Basics 
Care
Colors 
It’s Monday again and these are quickly becoming my favorite morning as we learn about more plants your horse can’t eat. Today a close up of the sweetly delicate pink flowers of the Bog Laurel
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Horse Video Sunday is Moving – To Thursday
I love finding new horse videos to share and the weekly videos on Sunday has been perhaps the longest running series on the site ever. It’s time for a change and I’m switching to a Monday through Friday posting week. Horse people are busy on the weekends anyway.
A Brave New Day
Starting this week Video Sunday will officially be moved to Video Thursday…it’ll still be there if you want to watch it on Sunday. If you haven’t already seen it, you can check out the new posting schedule here.
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Horse Frame Heaviness
As I was looking through horse images on some website or another I was suddenly struck by the difference in horse frame size. A quick search for information left me with nothing useful to refer to so I thought I’d create my own scale of body types.
Not Very Scientific
I’ll admit, there is nothing scientific in how I came to my conclusions about frame size. All of it is based on experience, research and looking thousands upon thousands of horse pictures over the years. The categories below are general & loosely gathered, based simply on how heavy the ‘average’ or ‘typical’ type is for the breed.
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Horse Breeds From Australia
It’s official, I’m going to list all of the horse breeds from every country I can find. The enormous breeds section has been a big help and today it’s all about breeds from Australia.
Interesting Fact
Horses aren’t native to the Australian continent, but were introduced during the pioneering days and heavily utilized to create civilization in this vast new world. Once their service was finished many of them were released, which later gave rise to the Brumbies…Australia’s mustangs.
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Natural Fly Control at the Stable
The warm season is upon us again, and the flys are a buzzing. There are industrial repellants out there, but that doesn’t mean you have to use them. While flies are a nuisance, that doesn’t justify slathering yourself or your horse with unnecessary chemicals.
Bringing it Together
So I did some research to find out some of the best & most natural ways to control pests. Beyond sprays there are a variety of options to help keep flies at bay. Believe it or not some of the natural fly predators (which attack flies in the larval stage) are among the best for pest management in larger establishments.
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The Horses of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Pt 2
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was born in southern France to an aristocratic family during the mid 19th century. He had a weak & ill childhood which left him somewhat physically deformed.
Enjoying the Bawdy Life
Henri was a strange little man, oddly misshapen due to broken bones as a child. He took to the bawdy night life of bars & brothels and became a heavy drinker. While much of his art reflects the people with which he shared his time (loose women and burlesque dancers), he also had a softer side. The softer Henri enjoyed the circus and had an obvious appreciation for the equine form. So far I’ve found horses in over 30 of his pieces, so if you haven’t seen the first post of Henri’s horses be sure to check it out.
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Horse Poetry Tuesdays
Recently I was researching something or other online and ran across The Man From Snowy River by A.B. Paterson. I was embarrassed that the name only rang a bell in the context of a movie, so I had to read it and see if the movie added up.
The Inspiration
The poem is excellent and actually exciting, or as exciting as a poem can be. As for the movie, its bold imagery absolutely does the verses justice and the cliff scene is very judiciously replicated for the film interpretation.
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Bloodroot – Toxic Plant of the Week
It’s that time of the week again & Monday is as good a time as any to learn about a new plant your horse can’t eat. Today we’ll take a look at the strangely beautiful and most unfortunately named Bloodroot
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Surfing – Extreme Horse Sports
Last week I shared some videos of one extreme equine sport, vaulting and suddenly I felt a series coming on. Today I’m going for water sports (as beach season is almost upon us) with horse surfing.
Horse What?
Yes, I said it – horse surfing. No the horse isn’t in the water, they keep all four feet firmly on the ground. However, the guy behind them on the board holding on to a rope for dear life is another matter entirely. There is also a winter sport with the same idea, (a post for another day) which only proves that people on horseback manage to get bored all over the world. Again I’ve opted for a few videos to help provide more of the experience.
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DIY Horse
Horses are expensive animals, so it stands to reason that owners will attempt to cut costs wherever possible. Being thrify is fine, as long as you don’t scrimp on important items…like girths, bridles and other essentials.
Horse Breeds From Argentina
Argentina is an enormous country and one that spans a number of different geographical climates. In prehistoric times horses may have existed in modern Argentina, however they all died out during the last Ice Age.
Modern Horses
Today most of the breeds found in this country are the ancestors of Spanish animals brought over during the 16th century. Many of them only recently officially recognized as breeds themselves, however almost all of them share lineage to some degree.
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The History of Stirrups
Although the stirrup doesn’t seem like an exciting piece of equipment, it is actually the most pivotal contributions of the equestrian world. It was, in fact, one of the most basic tools used to create and spread modern civilization – perhaps even on par with the printing press. Beat that martingale!
Evolving Together
Horses have been domesticated for human use since at least 10,000 BC, originally used to pull chariots & carts or ridden bareback. As civilization continued to evolve and war continued to happen the need for more stability while mounted was inevitable. This is a tool that literally helped to create the world we live in today.
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