Intro To My Horses

 (I call them my horses but they are just horses I hang out with, not own)

Hi everyone, Amelia here! I’m going to show you some of my favorite horses today! Let’s go —>

Vesty is a horse that sometimes visits my western riding place. She’s probably the most ‘mare’ there. She likes to pin her ears whenever you tighten the girth, go to close to her udders, or put the bridle on. But despite all that, I love her! She has a foot issue that makes her walk uneven, and she doesn’t lope/canter, so she is used mainly for slow, enjoyable rides. She’s a beautiful, grey, small quarter horse mare. This picture is of her during a bath.

This is Quinn. He’s a pony, so I’ve never rode him (I’m too tall ☹️). He’s pretty new, and he lives at my English place. He gets nervous about blankets, and so you have to be very slow and careful taking it off and putting it on. He is sooooo adorable. He is a bay, but is mostly black on his front half. And his mane is  like a little adorable Afro!! It’s so, so cute and fun to look at and brush. This picture really doesn’t do him justice. He used to be used on a western ranch, so he’s still getting used to English. We are hoping that he’ll be jumping soon! Right now he just does small piles of poles. He also has the cutest gaits ever. He moves his feet really fast, and he has a very pretty trot. His canter looks almost like a gallop, and he goes so fast! He’s absolutely ADORABLE and every time I see him I want to squeal 😂.

Hatchet is a paint quarter horse mare. She’s named hatchet because of the 🪓 spot on her side. She is about 8 years old, but she shockingly well behaved. She lives at my western place. She has a beautiful slow lope, and a very bumpy, fast trot that takes time to rein in. She is super sweet, and amazing at liberty. I like to joke that she’s more of a 25 yr old gelding then a 8 yr old mare because she is so well mannered and nice. She’s also undeniably beautiful. She’s pretty short, I can easily set my chin on her withers.

Vegas is the horse I currently ride at my English barn. He is a lesson horse at my English place, and he will be one of the horses I eventually jump on. His max is about two-nine, so he’ll take me far in the jumping world. He’s a very light, dull chestnut color, with an almost completely bald (white) face. He’s in his early-mid twenties but still the busiest horse on the property. When I first met Vegas, I hated him. He’s stubborn and seemingly pretty boring. But the first time I rode him, that opinion changed forever. Even though he has his flaws that make me want to scream sometimes, I. LOVE. THIS. HORSE. I can’t believe I ever hated him!! He’s super sweet, loves to chew on LITERALLY everything, and is overall a spectacular horse.

This is Ike (see below) and Quinn (see above) standing together because I brought them treats 😁. When Quinn is standing straight with his neck at a relaxed upward angle, he just barely comes up to Ike’s withers!

Jewel is a huge black warmblood mare. She is GORGEOUS! She’s like a huge puppy that always wants to be in your pocket or following you around 😂. She’s super sweet, though she can get a little spooky sometimes. She is also unbelievably fast. Her canter normal is the speed of a ordinary horse’s normal gallop. She has endless energy that she never seems to be able to burn. You could probably trot/walk/canter at normal intervals six hours per day and she would still be game for a good gallop. Oh, and did I forget to mention? She’s jumping standards right now. She won’t jump in between the standards and over the jump, she’ll jump right over the 4-6 ft tall standards!! It’s spectacular to watch. She is always happy, always ears forward, joyful.

(An example of the jump)

This is Beau (pronounced bow 🎀). He is spectacular, isn’t he? He is a dappled grey thoroughbred. He’s only 6 months off the track! He got off the track then had 4 months of professional jumper training, then someone at my English barn decided to buy him about two months ago. When he came to the barn in a trial run, he didn’t know what treats were, and he would run from anyone who went to get him!! I helped out with him, and by the end of the week he was following you like a puppy, and was curious and happy to everyone. He is amazingly gentle and kind, and for so fresh off the track he isn’t very spooky! He’s also not very hot, for a thoroughbred so soon off the track. He has the movement of a dressage horse, and he jumps beautifully. He’s very tall and skinny, with a tiny little head. He looks almost like an Arabian! He’s fairly green, and I love him so much 🥰.

Well... how should I say this... Daisy is mean. But only to horses, don’t worry!! She’s an adorable sweetheart when she’s around people. But around horses, especially other mares, she’ll pin her ears and throw fits 😂. She’s a beautiful bay mare, and she’s privately leased right now. She’s working on jumping up to two feet with her owner now, and she’s a very obedient horse. So overall she’s sweet and beautiful, just don’t get between her and another mare!!

This is Cricket ❤️❤️ He’s the horse I used to ride at my English place. I loved him! He’s so sweet and happy all the time. He’s a bay gelding, with a little white star. His tail is short and only comes down to his hocks. He didn’t jump, he was just used for ground lessons. If your wondering why the pictures are blurry, it’s because I had treats and he was trying to get them. He’s a hilarious horse. He’ll playfully nibble on your hair, clothes, and brushes, but never in a mean way. He never spooks at anything (though one time I shocked him on the nose and that scared him pretty bad 😢), and he’s amazingly sound. He plays a game where he’ll try to nip me with his lips and then I’ll boop him on the nose, but it’s purely fun, nothing mean at all. He’s very chill, and he’s only ever pinned his ears at anyone once since I’ve been riding him. Most people think he’s ugly (or at least, not pretty) but I think he’s gorgeous. Oh, I almost forgot, he has very few teeth. When he came to the barn about a year ago, he was skinny and malnourished because his previous owner couldn’t find the right food for him. Since he has so few teeth, he can’t eat normal hay and grain. But now he’s on a good diet and is perfect! I was pretty sad when they decided to sell him as a western trail horse, but Vegas has done a good job making me feel better.

Tiger Lily is a beautiful dark palomino horse. She’s a tiny quarter horse, at my western place. She is the most well behaved horse I have ever meet. She isn’t the light color of most palominos, and she doesn’t have white spots either (except for the strip on her face). She is 25 years old, and still trekking. We just recently retired her from loping, but she still trots and walks for lessons. Yesterday I tied her halter then left the rope tied to her neck so it wouldn’t fall while I went to get Hatchet (see above), and she was standing right where I left her when I came back! Despite being directly next to the hay! That’s right, she ground tied herself without me asking. She’s a super obedient horse. Her trot is so smooth and soft, it almost feels like a fast walk. Her lope is gigantic, back when we used her for loping. It is so, so bumpy 😂. 

This is Ike! He’s a big bay senior horse at my English place. He still jumps and is used for lessons, though.   He does this thing that I’ve NEVER seen a horse do before. Whether he’s riding or just hanging out, he’ll dangle his tongue out the side of his mouth! It’s so funny! It’ll just slip out then he’ll eventually suck it back in. Sadly I didn’t catch a picture of it 😕. When he’s trotting or cantering, it’ll just be sticking out and bouncing along 😂. He also turns magically into a giraffe every time you go to halter him. When you walk toward him with a halter he will visibly lengthen his neck all the way up! He’s almost as chill as Cricket, but not quite. He’s really sweet too.

Anyway, that’s all for today, folks! I’ll see you next time!

Love,

Amelia