• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Horses anyone?

RetiredUSN

RetiredUSN

DP Veteran
Joined
Jan 13, 2016
Messages
38,047
Reaction score
22,546
Location
Norfolk Virginia area.
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Independent
I used to ride a little when I cleaned stables for a guy back in Maine for a couple years. Loved it, but never rode again. Fast forward 46 years and the wife has me on "whiskey".

Whiskey is a retired "Caisson Casket Horse" who pulled the caskets of dead military members at Arlington for many years.

What a gentle soul of a horse.

unnamed (5).jpg

image.jpg

The wife rode on "Chinco" who is another sweet horse.

20171015_122719.jpg

40th anniversary weekend. ;)
 
We used to have a couple horses on the farm when I was growing up. Love horses, love riding. Regret I don't have any at present.


I was in Colorado and took a guided horseback ride up a mountain with a group. I made the mistake of admitting to being an experienced rider and was given an iron-mouthed hardhead named Pepsi. That horse thought he was supposed to lead the pack and was determined to find a way to the front, going up narrow rocky trails I wouldn't have thought a mule could handle.

But it was fun.
 
I love to ride, but that's it. Real horse people love it all--the stall mucking, teeth-floating, all of it. I want a horse to magically appear for me to ride and then disappear again.:mrgreen:
 
nota bene said:
I love to ride, but that's it. Real horse people love it all--the stall mucking, teeth-floating, all of it. I want a horse to magically appear for me to ride and then disappear again.:mrgreen:
Click to expand...



Yeah. Odd as it may sound, I actually came to find the smell of horse manure agreeable... because that smell meant horses. :)
 
I've known 5 people thrown from horses 3 seriously injured and one killed in the last 15ish years. 4 of them were experienced horsemen, i.e. real cowboys. No thanks, no need to have or ride a hay burner. Another little girl who I do not know but my wife does got bucked off and got her head stepped on. She was 5 at the time and will suffer life long because of it. Again no thanks.

Edit: and oh, Happy Anniversary!
 
Last edited:
I've had horses for years. I bred Appaloosas, and had several mares. Right now I'm down to one remaining horse, and older gelding. He is a gentle, loveable guy, and a very good trail horse. We still go horse camping a couple of time each summer.

I totally believe you can't get too old for riding. My horse took me to sights I'd never have hiked in to on foot.

I'd like to attach pics, but this stupid ancient computer of mine, can't even handle the facebook videos my relatives send. It's going to get replaced soon.
 
Winchester said:
I've known 5 people thrown from horses 3 seriously injured and one killed in the last 15ish years. 4 of them were experienced horsemen, i.e. real cowboys. No thanks, no need to have or ride a hay burner. Another little girl who I do not know but my wife does got bucked off and got her head stepped on. She was 5 at the time and will suffer life long because of it. Again no thanks.

Edit: and oh, Happy Anniversary!
Click to expand...

To be fair, driving or riding in automobiles has risks as well. I have never been thrown from a horse, however I have been in a serious automobile accident.
 
I enjoy horses but mostly when they have a jockey on them and I have a well plotted out trifecta ticket in my hand.
 
My dad owned a few sulky race horses. I went to the track with him a few times. It was always a big deal when they won and the pictures in the winner circle.

But as a kid I loved to go horseback riding. We had a place not too far from the house where the horses were well trained and knew the trails. We would go through beautiful scenic wooded areas and through open spaces. In the open spaces you could tell the horse to gitty up and they did. It was a real thrill.

One time my friend was wearing a fall. In case you don't know what that is, its a hair piece to make it appear you have all this long flowing hair. It really looked real. But unfortunately for her she did not bend down low enough when passing under a low branch in the woods and it caught her fall pulling it off and there it hung on the branch. That is one time I have to say in my life I laughed the hardest.

But most recently... horseback riding is real popular in the Caribbean as an excursion on cruises. What fun to mount horses and venture out as a group to ride the coastline while watching a beautiful sunrise. Gosh it doesn't get any better than that.
 
Agreed...until the next morning, when you rediscover thigh muscles you'd forgotten about. Yow!
 
Goshin said:
Yeah. Odd as it may sound, I actually came to find the smell of horse manure agreeable... because that smell meant horses. :)
Click to expand...

I live out in the country. (Well, the city is now looming.:twisted: ) Cows, horses, fresh-cut hay...ahhhh. Not pigs, though, and when I first moved out here, a family had a combination rifle range and swine farm. Yes. I was downwind only a couple of times, but it was AWFUL.
 
RetiredUSN said:
I used to ride a little when I cleaned stables for a guy back in Maine for a couple years. Loved it, but never rode again. Fast forward 46 years and the wife has me on "whiskey".

Whiskey is a retired "Caisson Casket Horse" who pulled the caskets of dead military members at Arlington for many years.

What a gentle soul of a horse.

View attachment 67223948

View attachment 67223949

The wife rode on "Chinco" who is another sweet horse.

View attachment 67223950

40th anniversary weekend. ;)
Click to expand...

I was never a rider but I did some stable cleaning at a friends small stable. They had about 16 stalls but never full. They held other people's horses for when they wanted to ride. Me and their family's son would shovel stalls and then we'd go build hay forts. My sister used to ride competitively though. And my aunt was a professional barrel racer.
 
RetiredUSN said:
I used to ride a little when I cleaned stables for a guy back in Maine for a couple years. Loved it, but never rode again. Fast forward 46 years and the wife has me on "whiskey".

Whiskey is a retired "Caisson Casket Horse" who pulled the caskets of dead military members at Arlington for many years.

What a gentle soul of a horse.

View attachment 67223948

View attachment 67223949

The wife rode on "Chinco" who is another sweet horse.

View attachment 67223950

40th anniversary weekend. ;)
Click to expand...

Good for you!! Wonderful horse!! I've been a horse person most of my life. Lost one to colic nearly 2 years ago. Unlikely to buy another. But I miss it.

Safety tip - no tennis shoes!!
 
nota bene said:
I live out in the country. (Well, the city is now looming.:twisted: ) Cows, horses, fresh-cut hay...ahhhh. Not pigs, though, and when I first moved out here, a family had a combination rifle range and swine farm. Yes. I was downwind only a couple of times, but it was AWFUL.
Click to expand...

I actually miss the smell of horse and cow maneur. And sometimes chicken. There are a lot of ranches here but not much farming so you don't smell it much here.
 
poweRob said:
I actually miss the smell of horse and cow maneur. And sometimes chicken. There are a lot of ranches here but not much farming so you don't smell it much here.
Click to expand...

There is nothing like the smell of a barn. To many of us eux de barn is a wonderful wonderful scent.
 
jghiretire said:
Good for you!! Wonderful horse!! I've been a horse person most of my life. Lost one to colic nearly 2 years ago. Unlikely to buy another. But I miss it.

Safety tip - no tennis shoes!!
Click to expand...

I know.....no heel. Learned that the hard way when my foot slipped though the stirrup when I was young.

Sorry to hear about your horse.
 
i had a few fun experiences riding horses as a kid, though not enough to even qualify me as a rank amateur. Mom's pre-me hobby was horseback riding; Dad's was taking flying lessons. it's kind of interesting to think of them in those roles.

also, happy anniversary!
 
I always preferred dirt bikes - less storage space required, they don't **** and you only need to feed them when you ride them.

image.jpg
 
poweRob said:
I actually miss the smell of horse and cow maneur. And sometimes chicken. There are a lot of ranches here but not much farming so you don't smell it much here.
Click to expand...

I think the aroma is so natural for me that I just take it for granted sometimes. Or maybe it's being diluted by the belching vehicles and aggressively creeping urban damned blight. :twisted:
 
We had them growing up, my dad had me riding at age 4. When life gets too busy I find myself craving horse smells. Riding always helped any problem i was having at that time....but like someone mentioned accidents happen and they can be bad.
 
sablesea said:
We had them growing up, my dad had me riding at age 4. When life gets too busy I find myself craving horse smells. Riding always helped any problem i was having at that time....but like someone mentioned accidents happen and they can be bad.
Click to expand...

Yes, they surely can be. A little girl in a neighboring county lost her life this year barrel-racing when her horse fell on her. No idea what the stats are on jumpers, but the thought of even trying this is scary.
 
RetiredUSN said:
I know.....no heel. Learned that the hard way when my foot slipped though the stirrup when I was young...
Click to expand...
I was going to start a thread, but then I found this old one. I think I'm going to start taking riding lessons. I've rented horses a few times 55+/- years ago, I remember they were reluctant to leave the coral and almost wanted to gallop back. Then around 35 years ago I worked with a fellow who owned a couple of Morgan show horses and helped take them thru the show circuit one summer. Morgans are really beautiful horses, I remember when they we standing next to a Quarter horse, there was no comparison.

I've read a little about Western vs English riding. Most recommend starting out learning Western, but some say English. As I have good balance I think I'd like to start with English then Western should be an easy transition. Does anyone have experience with both?

I have no heeled shoes other than my dress shoes. Can I assume I can get away with sneakers for the first couple of lessons before I decide to commit and buy a pair of boots?

And btw, I guess it would be 46 years now, congrats!
 
I've done trail riding in Texas and I used to practice horseback riding in North Carolina for the better part of two summers. I love horses. Beautiful big creatures, and each one has its own personality, just like humans do.
 
multivita-man said:
I've done trail riding in Texas and I used to practice horseback riding in North Carolina for the better part of two summers. I love horses. Beautiful big creatures, and each one has its own personality, just like humans do.
Click to expand...
I'm looking at two places that lease horses, one is $100 a month for access 3 times a week, the other is closer for $150 for 2 days. Were you taking lessons, if so how many before you were able to ride 'solo'?
 
Rode a little when I was pretty young, but not at all for the past 40 years. A few years back our daughter wanted to go on a trail ride for her birthday and I booked the whole family as she requested. We get to the stables and meet our rides. Kids and wife are introduced to the 3 smaller horses. Lulu, Sweetie, and Gentle Annie. I'm nervously eyeing up my ride who is a beast twice the size of the other horses, pawing the ground with the look of the devil in his eyes. i ask the horse lady what his name is - he's called "TERMINATOR" :eek: :eek: :cry:. Well, I spoke some soft kind words to "Termie" and we agreed a little deal. I wouldn't do anything stupid like try to tell him where to go, and he wouldn't throw me off. I survived the next 90 minutes with only my pride being bruised, Daughter had a wonderful timeo
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom