Does anyone else here ride horses?

[skygazer]

I know a lot of people here have cats, and there are quite a few dog owners as well. I've seen some birds and rodents and amphibians. Any other horse people? If so, tell me about your horse, what kind of riding you do, that sort of thing.

As for me, I have a 4 (almost 5) year old Thoroughbred mare named Bella. I got her last June - she was in training at the track but never raced. She's an absolute doll, dark bay, gorgeous and really cute personality. She's still really green but coming along well, she's absolutely bombproof which is very cool and I think she's going to be a monstrously good trail horse which is mainly what I want. I also like to jump and would like to just have her able to take on any obstacles on the trail and maybe do some low hunter stuff. And I'd love to eventually ride another drag hunt with her - I used to ride one several years ago and it was the most fun ever.

This is my girl -

[femmocrat]

1. She is really beautiful!

I love horses but never had one.

[bigwillq]

2. Great pics!

:hi:

[Flaxbee]

3. She's gorgeous!

I used to ride when I was in jr. high and high school, but have never been in one place long enough, or had the space (or funds), to have a horse. My trainer would take thoroughbreds from the LA tracks and turn them into trail / cross country event horses, and I got to ride / help her train quite a few of them. One she nicknamed "Magnum" (this was in the 80s, he was a spectacularly beautiful horse and my trainer was in love with Tom Selleck) and we'd take him to the riverbed and just let him run. Amazed me he'd never won a race; made me wonder how fast the ones who win really are...

Enjoy your girl! I hope you have many happy years together! :hi:

[Roon]

4. My step-sister just sold her horse

She couldn't afford him anymore. :-(

[mix]

5. I have a 7 year old QH.

I mostly trail ride on him and plan to rope off him this spring, if he works out. He's from CA and off a cattle ranch, but he doesn't seem to have been used for roping, just moving cattle. I am just getting him use to the rope now. He is a funny horse, very broke to ride, but you have to be careful on the ground around him. He seems to have been traumatized in numerous ways. He is getting better though, as long as I am patient with him.

My immediate and extended family have been in the Quarter Horse business for years. I grew up riding western and showing, mostly reiners and cow horses.

:hi:

[Kali]

9. My Grampa was a decent roper

tried to teach me (I can throw a rope but just not into competition and now we work calves on a table so there just isn't need, nevermind having a horse that is qualified) back in the 70's. He an another old timer both built arenas and they would switch off Sundays for "practice". People from around the area would come rope for a few go-rounds each (25 cent to the pot, you could win $5!)

Time passes and one day about 10 years ago a cousin and I were looking at the chute and thinking about maybe getting some Holsteins or something to play around with, clearing the mesquites that had grown in, and chucking the rocks our of the arena. We realized how dated it all was when I had to explain why there was no box for the header - back in those days both ropers came out on the same side! There was a divider between the horses, but the steer was on the header's left and heeler on the right. The old guys would stand out to the left of the steer and haze them straight. Always worried Grampa was going to get run over.

I was supposed to be a heeler - somewhere is a humorous pic of me with bell bottoms and a leather headband holding a stretched out corriente. Had to display my hippiness to the rest of them even then.

[mix]

10. Roping is an art.

I don't plan on competing anymore, but I enjoy doing it on an afternoon here and there. Heeling is tough, I've always been a header and a mediocre one at that.

That looks like a nice old saddle on that paint.

:hi:

[Kali]

12. I think it's an old circle Y (early 70's?)

my first "grown-up" saddle - bought for another paint horse. Paints - I have some sort of sick attraction to the damn things. At least I seem to have been owned (and injured :eyes: ) by more than a normal share of them.

Check this out:

Willcox Cowbelles to

raffle Arzberger's saddle

The Willcox Cowbelles are raffling Marsha Arzberger's saddle as a fundraiser for the Marguerite Cook Memorial Scholarship Fund.

The fund was established in 1977 and since that time scholarships have been awarded to area students majoring in an agriculture-related field.

The saddle maker, Fred Mueller, opened his first shop in 1891 at 1415 Larimer Street, Denver, Colo.

The shop continued to operate until the early 1950s.

Marsha has used her saddle on the Arzberger Ranch in the Kansas Settlement area southeast of Willcox since the mid-1970s.

Tickets are $10 each and no more than 200 tickets will be sold. The winning ticket will be drawn at the Willcox Cowbelles Scholarship Dinner Dance on March 13. For information and tickets call [phone], [phone] or send a check in the appropriate amount to the Willcox Cowbelles, P. O. Box 354, Willcox, AZ 85644.

-------------------------
darn it they don't have the photo on line, it's only in the print version - oh well trust me it is a cool old saddle!

[mix]

31. could you get me a picture of the saddle? nt

[Kali]

32. sure

scanned from the paper

[skygazer]

19. I've had a couple of horses that were abused or neglected

It's tough to work them through it but I've found that once you gain their trust, they are the most loyal and dependable horses. I'd love to see a pic of your boy, if you've got one to post. :)

[mix]

21. I don't have anything really to post picture wise.

He is not a bad looking horse, a deep dark bay, almost liver chestnut with a small star, no other white markings. He's also really tough, athletic and strong, which are necessary qualities in these mountains. The rocky trails are hard on their feet and legs.

He has been very challenging, for example, when I first got him last summer he would not tie up without pulling back. He's fine about it now. He can also be hard to bridle, but he's getting over that too. Another thing he doesn't like and is getting over, is picking up his hind legs.

I love working with him, getting him to relax and accept simple things like brushing his face and head. He really wants to be loved and given attention, but whatever he went through left him with many issues. I am confident he'll be a changed horse by the spring and summer.

Sounds and looks like you've found a great friend, she has a kind eye.

[Kali]

6. I have said it before but I sure like the hindquarters on your mare!

damn, I bet she will be able to lift off when you start jumping!

the current ride (not that I have been doing much riding lately, sigh):

[skygazer]

18. I loves me a flashy paint

Nice looking horse. :hi:

edited to add - yeah, everyone loves her butt. I love the way she's built and every now and then someone asks if she's QH just because of her hind end.

[MiddleFingerMom]

23. Your paint is beautiful!!

.
I don't know anything about horses, but I know 'pretty'.
.
When you got that horse, the way you talked I assumed she was a
broken-down ol' nag that had pulled an ice-wagon for 18 years --
and that you had simply taken in a charity case.
.
I can see that was a misconception.
.
I like your horse's hindquarters, too. A lot. A whole lot.
.
.
I'm a lonely, lonely man.
.

[blueamy66]

24. That is one beautiful horse.

I am jealous.

I rode/rodeoed when I was a teen.

[Inchworm]

7. Not any more, but I appreciate their beauty

:loveya:

:hi:

[david13]

8. I love horses as much as cats. I ride horses, but not enough. In the

big city here, there are always fewer and fewer places to ride and keep horses.
I also ride motorcycles, and find a similarity, tho' the motorcycle is a machine, not a living creature.
But it's a motivation as well (means of moving).
I have always got along well with horses, and all animals, basically.
Maybe there is just a bit of cowboy in all of us. Me, anyway.
dc

[MiddleFingerMom]

26. What do motorcycles and horses have in common?

.
At least in our culture. Recently, I read an interesting piece about the
difference between most European and Japanese bikes and American ones --
the position of the rider. European and Japanese are mostly leg-back
cafe racer styles, while American bikes are leg-forward.
.
The writer attributed this to our horse-centric historical culture.
.
We ride bikes like the cowboys rode horses... tall in the saddle.
.
Below is a real product reached at the link. They have some of the
COOLEST rocking "horses" ever... including a rocking pirate ship.
.
http://www.inventiveparent.com/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?preadd=action&key=FURNRTRK
.

.

[david13]

27. I think the real issue is the comfort of the ride, or the cruiser

(casual) ride v. the race style ride. Many of the Honda, etc., bikes are sport bikes, read race bikes.
Your jockey, in the race, takes a very forward position, legs tucked up and back, head down near the neck to reduce wind resistance, whereas the casual cowboy, out on a slow poke ride thru' the rural areas take a more upright, or even 'laid back' position.
So I see it as a race v. casual cruise position.
dc

[MiddleFingerMom]

28. Great points. Then again...

.
...cowboys gallop "hell-bent-for-leather" more-or-less in an
upright position (as do the "cowboys" in the Mongolian and
South American cultures) and most consumer cafe racers spend
the vast majority of their time in casual cruise commuter
traffic, like jockeys slowly approaching the gates in an upright
position (I'm assuming that, but I think it's probably a safe
assumption.)
.

[david13]

29. But now you have brought into the equation another aspect. The

dirt bike rider. The dirt bike rider spends much or most of his time riding thru' the rugged country ... standing up on the pegs. When the bike (or could we say horse at gallop, or any speed) bounces a lot, the rider must lift up on the pegs and off the seat. To keep control, and also to not be bounced off the bike.
dc
dc

[S n o w b a l l]

11. She's a beauty!

I grew up with horses, several. I remember riding in the woods, galloping, barely missing branches and jumping ditches when I was 10 yo. Great memories of a great childhood.

That was about 40 yrs ago though. I took English riding lessons when I lived in LA several years back and hated it. But, I still love horses and love to ride.

[amerikat]

13. There is a song about you, from your mates perspective.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysaBHTwazjk&feature=related

edit to broaden perspective.

[Xipe Totec]

14. Not since I left Mexico

But boy, I do miss it.

I watch it whenever I can

http://www.youtube.com/user/mapachtli42#p/f/6/I_dGzwUtjW0

[applegrove]

15. Oh my gosh Bella is beautiful. I used to rent a horse and go galluping through fields.

Never had a riding lesson, didn't do it right but I loved it. Now I have PTSD and can't do stuff like that anymore. Probably a good thing because what I was doing was dangerous.

[Biker13]

16. Horseless now..

but not for long.

Started riding when I was 3, first pony when I was 6. Partial to the Dutch Warmbloods. Competed in hunter/jumper for years! Worked as a riding instructor and trainer.

Horses are my life!

Your mare is gorgeous!

Biker's Old Lady

[liberaltrucker]

17. No, but I've always admired such beautiful animals

Bella is a very good example of their beauty.

:wow:

[skygazer]

20. Thanks for the nice comments

I'm really happy with this girl. :)

[Arugula Latte]

22. I used to have a Quarter/Morgan gelding about Bella's color.

Maybe a little darker, especially in the summer.

That was back in the day. Great dressage horse, great arena horse -- spooky as hell on trails. I'm lucky I didn't get seriously injured. Beautiful, sweet horse, though.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

25. Used to own a Saddlebred. Miss those days.

Barn Time is the best.

[Demoiselle]

30. Oh that gorgeous thoroughbred head!

What a pretty pretty. I don't have a horse, but I used to ride quite a bit. Eastern saddle hacking. Did a tiny bit of jumping on the trails. Found it particularly discombobulating, never really pursued it past that point.
Best family vacation we had, I think, was 20 years ago when we took our two kids, ages 12 and 10 or thereabouts, to the 63 ranch south of Livingston Montana. We were each given our own horse, rode at least 4-5 hours a day. It came back to me pretty well (and I'd never bother with an English saddle and posting ever again!) Even my husband, who's 14 years older than I and had never been on a horse had a good time. They gave him a fine old sensible gelding named "Yellow Legs" and they dawdled along at their own pace with others of the same general abilities (including a surgeon from Philly who had back problems but did very well) My fondest memory of that two week stay was a ride back from a steak fry on a windy, almost raining late afternoon when we were allowed to gallop abreast (a no no most of the time) over the crest of a hill. Shades of the Dalton gang!
Anyway, I've just taken up your time and I don't really qualify as a horse person, but I promise you that I'm planning to win the lottery, and when I do, I'm going to establish a lovely farm for retired horses. I MIGHT ride. But more likely, I'll just let them be lawn ornaments and I'll have long serious conversations with them over the fence. And hang out in the barn inhaling horsey smells, hay and suchlike, which I love.
Bella is lovely.

[Taverner]

33. I would LOVE to ride horses

And love to take my family on horses...but its pretty expensive - a price I can't afford