Straight From the Horse's Mouth - Tolkien's Shadowfax

“That is Shadowfax. He is chief of the Maeras, lords of all horses,

and not even Theoden, King of Rohan, has ever looked on a better.

Does he not shine like silver, and run as smoothly as a swift stream?”  

- J.R.R. Tolkien

Visions of Horses - A Cowboy Needs a Horse

I always thought this video was adorable. This cowboy is more like a superhero.
  I love the look him and the horse give each other when he runs out of bullets.

                           

“Visions of horses ... make the moment brighter, inspire respect, and make the heart beat faster.”

Horse Hall of Fame - Seattle Slew

  As a yearling, Seattle Slew was purchased for $17,500 from the Fasig-Tipton auction in Lexington by Karen and Mickey Taylor. The Taylors had attended the auction with the intention to buy a few modestly priced  thouroughbreds, race them, and then sell them at a profit. According to Karen, Slew had "Pizazz" and the moment they saw him, the Taylors knew that they wanted him. Little did they know, however, of the legend Seattle Slew would one day become.                                                          

   At first, the horse world did not take much notice of the brown colt from an unproven stallion and mare. But before long, Slew started to make some noise and people started to pay attention. As a two-year-old, Slew was entered in three races. He won  them all.

  A year later, Seattle Slew went on to become the first and only undefeated Triple Crown Champion. (Meaning he had never been beaten in a race when he won the Triple Crown).

Slew's track record stands at: 14 firsts and 2 seconds in 17 races and a total earnings of $1,208,726.

Seattle Slew was not only fast on the racetrack, but he also possessed an uncanny ability to triumph when it came to physical obstacles in his racing career. Among other things, he overcame a collapsed left jugular vein, a suspensory ligament injury, and a filled ankle.

After his own racing career was over, Seattle Slew went on to sire over 100 stakes winners. He was the sire of seven North American champions and one European champion. He was also one of only eleven Kentucky Derby winners to sire a Kentucky Derby winner. Seattle Slew earned the title of 'most complete thouroughbred the industry has ever seen.'

Slew's Awards:

1976
Eclipse award winner as the top two-year-old colt.

1977
Voted Horse of the Year and champion three-year-old male.

Set a new track record of 1:20 3/5 for seven furlongs at Hialeah Park.

Became only undefeated Triple Crown winner.

In the Preakness, Slew's time of 1:54 2/5 for the 1 3/16-mile race, was the second fastest in the 102 years of the race.

1978
Voted the Eclipse for the Older Male horse of the year

Won Marlboro Cup at Belmont Park, in a race that would mark the first ever meeting between two Triple Crown winners. Slew defeated Affirmed by 3 lengths.

Won Woodward Stakes (G1) (3&up at 1 1/4 miles) at Belmont Park, defeating Exceller by 4 lengths in a new track record time of 2:00.

1981
Elected to the Racing Hall of Fame.

Seattle Slew died May 7, 2002. He was 28 years old. *

                                       

To see a really neat video of Seattle Slew's story click here.

* most of the information in this article is credited to and can be found at http://www.seattleslew.com

Straight From the Horse's Mouth - The Duke of Edinburgh and Norman Thelwell

“A horse which stops dead just before a jump and thus propels its rider into a graceful arc provides a splendid excuse for general merriment.” - Duke of Edinburgh

  I love Norman Thelwell's horse cartoons. I put a link to his website on the sidebar with the other horse websites.

" Visions of Horses" - Amazing Friesians

This is the best "Visions of Horses" I have done yet. A friend sent this video to me, because she knew how much I love Friesians. This video is breathtaking. I kept thinking of this quote as I watched it:

“I have seen things so beautiful, that they have brought tears to my eyes. Yet, none of them can match the gracefulness and beauty of a horse running free.”

            

      “Visions of horses ... make the moment brighter, inspire respect, and make the heart beat faster.”

"Predictably Unpredictable" - School Horse Species

“Horses are predictably unpredictable” - Loretta Gage

Here's a cute horse cartoon a friend of mine sent to me. It's a pity that more schooling horses aren't trained in natural horsemanship-than maybe we wouldn't have funny cartoons like this one. :-D

" Straight From the Horse's Mouth " - Riding Off in All Directions

I don't know if any of you will, but I find today's quote extremely amusing:

“Lord Ronald said nothing; he flung himself from the room,

 flung himself upon his horse and rode madly off in all directions.”

 - Stephen Leacock

"Visions of Horses" - Pat Parelli on How to Lead a Horse

I like Pat Parelli, not only is he amazing with horses, but he's also amusing. I like this short little video on leading a horse. Sounds too simple to make a video of, but Pat Parelli explains things so that you can see why it's an important thing to do correctly.

  I love rope halters, not only are they very light-weight, but the knots on the noseband are placed so that they hit pressure points along the horse's nose. When pressure is applied to the halter, the horse learns to yeild to it. This is  certainly an advantage over nylon or leather halters which the horse is able to push against without much discomfort, thereby learning how to resist pressure you might apply, rather than learning to yeild to it.



“Visions of horses ... make the moment brighter, inspire respect, and make the heart beat faster.”

"Herbage for Horses" - Rose Hips

 What is Rose Hips: Rose hips are the pomaceous fruit of the rose plant.1.

Rose Hips contain biotin wich is a vitamin often given to horses with weak hooves as it helps to improve skin and hoof quality. It may take several months of supplementing the diet with biotin before the benefits are apparant. 

  Rose Hips are a good remedy for diarrhea, because they contain high levels of Vitamin C and will help to fight off infection. 2.

1. Home Remedy Central
pomaceous: fleshy with central core: describes a fruit such as an apple or pear that has a large fleshy receptacle with a central seed-bearing core pome
2. Keeping a Horse the Natural Way (page 167-168; 191-192)

Straight From the Horse's Mouth

Since I've been rather negligent in my posts(with no good reason whatsoever to justify my negligence) I am doing two today. I will attempt to get back on my schedule this week. So Monday's "Straight from the Horse's Mouth".

“A thousand horse and none to ride! -
With flowing tail, and flying mane,
Wide nostrils never stretched by pain,
Mouths bloodless to the bit or rein,
And feet that iron never shod,
And flanks unscarred by spur or rod,
A thousand horse, the wild, the free,
Like waves that follow o'er the sea,
Came thickly thundering on,…”
           -Lord Byron, XVII, Mazeppa, 1818

I love Lord Byron. *Sigh*