Horse Women Unite!!!

Options
BlueCowgirl
BlueCowgirl Member Posts: 667
edited June 2014 in Life After Breast Cancer

I know there are a lot of us here, and a few of us have talked about starting a thread/group. So, without further ado, here it is!

My favorite boy is in my avatar...Have been a trainer/farm owner for years, but am sadly taking a break due to health and miss the horses like crazy! I about broke down when I thought, last year this time I was at Harrisburg, this year I am getting rads and sleeping...This time last year I probably owned 12 horses...now down to 2...But one of the many great things about horses is you don't have to be healthy or young or a show gypsy to have them in your lives...And I know they will be waiting when I am better.

Look forward to seeing the horse women (men welcome too!) come out of the woodwork! 

· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
«134567…13

Comments

  • jancie
    jancie Member Posts: 2,631
    edited November 2011

    I only have one horse but she is the love of my life!  The avatar I am currently using is her when she was only 8 days old.  Now she is 6-1/2 years old and definately into the bratty teenager stage!

    She has more tricks up her sleeve than I can keep up with.  There is a downside to owning a very intelligent horse!  There are times I just take a deep breath and ask myself why I didn't get a good old ranch quarterhorse!

    I have lots of pictures to share but that will have to wait until Thursday as I am heading out of town for a couple of days and the wi-fi connection at the hotel really sucks!

    Love this thread!  We can share our funny stories, our progress as a rider and the progression of the horse.  We can laugh at ourselves when we have those involuntary dismounts - I am really good at those!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • jancie
    jancie Member Posts: 2,631
    edited November 2011

    Blue - tell me more about your "boy"  He sure is a cutie!!!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • BlueCowgirl
    BlueCowgirl Member Posts: 667
    edited November 2011

    Hey Jancie! Funny, my special guy *is* a ranch-bred QH, brand and all...failed at being a cowhorse and is now a jumper! Waaay too hot for the ranch :) I used to color in his brand when he showed as a hunter/eq horse, but did a 180 and decided he should sport it proudly. Funny, last year at a show, one of the European grand prix riders on a big WB asked what kind of brand that was...My guy thinks he's pretty fancy stuff. Cutest horse in the entire world. Can you tell I am totally in love? And I've had some good ones, he is just the best. Ever.

    More on your mare? I think you said she was orphaned, did you raise her? 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • BlueCowgirl
    BlueCowgirl Member Posts: 667
    edited November 2011

    Oh and my ranchy QH figured out not only how to let himself out of his stall, but how to let his other friends out too, and they would have an all-night party in the barn aisle. He especially liked to crap all over the wash stall which, ironically, is really hard to clean. And he also often made sure to take a dump on the mat in front of my office. (He *does* love me, I swear, he just has a twisted sense of humor)...He figured out how to open a snap, a knot, everything I could think of to keep him in...finally settled on a padlock with a key attached for safety. He hasn't figured that out yet, but it has bite marks all over the metal from him trying!.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • horsedoc
    horsedoc Member Posts: 512
    edited November 2011

    Yay! Thanks for starting this! I'm working (Haha, between calls...) and on my phone but wanted to check in. I'll be back SOON to hear about ya'lls horses and brag about mine! Hope you are all feeling well!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • BlueCowgirl
    BlueCowgirl Member Posts: 667
    edited November 2011

    Welcome Horsedoc! Thanks for helping inspire this thread, along with Jancie. Hope you are well and looking forward to hearing stories about your eventing adventures. I used to live/train in MD...small world...some of my former clients may now be yours!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Racy
    Racy Member Posts: 2,651
    edited November 2011

    I don't own horses but follow horse sports, hence my screen name. My avatar pick is of a pure white Australian thoroughbred racehorse. Her name is The Opera House (as in the Sydney building) and she has just retired to stud. White thoroughreds are rare.



    I am interested in reading this thread to learn more about horses.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • BlueCowgirl
    BlueCowgirl Member Posts: 667
    edited November 2011

    Welcome Racy! The Opera House is stunning. I have noticed your avatar and wondered if you were a race trainer. What is racing like in Aus? I love going to the track here, and Thoroughbreds are my favorite - I've had many off-the-track that have had 2nd careers in the Hunter/Jumper world.

    I have a TB mare now who is 17.1h and very flashy, bright chestnut with big white blaze and high white socks. She won one race...where the "real" winner was disqualified and there were only like 3 other horses running. She will be a superstar hunter if I can keep her sound - she is your typical sensitive chestnut Thoroughbred mare.

    I believe there is a white registered TB as well as a cremello(?) racing here in the US. IMO, I've never been too picky about colors, but the unusual ones sure are neat to look at! I am, however, a sucker for a pretty face...The boy in my avatar stole my heart immediately, as did my mare. His face is dainty and feminine, while hers is looong - like the bartender says to the horse, I am always asking her, "Why the long face?" But beautiful nonetheless. And moves like a dream.

    Can you tell I miss my horses? 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Racy
    Racy Member Posts: 2,651
    edited November 2011

    Hi BlueCowgirl, I hope you are back with your horses soon.

    I am not a trainer, just a spectator.  Racing in Australia is very good.  About 99% of tracks are grass.  Our most famous race is the Melbourne Cup that is a handicap run annually on the first Tuesday in November over 3200 metres (2 miles) with 24 runners.  It has really become an international race.  Horses from France won the past two years and previous winners have included a Japanese horse and an Irish horse.  One of my favourite horses is Makybe Diva, a mare who won that race an incredible three times.  It is hard enough to win one, few horses have won two and she is the only horse to have won three times.  This race has been on the calendar since 1861. They call it 'the race that stops a nation' because everyone in the country stops to watch the race and there are Melbourne Cup parties everywhere and every office has a 'sweep' or many of them to pick the winner.

    We also have a very good sprinting mare at the momont, Black Caviar, who has won 16 out of 16.

    Quite a few of our good sprinters have been to Asia and Ascot, UK and won races there.

    I also follow harness racing (trotting); standardbreds.  I know that is big in US.

    Another big difference between racing in the US and Australia, apart from the tracks, is the race callers.  I know the US callers call at a very slow pace.  The tempo of our callers is much faster.

    I liked your story about your horse working out how to escape from his stall.  I do think they are very intelligent.  I suppose I can google the IQ of horses to see how they compare.

    I also love the miniature horses.  Regarding colours, there is a stud here that breeds exotic coloured horses; I believe it's called  Winning Colours if you want to google. 

    On 1 August each year we celebrate the "horses' birthday" for all thorougbreds as that is the start of the new breeding season.  It 's the date when all thoroughbreds' official ages increase by a year.

    All the best to all horse lovers and the horses.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • BlueCowgirl
    BlueCowgirl Member Posts: 667
    edited November 2011

    Thanks for all the info Racy...One question: do the TBs in Aus race clockwise or counterclockwise? 

    Like people, IMO, horses' IQ varies greatly from one to the next. I have had some scary smart ones as well as some that are, well, not so smart. Actually I think what I may perceive as "intelligence" is actually almost the opposite: adaptation to domestication rather than natural instinct. Willingness to interact and learn from people and be less reactive in situations where there is not a real predator threat (i.e. blowing leaves or fast movements) and the old fight or flight instinct doesn't kick in...I could expound on this for hours, but I would probably bore everyone to death...

    In the US, TB's official ages increase by a year on Jan 1 - I am guessing because of your opposite climate down under, the breeding season is the reason for this. Some of us nuts on this side of the pond celebrate their "birthdays" too :)  

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Racy
    Racy Member Posts: 2,651
    edited November 2011

    ha ha.... the direction in which they race varies from state to state.  In Queensland and New South Wales they race clockwise and in other states they race counter clockwise.

    I am shy and like to keep my birthday a secret.  So if I have to give a date in an innocuous situation, say when playing a game, I give my date as 1 August lol.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • BlueCowgirl
    BlueCowgirl Member Posts: 667
    edited November 2011

    Nice Racy. I think my b-day is now January 1, so a get a few more months out of my current age.

    Here is a pic of my big chestnut mare:

     

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • BlueCowgirl
    BlueCowgirl Member Posts: 667
    edited November 2011

    And here is one where you can *reallly* see the long face ;)

     

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • jancie
    jancie Member Posts: 2,631
    edited November 2011

    Welcome Racy and HorseDoc!!!!

    Went to bed and woke up to a great thread and learned a lot about racing in Aus!

    The worst part about going out of town is not being able to see my horse but we are due back this afternoon so I will be out there tomorrow.

    Jazzy aka All That Jazz is a TB/Warmblood cross.  Technically she is 75% thoroughbred and 25% Hanovarian.  She has some excellent TB bloodlines from both her dam and sire.  I owned the dam but she twisted 9 days after foaling.  We got her through surgery but she twisted again 6 weeks later again and I had to euthanize her as her bladder lining ruptured due to being too thin and there was nothing the surgeon could do.  I was left with a 2 month old orphan.

    My little orphan or supposedly they aren't supposed to grow so much ended up 16.3 hands tall and I am only 5' tall so she is quite a bit tall for me so I had a special mounting block made and have trained her to go to the mounting block so I could dismount so I wouldn't have a 4' fall to the ground.  Now when she is done working she heads to the mounting block herself and positions her body just perfect so I can get off.  She will even look at my feet to make sure we are lined up properly!

    I am training her in dressage and we did pretty well her first show season.  This year I am doing the long tour dressage program to hopefully qualify for regionals at the end of the season.

    I will post pictures tomorrow of her dam and sire along with more pictures of her.  I have been begging my dh to buy me a decent camera as it is so hard to take pictures of black horses.  She looks like a silohette in most of the pictures.

    Hope everyone is having a great day! 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • horsedoc
    horsedoc Member Posts: 512
    edited November 2011

    Hi all, I just signed on real quick to save this to my favorites.  I just arrived in *cold* Wisconsin for the 4th out of 5 modules (class blocks) for animal chiropractic training. It's actually grueling.  As those of you know who read my cognitive problem thread. ANYWAY I'm off to class and shouldn't have even signed on because I just want to read everything and respond.  *sigh*  Hopefully I'll have time later.  Blue, the horse I'm riding now could be your mare's brother... I'll post pics later.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • BlueCowgirl
    BlueCowgirl Member Posts: 667
    edited November 2011

    Hi Horsedoc!! Best wishes for a successful training sessions. Would love to chat more about chiro later...have lots of amazing stories. I'm sure you'll do great. I am doing the same thing, checking in on this thread while I'm *supposed* to be working...I will check once per hour only ;)

    Looking forward to seeing my mare's "bro". Mine is by Old Topper of of an Avies Copy mare. 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Cowgirl13
    Cowgirl13 Member Posts: 1,936
    edited November 2011

    How do we post a picture?

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • cp418
    cp418 Member Posts: 7,079
    edited November 2011

    I copied these instructions from Marybe in another post.

    Marybe gets credit below!

    It is actually quite easy once you get the hang of it.....I had several women talk me through it.First you have to put your pics in photobucket....it is free to join.   Go to the thread you want to post on and minimize it by clicking on that little minus sign up in the right hand corner,(it will go down to bottom, but will still be open)  Then go to photobucket and then you  click on the picture you want to post and copy....minimize that and go back to the BCO thread by clicking on wherever it is on lower left....there you go to the box you are posting in and right click on mouse( now I am thinking maybe you left click....let me check) ....a box will come up that says copy, paste etc.....click on paste.  Then this message comes up asking if you want to allow access and you click on yes and it will ask you the same thing again and you click on yes and low and behold there you pic will pop up.   Do not try to do it by clicking on that tree above where you are posting (in the line with the big  B, spell check,  slanted I etc.....that way is much more complicated.    After you do this copy and past thing a few times, it is easy. 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Cowgirl13
    Cowgirl13 Member Posts: 1,936
    edited November 2011

    Thank you!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited November 2011

    Here are a few of my horses. I use to hunt and show sidesaddle before moving into breeding for awhile. Now, I am almost 100% recreational. I come from a horsey background (uncle trained Man o' War) but I was pretty young when he was still alive so I didn't get to share his insights into that great horse.

    Now I carriage drive and just have fun. Much less stress!

    My Oldenburg:

    My father/son pair:

    My "other" pair...

    I don't post a lot in here anymore, but I check in daily and have added this thread to my Favorites.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited November 2011

    One other little tip when posting pictures (and can't wait to see more!), if your pictures are really big, resize them to no more than 600 pixels wide before you upload them, or enter that size in the field you'll see when you upload. Bigger than that and they can be blocked by the vertical banner that shows up on the right side of the board.

    Timtam posted an excellent walk-through (with pictures!) about posting pictures too, if you run into any glitches. It's here: http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/93/topic/691885

    Judith and the Mods

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • jancie
    jancie Member Posts: 2,631
    edited December 2011

    Heiditoo - what is the line on your Oldenburg?  Simply beautiful!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • jancie
    jancie Member Posts: 2,631
    edited December 2011

    My trainer called me as I was 1/2 hour from home telling me that the vet/chiro person came out and said that my mare's hocks need injecting.  I had this discussion with my trainer before I left that IF I was told my mare needed her hocks injected I would get a second opinion before doing so.

    Her hocks are not swollen, no heat, etc.  She is only 6-1/2 years old.

    In many cases people have injected hocks to mask a problem or it seems like that is their "solution to all issues".    My horse does not take one lame straight.  I know she has trouble getting her right hind leg underneath her as well as she does the left hind.

    Anybody know what the diagnostic steps are to see for sure if the hocks need to be injected besides flexion testing?  Would x-rays help?  Ultrasound?  This lady didn't even flexion test her hocks before making that diagnosis.  Guess I am being skeptical as I have no relationship with this certain vet and I don't mind using her for basic stuff but when it comes down to lameness issues or hocks, etc. then I am going to get a second opinion from a vet that has been in this business for 30 years and has known my mare since the day she was born.  The only reason I haven't called him out in the last year was (1) no emergencies to deal with and (2) is practice is a 1-1/2 hour drive from the barn I moved to last January.

    Anybody got any ideas or suggestions?

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited December 2011

    jancie- He's by Art Deco out of a Count Fleet mare.

    PS- I would most definitely get another opinion before getting into the hock injection merry-go-round. From your description, it doesn't sound like your vet has considered many other options.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • pupmom
    pupmom Member Posts: 5,068
    edited December 2011

    I've always loved horses! As a kid I had an extensive collection of ceramic horses and rode them in my teens.

    Now Obama has signed a law allowing horses to be slaughtered and served for HUMAN CONSUMPTION! I don't know about others on this thread but I am OUTRAGED!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Alpal
    Alpal Member Posts: 1,785
    edited December 2011

    Congress passed the bill. It's my understanding that lifting the ban on the USDA from inspecting horse slaughter houses was buried in the bill. I read the ban was only put in place 5 years ago. We need to all let our elected senators and reps have it!

    ETA - just read an article that PETA supports lifting the ban??? Google it.  

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • pupmom
    pupmom Member Posts: 5,068
    edited December 2011

    Alpal, absolutely! Ironically, Obama sent me an email today trying to solicit funds. Can't wait to reply! He also tried to betray the earth's great whales by making a deal that they could be legally slaughtered by quota. The world got wind of that and BAM, whales were saved (except for their ongoing illegal slaughter by Japan, Norway and Iceland).

    Anyway, NO WAY can this betrayal of horses be condoned or allowed!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Alpal
    Alpal Member Posts: 1,785
    edited December 2011

    I'm sure they don't want politics discussed on this thread or on this board. Yorkiemom, I have a Yorkie, also. Read about the PETA response to the bill.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • pupmom
    pupmom Member Posts: 5,068
    edited December 2011

    Alpal, I'll PM you.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Racy
    Racy Member Posts: 2,651
    edited December 2011

    Wow HeidiToo, what breed of horse is that? Do they trot or pace?



    I know of Man O War as I saw the movie Seabiscuit and have the book. That's impressive that your uncle trained Man O War. I guess you saw the movie but if not it's a 'must see'.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories