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T O P I C R E V I E W
martha615
Posted - 06 Oct 2013 : 1:45:10 PM I had such fun with Esme today in the sunshine. We did a little work in the school and went on a very short hack. On the way out, I stopped at the house and went to my laundry room to get some water. Nearly had Esme inside the house! I guess she thought it was a tent? The cat looks unimpressed...
Anyway, we snapped a photo, and one of Esme being asked to back up a steep hill. Also, her looking gorgeous (and me a lump, but pay no attention to me!). I think she might need a little more weight (she packs it on and takes it off quickly), but I love how much more balanced she is under saddle.
11 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)
Pasch
Posted - 08 Oct 2013 : 10:16:29 AM Lovely pictures,espeially the one with the angry cat I think she looks fine,just need a bit of muscle on HQ like Kes says if you have some steep hill just ride her up and down it!
debs
Posted - 07 Oct 2013 : 8:16:54 PM Lovely looking girl... love her head in the photo of her indoors
Kes
Posted - 07 Oct 2013 : 7:55:22 PM Martha, equestrians are all the same! We get back on as soon as we can, really glad to hear that things are going well again though, not too much of a set back for you both.
Re her HQ's, she looks very much Kes before I embarked on endurance, after I had done a few rides he got more toned (sadly the same didn't apply to my hindquarters also!!), but I have the undulating South Downs at my disposal, I think that did it. But I still think she looks very nice though :)
martha615
Posted - 07 Oct 2013 : 3:39:09 PM Thanks again for the generous comments -- I do appreciate it!
I think her HQ look a bit thin, that's all. But perhaps that is what she is supposed to look like!
Yes, Carole, I did have a terrible accident. I fell off when my saddle slipped and chipped my pelvis. I was on crutches for six weeks, then started riding again (this is not advised). The whole thing took us way back, especially as I wanted a new saddle that didn't move so much. I finally settled on a Strada, though there were other good contenders, too.....
The cat cannot understand why I'd let what she considers a farm animal anywhere near the house....!
Kes
Posted - 07 Oct 2013 : 3:17:18 PM Ha!! Your cat doesn't look too amused.
Esme looks lovely though, by weight do you mean fat or muscle as I think she looks very nice and even, if only us humans got the choice of fat/ muscle
You look great also, I don't see much 'lumpiness' but it's great to see you on-board after your injuries which I believe were quite bad, didn't you have a broken pelvis/ were on crutches or something similar? Carole.
Pop
Posted - 07 Oct 2013 : 1:11:44 PM
Looking gooooood. (except the cat; cat looks well p***ed off)
kath
Posted - 07 Oct 2013 : 11:23:33 AM She is beautiful! Not sure i've seen a photo of her before but i like her a lot. To be honest she looks fit and lean rather than thin so i'd not worry too much :-)
martha615
Posted - 06 Oct 2013 : 6:06:56 PM Thanks, you guys! She is by far the most beautiful horse I've ever owned (don't tell Millie I said this!).
As for the cat, it is really a giant furball and I just cut the tangles out...hardly what I would call a well groomed Persian, but then she attacks me when I get out a brush!
Esme's weight is a bit of a mystery to me. She's not a fatty, that is for sure. I think she's just a particular breeding that means even when she does put on weight it is only the in the stomach region (so she looks awful). She's a Spanish arabian...I don't really know what that means exactly in terms of weight or type, but that is what she is. As for temperament, I don't even know if she is more or less sensible than the "average" arabian because I know little about the breed. She can be a drama queen, but she is a most pleasant companion. I'd have her around even if I didn't ride :)
I do feel sometimes that I am keeping her from having foals that might actually be important to those who follow Spanish Arabians....she's adorable and very athletic.
I just lifted this from the Spanish Arabian Horse Society. Of course, they are going to say that Spanish arabians are the best -- so take it for what it is -- but here is what they say:
QUESTION: "How are the Spanish Arabians different in temperament and athletic ability than any other bloodline group of Arabians?"
ANSWER: In a nutshell, I think the main reason is the role the Yequada Militar played in the breeding of the Classical Spanish bloodline group.
This began in 1905 when a Military Commission was sent to the desert to buy seedstock to improve the Spanish Cavalry horse. They looked at literally thousands of horses and only a select handful were deemed good enough for purchase. The horses purchased had to go through another inspection upon arrival in Spain.
In 1906 a similar commission was sent to Poland, in the 20's the Guerrero brothers imported stock from France and in the 30's, the Duke of Veragua (Lady Wentworth considered him one of the foremost authorities on the Arabian horse) imported several head from the U.K., including 5 Skowronek daughters.
So the rootstock of the Classical Spanish came not from just one source but was a selection of the finest Arabian horses available in the world at that time.
And unlike, for example, the Egyptian horses which played no role in Egyptian culture and, therefore, were bred and cared for by "non-horse people", the YM horses were bred by the Spanish Cavalry officer who did not necessarily have their background in the romantic musings of the Arabian horse as a work of art but, instead, had a background in sport horses, jumpers, working horses and cavalry horses.
SuziQ
Posted - 06 Oct 2013 : 5:08:59 PM Whats Esmes secret she looks lovely and lean...mine are looking rather round and shaggy already! Lovely pictures on a lovely Autumn day
Sharea
Posted - 06 Oct 2013 : 2:21:32 PM Lovely photos Martha, she's such a pretty mare! Sharea likes to investigate the tack room whenever she gets a chance, I see her having a good look at all the bits and pieces, probably thinking when is she going to get this tidied!
Goldenmane
Posted - 06 Oct 2013 : 2:08:54 PM Lovely photos. You do not look like a lump but both perfectly balanced to me, and what do you wash the cat in, very clean! ?
I think she looks fine,just need a bit of muscle on HQ like Kes says if you have some steep hill just ride her up and down it!