Man rides elderly horses 10,000 miles!! RANT! Long, but has photos

PF I was having a bad day until I read that, :D you have cheered me right up.

The original story is fantastic and your HHO twist made me giggle so much my colleagues are looking at me funny.
 
Oh, not that old chestnut; "they were the wildest of the wild"; everybody says that:rolleyes:Shame he was too old for The Prince Philip Cup team though!
Was the photo staged? He wrote that he went with Mancha first and then his guide led Gato.
Before he set out he was "assailed by a sickly feeling, as if my stomach were a vacuum", a bit of NLP could have fixed that;) Epic story, thanks. The paragraph 'Reluctant Friends' had me blubbing!
 
Last edited:
I don't know what I enjoyed most about this..
The amazing pictures, the story itself, which is something that is fascinating, but prior to now I had never heard of, or the hilarious spin put on it by PF :D
Brilliant!
 
Well, it appealed to my sense of humour!:D:D:D An amazing feat of stamina and endurance though. Shame HHO wasn't around then because the discussion would be more epic than the journey!:eek:;):rolleyes:
 
Read the book~! "Tschiffely's Ride". I grew up on it as a child.

Did you mention that he also set out with a GSD, who got kicked by Mancha about 2 hours into the epic journey and had to be looked after by friends for 3 year?

At the end of his book, Tschiffely corrects himself. Mancha was actually 18, and Gato 16, when he set out

Gato went lame, as I remember, because he was hit by a lorry in the USA.

Both horses lived into their 40s, and I cannot read the bit about their deaths, and the belief that they still live on in the land the gauchos call Trapalanda, without crying.

Tschiffely's friend R B Cunninghame Graham, who wrote the touching and profound preface, was so determined to meet the horses that at the age of 84, in 1936, he determined to go out to Argentina and to the Cardal ranch, where the horses lived in retirement. Tschiffely gave him a special bag of oats in London to give to his beloved horses. Sadly, on arrival in Argentina R B contracted pneumonia, and died. But before his death the two horses were boxed up to Buenos Aires and walked under his hotel bedroom window so that he could at last see them.

I've just brought the book down to the computer - I'm in tears again (it must be 20 years since I last read it), and all I can say is that EVERY horseman should read this book. Hodder & Stoughton are the publishers, it has many wonderful photographs, and my edition is the 1965 one. It may have had a reprint since then.
 
Absoloutely fantastic PF. Your spin on it is brilliant. I had never heard of this story until now so thank you. I will be searching out the books.

The pic of the bridge did make me feel sick though! :eek:
 
Brilliant PF, that made me laugh so much. Never heard of this story but will definitely get the book, I'm fascinated to hear more about the suffering of these poor abused animals.


Rose Folly said:
Tschiffely's friend R B Cunninghame Graham, who wrote the touching and profound preface, was so determined to meet the horses that at the age of 84, in 1936, he determined to go out to Argentina and to the Cardal ranch, where the horses lived in retirement. Tschiffely gave him a special bag of oats in London to give to his beloved horses. Sadly, on arrival in Argentina R B contracted pneumonia, and died. But before his death the two horses were boxed up to Buenos Aires and walked under his hotel bedroom window so that he could at last see them.
Click to expand...

^^^ this made me well up.
 
applaud.gif
well done PF!

I'd heard about this epic journey many many years ago and had forgotten all about it! I shall buy the book :)
 
Sooty said:
What an amazing and inspirational story...that has the potential to be. But really, have you seen what is on his feet? Spurs. That just about says it all. The reason the horses did not run away at night was nothing to do with bond between horse and rider; no, it was sheer terror.
Click to expand...
Dammit, Sooty you're right! What on EARTH was a novice rider doing with spurs! The horror!!!
 
bakedbean said:
buy it, read it....far better than "war horses"

The War Horses: The Tragic Fate of a Million Horses Sacrificed in the First World War

by Simon Butler
Click to expand...

You should also read For The Love of Horses (think that is what it is called-can't find my copy) about The Brooke Hospital for Animals -extraordinary story
 
Rose Folly said:
Tschiffely's friend R B Cunninghame Graham, who wrote the touching and profound preface, was so determined to meet the horses that at the age of 84, in 1936, he determined to go out to Argentina and to the Cardal ranch, where the horses lived in retirement. Tschiffely gave him a special bag of oats in London to give to his beloved horses. Sadly, on arrival in Argentina R B contracted pneumonia, and died. But before his death the two horses were boxed up to Buenos Aires and walked under his hotel bedroom window so that he could at last see themthen.
Click to expand...

Tschiffely also made a journey in the UK after his epic S American ride and his book Bridle Paths is dedicated to R B Cunningham Graham who in 1936 "had set out on his last ride". It's a great read.
 
Yes I read the story many moons ago when I lived in australia as a teenager. But this was in the 1920's, horses were cheap and he did look after them,and horses were worked, which is more than they are now. God I'm 9stone 9 should I give up riding as maybe too heavy and they did live to a ripe old age, which is more than I could say for some horses this winter if very little hay.
 
While your rant is of course valid,I wish you had included a warning.
The horror of horses withotu bling and matchy matchy will be with me to the end of my days :(


ETA,damn it woman you made me go to look at Amazon :o
 
PapaFrita said:
Amazon is v pricey! Have a look on abebooks.co.uk (thanks to previous poster whose name I can't remember)
Click to expand...

Thankies very much.
Now....to just get the books I was looking for,or to ahm "reinvest" the saving from Amazon into more books? :D :p

How is the Little Cigar doing BTW PF?
Not seen anything on him in a while(and I am sure THAT breaks the forum T&C's :p ).
 
Yunalesca said:
Thankies very much.
Now....to just get the books I was looking for,or to ahm "reinvest" the saving from Amazon into more books? :D :p

How is the Little Cigar doing BTW PF?
Not seen anything on him in a while(and I am sure THAT breaks the forum T&C's :p ).
Click to expand...
Reinvest :)
LC and PF are both very well thanks :) Mum sends me regular updates and occasional photos :)
 
Wobblywibble, thans for the tip about Bridle Paths. Didn't know about it and will now try to get it.

On the lighter side, as well as being a totally un-PC person with his horses and lack of Parelli etc. he was also a very naughty man with humans. Re-read the bit yesterday about the guy in Brazil - I think - who was pretending to be mute. Tchiffeley sussed him out, got him drunk, and tied a firecracker to his coat tail. Whereupon the chap decided he wasn't mute after all! Obviously Tschiffeley had never heard of 'Elf 'n' Safety??
 
Absolutely loved this post & what incredible photos!

Have a google at rideopenspaces (think that's it) for a more recent 5000 mile treck from Wales to Jordan on 3 horses, one of whom, Sealeah Myranda, is now a successful endurance horse carrying her owner Harry Adshead.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top