This is a newborn offspring of Taskin, Gypsy Vanner Stallion owned by Villa Vanners that was born in Oregon.  These pictures were immediately after his birth.   The mare laid down and then he trotted around and crawled right up into her lap.

Equine Auction: Definition

1. A public sale at which horses are sold one by one, each going to the last and highest of a series of competing bidders.
2. A gathering area which is comforting to Equine Addicts due to their common addiction.
3. A place where an Equine Addict can sell their equine and make a profit (very rare) or sell their equine at a loss and write it off on their taxes. (very common)
4. A place where the spouse of an Equine Addict fears most.
5. A place where the designated number of horses hauled in a horse trailer is not relative to its design.  Example: A 3 horse trailer can haul at least 4 horses from the sale.
6. A place where an Equine Addict can take any number of horses and come back with the same number plus one or more horses.  (They may or may not be the same horses they brought to the sale.)
7. A place where the Equine addict can spend their hard earned cash or go into debt by: using their line of credit, use their credit card, use money loaned to them by the bank, their parents, relatives, or friends, with little chance of return on the money spent.
8. A place where with the purchase of just one Equine an addict can begin to support a number of businesses.  Examples: Feed Stores, Farriers, Veterinarians, Tack Stores, Equine Catalogs, Horse Trailer and Pickup Dealerships.
9. The Equine Addicts form of Gambling.

And Finally:

     The reason Kellie and Chris are no longer allowed to spend time with one another.

Author:  Kellie Bretthauer Jan. 7th, 2010

"Responsibility is an action, not a lack of opportunity" Kellie Bretthauer (in reference to how Chris and she are being "responsible" not going to horse auctions).

 Mac, likes to be scratched!

14 inch horse

 

My budget's all blown on my Strawberry Roan!

 

Cross on horses hip

 

This will inspire you!  What courage and determination!! What a great horse!!! (This e-mail was sent to me and I wanted to share it with you) The determined Bettina Eistel and her very special horse, Fabuleax 5. Look closely... Yup.  No arms.  Her name is Bettina Eistel and her horse is Fabuleax 5. What is even more compelling than the fact that she can brush her horse with her feet, is that she competes, very well, at the Paralympics in dressage. Bettina didn’t just overcome her disability, she walloped it! (Kinda makes me feel ridiculous for complaining about anything having to do with just about anything…) Cantering WHY NO ARMS? Thalidomide.  (I wanted to read her book but it isn’t translated into English and I cannot read German.  I wonder if a Kindle could translate it?…)  Anyway, she was born in 1961 in Germany, with no arms due to the drug, Thalidomide. Her book What is Thalidomide?  Thalidomide was a drug they gave pregnant women before it was known that it caused birth defects…  Hence, Bettina was born without any arms. When I was too little to understand manners, I can remember my mother telling me not to stare at kids I would see who had birth defects.   She would shake her head and just whisper, “Thalidomide”.   I remember being very appreciative that I didn’t have that kind of a birth defect.   Saddling FAST FORWARD Bettina doesn’t let her disability stop her.  After all, this way of being is all she has ever known… As an aside, another disabled Olympian was explaining the difference between being born with a disability versus being born “whole” and acquiring the disability.  This concept is an interesting topic.  You probably can come to some of your own conclusions here.   Bridling... look at him drop his head. Anyway, as a small child, Bettina learned how to use her feet and toes as her hands and fingers.  As a youngster, she started in horseback riding lessons.  (Thank goodness her parents supported her and let go of their fears around this.) She wears riding boots with cut-outs in the toes so she can have ‘hands’ (imagine how cold her toes must get … and how often they clip a branch or a fence board – ouch!).  She can saddle, bridle, hose down, wrap, blanket and do just about anything else that is needed for her horse.  And, she rides by steering with her legs and holding the reins in her mouth.  IN HER MOUTH.  Try that… I tried to hold my brush in my mouth while braiding my girl’s hair and I ended up drooling all over the place in about a minute.  I have no idea how she does it.  Amazing. Oh, and besides all those horse riding feats, she can text, write and put on mascara with her to es! Hmmmm.  I’m starting to feel sheepish for complaining about anything… They say Bettina is a master at hose water fights! “After highschool in 1979, Bettina studied the History of Art, Archaeology and Ethnology in Hamburg, followed by an eight-year study of psychology. During her psychology studies, she  participated in a project with Hamburg’s home for children. In 1989 she completed her studies with a diploma and has since worked as a graduate psychologist in a Hamburg counseling center for children and family therapy.” PARALYMPICS I really couldn’t find much information on her coaching (Her coach Franz-Martin Stankus) or how she learned to ride.  But, I did find out that she: “Eistel was formerly Vice-Europe and Vice World Champion (two silver and bronze at the European Championships in Portugal in 2002 and three silver at the World Championships in Belgium in 2003) and won two silver and one bronze medal at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens , she won also three times the German championship.  As the most recent successes are the bronze medal in the required tasks of the individual competition and the silver medal in the team standings at the 2008 Paralympics in Hong Kong.” Not bad even for a girl WITH arms… With her dressage medal HER HORSE You have to really think about the kind of horse who would let this kind of a rider be his partner.  Really… what temperament is needed to perform at high level dressage as well as take care of a disabled rider?  Wow.  I wish I knew if they looked high and low for him… or if they simply trained a good horse to understand this rider?  (I need to read her book.)  I mean, did they find a horse and say to him that this is the way we are going to do it now?  Or, does the Fabuleax 5 ‘know’?  I often hear that certain horses are much more gracious with disabled riders than with regular riders.  I know that my Gwen is much nicer to children than to me… I wonder how that happens?  Is it the horse or the quality/feel/spirit of the disabled rider/child that effects the horse?  Dunno. Taking a treat from Mom Bettina says she trained her horse via voice commands, head movement and leg aids.  Funny, I bet hardly any of us would think it was even possible to ride a horse without arms. From where I sit, I would like to be in the presence of  the wonderful Fabuleax 5.  He is a saint in my book.  Fabuleax lets Bettina ride him in the only way she can… with the reins in her teeth and the other set of reins between her toes.  And, he does his job.  Simple.  Gosh.  Impressive. Beautiful boy TELEVISION HOST Bettina also landed a gig as a Talk Show Host.  With a weekly show on German TV station ZDF, Bettina is something of a media star.  They say her popularity is because of her engaging and optimistic personality… but one cannot ignore her amazing ability to do everything, literally everything, with her feet.. Bettina as talk show host AFTERTHOUGHT I wanted to bring this story to you because I think sometimes we give up too easily.  Or maybe it is just me… maybe I think I give up too easily or don’t push through my/my horse’s issues or don’t get over myself/my fears or don’t put as much effort/time into training my horses as I could.  Reading about Bettina was a good shot in the arm for me… I sure don’t feel like making any excuses or complaining… I cannot even imagine folding the laundry with my feet, let alone living 24 hours without my hands.  Wow.  Very inspirational. What a great team!

The Seven Stages of Aging on Horseback

By Cindy Hale

About once a week I trail ride with my good friend Debbie. We showed horses together  for many years, and I'm really enjoying introducing her to the more laid back experience of trail riding. So when she called to cancel this week, I was surprised. Then she explained that she'd taken a tumble off her gelding while riding in the arena, and needed to take it easy for a few days. We were both disappointed, and together we lamented how our bodies just don't withstand the insult of getting tossed from the saddle anymore.

 

"Let's face it," I told Debbie. "We're getting older. When we fall off we don't bounce."

Indeed. Though we used to consider falling off just another aspect of horsemanship, nowadays we see it as something we'd really like to avoid. It has nothing to do with fear and everything to do with
a loss of elasticity that occurs to human bodies on the other side of thirty. Yet because we're horse crazy women we continue to ride, leading the non-horsey folks around us to think we're suffering from some kind of dementia. So that you can understand this concept better-or maybe prepare yourself-here's a little chart that explains it all.

 

The Seven Stages of Aging on Horseback

 

Stage I: Fall off pony. Bounce. Laugh. Climb back on. Repeat.

 

Stage II: Fall off horse. Run after horse, cussing. Climb back on by shimmying up horse's neck.
Ride until sundown.

 

Stage III: Fall off horse. Use sleeve of shirt to stanch bleeding.
Have friend help you get back on horse. Take two Advil and apply ice packs when you get home.
Ride next day.

 

State IV: Fall off horse. Refuse advice to call ambulance; drive self to urgent care clinic.
Entertain nursing staff with tales of previous daredevil stunts on horseback.
Back to riding before cast comes off.

 

Stage V: Fall off horse. Temporarily forget name of horse and name of husband.
Flirt shamelessly with paramedics when they arrive. Spend week in hospital while
titanium pins are screwed in place.

Start riding again before doctor gives official okay.

 

Stage VI: Fall off horse. Fail to see any humor when hunky paramedic says, "You again?"
Gain firsthand knowledge of advances in medical technology thanks to stint in ICU.
Convince self that permanent limp isn't that noticeable.
Promise husband you'll give up riding.
One week later purchase older, slower, shorter horse.

 

Stage VII: Slip off horse. Relieved when artificial joints and implanted medical devices
seem unaffected. Tell husband that scrapes and bruises are due to gardening accident.
Pretend you don't see husband roll his eyes and mutter as he walks away.
Give apple to horse.

 

Trust me. Despite a lack of bounce-ability, aging on horseback isn't so bad,
as long as you know what lies ahead.
And as long as you keep your sense of humor.

Photo taken by friend Chris Miller while on her vacation this is in Hill City, SD

Surgeon Generals Warning:

Horses are addictive, expensive, and may impair the ability to use common sense.

Horse owner to her farrier, "I'm sorry, my horses attention span is only 3 feet long".

 

An amazing Tennessee Walking horse and his owners at the 2011 Celebration winning multiple World Grand Championships.

 

With Howrse.com, breed horses or ponies, and discover the responsibilities of managing an equestrian center!

Register now at www.howrse.com it's free!

Horseback riding........the best medicine!