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Posted on 02/24/2006 9:12:25 AM PST by HairOfTheDog
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 MissTargets will now be pinging everyone most mornings. Let MissTargets 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
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SEVEN
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread EIGHT
New folk and occasional posters, jump right in and introduce yourselves, tell us about your horses, and post pictures if you've got them!
What's the matter with 4 white feet?
Either Duchess or Frog has the poem:')
I took some pictures... but I can't get snapfish to load them right now...
Good for you.
Becky
I think the poem is:
One white foot buy him
Two white feet try him,
Three white feet be on the sly
Four white feet, pass him by.
The poem came from the movie, True Grit. Kim Darby said it when she was looking to buy a pony, the pony she bought had 4 white feet:) At the end of the poem she said "But I do not hold to that:)". The pony she bought, Blackie, turned out to be a great horse:)
I noticed the white feet on Blondie and thought she was pretty:)
Becky
She is. Sarah lee has 3 and she's laid back. The horse she buddies with has 4 are is at the bottom of the peck. When I get my own place I have thought that I ought to make an offer. I don't need her and neither does SL but she needs my horse.She follows SL everywhere and hates to see her leave and waits for her to come back.
Yeah - went twice around... Only a half mile but it's a start and Gidget would have sat on her haunches if I'd have tried a third.
A horse-dealing proverb. --OXFORD DICTIONARY OF PROVERBS, pg. 333. The first citation is 1882.
OOHHH, I thought it came from the movie:)
Becky
It's a start, I only walked once today, I was visiting Jenny and Tucker, when I should have walked:). Tomorrow JP is coming to play, so I'll make up for it:)
I never did get Harley lunged today:\, I never have liked ground work.
Becky
It's been around a long time. Probably as long as any horse with white around the eyes is crazy :) I don't think Appaloosas are really crazy, do you?
Every time I see them though I think of this poem and chuckle
No not really:), Altho....the first horse we ever bought that was "mine", was a Strawberry Roan, flaxen mane and tail, very very pretty and very well built. She didn't have papers, but I was told because of the white around her eyes, and the striped hoofs she probably had some Appy in her. I thought she was crazy:). Turns out, (I finally sent her to a trainer), she had never really been broke. I bought her from a dude ranch where she had been in a dude string. She just didn't know what to do without a horse in front of her. Being a beginner rider, I didn't know what to do with her. I sold her after the trainer told me she wasn't the horse for me, and bought my first Arab.
I wish I had a scanner, I'd post some pictures of her, she was really pretty:)
Becky
There's another one an old trail rider said about the number and placement of cowlicks on a horse's forehead.
Here it is... Hooey or phooey ;~D
Horse Facial Swirls
According to Linda Tellington-Jones, you can analyze your horse's personality based on his facial swirls and this is discussed in Linda-Tellington Jones' book, Getting in Touch: Understand and Influence Your Horse's Personality.
What are facial swirls? Facial swirls are kind of like the "cowlick" that humans have in the hair on their head -- which is a lock or tuft of hair growing in a different direction from the rest of the hair, usually in a circular pattern. Well, horses have them too, these "cowlick" swirls, but they have them somewhere on their face. And according to Linda Tellington-Jones (the founder of T-Touch), based on her research, you can assess a horse's personality based on the location of, and even number of, swirls you find there on the horse's face.
Linda talks about the swirls on horses' faces being like our fingerprints and, like fingerprints, no two are just alike, and some breed associations even use them as identification marks. Linda has studied facial swirls since 1965 and has found her assessments to hold true about 70% of the time. She says you have to look at other factors as well, such as ears, eyes, mouth, not just look at the swirls, to deduce personality traits. Sometimes, she says, other physical characteristics will override the swirl in character/personality assessment.
Linda describes several types of horse facial swirls and what they mean:
1. A single swirl between or above the horse's eye is the standard displayed by the majority of horses in her studies. This positioning indicates a horse with a generally uncomplicated nature, but there are variations. Swirls may be set to one side or the other. Swirls set to the left as you face the horse will tend to indicate a bit more complicated horse, but still trustworthy. Swirls set to the right may be less cooperative horses than those with center or to the left swirls. In general, swirls of this sort are less indicative of character than the more complex patterns.
2. A single swirl several inches below the eyes, Linda found 80% of horses with this feature are unusually imaginative and intelligent. They like to amuse themselves creatively like: turn on water, open stall doors, untying complicated knots ("locking picking" horses), find ways to escape pastures ("Horse Houdini's"), etc. These horses are usually of above average intelligence and are interesting characters to deal with.
3. A single long swirl that may be between the eyes, or extend below, indicates a horse who is friendly and particularly enjoys relating to people.
4. Two swirls adjoining, either one above the other, or side by side -- these can be above, between, or below the eyes and are sometimes set at an angle to each other: Horses with this tend to be more emotional and over-reactive than average. They tend to become upset without apparent reason, and at unexpected moments. When such horses blow up, the best way to handle them is to back off and allow them to settle. Punishing them doesn't help; in fact it usually only aggravates the behavior more and can even bring on more resistance. However, Linda says, a horse like this can be a great horse; she has had some of her best show horses with this configuration, but generally, horses with this pattern are not ideal for inexperience riders.
5. Three swirls close together on the forehead (not up under the forelock) is rare. In geldings and mares this indicates a complex individual but not an unpredictable one; stallions, however, with three swirls are another story -- about 80% of the stallions Linda has observed having this three-swirl marking have exhibited unreliable, often dangerous behavior.
Linda feels the best way to use facial swirls in analyzing horse personality is to evaluate them in conjuction with all other characteristics of the horse's head. The book this information is from is:
I know this is the horse thread but I wanted to share a picture with you all of a little street kitty that had her first (and only) litter before she was 8mos old. My kids rescued her and brought her home to me in 2000. She died today. Her name was Kiki, she was a wonderful, friendly baby, who was an earthquake sensative.
I forgot about a picture I took today. I was telling Chris about that farrier forum, and the discussion about Natural Balance. I didn't know there was a special shoe design called natural balance. He showed me one, $15 a pair. Have you seen one?
I thought when they talked about natural balance it was a special way of trimming so the horse could go barefoot.
Becky
How odd. A lot of our horses that are barefoot wear the front of the toe off sort of square between trimmings.
I'm so sorry. She's very pretty.
Becky
I'm glad Kiki had 6 warm and comfortable years with you.
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