Imaginary horses

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Was talking to a friend about this the other day and we both admitted to having imaginary horses that we 'rode' and cared for when we were little as we didn't have the real thing.

Please tell me we wern't the only ones?
 
I had one too :D (coz my parents were cruel and wouldnt let me have a real one :p ) I used to ride made up dressage tests and create showjumping courses in the garden :o :D
 
It's not just us then!!!! Yipee xx I also made a set of reins and a saddle for my other horse (it was infact a wall ;-)) xx
 
i used to pretend that my bike was a horse and wrap my skipping rope round the handles like a lead rope :) Also practiced my first dressage test on it :P
 
I had Minstrel, a bright chestnut 15hh Arab with four white socks and a blaze; and Blitz, a dark bay 16.2hh TBxID. Minstrel was spooky and sharp so I only "rode" him in quiet places, Blitz was bombproof and suitable for hacking round the supermarket and performing lateral work with the trolley. :D When I moved up to secondary school my new friends laughed at me because I had forgotten how to run like a normal human being from years of "cantering" everywhere! :o
 
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Definitely! I had a 17hh Dapple Grey Arab (yeah I know...impossible) called Storm who could jump 6 foot! We could also talk to each other :D

I also had a smaller, bulkier bay called Moria (I had just read Lord of the Rings) who was absolutely mad but of course, I was such a brilliant rider I had no problems with him. :rolleyes:
 
Pfft. Part timers. :)

My cousins and I had the run of an old block of stables at my grandparents so we had a whole imaginary riding school/livery yard/stud, as you do :)

Bought new horses every month by looking at the ads in Horse and Pony magazine, bought our rug and tacks from the Robinsons catalogue and made up feeds from the chicken feed! :o

I even wrote a series of books about it ;)

Only stopped when we were about 14 :o

We weren't exactly deprived of the real thing either, so who knows what we were at! :D

We used to go "hacking" round the lanes and must have looked right nut cases with our hands holding the reins ;) and a stick for a whip...
Or teaching a "lesson" of younger cousins making them go round and round in circles :D

We also had regular "shows" which involved building precarious jumps out of mops and buckets, or using the real thing when we were feeling energetic!

I do miss the ability to spend whole months on a game. :)
 
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My Turn to be the Horse

I paw the tarmac,
snort long plumes of breath,
rejoicing in the strength
that flows along my back.
Muscle on bone
my strong straight limbs.
Sound joyful, rolls from belly
to trumpet- nostrils, trembling air,
Then rider taps a signal - go- and I

am
rhythm
running
no walls stop
leap
higher
wider
into air
hooves
crack earth
spark stars
blood gallops

loose. The bell rings, calling us again
to be coralled, and we trot into line.
Horse and rider tamed by long division
comprehension, back to little girls.
Under the desk my hooves dissolve.
 
Of course! Mine was a little black TB called Dragon lol. I used to ride him in the races on school sports day, I never told anyone that while we were running I was secretly on my horse ha ha.
I used to ride him all the time during PE and when I went for walks with my parents I would ride him. I also made little jumps in the garden and would jump him round them, sometimes he would stop and I'd have to hit him with a stick! I made my leg red once smacking him with a stick, he was particularly naughty that day :o
 
My Turn to be the Horse

I paw the tarmac,
snort long plumes of breath,
rejoicing in the strength
that flows along my back.
Muscle on bone
my strong straight limbs.
Sound joyful, rolls from belly
to trumpet- nostrils, trembling air,
Then rider taps a signal - go- and I

am
rhythm
running
no walls stop
leap
higher
wider
into air
hooves
crack earth
spark stars
blood gallops

loose. The bell rings, calling us again
to be coralled, and we trot into line.
Horse and rider tamed by long division
comprehension, back to little girls.
Under the desk my hooves dissolve.

That's lovely, and sounds exactly like playtimes at my primary school - did you write it?
 
Yes, I had many, I used to ride them anywhere and everywhere.

My favourite was a palomino with a black mane and tail!! ;)

I also sometimes was the horse...

I have a beautiful rocking horse too. So I used to ride that all over the country. She has a real mane and tail and is dapple grey. She has beautiful flared nostrils and real horsehair for a mane and tail. My parents made her whilst my mum was pregnant with me, therefore I blame them for my horsey addiction!

I think one of my worst riding accidents was on Sam the rocking horse, I nearly sliced my toe off, which was no mean feat considering it was a safety rocking horse which was especially designed so small toes weren't in any danger.

I also have some really really happy memories riding Sam with my two tiny sisters sitting in front of me with my Mum sitting on board as well. Looking now, the logistics of this seem impossible but we were about 5, 3 and 1 at the time!

My friend (23 years old) still rides Sam. She has two wonderful dressage horses that are actually "proper" but that doesn't stop her!!

Sam modelling the rosettes I made:
100_5103.jpg
 
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i had a little book where i'd write little descriptions about them and storys and draw their stables think i still have it somewhere
the bike was a pony as was my sister who i used to drive with a skipping rope and a whip and i kept her in the garage :P
i used to have showjumping competitions with my friends in the garden with jumps and give out rosettes for the fasted clear round this actually helped later in life as was the county champ at hurdles i now can hurdle higher than i am prepared to jump on a horse
 
This is so cool! I also used to pretend that mine was in a trailer being driven behind the car when we were going on holiday.

I also had sindy horses and a riding school with toy horses (I think it was a brittons one?) I didn't stop playing with them till I was about 13! And then very reluctantly (I'm 36 tomorrow) I wish I'd kept them all xx
 
Used to spend hours and hours 'showjumping my arab' around my mother's dog agility course! She had horses at the time but I wasn't allowed to ride them - I was still on riding school ponies who bored me (oh for the days when I was a fearless lunatic!) hence why I got the arab who was very sharp but very loving :D

When we were on holiday at my grandparents' in N.Ire I spent all of my time on the beach galloping up and down (the arab always came with me obviously!!) and when I was forced back into the house, I then took to cantering up and down the very long corridor jumping over the light patches from doorways and windows!
 
I used to set up a "course" of jumps in our back garden cobbled together from garden canes, various toys, watering cans and buckets etc. Then set off on my trusty steed Lady(70's orange Space Hopper) to attempt my very own garden gymkhana's! All taken very seriously and god help my little brother if he knocked any "poles" down before I could get round lol!
 
Yup my friend and I would make ropes and 'lunge' each other. My horse was a black Arab stallion (No Name) and I have to confess at the grand age of 25.. I still gallop him next to the car if I'm bored... :D
 
One was black, one white. Midnight and Snowball. They were stabled in the summerhouse and made frequent appearances in department stores. And mother dear still didn't think to get me lessons.
 
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