Horseplay Category

Some of the most celebrated equine athletes have been famous racehorses. The heart, courage & determination of just one Thoroughbred has been known to provide enough inspiration to fill up entire countries at a time.

Over the past two years I’ve only written a few articles about famous racehorses, but as I revisit old posts I create new ideas.

A Few of The Greats

For now, why not learn a little more about the greats I have covered? Sadly, most of their stories end tragically. As is often the case, stars that shine the brightest generally burn out young.

Phar Lap | Seabiscuit | Secretariat

*I’ll add to this list as I write more posts about the giant heart that seems to accompany all great racehorses.

Out of all the posts I’ve written, the celebrity lookalikes have to be my favorites. They took a long time to create, but if I was going to do it each one had to be a perfect match.

I’m often asked why I left Sarah Jessica Parker off the list. To which I reply “Talk about beating a dead horse…”

Here is my take on Celebrities lucky enough to look like our fine equine friends.

Horses That Look Like Celebrities | Pt. 2 | Pt. 3
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The kelpie isn’t a mythical creature you want to make friends with, although they may seem very friendly.

The creature under the Kelpie name comes from Celtic folklore, however it seems to have cousins throughout much of northern Europe.

His Plan

This is a shape shifter which can take different forms, however generally it chooses a horse or a pony. The plan is to lure an unknowing horse lover on to his back, then go for a ride.

Their skin contains adhesive so once you’ve hopped on there is no getting off.

Once the Kelpie has got his prey, he will head for the water where he drowns & inevitably eats them (except for their heart & liver). Not a pretty way to go, so watch yourself near lochs & lakes in northern European countries.
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Horses are herd animals and tend to form close companionships with the animals and people around them. Although they may prefer the company of their own kind, it is clear that they are equal opportunity playmates.

Here is a collection of horses and their best pals, whether they are in the form of a child or a goat.

Horse Buddies
Every Horse Should Have A Dog
Even Cats Love Horses
Horses & Goats
Horses & Their Kids
Horses & Donkeys
Random Horse Buddies

Know An Unlikely Duo?

There are plenty of them out there, it seems horses will become friends with almost anything. If you’ve got a good one let me know, I’ll post it & give you credit (& a link) for the pic.

In my searches to find stables & barns for my barns in HDR post I ran across pictures of stables from all over the world. So I started collecting non-HDR images too, it’s interesting to see the variety of stables from such different places.

The flavor & personality of each one is unique, yet strangely all it takes is a warm animal to make it feel like home.

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Horse lovers can find horses almost everywhere they look, and luckily some of them carry cameras.

For those of us who have equines on the brain, no place is too strange to see a flagged tail or pounding hooves.

Here are some past posts that reflect the more unusual places to find horses, whether it’s in the sky, in the shadows or right downtown.

Shadow Horses
Graceful Smoke Horses
Horses In The Clouds
Rocking Horses
Urban Horses
Graffiti Horses

Where will those crazy horses end up next?

There are many horses of folklore and mythology, each one glorious in their own right. However there are few more majestic & mysterious than the mighty pegasus.

The winged horse comes from Greek mythology and
played an important part in the lives of the Gods of Olympus.

How It Began

Pegasus was the son of Poseidon & Medusa (oddly enough) he sprang from Medusa’s neck when she was killed by Perseus.

Legend has it that this anytime pegasus struck the ground, a spring was born on that spot.

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Most of us only see jockeys from afar, so when I saw these images I had to share. They provide us with an up close and personal view of athletes many of us know very little about.

The photographer did a phenomenal job of capturing emotion in each one of his subjects. Giving us a glimpse into their way of life.
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There is something warm & familiar about a barn, and the word evokes different images in the minds of every horse lover on the planet. For some that barn contains 100’s of horses and for others only one.

Artistic Vision

Here is a collection of barns as seen through the lens of different photographers. Each one uses the HDR technique to further enhance their vision.
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The story of Alexander the Great and Bucephalus is one that every horse lover should know. In fact, The Black Stallion is loosely based on this story of boy taming beast.

The Story Goes Like This…

Philonicus the Thessalian brought Bucephalus to Philip II (Alexander’s father) in the hopes of selling him. But when they went to the field to try him, he reared and bucked and would not have a rider.

Philip wasn’t happy with Philonicus for bringing him such a mount and declared that the horse was unsuitable and useless.
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Many of you have seen my list of horse movies (there is over 70 of them), and recently I found a few new films to add to the list. As I was updating I realized just how many of them I haven’t seen. I have some serious movie watching ahead of me.

My All-Time Favorite

I have to say my all time favorite will always be The Black Stallion, in fact I watched it recently and still enjoyed it almost as much as I used to as a kid.

So that got me to thinking and I decided to ask my readers what their favorite horse movie is. I’m interested to hear which ones are the most popular among the horse crowd.
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Although I’m not always in agreement with the racing industry, the excitement of the races is not lost on me. There is something about the bright silks and sense of anticipation and I do have to admit, I get a thrill when the starting bell peals.

Horses in Motion

The equine is an animal of prey, and running is in their nature. Nothing about horse racing is natural, but the beauty of the animal at a full gallop, trot or pace remains.

A Moving Target

So far I’ve covered the motions of rearing, running, playing & bucking, and there are more to come.
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