For Nanook

[mountaingal]

The Desert Queens

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[f0rTyLeGz]

Re: For Nanook

Oh! What a beautiful horse!

[Nanook]

Re: For Nanook

Thank you for posting this MGee! Oh so beautiful! I so miss watching my Arabian mare move in the pasture. It is a sight to behold. There is nothing quite like sitting on the back of one Arabian and feeling that 'floating' beneath you.

My Sar's Amira is the white horse



This is my Sar's Amira's daddy. Sar's Amira in Egyptian means 'Sar's Princess', but I called her Grammie Cracker.

Sar Ibn Moniet, he was imported from the Egyptian Agriculutral center as was his daddy Ibn Moniet El Nefous




I'm toying with getting another horse through rescue, but I don't know that I can take the heartache that happens when they leave this world.

The sad thing is...countless horses are now homeless over the economy and it isn't just run of the mill animals, they run the gamut.

Ok, sweet horsie dreams to me tonight! Thanks for the awesome video!

[SistahD]

Re: For Nanook

I used to be around horses a lot in my younger days... rode regularly as I grew up in the country. One of my fave books was the one by Margaret Henry - Misty of Chincoteague -not Arabians, but beautiful story for kids just the same.

[mountaingal]

Re: For Nanook

Glad u liked it Nan. spent a lot of yesterday looking at equestrian video. my kid is going to do her first schooling show in two years in April, so was getting myself in the mood.

there's lots of video about arabian stallions, but when i read wikipedia, i saw that it was the mares who were treasured and mythologized, and some of those myths included the Prophet Mohammed himself. the stallions were seen as too hard to handle and therefore were seen as unreliable in combat.

i'm in love with the way they prance, and hold up their tails. maybe one day my daughter will get to ride one and get the feeling u experienced of riding on a cloud.

[SistahD]

Re: For Nanook

They ARE beautiful, and move with a style and grace!

[mountaingal]

Re: For Nanook

lucky u to grow up around horses, SistahD. Where was that?

[Nanook]

Re: For Nanook

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SistahD</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I used to be around horses a lot in my younger days... rode regularly as I grew up in the country. One of my fave books was the one by Margaret Henry - Misty of Chincoteague -not Arabians, but beautiful story for kids just the same.



</div></div>

Can you believe I have never read the Chincoteague book? Anyway, I grew up horse crazy in the city so my dad used to take me to visit friends that he worked with and they would all let me ride. That is how I met Val, one of my closets friends still today. We still hang around together and talk about horses. Val now owns a riding stable and training facility.

I got my first horse when I was 22. He was an Arabian Thoroughbred cross, they call it Anglo Arab. Prince was a gorgeous horse but he was crazy. 3 people helped me get on his back the day I bought him. 2 people held him down and one lifted me on his back and I had to ride him home after that. He almost killed me a few times before I gave up on him after a couple years.

[Nanook]

Re: For Nanook

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MGee</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Glad u liked it Nan. spent a lot of yesterday looking at equestrian video. my kid is going to do her first schooling show in two years in April, so was getting myself in the mood.

there's lots of video about arabian stallions, but when i read wikipedia, i saw that it was the mares who were treasured and mythologized, and some of those myths included the Prophet Mohammed himself. the stallions were seen as too hard to handle and therefore were seen as unreliable in combat.

i'm in love with the way they prance, and hold up their tails. <span style="font-weight: bold">maybe one day my daughter will get to ride one and get the feeling u experienced of riding on a clou</span>d.
</div></div>

That is interesting MGee. I hadn't heard that about the stallions. Now you make me want to research away too!

You know...your daughter may some day own a cloud to ride! One just never knows what can happen. I never expected to own such a magnificent animal as Grammie Cracker. Her daddy was syndicated for 3 million $$ in Texas after he moved back there from Minnesota, and her grandpa was syndicated for 4 mil. I was blown away by a feather the day I paid 50.00 for Grammie Cracker. Oh, she was worth a bundle but her owners were getting a divorce and he had to give the wife 50% of what he sold her for! My cowboy boyfriend at the time was the breeder of Grammie Cracker and was the guy's best friend. Let's just say I gave him 50 bucks on the spot and went to pick her up before it was too late. I trained her myself, she was young and not even halter broke!

Gosh I miss her.

[SistahD]

Re: For Nanook

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MGee</div><div class="ubbcode-body">lucky u to grow up around horses, SistahD. Where was that? </div></div>


Grew up about 30 miles south of Ottawa, nice little country town, but great access to a few of the 'ranches' so I'm a Western rider as opposed to English.
Prefer neck rein to bit rein. Used to bike, walk, hitch hike 20+ miles just to go riding for an hour or two every weekend. In the hot summers after a good ride, my mom would lock me out of the house - had to strip down in the back porch and wash up - get rid of the smell of the horse sweat!

Neighbour had a few Clydesdales but they were not for riding, but I was great companions with one of the young ones. He used to come looking for me when I called, loved his apples and carrots.

[SistahD]

Re: For Nanook

Gotta read Misty - great series of stories, and they still do the pony auctions each year when they do the pony run from Asseteague to Chincoteague - small ponies not the larger breeds.

Great books for 11-14 year olds. They made a movie, but as usual, does not do the book justice.

Around the same time, I discovered 'the Secret Garden' - like the original movie (classic) but not the remake.

[SistahD]

Re: For Nanook

((MGee)) if your daughter loves horses like that, there is a career there... could join the RCMP mounted division!






Today, in keeping with tradition, the Musical Ride is performed by a full troop of thirty-two riders and horses, plus the member in charge. The Musical Ride consists of the execution of a variety of intricate figures and cavalry drill choreographed to music. Demanding utmost control, timing and coordination, these movements are formed by individual horses and riders, in two's, four's and eight's at the trot and at the canter. Months of training, practice and many kilometres/miles around the riding school make horse and rider one. The horses must not only appear in the Musical Ride, but on Parliament Hill, in parades, special events and have the ability to travel and adapt to different environments, not to mention, hours of petting and photo-taking that the horses must patiently endure.

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/mr-ce/index-eng.htm

[mountaingal]

Re: For Nanook

sistahd - unfortunately my daughter has a low opinion of the uniformed set, specifically cops, so any version of that as a career is a non-starter, lol. plus, she likes, showjumping, she doesn't even want to try eventing or cross country, which i keep encouraging her to do to widen her riding skills.

she's still deciding what she wants to do with this riding business in her later life. for now she enjoys it as an extracurricular sport.

[mountaingal]

Re: For Nanook

from wikipedia

Temperament

For centuries, Arabian horses lived in the desert in close association with humans.[13] For shelter and protection from theft, <span style="font-weight: bold">prized war mares</span> were sometimes kept in their owner's tent, close to children and everyday family life.[1] Only horses with a naturally good disposition were allowed to reproduce.
****

Desert roots

Regardless of origins, climate and culture ultimately created the Arabian. The desert environment required a domesticated horse to cooperate with humans to survive. Humans were the only providers of food and water in certain areas, and even hardy Arabian horses needed far more water than camels in order to survive (most horses can only live about 72 hours without water). Where there was no pasture or water, the Bedouin fed their horses dates and camel's milk.[66] <span style="font-weight: bold">The desert horse needed to thrive on very little food, and have anatomical traits to compensate for life in a dry climate with wide temperature extremes from day to night. Weak individuals were weeded out of the breeding pool, and the animals that remained were honed by centuries of human warfare.</span>[67]

In return, the Bedouin way of life depended on camels and horses: Arabians were bred to be war horses with speed, endurance, soundness, and intelligence.[67][68] <span style="font-weight: bold">Because many raids required stealth, mares were preferred over stallions because they were quieter and would not give away the position of the fighters.[67] A good disposition was critical; prized war mares were often brought inside family tents to prevent theft and for protection from weather and predators.</span>[69] Though appearance was not necessarily a survival factor, the Bedouin bred for refinement and beauty in their horses as well as for more practical features.[68]

[Nanook]

Re: For Nanook

Very interesting stuff MGee. You are making me want to get another horse, but I don't know that I will ever be able to do that. I try to talk myself into getting a rescue, but I would have to build a little shelter. Bucko's shelter is still standing but it needs so much work it would be best to start over.

Damn.

The only thing standing in my way is that I will never get over losing Bucko. There is also the dog factor. Bucko LOVED the dogs! He used to play with them and it was hysterical! One little dog of mine even used to sit on top of his back and ride around the yard. Nobody holding onto him or Bucko, and I don't even have a pic of it! If I take in a horse it has to be dog friendly.