the Beijing Olympics on McKinlaigh (who is a wonderful horse). So, I noticed that the boots looked suspiciously too clean in the picture in the catalog. Plus, who wears SMBs at 4* XC in first place (in addition to NOT being taped). The blue SMB boots and bell boots just did't feel right.

Sorry for the bad quality!

    

      So I googled some images of Gina competing at the Olympics and TADA! Different boots!

    See?! White, ribbed pull-on bell boots! I will admit the taping on the XC boots is blue but this defiantly doesn't match the ad in Dover! Oh well... just goes to show that you can't trust a picture anymore. I am not bashing anyone in particular I just thought that it was interesting and was wondering if anybody else noticed? Ta-ta for now my fellow horse lovers! 

Addictive

So, when a drug dealer wants to have repeat customers he gives away the first sample for free. however the person is then hooked and mus continue to buy- yada-yada-yada. So check out this add that I found on craigslist for horse lessons. I think that this proves how amazingly addicting horses are. Please note that these horses ARE in good condition.

  *New foal should be arriving tonight! Wish us luck!*

What is correctness?

   I am often asked my opinion of a correct rider. I just recently posted in HGS forum what I believe correctness is. Here is what I wrote:


     Correctness is found in any happy, healthy, safe, conservatively dressed, sound, sane horse and rider in any sport. Willingness and ability to learn are important, too. As is a good match between horse and handler. They don't have to be perfect with two billion under saddle points. They just need to be motivated to learn from their mistakes to become better, even if that means learning how to finally post on the right diagonal.They need to be able minded and able bodied. No limping horses. No forced children. Nobody pushed beyond their limit; horse, rider, and parent included. that is correctness in any discipline. No matter what anybody else says.


      Yes, of course there is a correct way to ride, a correct way to jump, a correct way to post, etc. But that is not what this post is about. Think about it...
  

ESPN follow up.

So, everybody have a nice time watching the eventing video? I think that it brings up some good points about safety and stupid people that buy horses WAY too advanced for the rider. Not to say that putting a rider on an experienced horse isn't a bad thing. The fact that they called eventing expensive and exclusive just tickled me to death! I thought that this was hilarious! Yes, we need 1-2 sets of tack. Yes, we go to XC schooling that cost a good bit. But, we DO NOT compare to the money spent on hunter horses, dressage horses, etc. I will admit I have seen eventers go for a bundle of money however, it allays gives me chills when on a website for some stable they have two categories for horses that are for sale. On one in particular they have "Under $50,000" and "Over $50,000". WHAT!?!? (might I mention that the under category said "none at the moment")
      As far as being exclusive eventing is...well... not. At all. These can be some of the most welcoming people! well, sorry for the random rant on a small part of this video, but yeah. I have MANY more interesting posts that I am working on that I am sure will cause a stir with my millions thousands hundreds twenty umm...five viewers. Please! Let me know that you are out there!

Me, the Penny-Pincher

      I just love horse shopping. Finding a good horse pleases me very much. My horse trailer costs more than my best horse. I don't see anything wrong with this. No matter what show I am at people allways gasp when they hear how much a paid for my horse. In the local hunter circut, my horse costs on average $20,000 less than theirs. It is almost the same for the local dressage horses. It never fail to astonish people that my $3,000 rescue mare places consistantly and even wins sometimes.
     I was browsing yesterday and found a few ads that just BLEW MY MIND. These horses are probably very-well trained and have prestigious blodliness. However, I cannot see myself ever buying a $200,000 hunter horse. I will not post a picture or name the horse because anybody that has this money for a horse probably can find a way for their lawyer to sue me for ruining the sale of this horse. 
      Reading the ad I thought "Wow, nice bloodlines, good conformation, nice height, etc" So I scroll down to the description. What does the title say? "POTENTIAL TO WIN!" Huh? What? EXCUSE ME?!?! Potential? As in hasn't won anything yet? How old is he? I will tell you: 10 y/o. I, personally would NOT fork out 200,000 smack-a-roonies for a hunter horse that hasn't won anything. I thought the whole point of buying an expensive "push-button" hunter was to just hang on and win... but that's just me. I love a nicely trained hunter but this price would likely send me into cardiac arrest. 
     On another fine afternoon, I spied a dressage horse sale website. Hmm... la-ti-da-bla-bla-bla. $40k, $70k, but then... "Private treaty in the six digits" Um... what? Title: "Yearling stud colt by [insert name of fancy stud]" I think I just peed my pants...
      Enough for you? ever heard of Green Monkey? Well, apparently a lot of green was used to create this TB race horse that sold for a whopping $16,000,000 according to http://www.weirdlyodd.com. He is listed at a pet, but any horse person knows that this is no pet!

     He is gorgeous though.

Hubba-hubba

And look! He has a great personality!

Oh yeah! The ladies LOVE him!

(I know I do!)

Future prediction: This lucky soul will probably not end up having to be re homed as an OTTB. 

     

ESPN

So ESPN did a thing on eventing back in 2008. I feel lazy today so just watch the video and I will comment tomorrow (maybe) ;)

Snickers!

So, I don't feel the need to post any pictures of my horses, obviously for security reasons. I want everybody to see what my babies look like! So I have discovered snafflez.com. The most mind-blowing and time wasting site ever! I just love it. So, here is Snickers. He does in-hand hunter, in-hand eventing, and TRICKS! We are learning to drive at the moment, too. So they don't have miniature horse or giant person on this software but I got his markings about right!

What a cutie! 

Once again, looks nothing like him!

So I thought that I would share this modern-day paper dolls website.

TA-DA!!!

Fake Whinnies

I spent my entire weekend watching old horse movies. My new favorites include Interational Velvet and Sylvester (both of which I recommend for eventers). I noticed that the further in time one goes back, the more realistic horses on TV become. I know of a show that my friends and I love to watch (yes we love this G-Rated kids show): The Saddle Club. If you are not familiar with the Saddle Club (TSC), then you have missed out! Here are some exapmples of the show, which is from Austrailia.
official site

Theme Song
Lisa Falls
Horse Show
Best TV series ever right?! I love watching all of the "drama". The one thing that really eats at my skin is the fact that every time a horse yawns a whinny comes out! That is not how it works people!!! horse yawn See! Oh well I guess it can be over looked...

Know-it-all

   As a horse person I have come across PLENTY of know it all's. Most were less experienced as I was, even when I just started to ride! They come at you when you least expect it. Hey, maybe they could be right! But then again, maybe not... 
    On one particular occasion a friend of mine told me that I was trailering my horses wrong. He said that I needed to leave my drop-down windows down so that my horses could see out. I knew this was wrong! But he was SO convinced that this would help with stressful trailering that he tried it with his horses. Well a few thousand vet bills later and one eyeball short on one of his horses later... yeah. You get the point. 
    It isn't only in the real world that we find know-it-alls. As most of us know, forums and blogs (ironic right?) are FULL of know-it-alls. People hiding behind their computer and criticizing others. What is really bad is saying bad things about a sport that you have no idea about! People rat on saddle seat, eventing, hunters, dressage, and even HALTER! What is this insanity about halter horses?!?! I found a disturbing article on the famous fugly horse of the day blog (http://fuglyblog.com/ which I LOVE to read!). The article talks about how useless halter horses are and just- UGH! Here read over it yourself: http://fuglyblog.com/2011/12/27/halter-horses-yummy/. The article is originally talking about slaughter but then goes off on other things. Read it? Good. Here is my experience with halter horses. I used to board at private facility with my old pony. They bred appaloosa horses and had some world champs standing at stud. Those horses got ridden everyday. They worked on hills, did trails, some even jumped! They had as much turnout as they wanted but after about 5 hours they were at the fence ready to go back in. They were versatile, (points in DRESSAGE, hello!) athletic, and beautiful. Not even spoiled! 
    Another know it all REALLY pinched an anoyance nerve the other day. The last post made on ihateyourhorse.blogspot.com was this: http://ihateyourhorse.blogspot.com/2010/12/about-to-fail.html. Just so that you know I own a book printed in the 1970s called The World Of Horses (or something like that). The picture in question here was in the eventing section by an article talking about how dangerous it is. Back in the day, horse boots, good helmets, and protective vests were NOT available. Today, to compete helmets and vests are required. Any person, even a non horsey person, can tell that this is from an earlier time. But not this person. They absolutely verbally rip apart this person for ruining a perfectly good horse. Point made? Alright everybody have a great weekend and give your horse a cookie for me! Buh-bye!

I'm here!

So, as hard as I have tried to make a blog this time I WILL SUCCEED! I won't be able to post everyday because of show but, I promise it to be fun to read! I will cover the subject of whatever crosses my radar that particular day! Yeah, nobody is going to read this but... oh well!