Want to see all the horses I went through before finding the right one?

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EnzoLeya

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Originally Posted by BabyWukong

What happened to Monte? There was a comment that you miss riding him.

Hmm how old do horses get? And....... what happens to those horses that have trouble (sick, can't be ridden), do they get put down somewhere and turned into pet food or something horrible like that?
I'm not sure what happened to Monte, I was wondering that myself.

I've known 2 horses that made it to 42 and 45. With a good life they can live to 30 fairly easy.

Most horses that get sick/can't be rode stay on the farm and live a retired life. We have a retired rodeo horse, Holly, that is a brood mare now. She's 8-9 years old and lame because of an injury. She can walk fine, but doesn't run a whole lot. We've had to do some vet work on her leg, but other than that she makes a great mom to great babies!

Most people wouldn't put down a horse because of old age. However, at the auctions there is a thing called "the kill pen". Those horses are the ones that end up in slaughter houses or shipped out of the country (to be slaughtered). For awhile the kill pens were stopped and horses weren't allowed to go to slaughter in the US. It was a terrible mess and long story short, we need the kill pens. (people kill horses they don't want, and how they kill them is disgusting)

Not just any horse ends up in slaughter. If you look in a kill pen you won't see horses that would make good pets or EVER live a good life. Some were born deformed and suffer every day. Some were injured and had owners that never fixed the injury and can't walk, some are on their last day of life becuase of horrible owners that didn't feed them all winter, and the rest have diseases that they don't have the strength to fight off. I honestly think the problem lies with the owners and the lack of laws, not slaughter houses. If we had laws that protected horses we wouldn't have a need for kill pens or slaughter houses.

The "kill buyers" don't just take any horse. In fact they have a heart to! I've spoke to several that will buy horses out of the kill pen because they see potential. Some horses end up in the kill pen because owners don't care and just want to make a hundred bucks. The kill buyers buy these horses and resell them to people looking for a family horse, not meat.
 

siggav

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The attitudes to horses being killed and horse meat really differes depending on the country.

Where I'm from horse meat is eaten quite regularily and it's quite normal that young horses that aren't looking like they'll be good horses to have around humans (i.e very bad tempered etc.) usually just get slaughtered and eaten. Also a fair bit of foals that don't look too promising from a build point of view get culled as well. I.e there are more horses bred each year than are needed for riding and the best ones are kept and the rest is eaten.

It's a bit not nice in away but it keeps the breed strong and I've personally eaten foal multiple times (it's quite a lot like veal) and atleast they were happy outside in fields with their mothers until they were slaughtered rather than factory farmed.

Old horses who get lame are sometimes killed as well but then they're not eaten, I think they're usually just put into landfill or something like that.
 

lauracatlover

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If you were referring to what I said about the fact that I miss riding Monty, I can't ride him anymore because apparently due to the fact he went lame a few weeks ago they have dropped his weight limit down to about 7/8 stone so he's now classed as a "kids pony".


I think this is stupid because he hardly ever goes lame, he is quite cobby, and he's 15.2hh! So he can't be classed as a pony


I miss riding him though because he's just perfect
He does everything you tell him to do (apart from bombing off every now and again) and he's gorgeous.

AND the riding school use him way too much. He's popular there so they use him hour after hour after hour which is wrong
 
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EnzoLeya

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Originally Posted by Siggav

The attitudes to horses being killed and horse meat really differes depending on the country.

Where I'm from horse meat is eaten quite regularily and it's quite normal that young horses that aren't looking like they'll be good horses to have around humans (i.e very bad tempered etc.) usually just get slaughtered and eaten. Also a fair bit of foals that don't look too promising from a build point of view get culled as well. I.e there are more horses bred each year than are needed for riding and the best ones are kept and the rest is eaten.

It's a bit not nice in away but it keeps the breed strong and I've personally eaten foal multiple times (it's quite a lot like veal) and atleast they were happy outside in fields with their mothers until they were slaughtered rather than factory farmed.

Old horses who get lame are sometimes killed as well but then they're not eaten, I think they're usually just put into landfill or something like that.
I couldn't imagine eating horse meat. I couldn't do it! Growing up in a country were horses are seen more as cats or dogs, companions and never food, I just couldn't do it. I know other countries eat them, and I understand that. It's strange how much different countries are. In the US you'll go straight to jail if you slaughter a horse.

Maybe it's our cowboy herritage???
 
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EnzoLeya

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Originally Posted by lauracatlover

If you were referring to what I said about the fact that I miss riding Monty, I can't ride him anymore because apparently due to the fact he went lame a few weeks ago they have dropped his weight limit down to about 7/8 stone so he's now classed as a "kids pony".


I think this is stupid because he hardly ever goes lame, he is quite cobby, and he's 15.2hh! So he can't be classed as a pony


I miss riding him though because he's just perfect
He does everything you tell him to do (apart from bombing off every now and again) and he's gorgeous.

AND the riding school use him way too much. He's popular there so they use him hour after hour after hour which is wrong
That's too bad he's lame. We have pony clubs around here that sound exactly like that riding center. Pony clubs just don't care how much a horse is used as long as they get their money.

I don't understand how they are classifying him as pony! Don't they know height limits?!
 

siggav

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Originally Posted by EnzoLeya

I couldn't imagine eating horse meat. I couldn't do it! Growing up in a country were horses are seen more as cats or dogs, companions and never food, I just couldn't do it. I know other countries eat them, and I understand that. It's strange how much different countries are. In the US you'll go straight to jail if you slaughter a horse.

Maybe it's our cowboy herritage???
Part of it is actually carried over from the English. Slaughtering and eating horses was a part of the worship that people did back when they held to the Old Norse gods (Odin, Thor and all those) so when Christianity took over, a part of what they did to try to stamp out the old believes was making eating horses a taboo.

Horses are really loved in Iceland and very common. I mean there are 300.000 people there and roughly 80.000 horses. You'll see horses all over the place if you drive around. They're more common than cattle to see. Pretty much everyone has gone riding at some point and it's quite common to own horses as well. There's only one breed of horse though. The Icelandic pony so everyone rides ponies


For me the big difference between cats, dogs and horses is that cats and dogs are carnivores while horses are big herbivores exactly like cows. I've been friends with calves growing up and cows can be amazing animals so I don't really get being willing to eat cows but not horses.

I've even been on a get together with lots of other horse people (as in around 20-30 of us getting together for a big ride) and we had a big several hour long ride together and then when we finally got to our destination there was a big communal barbeque with both beef and horse steaks on.

You'd never eat horses that had been named and tamed and ridden though. I think it's probably more like how some people can keep rabbits as pets but still don't have a problem eating rabbit.

Anyway yeah, my personal line is that I don't eat carnivores and I'm iffy about omnivores which is why I completely understand people who won't eat pig but horses, cows, deer, sheep, reindeer and the other dedicated herbivores I don't have a problem eating.

Actually thinking about it now, a part of it might be how the horses are kept. The mares are usually kept together in big herds and they'll be in a herd with a stallion for a part of the summer and then they give birth outside in huge fields usually and they all run wild in often fairly remote areas for a good while. The horses usually don't get much human contact until much later. So in a way they're really wild horses in their herds rather than raised with humans since they were babies and named and cared for in a 'personal relationship' sort of way.
 

siggav

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Aaaanyway this is all rather morbid, I'm sorry I started up, heh..

Time to squee. Horses
are absolutely fabulous and I've really enjoyed seeing the pics of your horses or not your horses as it may be as well
 

lauracatlover

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" That's too bad he's lame. We have pony clubs around here that sound exactly like that riding center. Pony clubs just don't care how much a horse is used as long as they get their money.

I don't understand how they are classifying him as pony! Don't they know height limits?! "

I know! Monty is at least 15.2 or maybe bigger and I've been riding him for the last 5 years with no problems. The woman who owns the stables is a right moo
She works the horses way too hard, and she really needs to get more big ones, as more and more adults have started. On that day that Monty was lame I looked in the book where it tells you who is riding what and Monty had been used for three hour lessons in the same morning (which is jumping, cantering etc) and then later he was in for another hour and one half an hour. Her words to me were "Well, you're getting bigger now, and he is a pony. He's a childs' pony".



There's a horse there called Ted who is about 16hh and he is a proper cob. He is very very prone to going lame (he goes lame at least once a fortnight compared to Monty who is lame like once every 4 months) So due to this she only lets really light people use him. And because he is getting old and keeps going lame she's just gonna sell him.


I suppose the good part of this is that she isn't selling Monty and I still get to visit him when I go down there. And I've made it pretty clear to her that I
him!!
 
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EnzoLeya

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Originally Posted by Siggav

Aaaanyway this is all rather morbid, I'm sorry I started up, heh..

Time to squee. Horses
are absolutely fabulous and I've really enjoyed seeing the pics of your horses or not your horses as it may be as well
Well I'm glad to hear they are raised like cattle rather than pets. I was wondering why our country wasn't ok with eating them. Thanks for the info! I think the only reason we don't eat carnivors is because it's more expensive to feed them.
It's interesting to think about though.

Originally Posted by lauracatlover

When I go riding tonight I'll take some pix of the "ponies" for you
I can't wait to see the "ponys."
Thank god Bonnet isn't there! She's 14.1 hands, just 1 inch more than pony size. She's be a miniature pony only allowed to pull one person carts
 

lauracatlover

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I took some pics last night but I missed out some of the 'ponies' because they were out in the fields. I'll show you a few now though and when I go again on Saturday I'll take some of the ones I missed, and post a thread on them. I couldn't get many pictures of their bodies, but it was a case of them being in the stable when we arrived, in the lesson with us, and then straight out to the field so apart from Patch I had to take them when we got there.

Here's a few to cure your need to see them!


This is Ted. He's around 16.1hh but cannot be ridden by adults because he keeps going lame.

This is Patch. He's about the same size as Ted but hasn't yet been classed as a pony


And this is Paddy. He's a 17hh TB but I still can't ride him because the owner says he can only be used by light riders.
But in a way that's a blessing because I never liked riding him anyway.


I'll post a proper thread on them all at the weekend when I've taken some more, I seem to be hijacking your thread now
Sorry about that


Enjoy the pics!
 
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EnzoLeya

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Ehhh no problem!

I love patch
He's not a Gypsy Vanner is he
That's my dream horse. Around here a baby Vanner is $3,000-$6,000!!! Don't ask how much a broke adult costs!
 

lauracatlover

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Originally Posted by EnzoLeya

Ehhh no problem!

I love patch
He's not a Gypsy Vanner is he
That's my dream horse. Around here a baby Vanner is $3,000-$6,000!!! Don't ask how much a broke adult costs!
I honestly don't know if he is a Gypsy Vanner. I'll ask when I go on Saturday for you, but they'll probably just say "I dunno, a gypsy cob".


If they are as expensive as you say then I doubt it, cuz the owner loves her money waaay too much to fork out on one that pricey. She only tends to exchange the horses she doesn't want for others, or sell them for money.

She doesn't seem like a true horse lover.
She has some kind of feelings for them, but to her it's just business I suppose.
 
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EnzoLeya

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Originally Posted by lauracatlover

I honestly don't know if he is a Gypsy Vanner. I'll ask when I go on Saturday for you, but they'll probably just say "I dunno, a gypsy cob".


If they are as expensive as you say then I doubt it, cuz the owner loves her money waaay too much to fork out on one that pricey. She only tends to exchange the horses she doesn't want for others, or sell them for money.

She doesn't seem like a true horse lover.
She has some kind of feelings for them, but to her it's just business I suppose.
"i dunno, a gypsy cob"
I bet that's exactly what she'll say


Gypsy's are super expensive here because there's only a hand full of breeders in the US. They are a european horse so they shouldn't be as expensive. I think the last time I checked there was about 500 gypsy vanners in the US.
 

lauracatlover

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When I ride tomorrow on him I'll ask for you, but being the 'clever horse people' that they are, they probably won't know. All that matters to them is that it has 4 legs.


I'll also try and get some pictures of the horses I missed out.
 

faith's_mom

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If those horses are going lame (even every four months) they need proper x-rays and such, to rule out anything serious; or AT the least be put on things to enhance their joint function.

I DO however agree with the 'lighter weights' that the director is putting on them; however, I don't really agree with the reason (not getting proper care, to prevent the lameness from recurring). It could be something as simple as arthritus, and with careful management this can treated, in order to help the horse maintain a more comfortable life; this can include not allowing the horse to have to carry as much weight.

The lameness could be due to improper hoof care as well, and could be fixed with a farrier who has a better understanding of the hoof and it's effect on the horse's overall health...imbalances in the hoof, can cause all sorts of havoc to the horse's body...most of which we won't see, unless the horse becomes lame, or otherwise sore.

Or, because of the horse's ages, the lameness could be due to overuse; which could be helped by simply rotating the horses more; no horse should be used 5-7 days a week; atleast not for hours and hours daily. An hour or two, sure, but not all day, everyday...especially when the horse is older. Even when my horse was right down the road from me (and he's young, mind you) I still didn't ride\\work him for hours each day...somedays were naturally longer than others, but if I had a really long hard session one day, then the next day I would only review and call it a day.

Granted, there are horses who do get hard workouts each day, such as race, dressage, and endurance horses...but again, they don't last the duration of a day!

Anyway...in short, no horse should become intermittantly lame without proper diagnosis and treatment...and that certainly should not be used until something is 'for sure' diagnosed and being treated.

Oh and 'cob' can be a proper term for a carriage horse, given that cob type horses are normally bred for light carriage use...it doesn't matter the term, really, gypsies are known as both...just depends on where you come from...it's kind of like soda, pop, or cola...they are all the 'same' thing...but depending on where you come from, you may hear it being called a different name.
 

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faith's_mom

Ted (who constantly goes lame) has broken a part of his leg and has arthiritis, so maybe this is why he keeps going lame.

But yes, they do work them way too hard
For example on weekends they are open from 9am till 4pm. The more popular horses (Ted, Monty) get used for nearly all of this time. And the only breaks they have are like for 1/2 an hour between two hour lessons.


And as for the weight business I do agree that it might be better if they bring the weight down, because I would hate for an overly heavy person to get on Monty and that would cause him more pain
BUT he is a proper cobby horse and should be able to hold up to 14st. And now his weight limit is like 7.

They have a pretty good farrier as I'm aware.


Anyway, IMO the owner is a slave driver and they need to get more big horses. They only have around 4 big horses that adults can ride.


 
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