Did you know?

Did you know that if you give oats to a cold-blood the reaction you get is as if you pour petrol over an open fire. Most cold-blooded horses simply can not "tolerate" oats. It goes straight up in their heads. It gives them too much energy. There is very much starch in oats,- it gives energy. It is relatively cheap and that's why man buys it. But most horses has a hard time digesting it. By nature, the cold-blooded horses has a calm temper and when you add high-energy (oats) to their diet, it goes straight into the brain and produces a lot of energy that they don't know what to make of. It can change their behavior drastically, many gets aggression problems.

I generally have very bad experiences with oats. I don't think we should feed the horses with it at all. It gives most horses ulcers.

Extremely fascinated

I think it's extremely fascinated to see how animals can take care of one when you are sick. Now I've been pretty sick the last couple of days and yet I have fought my way out to Giga. All the times I've fed her, she has been very cautious with me. She's just so sweet and loving. She lies her head over my shoulder. Which she usually does very rarely. Plus I just can cuddle her all I want in her face, which she normally hates. She's just a lovely horse with a great maternal instinct, or so do I think.

Race against the tide

Race against the tide: Bravery of young mother who stayed by her horse's side for THREE HOURS after getting trapped in mud 'like quicksand'

This was the terrifying moment a brave young mother battled to keep her beloved horse calm as sea water closed in on the animal after he became trapped in mud 'like quicksand'.

Exhausted and mud-splattered, Nicole Graham clung to her trapped horse Astro for three hours keeping his head high in a race against the tide.
The 78-stone show horse had sunk into quagmire-like mud and was facing the prospect of drowning as the water rose around them.

Miss Graham had been out on an afternoon ride with her daughter along the coast near Geelong, south of Melbourne, when 18-year-old Astro suddenly sunk into the mud.

Before she could shout a warning, the smaller horse her daughter Paris was riding was also partially swallowed up by the mud.

After dragging herself through the mire, Miss Graham helped her daughter and the other horse on to firmer ground.

However, Astro was stuck fast and her efforts to pull him free only resulted in herself sinking deeper into the quagmire.

As Paris ran to their car and phoned for help, Miss Graham stayed at her horse’s side. She courageously clung on to his neck, terrified that he would not be freed before the tide came in.

After three 'terrifying' hours, rescuers managed to pull Astro and Miss Graham from the mud.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2107521/Bravery-young-mother-stayed-horses-hours-getting-trapped-mud-like-quicksand.html#ixzz1ngON647D

Bitless Dressage at 2012 Helsinki

So cool. Finland holds the first real bitless competition. Fantastic! I wish I could afford a trip to Finland. That would be a cool experience! The funny thing is that I was already starting to plan a trip to Finland so I could see my family but it sucks that the competition is on the 3-4. March. I wish so bad that I had the money right now!

http://www.eurodressage.com/equestrian/2012/02/27/exhibition-bitless-dressage-2012-helsinki-horse-fair

Mystic warrior friesian

Look at this stallion isn't he just handsome? He is truly unique. It says on a homepage that he's an Friesian, which I do not quite understand. I would think he would go under as a draft horse or baroque horse. But what do I know,  he's still really handsome.

I'm so sick :-(

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh! I'm so sick today. It has been a long time since I've been so sick. I have a very high fever and a sore throat. My sweet boyfriend went and feed Giga. I had no strength to drive up to her. Why do I always get easily sick? I guess I have an extremely poor immune systems. It SUCKS!

Right or wrong piaffe?

Here's a bit how you can train your eye to see if in this case a piaffe is correct or not.

The piaffe must be so comprehensive that the horse makes a levade from piaffen, then you know that the hind legs carry more weight and soars into the center of gravity.
Simply, you should get an "uphill battle - feeling" in piaffen, it's not the forequarters that should be higher but the rear should be lowered by the horse angles of the joints of the pelvis and hind legs, when the horse is doing it, the hind legs also swing's into the center of gravity (where the rider sits). The horse should have his neck as its highest point and the nose in front of the vertical, with an arched back and a top line.

A correct piaffe in my eyes!

Then here's the wrong piaffe. Unfortunately it's the one you see most. Especially in competitions.


Here are some points on how you see when the piaffe is wrong.

- The front legs walked into the center of gravity.
- The hind legs do not carry any extra weight at all.
- The horse is very tight and compressed.
- And the horse often has it's head resting toward the chest. (Rollkur)

WRONG!