The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SEVEN

See our "who's who" page! ^

[HairOfTheDog]

The FreeRepublic Saddle Club - Who's Who *pics*

This is a horse chat thread where we share ideas, ask for input from other horsemen, and talk about our riding and horse-keeping. We have a lot of different kinds of riders and horses, and a lot to share. In the previous threads we have had a great time talking through lessons, training, horse lamenesses, illnesses and pregnancies... and always sharing pictures and stories.

I always have a link to this thread on my profile page, so if you have something to say and can't find the thread in latest posts… look for it there and wake the thread up!

I also have a ping list for horse threads that are of interest, and Becky pings everyone most mornings. Let Becky (Paynoattentionmanbehindthecurtain) and/or me know if you would like to be on the ping list. As FreeRepublic is a political site, our politics and other issues will probably blend in…. There are many issues for horsemen that touch politics… land use, animal rights/abuse cases that make the news…. Legislation that might affect horse owners.

So... like the previous threads, this is intended as fun place to come and share stories, pictures, questions and chit-chat, unguided and unmoderated and that we come together here as friends. There are lots of ways of doing things and we all have our quirks, tricks and specialties that are neat to learn about.

Previous threads:

The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - thread ONE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread TWO!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread THREE!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FOUR
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FIVE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SIX

New folk and occasional posters, jump right in and introduce yourselves, tell us about your horses, and post pictures if you've got them!

[HairOfTheDog]

I thought it was not Burlison.... I thought you were saying it was Dave.

[Beaker]

A horse friend of mine and I have been having Horse movie nights where we take turns watching horse movies from our collections. Last night I watched Ladyhawke, a terribly hokey 80s movie because of the music, but oh... does it have a gorgeous gorgeous Friesian! And an Andalusian.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I was wondering if a hoof would really bleed like it did in that last race or if that was just done to show the hoof gave out??? I would think even if it didn't bleed that would have put the horse out of racing anyway.

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

There is a lot of blood in the foot, but yeah, I'm not sure exactly what they were portraying happened there, or if they just decided to make it bloody so it was visible.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I love horse movies. One of my favorites and you don't see it often is a Disney one about the first Morgan horse. It the name of it is Justin Morgan Had A Horse.

I've never seen Ladyhawke.

The music is what makes those movies. I remember when The Black Stallion first came out. My son who was just a little guy at the time always said "listen to the music" when the kid rode the horse thru the water when they were on the island. The music in the last race in the movie Seabiscut is great. And the music in Dances with Wolves when they come riding over the hill during the buffaloe hunt is breathtaking:)

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

OK - on the subject of hokey 80s movies with horses.... there's a movie I saw once bu can't remember the name of, about a bunch of cowboys, and a girl who takes one of the cow horses... the one they think is too big and clumsy, and trains him in dressage. I'd almost say it was Melissa Gilbert... but I could be wrong on that.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I pretty much thought it was just a visual effect to let the adiuance know the foot blew, but the horse just kept going, like Burlison said he would.

Did you see the part where in Australia the handicappers kept putting more and more weight on him to slow him down. I think you were suppose to get the impression that was what caused the break in the horses foot in the first place.

Becky

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I think I've seen bits and pieces of that, I think it was Gilbert too.

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

Yeah - they were talking like more weight would kill the horse... I could see that they were trying to imply that. I don't think weighting a 90 pound jockey with any amount of lead they could pack on him would overstress a thoroughbred, but they did the same thing to SeaBiscuit. Honestly, I think the attention paid to the weight the horses will carry for the race and the lengths jockeys go to to starve themselves is nuts on an adult horse... the two year olds, maybe it makes a difference. But not an adult horse.

[HairOfTheDog]

I found it. Sylvester (1985)

[Beaker]

I've never seen the movie, but I remember the book. A couple of my favorites are The Man from Snowy River, and Return to Snowy River.
Ladyhawke is interesting. It's not so much about horses, but it's about two people who are madly in love, but cursed. By day the woman is a hawke, and by night the man is a wolf, so they're never in human form together. But it's in a medival setting, so there are horses everywhere. He rides a big black Friesian that he calls Goliath. With the music, though, it's the typical 80s synth-rock, so the soundtrack does not fit the movie at all.

[RMDupree]

Mornin'.

I really like the Warner Bros version of Black Beauty. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.

Told from the horse's perspective, it really is fascinating to watch. Not as good as the book, of course, but they did a great job at translating it into film.

And I always cry at the end, no matter how many times I watch it.

Getting ready to head out with the girls. BBL.

[Beaker]

Uh yeah. Hawke= hawk. As another point of interest, the movie has a younger verison of Matthew Broderick in it as well.

[HairOfTheDog]

Oh - Black Beauty is a tear-jerker. That's why I can't sell my pony. :~D

[Beaker]

I like that version as well. They cast the horses very well, especially Merrylegs.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I don't think the amount of weight they were putting on him would Kill him, but I think more weight would slow one down. I guess if you had a horse that would give it's all and more with more and more weight their heart could blow up under the strain. I know around here Barrell racers want the lightest weight saddles they can get, and I was told numerous times I need a lighter weight one for what I did....so who knows. Belle always did fine with my saddle. Harley is probably going to be carrying 20-25 pounds less. But who knows if that will help. I think the fit of the saddle is more important then the weight:)

Becky

[RMDupree]

Merrylegs was the one character that I wish they had spent a bit more time on in the movie.

He's such a terrific character in the book and he got very little screentime.

But Ginger was done very well.

[HairOfTheDog]

Oh sure the lighter the weight the better, I don't argue that... By all means they should hire little jockeys.

But they have jockeys sweating and purging themselves before races to drop two more pounds... that's taking a good idea too far.

And when they weight them they're adding maybe 10-15 pounds. I remember in Seabiscuit they were talking of weighting him to 135, when the rest of the horses were carrying something like 120. It's all relative, but I think it's splitting hairs to see a difference between 120 and 135.

[Rose of Sharn]

Good morning everyone. I watched Little House on the Prairee last night with Emma and she loved it. It's on at 8pm every night now, we watched the one where baby Charles was born and then died. : ( I've seen it a million times, but the tissues had to come out!

Emma loves to read books, and of course Black Beauty. I would really like some ideas of some horsey books to get her for Christmas as well as movies. She is 11 years old, but her school work is 9th grade for her English and Literature.

[HairOfTheDog]

National and International Velvet, of course...

I had a big compilation of short horse stories when I was her age, and I read those many times over.