Horse Forum

Rachel AlexandraRachel Alexandra, the racehorse voted "Horse of the Year" at the Thoroughbred Racing Association's Eclipse Awards earlier this week, has been announced as the latest choice for a Breyer "portrait model."  Rachel Alexandra narrowly beat out Zenyatta for the Horse of the Year award, 130 votes to 99, which marks the first time that two female racehorses were finalists for the award.

2009 was an amazing year for female race horses, with both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta finishing out the year with perfect winning records.  Rachel Alexandra won all eight of the races she participated in, beating out stallions in several high stakes races including the Preakness, Haskell, and Woodward Stakes.  In fact, she was the first filly to win the Preakness in the 85 years since Nellie Morse won in 1924.
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Recently while I was researching a new Breyer Horse model, I ran across a horse breed I had never heard of: the Spanish Jennet.  In fact, a lot of source seem to be confusing or conflating the breed of horse of the Breyer model - the Knabstrupper - with the Spanish Jennet.  

Just to clarify the situation, the Knabstrupper is a breed of horse developed in the early 1800s from a single spotted mare.  The mare may or may not have been of Jennet blood, but the Knabstrupper could plausibly be seen as an extension of the Jennet breed.  However, the Jennet itself is an ancient breed - literally ancient, as it was first documented in the prehistoric Paleolithic cave art of Lascaux and Altamira.  In other words, the Knabstrupper is an offshoot of the Spanish Jennet.
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Endurance riding is a challenging sport. Most states have local chapters of the AERC, or regional endurance-riding clubs and organizations. If you've never done it, my experience of endurance-riding horsefolk is that they're welcoming, helpful, and will bend over backwards to answer beginner questions, and encourage you and your horse safely through your own first endurance-riding experience. And there's a lot to learn. Read more

Because of new, and much more damaging developments, Nevada's Wild Horses are now in even more danger of being sent to slaughter or killed outright. . Even Nevada's Wild Horse Birth Control Program was stopped and orders were actually given out to kill orphan foals rather than send them to volunteer caregivers.

I will be attending this protest.  I have 34 reasons that call our ranch home.PLEASE HELP -- Visit my website & download the Petition (right hand side). WE NEED SIGNATURES. Get as many signatures as possible and send the sheets to the address on the petition.

OK, where I come from cow tipping is heard of—it’s not exactly the thing to do on Friday night, but occasionally you get a couple of morons bragging about doing it at school (whether they actually did it or not is another story). But I had never heard of horse tripping until I read this story.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is outlawing the bizarre so-called “sport,” in which participants chase a running horse and trip it. “Few horses survive, and it usually results in broken legs, internal damage, and death,” according to Councilwoman Thelda Williams. If outlawed, horse abusers caught would be fined $1,000, be charged with a Class One misdemeanor, and even spend two nights in jail. Read more

This is our Summer Fundraiser.  We are in desperate need of funds to continue caring for our horses so we hope you will participate. Read more

 Premarin (pre-pregnant, mare – horse) is a mixture of “natural” estrogens used to treat menopausal symptoms, dysfunctional uterine bleeding, and certain cancers.  Did you know that Premarin comes from the urine of pregnant mares (female horse)?  Did you know that there are such things as “Pee Farms” where they lock up these pregnant horses practically starving them, giving them no where to move and only allowing them water a few times a day, making sure that their urine remains strong?  If you knew all of this, would you stop taking Premarin?  I am curious as to why PETA is not all over this. Read more

We hear quite a lot about shelter pets in need—in fact, June is Adopt a Shelter Cat Month. And we’ve all been drilled about how important it is to have your pets spayed and neutered, to adopt your dog or cat from an animal shelter rather than purchasing it, and how to care for our furry friends properly. But cats and dogs aren’t the only shelter animals in need of some TLC these days.

We don’t often think about horses in shelters. When you think of a horse, you think of a massive, gorgeous creature galloping freely through a field, likely loved and cherished by his or her owner. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

With the economic downturn combined with a rise in the price of hay, grain, medical care and boarding, caring for a horse simply isn’t within people’s budgets as much as it once was. Read more

There really is something both mystical and universal about these animals. There are whole worlds within a horse.

If I were a racehorse who spent all of my life running my guts out just so people could waste their money, lose their houses and alienate their spouses by betting on me outrunning another horse—not a penny of which is given to me, of course—I would expect a damn good retirement package. A stable on a hill, maybe, with plenty of room to gallop as I please (no jockey on my back, thank you very much), plenty of hay, some carrots, and maybe a nice chenille blanket to cozy up with. Read more