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Why I Love My Horse

Tell us why you love your horse! This is a great place to share stories about your beloved equine friends!

Members: 100
Latest Activity: Nov 20, 2012

Welcome to "Why I Love MY Horse"!

Hello Everyone!

Tell us all about your horse!

We want to hear how you found each other! What makes your horse so great! The good times! The not-so-good times! And, of course, the embarrassing times!!

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Discussion Forum

It's Valentine's Month on Barnmice! Tell us why you love your horse! 25 Replies

Add your stories, poems, photos and anything else that defines your love for your horse!Continue

Started by Barnmice Admin. Last reply by Charlotte Pletsch Feb 5, 2011.

It's Valentine's Month on Barnmice! Tell us why you love your horse! 11 Replies

Add your stories, poems, photos and anything else that defines your love for your horse!

Started by Barnmice Admin. Last reply by Nicola Barnes Feb 4, 2011.

Why I Love My Horse Zoe

In September of 2009, I almost died.  Shortly thereafter, I found out I was (indirectly) losing my third horse in 2 years.  I was devsatated, and was ready to quit riding, even though I had done so…Continue

Started by Cynthia Boudreau Feb 2, 2011.

Why I love my Dunny

Dunny originally came into my family as part of my Dad's dream. He was Dad's ranch/cutting horse. I remember how excited and proud Dad was after he bought him...like a little kid.  In May of 2003, as…Continue

Started by Lyn StClair Feb 2, 2011.

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Comment by Aiyana Stewart on March 19, 2012 at 8:09am

Risky was a rescue, and loves attention, and so do I!

Thats why I love my horsie!

Comment by HorseGuard Canada on September 4, 2011 at 4:36pm

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Comment by Holly on May 21, 2011 at 12:00pm

how i met my horse

 

MANGO i walked in to the barn and their standing in a stall was this most amazing horse and i asked if i could ride him and they said yes the moment i got on the horse was amazing i knew this horse had to be mine im still working on buying him and i think im preety close.i ride him every week in my lesson and he is amazing he jumping gets flyings over jumps and flat i hoping someday this horse will be mine

Comment by Patti B on May 9, 2011 at 5:00pm

I met my horse, Widget, when she came to the SPCA where I work.  She was 4 months old, walking on her pasterns behind, and had been starved badly enough that she was the size of a normal 3 week old foal at the most.  Her mother had just been put down from sever colic.  She was also completely loaded with worms. 

For the first month we weren’t sure if she was going to make it as she was very weak and kept colicking as we slowly tried to kill off the parasites.  After a lot of nursing care she made it and also decided I made a good replacement mom.  I got sucked in – how do you say no to that?  I really had been hoping for my next horse to be good for classical dressage and I had no idea what she would turn out like after her rough start, but finding her another home would have been difficult on many levels.  She started to get really cute so everybody wanted to adopt her, but she had issues from her initial, improper, handling.  Apparently she wasn’t kept with her dam at first, but in a stall across the aisle and was put with her mom a few times a day to nurse until someone told her owner that she needed to stay with the mare all the time.  As a result, she doesn’t handle being kept in a stall well if the door is closed.  If she can come and go as she pleases, she is fine but otherwise she walks or frantically runs back and forth depending on her stress level.  As for other horses, she has a hard time having normal relationships with them, as she didn’t get much of a chance as a baby to learn how that works.  She was so weak at first we couldn’t turn her out with the bigger horses in her group, only our llamas, sheep and goats.  As she got stronger, she annoyed the adult horses as she wanted to run and play while they wanted to hang out and nap so she got chased and kicked at a bit.  The other horses who came in with her got adopted fairly quickly so this left only the llamas and our mini horse for some company as the sheep and goats didn’t want to play that much, either.  Through all this, she would still rather be near me than out with the others most of the time and would always come running if I called her name so visitors could see how she had grown.

Needless to say I ended up adopting her and (finally) building a barn in my yard so she could live there.  She turned out to be beautiful and this summer she is starting under saddle, something I waited a bit longer on due to her very slow start.

Comment by Gaia Vincenzi on April 18, 2011 at 3:58am

Hi guys (:  what a beautiful gruop!

let me know how do you think about Italian Equestrian World, take a look on my blog (You can read our story here):

www.iconadeironchi.blogspot.com
leave a comment, let me know your opinion and advaces about my last national competitions and pictures
see you soon

Gaia

Comment by Kathy Newman on February 9, 2011 at 9:17am

Stormy came to me very unexpectedly.  I went to the barn April 3 2005 and there was this foal laying on the ground in the barn, with my other horse Dusty curiously sniffing him and Mom watching anxiously. We thought the mare had wintered very well as she was so fat, but it wasn't fat but our little Stormy.  Thus began my adventures with my Half Arab baby.  He has been a joy and a trial but mostly a good horse to have and I often wonder why I was picked to be in his life, but that question to answered instantly when he whinnies to me  as  I approach his stall.  It is an indescribable feeling when that happens, it sounds so gushy, but I think you as horse owners will know what I am talking about, there is no other feeling like that. I hope Stormy and I will have a long lasting relationship, God willing, and have many more Happy Trials!  Happy Valentine's

Day Stormy

Comment by Debra McDaid on February 5, 2011 at 12:22pm

Once I heard the dog whisperer say that you don't always get the dog that you want, but that you get the dog you need, perhaps this is true of horses as well.  For me horses have always been journey, and a journey worth taking, every horse has taught me lessons in life, and from Che whom I wanted and Tattoo who I didn't I have learned much.  We love Tattoo, and will look after him for as long as we are able... we each day give him the care that is his right, and we love every minute of it. 

This Valentines Day I say a huge thankyou to all the men in my life Joe, John, Ned, and Che and Tattoo, for making all of this possible... it has been a wild ride and one worth taking.

Comment by Debra McDaid on February 5, 2011 at 12:16pm

Hi

 

Somehow I sent only Che, now for Tattoo... lol

 

Tattoo was a skinny little horse that the owner couldn't work with due to his serious health issues... Tattoo had(s) more than his fare share as well... so my husband being who he is set out to help... for free he jogged and looked after Tattoo.  Through some ignorant people and a twist of fate we ended up offering money for Tattoo, more than he was worth... but the owner jumped at the offer, and so we bought him.  We knew of some of his health issues, but not of just how serious they were, the owner withheld this information from us, despite our help over a two month period with Tattoo and his other horse... again this was free help that no one else was willing to offer.  Tattoo was dying.  He could no longer pee, and up until we got him he could no longer eat, and when he did it simply was digested.  He was in better shape after our two months of care, but when we bought him, due to timing, he was going back down hill in a hurry.  We found out his problem and treated him... he has since come around and at the time went on to race, winning and placing for us which helped finacially as we cannot afford him if he does not race... he then started tying up, and we have given him the winter off, and plan to bring him back to racing shortly. 

We have just started to ride him, in hopes to change his way of thinking on the track, he is a sweet horse in the barn, but has been abused in ways that would horrify most people... from just plain hitting him in the head with the briddle daily, to screaming and yelling at him, leaving him in a fly infested stall with a gapping hole in his neck (vet attended but tell that to the swarms of flies that ate at him), to trying to eat fly infested food that was so thick with flies that you could no longer see the food... to the piles of manure that had mold on them from being there for months on end... and the water that collected in his bedding from the isle wash stall... tearing his mouth apart when he attempted to run away by seasawing with a monster bit, a check that has left him with a serious ewe neck, to the hydro that a couple of owners ago decided to aply to him to race him... it is no wonder that this little horse cared for no one, is a runaway, and stood in the corner of his stall for days on end... or was dying from kidney failure.  When Joe started looking after him thing after thing for Tattoo changed, and we did the best we could for him since he was not ours... then when we bought him and took him to our barn, he could not believe it.   For two months he had tried to stop at our barn when he came back from jogging and go in, but we could not allow him... so the first time he was allowed in our shedrow he sighed... despite the fact that he liked us, and we had saved him he still did not trust us for months... but as time as gone on... we spend incredible amounts of time with the two horses... he has changed totally.  The second day we owned him he pulled away from my son Ned and ended up on the busy road, we managed to get him back... after he stopped a lot of traffic and nearly got killed!!! But now if he is scared, or worried he runs too us.. he mobs us for treats, and his head is always out his door waiting for the next adventure, the next bit of attention... like a friend said, Tattoo thinks he has died and gone to heaven or something like that anyway! lol  We are not great, we are just doing for him what everyone else should have... this little horse tries so hard that you have to be careful that he doesn't try too hard on the track... he will go so much that when he comes back he nearly dies... we warn our drivers that if he lets go of the bit take a hold and we don't care where he finishes... also if they hit him I will hit them!!!  He is kind, decent, and loving and deserves all the best.  For us bying Tattoo is not the right move, finacially.  But I once heard the dog whisperer say th

Comment by Stacey Stearns on February 5, 2011 at 11:17am

I bought my gelding in 2004 via the internet.  I saw one picture of him when he was three months old (he was eight months old when I bought him) and sight unseen with no vet check or anything, I bought him.  I was very lucky and will probably never buy a horse like that again.

 

As an eight month old colt, Johnny was a lot of work.  He was mouthy as all get out and really enjoyed rearing.  Slowly, and with a lot of patience he came around.  After spending time with my friend at her training barn in Maine for a year, in the fall of his two year old year we moved to Massachusetts and one of the first things we did was geld him.  This really helped him focus and deal with some of his extra energy.  Then we hooked him and taught him to drive.  

 

I took him home to Connecticut his three year old year and drove him everywhere.  In June of his four year old year I finally backed him and started riding him and it was like I had been riding him every day.  He was great for awhile but I hit some major road blocks working him by myself and was worried I had ruined him.  I got a local dressage trainer to help me and we made some serious progress with our riding work.  Unfortunately, Johnny didn't really like dressage, as my trainer said, he was always, "looking for Elvis in the stands."

 

I was diagnosed with cancer in September 2008 and after some serious negotiations with my oncologist, she allowed me to continue riding Johnny through my chemotherapy treatments.  Some days I could barely lift the saddle onto his back, but I still rode and he babysat me.  My oncologist marveled at how well I handled chemo (trust me it wasn't fun or easy, but I was luckier than a lot of patients) and I think riding helped me get through chemo easier.

 

In April of 2009 I finished chemo and went right back to riding more seriously.  Johnny and I continued our dressage lessons but also started conditioning for 25 mile competitive trail rides.  In May 2010 we competed at our first 25 mile ride and he won rookie horse and I was rookie rider.  We are both hooked on the sport and did four more rides in 2010.  We plan to continue riding for pleasure and competing in competitive trail in 2011.  Mostly, I am just happy to have such a great little horse to ride.  He has been with me through some really rough times and I truly believe that having a great horse to ride and love has made a difference. 

Comment by Debra McDaid on February 4, 2011 at 7:01pm

Why I love my horses Che and Tattoo

 

I rode horses for many years, I was in racing for many more, and in 98 we walked away... we were disgusted, and angry, and we sued the commission... at the time we were the only people to have done this.. we have since paved the way... the treatment, and horrific experience that lead up to sueing the ORC made us hate and want away at all cost from the world of horses... we still loved (love) horses, but needed to walk from the whole experience so we did... for 10 years we never saw a horse, never looked at a STB race, never entered near the world of horses... it was even tough for us to watch the Run for the Roses!!!  I didn't even watch jumping or dressage on TV... you must understand that horses were everything to us, they were our lifeblood, our livelyhood, they were part of our minds, and our souls... my family lived on the tracks, we ate breathed and slept horses... my husband never wanted to do anything in his life but work and be with horses... my son at times growing up in the barn thought he was a horse... but the horror of our experience drove us away... and the 'boy's my husband Joe, my brother-in-law John and my son Ned would never have gone back only for me... my desperation to have a horse again meant that I brought it up in June of 08 to my husband Joe... to us bringing an animal into the house is like bringing in a child to other people, they are part of us and they are here forever... I thought I had shot my animal loving vegitarian husband!!! I didn't ask or bring it up again for two months... then with the yearling sales getting closer and the time for the race people to get ride of their cheap horses drawing closer I knew it was time to ask again... to my suprise Joe said yes... he loves me, and knew I wanted a horse more than I wanted to take my next breath... he did more, he set about helping me, and without him I would not be able to have the horses and work to support them.  Joe is not well, so he does the horses, along with Ned, John and I work at jobs to keep the whole thing going...

Joe had one stipulation... whatever horse I got it was to be the only one, and it was forever... I have been around a long time, and am not an easy sell... I knew I needed the right horse... the question of what horse was tougher... as I wanted to compete in eventing... so I needed a tall powerful horse, that could make the hights, I needed a horse that was athletic enough for dressage and tough courses... and I needed something brave, darring, and something with more than the normal ability to succeed... I needed a super horse... plus Joe said if we were getting a stb (the other agreement (that was easy that was my choice too) we might as well get a colt from the sales... so we went to the sales... we looked on line and at sales at tones of horses... walking away from horse after horse... then we saw Che...

Che had all the elements that I was looking for, he also had some I wasn't looking for... he is tough and at the time hated people... he lookes at the world as he is the preditor and we are the prey... he is more wolf than horse at times!!! So when Joe and I looked at him as just a wee yearling we knew we were bitting off a lot... but we wanted him... here was our different horse, here was a horse of a lifetime in a lifetime of horses... we never thought we would be able to afford Che he is supper bred-- but when the actioner hit the hammer to the table at 3000 we high fived and I hugged Joe in front off the whole place... I didn't care... we had our horse... Che was ours... Joe told Ned, that if we buy him we need to make him our friend... so we have set out to do that and it has been a road woth taking.  He has run into road blocks, and at times we have nearly lost him to colic... but he has the heart of lion and if we can get him right he will be the horse I am looking for... his love for us, more his love for Joe is a wonder to behold.. it is on

 

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