Introducing myself, and my horses

clairebearnz

clairebearnz

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This is probably in the wrong spot, so mods, feel free to move it.

I'm from New Zealand, and own two of the nuttiest horses in the animal kingdom.

The first is Sparky, who is 25+. Her actual age is unsure, as she has no front teeth and her history consists of "...I got her from a station out Gisborne way.". She's about 13.3hh, and has the back of a 17hh horse. I've had her since 2002, as I got her when I was 12, when she couldn't be caught easily, couldn't be led easily...and riding was fine. In an enclosed space. At speed. She developed into a decent pony eventer (although dressage was done with lots of deep breathing, and gentle crooning, as she had a tendency to explode), before she was happily retired with arthritic knees. She has a fantastic time these days playing "evade the people" when anyone tries to catch or rug her.

Sparky in her hey-day

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And currently. I tried to pat her. This wasn't allowed.

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The second is Tally, who is a 16 year old, 15hh, (supposedly) Anglo-Arab. He has a rather storied history, and I bought him in early 2007 as my step-up from Sparky, who had retired disgracefully. He has a magnificent personality, a terrible attitude to work ("we're doing it my way, and if you don't like it, you can get off"), and a very pretty face. Oh, and he likes to jump. He's injury prone, he has some spectacular vices (everything except kicking), and a fondness for wasabi. He has a huge Napoleon complex, which isn't helped by people pointing me towards the pony ring, but he does like to jump. Preferably from a stride one. It's more fun.

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Some of his expressive moments.

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(He then decided to go, roared around the entire course, and won the event on his dressage score :rolleyes:)

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And currently. Did I mention he really likes cameras, and pricks his ears whenever they appear?

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Hello! :)

Wow they are stunning as for Sparky being nutty- what do you expect its in his name. I had a games pony called Sparky and he was nutty aswell. :p

Tally looks a handful but certainly has a pop :eek: They look like great fun and best of luck with them.

P.s I'm also a big fan of small horses and ponies, they are the best :D
 
Hi, welcome to the forum! :)

Lovely horse and pony ;) The nutty ones make life more interesting!!

We are generally a nice bunch, but don't expect to agree with everything everyone says ;)
 
I absolutely agree with the name. I changed her show-name to Sparks Will Fly after a fateful show, where she won the 80cm show-jumping, but her name was announced over the loud speaker as "Spanky." I was mortified!

Tally's opinion seems to be 'why jump sensibly, when you can take off a stride early and *FLY!*' I had one XC lesson with a few other people, and his mind absolutely went. He bucked the entire way down a hill after jumping down a set of stairs, and the only thing the instructor could say (after laughing so hard they had to hold onto a fence) was "...he's...athletic?" :o

Finally found my favourite picture of him. He'd just placed in the RTR (a hunter-type thing with solid fences, he only placed because only two horses went clear...he ended up between two huge bay hunters and looked decidedly out of place), and was feeling rather good about this jumping lark.

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And a couple of videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDayNL27xsQ

(I'd just fallen off twice and was determined not to do it again. He had a tantrum when he realised I wasn't going to come off.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBWfNxB7_Os
 
yay more tally pics! get bored of the bunny huggers did we hun..

now come herther and lut is eat you bit by bit .. :D

BTW how is tallys lameness now?
 
I'm taking over the internet, one forum at a time. Plus it's still uni summer holidays, I've done my travelling, read 400 odd books, learned a couple of dead languages, then spent a good four hours reading threads on here, so I thought I should join properly!

He's still lame. It shows up worse when he trots downhill, or on a circle to the left, but he's only 1/10-2/10 lame. His x-rays looked absolutely fine, but I got him shod again, so there's not a lot more I can do until he does (hopefully) come sound. The vet reckons it's probably just bruising, so he gets to sit around in the paddock for a couple of weeks, until we move back to uni and have better access to hacking, where he can start some gentle walks. He's so stiff behind (bone spavin) from not being in consistent work that I think it's making him look worse. He also needs a chiro appointment as he's not moving straight, which I think is compensation for both the dodgy hocks, and the sore foot.

It doesn't help that he loves putting on the pathetic face, so he'll leg it around happily until he realises you're watching, then it's "please feed me, I'm starving and in pain" :rolleyes:
 
It's good to see you over here. I've always enjoyed reading your updates on the IHDG and the photos of NZ make me want to hop on a plane back there! Ah well...

I'm sorry that Tally is lame - I had missed that. Looking forward to seeing more updates about your escapades once he is "up and running" again!
 
Hi,Just wanted to say your horses seem like real characters,they look great fun. From a golden oldie(me), your riding abilities take me back to my youth.The nuttier a horse was the more i wanted to ride it.I go for safe and mostly sensible horses now. Anyway i enjoyed watching Tally's antics and your superb seat,you really are an accomplished rider.Good luck to you and your horses.Ps;the riding out there looks amazing:)
 
With the regards the bucks...cling on with your knees?

The nutty ones are most definitely the best. I do enjoy the occasional sane and sensible ride, for which I borrow my friend's YO's horse, Spook. Of course, since both her horse, and Spook are so sensible, we go insane.

Turangi is such a lovely place!

Sparky doesn't often make an appearance. She happily lives at home when I'm at uni, and my (utterly non-horsey) Mum looks after her. She really could do with a bit of taming at the moment. I think she lives semi-feral at some point in her life, and probably rather enjoyed it :rolleyes:
 
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