ROTFLMAO! I have a concern that associating J.R. with such a fine animal, although plausible from an aesthetic standpoint, ultimately may be insulting not only to the animal but also to those in this thread who are fond of horses :-)
Posted on 05/08/2005 8:47:14 PM PDT by Stoat
Janet Reno Ping!
I'd like to get a Percheron for saddle riding.
Don't you impugn Mr Ed!!
He was a full brother to "Anniversary", one of the World Champion and Record Holding American Quarter Horses from the fifties, also a palomino, but a mare.
ROTFLMAO! I have a concern that associating J.R. with such a fine animal, although plausible from an aesthetic standpoint, ultimately may be insulting not only to the animal but also to those in this thread who are fond of horses :-)
Majestic animal.
I meant World Record Holder Running Horse from the fifties.
Once in a while the Perch pair from the farm up the street would bust out of their place and come for a visit. The owner was sort of stingy on feed and grooming, so the fellas would come to graze where my horses weren't allowed, and get all purdied up by my daughters...braids, brushing, picking. Still don't know how they managed to unhook the barn door..time after time. The girls were awful small, but those huge horses were supremely gentle with them. I barebacked one, and the ride was terrific. Their regular duty was pulling a hay cutter.
Once, one of the big guys wandered to the corral fence where my Arab was blustering...doing his best impersonation of Black Stallion....to intimidate the Percheron away. HA! The Perch, without missing a mouthful of grass, nonchalant delivered a loving back-kick to the Arab's chest, through the rails. Arab was stunned, knees buckled a bit, then he went to the far side of the corral...a safe 80' away, and resumed the bluster. Percheron coulda killed him...but didn't...just sent a kind message. (I really loathed that Arab....I love Percherons...just couldn't afford to feed 'em)
Boring horsie story. Haven't thought about them for years, until now.
LOL! Leave that horse alone!
Speaking of horse parts ( were we doing that?), there is a necessary "maintainance" that one must do if one owns a stud or a gelding. It involves having the animal "drop" the penis ( most can be trained to do so) so you can clean the gunk that collects in the sheath. It's amazing how much of your hand and arm can fit up there---on just a pony!
Sorry fellas, you can go back to normal conversation now!
Here's a riding accessory that you may find useful :-)
Not boring at all! Those of us who have been, unfortunately, trapped in cities much, most or all of our lives oftentimes find ourselves yearning for such 'boring' life experiences. To me, such a story is far more interesting than hearing about the most recent crackhead who overdosed on the other side of town. Stories such as yours are what SHOULD be filling our days, not so much of the ugliness that passes for 'news' and 'life' these days.
Thank you :-)
I suspect you anticipate a reference to Senator John Kerry's face?
LOL, very good. Thanks.
What a beautiful animal. I love Draft horses. They have such great temperaments-very gentle.
Thanks for posting this.
You're quite welcome :-)
I don't mind an occasional break from politics, and I'm glad that you feel the same way.
Amen to that.
The problem, as in all warfare, is mostly one of supply and logistics. The first problem which must be solved is how do you accumulate enough surplus grain and hay to see the animal through the winter? This was a time when most stock was slaughtered in the fall because it simply could not be fed through the winter. All grain and hay after all had to be planted, weeded, cut, raked, stacked, transported and stored away from the weather and all must be done by hand or by animal power. The humans who did this toil must themselves be fed through the winter as well as the animals who worked with them. So, in essence your agricultural base had to be able to create a surplus.
What you do with this surplus then becomes a social-economic-political question. Do you use the surplus to maintain a war horse (which probably had limited utility as a domestic work animal), assign it to a Knight to defend your valley or do you increase your standard of living?
Life was nasty, brutish and short precisely because there was no surplus. Is it better to train an archer to shoot the horse? Or a lancer to cut a tendon? How many horses can you field as compared to enemy of infantry? Which is relatively cheaper to field and prevail, horsemen or infantry?
If you take the drive from München to Innsbruck, you will journey along the lovely but narrow valley of the Inn river and along the way you will see at stages isolated castles in various stages of repair. One can imagine these as medieval toll booths exacting tribute from all traffic between Germany and Italy. The toll collector was the mounted knight sallying forth from the castle to collect his dues.
But I cannot imagine the local lords being able to afford very many warhorses.
2.5 horse power...
What a great thing for you and your wife to do! Thanks very much for the great post and thank you for your volunteer work....it sounds like a wonderful project and I wish you great success.
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