Do You Ride Horses? V.4

[Nocte Luna]

@Hime and Enchanted:
Yeah, it's kind of disappointing. We were in the local news for being "one of the last stables in our area" or something like that. There's a lot more stables, they're just a little too far away to drive to weekly. I ride in lessons, which I understand should have some sort of limit because of how many people ride, but it's awfully low, especially because we go to so many shows where they have classes up to 4 feet. Even the boarders are limited to 3 feet, and they're not even allowed to jump without being in lessons, so they're paying extra for lessons.

And we still charge more for private lessons. Mind boggling.

Oh, not only that, but we're constantly buying and selling horses, too. We earn a lot because we train horses for ~2 months (i.e. we just ride the horses in lessons to improve them and sell them) and then there are at least a hundred people a week who take lessons on top of that. I only just started thinking about how much they make people pay, and I'm astounded now.

Ideally, I'd like to be a working student, maybe in a different state, but it's not an option right now.

[ξƞçɧαƞtєđ]

Hime: You learn something new every day. That is amazing how that system works!

Fox babies! Oh, they are adorable. I know we have a adult fox running around my property somewhere- he can stay too since he's keeping our rabbit population in check.

Weather wise, I'm the complete opposite with you. We're up in the 90 degrees F here with nearly no wind, so my babies are just standing and sweating- especially Mr. Willy. Where exactly are you in the world if you don't mind me asking? I'm astounded you're temps are that cold.

With Heta's father now being a mystery, does this mean she is no longer legally registered? I can understand why you'd be ticked about this and honestly, I'm little peeved off for you as I can't imagine the frustration you're going through. I'd imagine the breeders would be a tad more responsible with the stallions the mares are put into contact with. How on earth would their be that many candidates? I thought if you wanted a mare bred to a particular stud, you'd breed her to him, and then keep her separated from every other stud to insure he is indeed the sire. Was there a reported pasture break where a few studs got loose or got in with Heta's dam? Did they just have a huge herd of both mares and studs in a field? I'm really curious...

Lye: Well hopefully everything works out. Until then, just keep researching and keep learning from books and articles so you don't start lessons totally green.

Nocte Luna: I'd boycott the place- that is the definition of greed and to limit the height of boarders even...what is the point in that? Why on earth would you hold people back just for the sake of an extra dollar. And if as many people take lessons as you claim, they are making more than enough money to not have to scam people out of their hard-earned money just to practice with their horses for the higher level comps that you attend but aren't allowed to practice for since the highest you are allowed to jump is 3ft. If it's a liability issue, then have the riders sign a contract stating they won't sue if they are injured. Other than that, there is no reason for it other than just plain selfish greed.

[Hime]

@Enchanted: North Europe(though on the southern side I suppose), though even then it is bit cold considering the season and what we've had past few years... Most of the cold feel is due the wind though, without it it would be actually pretty warm in the sun. >_< 20C with sun is considered quite warm, 25C with sun is warmest we like to have in summer, after that it gets too hot to function normally. XD Basically normal yearly temp range is from 25C to -25C.

Luckily all horses born in Iceland are automatically proven purebred hence can be registered. So Heta can keep her papers, but obviously they are very lacking pedigree vise now. Same with Tý, he's fine registeration vise, but if I were to keep him as stallion for purpose of breedin it might become an issue for the mare owners as they literally don't know what lines they are breeding into the foal from his side, hence things like inbreeding are impossible really to calculate right. :\
I know right, but not Iceland, especially in the old days. : P They quite often breed the horses just by releasing bunch of mares with one stallion in one huge pasture and may not collect the horses until fall(few mares they may take to stallions further away(other farms and their pastures) and then pick them up when they are confirmed pregnant, but still most of the time it's pasture breeding). So technically they should know which mare was with which stallion, but as registering horses in Iceland isn't/wasn't exactly as common as in other countries nor did they start taking DNA samples more commonly until recently, it's bit of a gamble really. For example Heta was registered when she was imported in 2008 and she was born 1995... Without proper records and ways to identify the horses, breeder relies on their own notes/memory with their horses identity and pedigree. Not to mention as the pastures the mares are in with the stallion are huge and I think they don't check up on the horses too often so honestly, I wouldn't be suprised if mares switch foals occasionally or possibly when they are rounded up they get mixed up somehow etc. And if two foals that look a like switch moms, it just might go un-noticed. Pasture break out is another possibility, but then again the areas are huge and I'm not sure do the pastures share fence or not... Over all this is one big mess really, not really sure where things have gone wrong in Iceland or what has happened...
Urgh, if only Icelandic people would care little more about their horses' lines. They literally have very little concern over inbreeding sometimes. -__- And what has happened really isn't that un-heard of. The people I talked to say couple of these kind of cases come up yearly and usually years after the horse has been imported, so unluckily many times the parents have already died and no DNA remains. But hopefully as DNA testing has become more popular, these type of things stop happening... Maybe it gets solved though, if there really were just 6 stallions and we've already ruled out 3 based on DNAs, so now it's already 33.33% chance of guessing right out of the remaining. XD

@Nocte Luna: What Enchanted said. It's one thing to say lesson riders can't jump higher that x ft unless you pay more(stupid most definetly though), but to say boarders can't jump with their own horse outside lessons, is plain insane.

[ξƞçɧαƞtєđ]

Hime: That's ridiculous. XD I tried tracking down Buck's sire once as I'd already met his mother, but his old owners came up with this elaborate story about how the cremello stallion had gotten out of the pasture in broad daylight and was hit by a car in the middle of the road...so he wouldn't be in the stud books or the breed registry anymore. I tried doing my own little detective work anyway, and even if he was dead, I think they'd still have his name and registry number on file and I found none. So I'm not sure where to go from there, but I can't imagine having 3 possible daddies. Is there any information on the studs that are now possibly her sire? Perhaps if you can get some pictures of them and compare, or maybe go by color genetics, that way you could try and narrow down the list a little bit more? Good job on the math though. XD lol

[Hime]

If I can get their names, I can check the database if any of their foals have DNA samples taken. Then it would be possible to compaire Heta's DNA to those and maybe get possible match, but I'm not sure if that type of match would be enough for the offical papers... But at this point I don't care if it's offical or not, I just want to know who's my pony's daddy. : P Ofcourse, assuming those foals would be actually from the sire they claim to be, as seen previously they don't always match the claimed sire. XD Color genetics unfortunately don't help much in this case, as Heta's mother is same color as Heta, so the stallion could be anything as long as it carries chestnut genes(which all stallions I checked(all 10 of them that sired the 1995 generation of horses born on the Skidbakki area XP ) did based on their foals). I'll have to contact the person handling this mess in the Iceland end or Heta's breeder though to get the names, unless the stallion's owner does so before me.

[fandom-trash]

I actually do ride! I in fact just got back from a jump show

[ShortyTheHobbitess]

Urg, in a small state of mental distress now. Let horses out to the paddock this morning & everyone was fine, did evening chores & Shorty seems ill. She didn't eat any oats, didn't touch the hay bags I put out - she's usually the first to any food that is offered out, seems warmer than she should be, was ... depressed?, looked back a her stomach a few times, had gas a few times like maybe she was trying to pass manure. I walked her a bit (out in the rain poor thing) & she walked just fine & trotted even, however she was quieter than normal, any other time you'd take her out of the lot she'd get interested/tad lively, but she was quiet as could be. Pearl ran about in the lot & Shorty perked her head at that, but was else-wise disinterested. When I brought her back in she sniffed at some oats that had fallen, didn't nibble, she pawed the ground a bit though. I'm thinking it might be colic, going to check back in a bit & see who we have to call from there.
I dearly hope she's just gassy or something, I don't like seeing her uncomfortable >.<

[ξƞçɧαƞtєđ]

ShortyTheHobbitess: That does sound like the classic case of colic- but if she is passing gas, it shouldn't be too severe. Next time you see her tonight, put your ear to her stomach and if you don't hear any gut sounds or very minimal or weak gut/digestive sounds, call your vet because that is a 100% sign of colic. I wish you the best of luck and hopefully Shorty gets better!

[OmgItsPattie!]

Im not sure why but recently I've been missing Wylie alot. All the regrets of not buying him are catching up, and at night I find myself crying about him :c I thought the pain would get easier after a month but it just seemed to get harder. Do anyone of you guys have advice for getting over losing a horse? ( he didnt die, he just left the barn but its still equally as hard ) I was told I could go and see him but I doubt its ever going to happen, as me or my parents don't have the phone number of his owner, let alone the adress :c

[spring.]

@Shorty -- THe best advice I can offer is make sure she doesn't start chewing at her stomach --> this is a sure sign of colic. Also, if you suspect as such, try to keep her on her feet. I'm sure you know all this, but I'm worried for Shorty too. <3 Keep us updated!

@Hime -- Wait, so Heta is having another baby? Ooh I'm excited for you if so!! Ty is so adorable!!

@Enchanted -- That story sounds a bit made up, but I wouldn't worry with trying to find his sire, especially since you won't be breeding him... Not to discourage you dear, so please don't take it that way <3 but I must congratulate you on meeting his dam! Anyways, keep us updated on y'all's progress, mmkay? I certainly hope he's doing better with his new bit now! If not, maybe try supplements if you don't already have some? Oh, and I wish you the best in your little donkey adventures. I don't have much advice in that department because I've only ever met one donkey in my entire life but I know you'll find a way!

@Nocte -- That sucks that you have to do that. With my place if you don't own your own horse or lease one of the owner's horses, you can't jump higher than two foot three, in my case. It's really unfortunate, but I would never dream of pushing Kiko higher (even though she's capable of two and a half feet). I don't lease her, but I will hopefully use her to get the experience I need with the slower and less willing horse. I wish you the best, dear!

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So, I visited my college for freshman orientation. I decided I should scope out the local barns while I'm out here. I visited one barn and let me tell you I was sold the moment I pulled in to the driveway. It had so many paddocks and each was filled with grass and hay, and horses were very comfortable! I saw a girl riding and she was very comfortable riding with out a trainer around, which is a good sign. There was a camp going on, but only a few children and they were extremely respectful, something I don't get from my own campers!! The trainer greeted me the moment I walked in and I felt very welcome even though I was just a visitor. I am really excited to be at the barn, especially because the horses were so well taken care of, and my college team rides around there. so, i'm really excited..


ok, and now i'm really scared. i was looking at adoptable ottbs and i found this horse that looks almost exactly like belle mer, and she has a very similar race name to belle mer. i started shaking when i found her and almost started crying because the resemblance is unbearable... but it makes me want her all the more.