Horse!

[mijan]

I just wanted to introduce you to my horse, Champ.  

He's 16 hands high (that's very tall for a Quarterhorse), and is an absolutely darling horse with a playful personality, and a definite desire to please.  He also LOVES the snow.  I swear, he just likes to frolic.  We get to the field, and he can't wait to get into the snow, which in most places, comes up past his knees and hocks.  He's also got the most gorgeous tail, but my sister decided to braid it today, so you can't even see how nice it is.  Oh, and the sun was in our eyes... he normally doesn't look quite that sleepy.  LOL.  Trust me, I'll be taking lots more pictures, so you'll get to see better.  I can't wait until summer when he sheds his shaggy winter coat, and you can see how shiny his summer coat is.  :D

I also have a video that my sister took of me riding.  It's kinda shakey, and my sister had the sun behind me, instead of behind her when she positioned herself (silly person), but you can certainly see us gallop past. This is the video:  http://members.cox.net/phoenixsong/potterart/Champ_Gallop.AVI  (Be patient... it takes a moment to load.)

I'll hopefully have more videos and pictures soon. 

Comments

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Hey there!

And I could go on for hours too. He's got good conformation... not perfect, but almost no horse is perfect. His chest isn't narrow, but it isn't quite as wide as I like on a quarterhorse. (I like a horse with a very wide chest.) His withers are a little bit high, but that's partially his age, and really, his withers are quite normal. (I just like to ride bareback, and high withers hurt.) Beyond that, he has a good short/average neck, strong back, solid quarters, short sloping shoulder... good proportions. He's a pretty one. :)

Right now, the one thing that bothers me about him isn't HIM... the woman who boards him isn't feeding him enough for the level of activity... he's a big horse, and with the way I ride, he needs a good measure of grain. His ribs weren't showing when he arrived at this farm, but they're showing now. I'm NOT happy with that. I've already told her once to up the grain ration, but I don't think she's added enough.

Okay, that's enough ranting from me. I'll get more pics soon. :)

[annephoenix.livejournal.com]

No horse is perfect… But that doesn’t mean they’re not perfect in our minds. I know my own boy had got a too-big head and sharp withers… Sadly, I’m not able to spend much time with him at the moment/anymore.

Just sent you an e-mail. I’ve only just started this livejournal thing, because I’ve resisted valiantly for so long. Still feel safer with the e-mails!

Still you’ve inspired me to get some horse photos up, so I had some taken at the competition today. My friend’s horse is the biggest show-up. He **knows** he’s gorgeous (and he’s called Monarch, what more can a horse want?) and he works his little heart out to show it off… You’d like him – he’s built like a tractor… a very attractive, agile and gaitly tractor (he’s an Irish draft).

I have a serious problem with ellipses at the moment (**goes back through post and deleted all ellipses**)… It’s all JKR’s fault. She lives down the road from me, and is infusing me with ellipsitis… … … …
… … …
I would really enjoy seeing some more picture of your Champ. If there’s one thing in this world I love more than slash (and more than my partner hahahaha)), it’s definitely horses.

Neeeeeeiiiiigh!

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Ooh! I had no idea you were so involved with riding! I'm insanely jealous... eventing! Wow... very jealous. I can't wait to see pics of Monarch. Irish draft horses are beautiful creatures... cross-bred with a thoroughbred or other hot-blood, they're supposed to make the world's finest jumpers and hunters.

Actually, the prettiest little horse I personally know is a small quarterhorse stallion named Hickory. I call him Harry, because he LOOKS like a Harry. Take a peek:
http://members.cox.net/slideshows/HarryHorse.jpg
He's really the absolute cutest little thing. EXTREMELY good conformation, pretty little head, nice crest, wide chest, small and adorable hooves, dainty and soft muzzle, and generally overall excellent shape. And on top of that... he's got the sweetest, loviest personality. He seriously CUDDLES. I've NEVER seen such a sweet natured stallion. I wanted him, but I couldn't get him. Very disappointed by that.

So, I'll show you more pics of Champ, and you show me pics of Monarch! I'll be honest, I don't do any truely fancy riding. I can't afford shows, or fancy tack, or horses that are well-enough trained to do high-level eventing... but I can certainly respect those who do. And I know that when it comes to raw capability with a horse, I can handle almost any horse, no matter how ill-behaved. While I was in Missouri, I was riding this quarterhorse mare who had thrown off EVERYONE who'd tried to ride her. This included her owner, who at the time was unable to ride because he'd shattered both of his wrists the last time she'd thrown him. She TRIED to throw me (reared up, bucked, sidestepped, stopped short, took off galloping while I was mid-mount)... and she couldn't. Eventually, I had her behaving VERY well... just because I never let up on her. We actually got to be pretty good pals. It's just that nobody had ever bothered to MAKE her behave. So, I did. It was loads of fun, working a tough horse.

Talk to you soon! Hopefully, I'll have more pics on Friday!

~P

[annephoenix.livejournal.com]

Harry’s a QH?? He looks like a show pony on that photo… gorgeous! The funny thing is, he really does look like a Harry, and greatly resembles a pony I know that actually is called Harry.

My first horse was a stallion (called Sarastro IV, but I called him Rambo because he was insane). They are very affective, even if often distrustful. I have some pics of him on my home computer… None of Monarch yet. Some were taken during the dressage warm-up yesterday, so these will hopefully work out, but they’re **shock** not digital! So have to wait for development.

I agree with Irish draft assessment. They’ll jump 1m40, go well in dressage, and then potter safely around the countryside with a child/beginner… completely bombproof and with a heart of gold! And you’ll see Monarch is stunning too. I moving to the Netherlands in a month, and I’m already sad at having to leave him behind, and irritated at having to go through the whole finding a yard, finding a horse, etc etc, game. As you seem to know all too well, the yard makes a big difference to the riding pleasure!

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Yes, the riding area makes a HUGE difference in how well you enjoy your riding. Lately, I've been avoiding the actual riding arena because of the bitch who owns the place, and have been going down to this whole open field. Gorgeous, snow-covered field. It's great exercise for Champie.

And yes, Harry is a Quarterhorse. Registered stud with a pedigree that goes way back... but he DOES look like a show-pony. He's well-muscled, but he's got a strangely dainty look to him. Thing is, he's BARELY larger than a pony. I think he's 14-3, MAYBE almost 15 hands, but no taller. So, sadly, he couldn't compete in the pony classes. But DAMN, if he could... he's so wonderful. I STILL WANT HIM! *cries* *sobs* *has severe envy* I need a better picture of him, but I had the hardest time getting him to stand back and pose last summer... he kept coming towards me to get petted. So, I ended up throwing him some hay, and I managed to snap a picture while he was chewing a mouthful there.

As far as calling him Harry... did you notice the little white mark on his forehead? ;)

Oh, and now, you're making me want to ride an Irish Draft. They're not so common around here, sadly, although I've SEEN one, I've never ridden one. I can't wait to see those pics when you finally get them... no pressure of course. :D

~P

[annephoenix.livejournal.com]

Not Monarch, the Irish draft (I'll to remember to take the digicam when I go see him next week). This is Sarastro (stable name Rambo), my Camargue stallion. His young days are long gone, and he's retired (and has lost all his gorgeous stallion muscle with age) in the mountains in France now. I miss him so much, but I believe he's never been happier... frolicking freedom, field friends, food, fun and f*cking! (He's not fertilising though, thank Merlin)... alliterative garbage ;-)

Sorry about the slight blur (the picture is from a really nasty yard with awful installations *and* and unfriendly owner. However, it's the only place that will let me use their sand-school to evaluate Rambo's arthritis twice a year. He's 21 years old on this photo)



So will you get to see Harry again? He's got the opposite head to my boy... and to an Irish draft for that matter. They are so massive! A lot of horse for little humans to manage!

Take care,
...

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Beautiful horse! And wait a minute... you've actually ridden one of the renouned white horses of Camargue? *blinks* I've only seen pictures. *is EXTREMELY jealous* Even though he's old, you can still see that he has an excellent shape, and is still quite healthy. And just because he's not fertilizing doesn't mean he can't enjoy the sex. He's just Sunkist... all juice, no seeds. (In case you're not familiar with Sunkist, it's a brand of citrus fruit, known for its great seedless naval oranges.) LOL.

From what I know, Irish Draft horses range from 15 hands to 17 hands. 15 isn't very large, but how tall was yours? And I know they're supposed to be quite strong.

Anyhow, I'm heading down to go riding today... I'll try to get some more pictures. Also, wish me luck... I'm having to face the evil bitch-woman of the farm today. *le sigh*

~P

[annephoenix.livejournal.com]

Camargue horses quite popular in France, so there's no shortage over there. Rambo came from a breeder, but lots of hacking/leisure horses are pretty much wild raised. They make fantastic TREC horses. Rambo is just under 15h.

The Irish draft (Monarch, who belongs to a friend here in Edinburgh) is quite massive. He makes any rider look small, but I'm not a very big person to begin with *lol*. I'd estimate him at a healthy 18h, but I could be overestimating, because there's just so much of him.

Hope you have fun riding this weekend! I am assaulting by deadlines, now that I've decided to leave Edinburgh in a month. The most important is to draft a letter to my landlord to end the tenancy. He's scary, and Glaswegian, and I can't understand a word he ever says to me! So no time off here :(

Anne

[mijan.livejournal.com]

That's true... they're from France, so of course they'd be comparatively common there... I've just never seen one around here. LOL.

I saw a Percheron/Thoroughbred cross yesterday. That horse was bloody enormous. She said he was only 16-2, but he just looked so massive... sleek muscle, and a huge head (from the Percheron side). Beautiful though.

I know all about deadlines. Go deal with RL, and I'll talk to you soon enough. I had my mother take a vid of me riding yesterday, but the woman doesn't understand the concept of a ZOOM button... so you can't even see me. I wasn't pleased, but oh well. Can't have everything. :p

*hugs*