Tell me about horses

[abhishekmayya]

Horses can sleep both lying down and standing up.
Horses can run shortly after birth.
Domestic horses have a lifespan of around 25 years.
A 19th century horse named 'Old Billy' is said to have lived 62 years.
Horses have around 205 bones in their skeleton.
Horses have been domesticated for over 5000 years.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by Uma

I love horses but I didn't get exposure to them growing up and I'm a bit scared of them - they're so big and powerful.

Tell me about horses. What's it like to own a horse and be in connection with them.

I was brought up with horses and mules.

When I was in my 30's, the place I was working at did physicals and the Doctor asked me if I had a heart operation. I told him "No". What he saw was an impact scare I got as a kid when I went into a horse's stall and he kicked me out of the stall. Nothing like flying thru the air.

Growing up, I got bucked off horses so many times, I can not remember how many times. What I did not like is getting bucked off and as I was coming down toward the ground, the horse would kick both feet up at the same time and clobber me real good. One time the horse bucked and I went over the horses head with boot feet in the stirrup. I twisted around and put my arms around the horse's neck till somebody came and helped me out of that predicament.

Pop's bought a scallion once and had me jump on - bareback. The horse went up on his 2 hind feet and keep backing up till he hit the barb wires. In the next lot was a mare.

Really good times was riding horses free-spirited - standing on the horse's back.

The only thing I regret is one time we had 32 mules. Today, I would loved to have hitched all 32 mules up so as to pull a wagon or whatever.

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When I was younger,I had 2 horses and worked on a stud farm.Great times,oh the good old day's.

[Uma]

Thank you abhishekmayya - interesting. I didn't know any of these things except for the colts running. 5000 years with humans - wow! Domestication is deep in their genes.

Big John, what an incredible story - sounds you are quite the daredevil! Is this an atypical "horse" upbringing? Why did you stand on a horse's back? Were you involved in the circus?

Originally Posted by hazada guess

When I was younger,I had 2 horses and worked on a stud farm.Great times,oh the good old day's.

Sweet. I hope you share some memories when you feel like it.

[Uma]

I visit this mare and her little friend a miniature donkey on this farm I frequent. They now come over to me to say hello. When I sing to them they come right away. I love how animals respond

[Chrysalis]

Ah, the thing about sleeping horses. They can stand with their eyes wide open and be sleeping. Candy did that a few times. Sometimes she slept when I groomed her then saddled her up. I started to lead her into an arena but realized she didn't come with me when I felt the reins tighten. Looked back and saw her standing there so I went back and woke her up then we went for a ride. She did that a few times.

The really odd thing is during a good work out in an outdoor arena she responded exceptionally well to all the cues and did everything I normally wanted her to do. It was a beautiful day so I thought I'd go for a trail ride. A little bit away from the stable, she woke up, didn't know where she was so had a fit. After some encouragement, I got her further away from the barn and had a good ride.

I realized afterwards that she'd been sleeping during the work out in the arena, smh. She just didn't behave like other horses do.

[Chrysalis]

Originally Posted by Uma

I visit this mare and her little friend a miniature donkey on this farm I frequent. They now come over to me to say hello. When I sing to them they come right away. I love how animals respond

I bet they were cute. Horses, like all pets, do recognize faces, voices, etc.

[Chrysalis]

Originally Posted by hazada guess

When I was younger,I had 2 horses and worked on a stud farm.Great times,oh the good old day's.

We have studs who behave well, just get out of their way when you're breeding them, lol

[Chrysalis]

BigJohn, I can imagine what you went through but maybe save it for a rodeo?

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by Uma

Thank you abhishekmayya - interesting. I didn't know any of these things except for the colts running. 5000 years with humans - wow! Domestication is deep in their genes.

Big John, what an incredible story - sounds you are quite the daredevil! Is this an atypical "horse" upbringing? Why did you stand on a horse's back? Were you involved in the circus?

Sweet. I hope you share some memories when you feel like it.

At the time, I thought it was normal but then if I had to live my life over again, I would choice the life I have led.

As for standing on the horses' back...... I am surprised I didn't try standing on my hands on the horse's back.

When I was 10, my brother was 17. We ran one farm by ourselves. We would put the milking machines on the cows and then we would commence fighting.

One day when we were fighting, we were in the stall where the mules were. The stalls were in the center of the barn. As we were fighting, we ended up under the mules. I went and hit him in the head with my head and it knocked him out. While still under the mules, I hit him in the stomach and then ran for the front door. Just as I was about to open the door, I got it in the back with a manure fork he speared me with. He came up to me and led me over to where some feed bags were piled up. The fork was still in my back. He bent me over the feed bags, put his foot on my back, and pulled the manure fork out...... just like in the Western Movies. When we got home, pops took me to the doctor. Even then, I still was not experiencing any pain. The next day, I could just barely move ..... not like the Western Movies.

This evening I watched the TV show 911 in which a tsunami hit the city. For several minutes I became severely depressed. I was present overseas in December 2004 when the Boxer Day earthquake occurred.... killing about 1/4 million people. Where I was, I was the first to donate blood. And then there was the demand for big shoes and winter coats for the foreigners. Most of the people, from the tsunami, had there clothes ripped off. As they got stabilized, they needed shoes and winter coats so they could fly home. Very sad.