General Discussion

@AmarilloOso

I may have read over this somewhere, but is this intended to be a discussion hub or mainly for those who want to learn more about horses?

@absinthy It is a mad mixture of both. It's a discussion for those who want to learn more about horses, as well as having some slightly informational pamphlets of horse breeds and horse terms. On top of that, it is a discussion hub for those who own/lease/ride horses.

@AmarilloOso
Sounds good to me! ^-^

Username: absinthy
Do you own/lease/ride (a) horse(s)?: Used to own until this past spring.
What is his/her name?: N/A
What breed of horse is s/he?: N/A
What do you ride/compete in?: N/A
Do you have a picture of your horse?: At bottom of post.

I've had quite a few horses over the years.. I started off with Destiny, a senior grade Tennessee Walking Horse given to me by relatives who unfortunately developed severe DSLD a couple of years after getting her and she had to be put to sleep in her early twenties, then I purchased a Paso Fino mare, Maggie, whom became a broodmare due to chronic lameness from an old injury. I bred Maggie to a champion fino stallion and she birthed Nico, whom I raised until he was 3 years old and sold him after I had a trainer start him under saddle. Me and him never got along very well, both of his parents were very alpha, which of course he inherited, and his dam and pasturemates never disciplined him as a foal. He was bossing around full grown horses as just a weanling! Well, lets just say he was not a fun horse to handle, though I think I did all right with his basic training; lunging, bathing, loading, etc. I've heard that he turned out to be a great trail horse, maybe someone was able to put him in with other horses that kicked his butt and turned his attitude down a notch but unfortunately I did not have the means to do that while I owned him.

I won a breeding raffle and bred Maggie again to a champion performance stallion and she birthed Bandito, whom was an extremely sweet and submissive foal unlike Nico.. I sold Bandito as a weanling to a teenage girl who eventually lost interest in horses but surprisingly her mother took over and learned to ride and he became her heart horse. I am still in touch with his owner on Facebook.

After that I purchased another Paso Fino, Serafina, and I had her for several years. She was my main riding and show horse. She was from very hot show lines and was only 4YO when I purchased her. The first couple years I owned her we butted heads a lot because of her hotness and stubbornness and my inexperience, but she mellowed out significantly during the time that I owned her. She taught me a LOT as up to that point I'd only ever rode older bombproof horses. She was so responsive to cues, I rode and showed her bitless the entire time I had her. She was also one of those lovely horses that spooks in place rather than teleporting. XD She was amazing and definitely what you'd call a pocket pony, she absolutely loved human attention.

Unfortunately, I ended up selling the two I had left, Serafina and Maggie, this past spring due to a lot of combined issues but mostly because of finances, severe anxiety that made riding a chore rather than something fun, and not having anywhere to ride. I decided that it was better for me and them to sell them to someone who will use them. Serafina went to a trainer/breeder who trained her for trail riding and resold to a lovely person that lives nearby, and Maggie stayed with the trainer who incorporated her into her broodmare band as she owns her own stallion. I miss Serafina sooo much though, I'm pretty sure she was my heart horse. I just hope that one day when/if I'm ready for another riding horse that I'll be able to find another like her. :(

Anyways, sorry for the novel! I am hoping to get into American Shetlands, American Show Ponies, or maybe even Section A Welsh Ponies when I graduate college in the next year as I have a growing interest in driving and I'm not sure that I want to deal with full-sized horses again. Small ponies/minis just seem easier to manage and I'm not horribly bothered that I won't be able to ride them. I've always been attracted to smaller equines as well, Serafina was only 13.1 hands. ^^

Pics >>>>
Destiny
Maggie
Nico
Bandito (As an adult)
Serafina

Username: zzzhorses
Do you own/lease/ride (a) horse(s)?:nope :P I ride lesson horses
What is his/her name?: my favorite lesson horse is named Bijoux (pronounced bee-joo)
What breed of horse is s/he?: he's a quarter horse x Dutch Warmblood
What do you ride/compete in?: western pleasure, but I know how to barrel race, and the basics of english
Do you have a picture of your horse?: no, but he's so cute :)

You know what I joined this thing and haven't even talked in it yet. XD

What is a recent thing ya'll have practiced/newly learned in your riding?

For me I haven't really been learning anything new, though I did a new really fun pattern/thing yesterday called a pinwheel. There were four poles on the ground, and you basically went in a circle over them at a trot...like a pinwheel lol. I suck at posting though and the trainer had me posting at first over them and it was a horror show.

@AmarilloOso
Ohh! I'd love to join! I've been obsessed with horses my entire life.

Username: Astrocomet
Do you own/lease/ride (a) horse(s)?: Yes: I own one horse. My relatives own horses, as well.
What is his/her name?: Twister (Yes, its pretty generic. I was eight years old when I named him, so cut me a break.)
What breed of horse is s/he?: Almost completely Quarter Horse, with just a sliver of Arabian.
What do you ride/compete in?: Western. I've never competed in any shows or events, just trail ride for fun. When I was in college, I took lessons in the Equestrian Club. I learned a little about English riding while in the club.
Do you have a picture of your horse?: There's plenty of pictures, I just don't have anywhere to upload them on the net. He's a short 17 year-old bay gelding with a small white star and a big tushie.

@absinthy aww Serafina is so cute!!

@zzzhorses hey, I usually just ride lesson horses too! Lol, had a lesson today, but the horse was fairly new to me so I had to essentially adjust how I ride to the horse, so it was very messy XD

@MorningSkye I'm learning how to see distances, my trainer says I'm pretty good at it which I'm excited about.

@Astrocomet YOUR HORSE SOUNDS ADORABLE

@coranicole073
ooh that does sound messy. Recently I rode a pony, his name is Dylan, and he acted up a little on the lope transition. But since he's so small I just rode through it, and it was so cute~

@zzzhorses yeah, this horse had THE CHOPPIEST canter I have ever felt, so I just went into half-seat because I didn't want to be banging on his back XD