Donnie’s Donkeys

Patricia from the brand blog “ The Hinny Whisperer.” Posted this video about a man named Donnie, who makes a living with his donkey “Juan Carlos.” This entry and her new blog are both worth a look!

http://www.hinnywhisperer.com/2007/03/donnies-donkeys.html

Dressage Artistique

Dressage Artistique is not dressage as we know the word to mean in the USA. It is a french riding form that is becoming increasingly popular and was started by Cirque Zingaro, followed by Cavalia, and a constellation of other riding troups who combine music, dance, theater, painting, history, circus, traditional dressage, liberty work, garocha, other riding disciplines like vaulting, jumping, etc… to create shows that are often called “Horse Theater”. Here is an example that was posted on you tube featuring Jenny and Joia (lusitano)

Horses Related to Bats?

I found this article at NewsScientist.com about the DNA analysis of horses in relation to Bats. Below is an exerpt from the article.

Once thought to belong to the same group as primates, bats actually belong to the super-order Pegasoferae, which contains horses, cats and dogs, cows, whales and hedgehogs. Within this group, bats were thought to be only distant cousins to horses, but DNA analysis suggests that only cats and dogs are more closely related to horses than bats are (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0603797103).

“I think this will be a surprise for many scientists,” says Norihiro Okada at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan. “No one expected this.”

Okada and his colleagues looked at genetic mutations caused by retroposons, lengths of DNA that can copy themselves into RNA and then reverse-copy themselves back into DNA at a different location on a chromosome. Closely related species share more of these mutations than more distant relatives. The analysis by Okada’s team forces a rethink of the relationships of many mammalian orders, which are currently classified by morphological and nuclear DNA sequence data.

“We need to look at fossils from a new point of view, because there must have been a common ancestor of bats, horses and dogs,” Okada says.

To read the entire article go to http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9402-bats-and-horses-get-strangely-chummy.html

“One horsepower can give the ride of your life”.

This advertising campaign was aimed at promoting ATG Sweedish Horse Racing.  The campaign was created by Akestam Holst in Sweden. Watch the beautiful film footage of their award nominated campaign at www.foratthastargerallt.se, The web site features video commercial, behind the scenes, downloads and much more.

 

Horsemanpro.com – The Site You’ll Love to Hate

I came across this site a few years ago after reading an article entitled “The insanity of Reining.” I may disagree with a lot of what Lee from horsemanpro.com has to say about my sport of choice, but I have yet to find an article yet (including the reining article) that didn’t really make me think. While his views tend to pretty extreme and intolerant, they are also insightful, intelligent and thought provoking.

His controversial writings are some of the best reads. He is an “equal opportunity offender” Attacking everything from Dressage to 4-h who he refers to as “the mother of corruption.”

Horsemanpro.com makes no apologies and holds no punches. Which maybe why I cant stay away. Go on over and take a look at an article….bet you cant read just one 😉

The Flying Frenchman

27 year old Lorenzo jumps incredible obstacles at a gallop while standing on his 8 grey Lusitano horses.

Called “The Flying Frenchman,” Lorenzo perfects his routines on the beach near his home town of Saintes Maries de la Mer in southern France. His popularity has led this equestrian prodigy to perform at many prestigious venues, including the World Jumping Championships in Calgary.

Horse Cents… Money Saving Tips Around the Barn

 

 

Tip 1: Stall Mat Alternative

You can use 30 inch conveyor belting as a low-cost substitute for rubber mats. Disgarded belting can usually be found at a local gravel crusher, manufacturing firm, lumber mill, anywhere conveyor belts are used. Cut it to fit with a carpet knife, and lay the strips side by side.

Advantages Beyond Savings – Belting is lighter than rubber mats, so it is easier to pull up for moving/cleaning; also suitable for crosstie areas, washracks, and alleyways.

Expense – Often free for hauling; sometimes costs 1$to $3 per running foot.
Savings As much as $240 perstall!

Think your horse is bombproof?

I am proud to say that I have a horse or two I consider brave souls but this is absolutely amazing.

The Equine Arrestor

Demonstration of new training aid for horse riders. With input from top stuntman and horsemaster Ian Van Temperley. I dont know where you would actually purchase this product but I thought it was an interesting concept.




Cholla, The worlds greatest horse artist

Not all of my horses are cut out for the school horse life, I’ve been looking for other ways they can pull thier weight … maybe I should get them a paint brush?

Meet “Cholla”.  A Mustang/Quarter Horse, Cholla was born in the spring of 1986. He started his painting career in the spring of 2004. and since then his art has been featured in several galleries including:

Alexandratos Gallery – Reno, Nevada
Art Encounter Gallery – Las Vegas, Nevada
“Visions of Johanna” – Albany, New York
Welcome Grant Gallery – Virginia City, Nevada

Cholla’s pieces in the gallery are priced between $900 and $1,500, which makes for a pretty successful artist. His recent efforts are much more mature than his earlier work, as he’s now gained enough control to stay on the easel. One work, titled “Swamp Dragons,” looks like a field of wispy plants. The lavender and light green strokes are placed in a graceful and precise manner, resulting in a structured scene of lines and shapes. In “Bull Fish,” Alexandratos Gallery owner, Stephanie Tsanas, claims to see a dolphin-like shape in the dark greens and blues. Tsanas immediately was intrigued with the horse’s work and says, “I’ve seen a lot of abstract art, and this is better than a lot that I’ve come across.”

But, is it art? Many critics claim that art is strictly a human experience–that emotion, intelligence and self-awareness are necessary to express oneself artistically.

After watching Cholla and Wise work, it’s obvious that the horse displays his intelligence and training to create beautiful pieces of art. Every human artist learns technique from some sort of teaching, not unlike Cholla’s experience. Who is to say what other species are capable of expressing. I say Cholla is a real artist.