Pleasure, Trail, Versatility, etc.

Hey, I think I could get into this. Does NOT look easy, does it? This competiton will be part of the World Equestrian Games at the Horse Park in Lexington next month. Does anyone know if the games will be televised?

I couldn't do that cuz every time I get near water I have to hold my breath....I don't think I can hold it that long....

Here's a photo OHM sent in of her most recent trail ride. Can you name the two LEGENDS that are riding with her?

Ronal & Judy Tillett Young

That's right! Look at Ronal.................he even sits one good when he's out pleasure riding........

Here's an article on TV coverage of the Games.

http://www.kentucky.com/2010/08/18/1396325/opportunities-to-see-weg-on-tv.html

Highlights will be spread over some Sundays on NBC. The rest will be on NBC's cable sports channel. Not sure if those are in your particular area.

From The Milwaulkee Journal, 1956

This is a snapshot of my Arabian stallion; AF Dalia Hasan at 2 years of age. Unfortunately he died when he was 4 years old from a heart attack. He was a sweetheart of a stallion; good disposition; very calm; none of those things you hear about those "hot and crazy" Arabians; even after we started breeding him. He did have one vice though...he trailered terrible! He was great once we got to the shows but getting there was no fun at all!! We showed him in Halter and Western Pleasure and he won a lot of the time; never placed below third. What I was most excited about was that we had just started him in cutting. My trainer had put him on some cattle and said he had the attitude to make a top notch cutting horse! As a kid I had "cowboyed" around with cattle so I was really excited about riding a real cutting horse! I suppose it wasn't meant to be.

He was beautiful! There was an Arab mare at the clinic last weekend that was a real sweetheart also.

Thanks Boss. He was a pretty horse...I always thought Arabs were gorgeous animals. I forgot to put what year this was...it was 1986. I sold my last Arab in 1989 and have not had any horses since then. If I were to ever be able to have horses again I would own TWH though; they were my first love and when I think about owning horse they are what I would want to own. Hasan had a nice disposition; but I had some Arabs that were that "hot and crazy" horse you hear about...I'm too old for that! I would rather have the good sense of the TWH; their easy ride; level-headeness; and sweet disposition any day.

I'd only seen the hot, crazy arabs prior to the mare this weekend. A friend of mine told me that the lines that Wayne Newton was breeding were very calm, sweet and good natured.

Beautiful Kim

Boss...You are right; reputable breeders want their names associated with good stock. I think it is like with any animal; there are lines that are worse than others and the more intensely bred they become the "hotter" they become. (some stables line breed; inbreed; and have them so closely bred that you couldn't help but have a high strung horse!!) I had one mare that was really crazy ...she was in foal when I bought her to a stallion with the lines that this particular stable bred and promoted....they were all closely bred like I mentioned above. Their horses were absolutely beautiful; typey Arabs but hotter than firecrackers!! If I had known they were like this; I would not have bought her; no matter how well they were doing in the showring. The foal she was carrying turned out to be a very nice (looking) colt and I wanted to leave him a stallion; show him and sell him later on...that colt was practically unmanagable! He fractured my neck...of course it was as much my fault as his...I wasn't watching close enough; you had to keep your eye on every step that colt took when you had him in hand. I gelded him (the next day!!) and he did calm down a touch; but not to what I would want in a gelding. On the other hand I had an Arab mare that I would not have hesitated to have slept all night in her stall..she was the most docile horse I have ever owned; you could do anything with her even when she was a yearling...it was in her breeding. Her sire consistently bred this in his offspring. It is the same in dogs and probably in TWH too; although I never owned a TWH that was extremely "hot" they're not suppoesed to be...they just aren't made up that way genetically. I never had any of Wayne Newton's horses; but knowing the lines; I would agree that they would be level-headed horses. He bred polish horses and the polish horses have a tendency to be calmer horses with more substance and great athletic potential. Hasan was straight Egyptian and they can be very hot and high strung; but his sire was known for breeding exceptionally calm dispositions with a curiosity that seemed to translate into an eagerness to learn. Arabs taught me a lot about breeding and genetics and if I were to ever be lucky enough to own a horse again; I would want someone to help me study the bloodlines and pedigrees in my TWH also. I loved researching pedigrees and genetics; it makes the buying; breeding; and/or owning process very exciting and rewarding.

Thanks BD..he was :)

I wanted to add something; although I showed my Arabs; it was nothing like what I did with my TWH...I was VERY small scale!!! I showed Hasan (the stallion) some; but not a lot; just enough to get a name to stand him at stud and a mare here and there. I kept my horses at home on the farm and would occasionally take them to my trainer. I was a small scale breeder; I loved this part of owning horses...absolutely loved having those babies every spring; one of the most rewarding things I've ever done with horses!!! I did trail rides and overnight camping rides too...lots of fun!!! I wanted to stay involved with horses in some way when we had to get out of the TWH business; so I found this was a way that I could. I was looking forward to Hasan getting the cutting horse training; I would not have done it on a large scale; although it would have been a lot of fun to ride a horse that was truly trained in cutting. None of this was quite the same as owning and showing TWH; but I was doing this on my own and as long as I had a horse I was happy!!!

Well, I hope you get to have another horse soon! If you're ever in this area you can come over and ride one of ours!

My grandfather surprised the heck out of all of us by purchasing an Arabian back in the early 70's. He wasn't even a big horseman, but was known for making spur-of-the-moment purchases such as motorcycles and campers and such. It shocked me so see him riding this beautiful dapple gray mare down the gravel road at my Dad's farm. She was gorgeous, but quite high-strung. She had a nice little saddling lick that was sort of like a slow rack. I rode her a couple of times and it was not uncomfortable, but not as nice as a running walk. For some reason, he didn' hold on to her very long. He bought her for trail riding, and she just was not an ideal trail horse.

I also ventured into the Arabians once...sort of. I made an impulse buy myself. Years ago, saw what looked like a blue roan yearling (I think they called it a rose gray) gelding...he was so pretty (Khemosabi bred/Polish) and had just won the halter class at an all-arab show in Montgomery. Long story short, he's 20+ years old, fleabit in color and is the baby sitter for weaning my babies, companion to the broodmares. Cranky under saddle, but would work all gaits by voice command on a lunge line?!!?
Tough ol' feller, too. Survived red leaf maple poisoning a few years ago....I'd never heard of it until then. They are prevalent here and I still have a few, though I have killed most of them. Working on tagging them through-out the woods, and set base burns to kill them since I cannot drag my electric chain-saw to all the remote areas....don't laugh now! I just cannot crank the big one, not enough pop to my pull on the gas type saws....

MM...My mare that so sweet and docile (her name was Baby) was a Kemosabi/Bay El Bey (polish) cross too and was also a rose grey and also a halter winner! That really is a great proven cross in Arabs. She was a fantastic horse...so so sweet!! I had bottle raised her from the day she hit the ground; so I am sure that helped some; but her sire was known to breed this dispostion also. I loved this mare so much...she was a big baby...she would try to follow me in the house...wanted to eat everything I ate...she was full of personality!!! I had to put her down and it almost killed me...I cried for months...still do if I think about it too hard. She was quite the magician and was able to get out of her stall if it wasn't double latched...well; someone didn't double latch it and she got out one night and into the pasture of new spring grass (very lush). She foundered; a very bad founder; but we did pull her out of it initially. I sent her to the NCSU vet hospital for treatment; brought her home and continued treatment; and she was doing well then all of a sudden about 3 months in she took a terrible turn for the worse. There was nothing that could be done but put her down...it was one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do in my life. She was the reason I sold all my horses; I couldn't stand to go to the barn after losing her. Plus it hadn't been too long since I lost Hasan...a 4 yr old dying from a heart attack?? He wasn't at home..he was at the trainer's when he died. I decided it was time to get out of horses; but now 20 yrs later I would not mind owning another horse!!

Smitty...That pretty floaty trot that the Arab has is about the most uncomfortable gait on a trail ride that you will ever find...that is unless you want to post all day?? I agree with you and Grandpa; let's sit that cadillac ride on a TWH!

I shot this at an endurance ride in Rhode Island. I went to research a book in my series, what I'm thinking will be book three, but I ended up working as the vet scribe taking down the vet's findings at each check-in the riders made. So, that's why the video ends how it does - I just got too busy to fiddle with the camera.

Of more interest to y'all will be the guy riding the spotted saddle horse. I got him while they were all headed out in the morning. Walking horses up here are pretty rare. They got a lot of attention for being the only one in the ride.

OH - and NEATO is an acronym for New England Arabian Trail Organization. Guess what breed I saw the most? But there were also some former race horses - both TBs and SBs - a Connemara pony, a couple of QHs and an Akhal Teke. (I know the breeds because it was marked on the cards I worked with.)

Very cool, Rambler! There is a guy in Illinois that does endurance with his TWH and just recently got a 1st place in a 100 mile race.

One of the first endurance rides that was held at the Lexington Horse Center here in Virgina was won by a friend of mine. She and her daughter rode their Walking/Racking horses. She said that each time they got to a check point, the vets always ended up taking the heart rate, etc twice on their horses because the vets could not believe the time they were making with so little stress to the horses.

Susie

You're welcome, Boss and Fantasy. I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Endurance looks like fun.

I remember a walking horse winning another 100-mile race in New Mexico a few years back.