My Horses

[julie1988]

this is my favorite horse. her name is julie and she's a 14 year old quarter horse mare. i saved her from certain death. i'll show you the progress she's made with these pics:

this was the first day just after we had bought her (or taken her...we didn't have to pay much for she was really weak) about ten months ago:

img523.imageshack.us/my.php?image=juliefebruar001kh0.jpg


this pic was taken six weeks after that first day. looks better already, doesn't she?:

img371.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0104081320jv4.jpg


and this was another month later:

img91.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image7bn2.jpg

okay, now some more recent pics...this was six weeks ago...i know, i look stupid on this pic but julie is so cute:

img134.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tagesritt028zu0.jpg

and this is the most recent pic i got...at least on the PC. this was taken a month ago...at least the quarter horse starts coming through...by now everybody who sees her does not mistake her for a racing horse any more but actually says that she's a quarter. oh, and the pink would not have been my choice....and she has learnt western style but for the kids the english saddle is easier to handle.

img523.imageshack.us/my.php?image=viehprmierung5ce3.jpg

okay, enough of julie...i'm just so proud of her knowing the way she behaved the first days and what she has become now.
but now the others.
this is gypsie. she's a mix of some kind but has got a lot of arabian blood :-) she is 24 years old and i learnt to ride on her. and i've never known a horse to be that fit at her age. this is me jumping with her:

img378.imageshack.us/my.php?image=unbenanntbo9.png

img89.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gypsie57bk9.jpg

there two horses left to show you. first there is bella, a 16 year old haflinger mere. she's also totally cute and calm:

img523.imageshack.us/my.php?image=viehprmierung6lj8.jpg

and this is ricardo, a three year old friesian horse. he's kind of our black beauty. he's not being ridden yet but we'll be starting to work with him in about two weeks. he already knows the basics.

img49.imageshack.us/my.php?image=image6sq7.jpg

so, i hope you like the pics!

[Reef.]

thats an incredible transformation! do you know how she got into such a state before you got her?

youre others as simply stunning, adorable pic of ricardo! how old is he now?

[`G.old]

awesome! what a transformation.

[brianna]

yes she looks wonderful you are doing a great job!
the second pic of gypsie is beautiful, and ricardo is really cute.

[racechick]

I think that is one of the most succesful transformations I have ever seen!!!! and I have seen some really bad horses come back(Mehah). I really like ricardo.

[julie1988]

everybody likes Ricardo ;-)

@reef: okay, let me try to explain this in english....yes, i know how julie got into that state. her previous owner had not only her but also another horse that almost died in her hands. but this organisation for the protection of animals took it away. the problem was that nobody knew that that woman had another horse. julie was locked up in a dark barn and not really fed...that woman gave her a little feed but no vet or blacksmith (is that the right word?) laid hands on her in three years so all the feed was consumed by the worms she had. then i found an ad in some newspaper that there was a quarter to be sold and i needed one so i went there to have a look at her and just couldn't leave her there. i took her and now she's a lot better. i am completely astonished by the muscles she's got now...as soon as i take another pic of her i'll put it here so you can see how she looks now!

and ricardo is three years and a half years old now. we waited this long 'cause friesian horses grow very slowly and we don't want to spoil his joints right away

[Reef.]

that's an amazing story! i respect you so much for taking on the project, it must have been impossible it have left her with that woman. i hope they gave that woman a prison sentence for animal cruelty, i'm sure she must have know julie was suffering

and it's great youre letting ricardo mature properly first, it's awful seeing people trying to break horses who are barely more than yearlings

[julie1988]

it was an expensive project but seeing the result i don't care about the money. and i think the woman got nothing for it....:-(

and i agree with you...i don't like it when horses are broken to early. i know a few horses who are like 7 or 8 now that can't be ridden any more because they were broken far too early

[Reef.]

i'm surprised she got away with it, things would have been so different if julie was human

7 or 8? wow that is bad... most properly broken horses are just getting into their stride at that age. that's something i hate about the racing industry, how they have 2 year olds out on the track. basically sentencing them to a life of bad joints

[julie1988]

unfortunately she's not human....but even the vet said that the best that could have happened to her was to end up with us as new owners. i just hope she can forget her past. until now she gets better every day and trusts me and the other horses completely.

i'm happy that here in germany we don't do too much horse racing....but we have the very famous riders like the Beerbaum's who beat the hell out of their horses and get away with it

[Reef.]

i'm so happy she's got you. did she have severe psychological problems when you first got her?

a lot of famous riders seem to ride very violently, it's strange. but i suppose to them the animals are just tools of industry...

[Charlotte]

I love friesians! Ricardo is goregeous.

[julie1988]

@ reef: well, she was pretty scared at first. didn't trust us humans at all. and she had a few bad experiences with us as well cause she hates the vet and he HAD TO come and she gave the blacksmith a hard time too. her legs and hooves must've really hurt after three years of no treatment. it was a miracle that the smith was able to get shoes on her and without the shoes she was limb already. if we had waited any longer i don't think we could have rode her at all.

@char: thank you :-)

[norsu]

Sorry if I sound stupid by asking this, but what is the gray/white stuff that was on her neck before you fixed her up?

[Reef.]

i think its just mud, isnt it?