Vietnam trip

I have just returned from a week long trip to Vietnam. I spent a couple of days in Saigon and took a trip to the Cu Chin tunnels. But most of the time I spent in the seaside town of Vung Tau.

I did the sightseeing thing, which included some pagodas. And I found two horse statues.

The first one was inside one of the buildings in a pagoda near the seaside. The main building had a huge sleeping Buddha, but in another part of the complex, there was a dragon boat full of water with three islands, and behind it, a room with several statues, including this horse:

For size comparison:

A few days later, we went to another pagoda on the other side of the peninsula. This one was very different, with huge gardens and a large sitting Buddha. Interesting there were four large carved panels inscribed with the teachings of Buddha, one each in Vietnames, Thai, Chinese and English.

The extensive gardens of this pagoda also had near lifesize statues depicting the travels of Buddha. The most impressive ones were firstly a scene with a sitting Buddha and a monkey offering fruit and a kneeling elephant. Secondly, a scene depicting a princess with a horse and the princess is in the process of cutting her long hair off:

From the other side, the fishing harbour can be seen in the background:

The only real horses I saw in Vietnam were at a hilltop resort and theme park. We arrived there fairly late in the afternoon and ran out of daylight. I saw one of the ponies pulling a cart and there were other carriages which obviously were used to cart tourists around. I saw a couple of horses led with tourists on board. Later on, as it was getting dark, we walked past the stables and I had the chance to have a look at the horses.

It was a bit hard as they were in box stalls and the light was getting low. They seemed conformationally pretty close in type to the ponies I had seen in Indonesia a few years ago. Pretty leggy, longish bodies, relatively upright in the front and hind end. Not pretty by Australian standards, but they looked tough and capable of working. I'm sure that the pony I saw in front of the cart was ambling. Looking at the conformation, I wouldn't be surprised if several of them had gait ability. However, I couldn't really tell. I'll admit, I don't know very much about Asian horse breeds, as I have not been able to find a lot of sources on the subject.

The rest of the impression of the horses wasn't too good. They had the typical sour look of stabled horses who spend their days with non-horsey people who see them no different to riding go-carts. The stables were clean but had concrete floors with only a thin rubber mat. Of course, the tropical climate would make dirt floors impossible, and the bricked walls would help to keep things cool. They stables were open and breezy, and the horses had been provided with freshly cut long sheaves of green grass. They looked in pretty reasonable condition, though several had healed up saddle sores. Overall, my friend commented, they were in better condition than most of the other horses he'd encountered in his travels in Asia. The only thing that really struck me was the open hostility towards people which some of the horses showed. The ponies across the aisle mostly had a much less sour attitude. But as I said, the life of permanently stabled horses who have to work and deal with the unknowing public is not conducive to a good outlook on life. No matter where in the world.

Happy 2012

I know I'm a week late :-)

Wishing you a very happy and prosperous 2012 !

Don't forget the rules: 
Engage and retain your sense of humour.
Always look on the bright side. 
Be open to new things.
Never stop learning.
Have fun.

things horses do....

Clever...!

 

A picture from happy times gone by.. Chris on RN's Carinita and Kim on Bachue Bravo

Due to ill health, a friend has to disperse his whole herd of horses. There are Paso Finos, Paso Peruanos, Paso Creoles, Spanish horses and some Australian Stockhorses on the list.

Prices have been dropped, as it is urgent that the horses are sold. Check out the listing here:

http://www.aeon-systems.net/ausome/index.html

There are a lot of beautiful horses there, many are well gaited. They represent many years of dedicated effort and are from outstanding bloodlines, whatever the breed. This is a unique opportunity to pick up some really good horses at total bargain prices.

Please. Look. NOW.

... not quite the horse whisperer

Paso Fino mare Esperanza. Having "a moment"...


Haha, I'll never qualify as horse whisperer. I go for functional horse handling. No frills stuff, for when a job needs to get done. I'll ask politely, sometimes several times. I engage and retain my sense of humour ;-) Around horses, a sense of humour is essential!

no more Cali kids

Yesterday I heard of the loss of a great little horse. It made me sad. Only a day before, we had gone out riding on three of the Cali kids.



Cali was a brown Paso Fino stallion who came to Australia in about 2000. He was registered with the Paso Fino Horse Association (USA) as Don Cristobal Mako. He was the stallion chosen by my friend Jorge de Moya to be part of the foundation of the first Paso Fino stud in Australia.

I spent much time with Cali when I ran Jorge's stud. Cali was a wilful, opinionated brown horse, and he wasn't always the easiest horse to handle. There was something about his personality though which I liked. Although I was fond of calling him a "little brown shit" and "the CRAB" (and a few other less polite things), I actually had a pretty good relationship with him. So I started riding him.

He was a handful under saddle as well, especially in the beginning, and we had a few adventures. But I really enjoyed the rides and he grew on me even more.

I was in the lucky position to have some good mares so I used the opportunity to breed them to Cali. And now, years later, we have sold a lot of horses and yet somehow have kept some of the Cali kids. They proved to be pretty easy to start. Both his purebreds back at Jorge's stud while I was still there, as well as the crossbred ones I bred.

 

Photo by Greg Lehey

It was only a few days ago, when we enjoyed three of the Cali kids out on a ride. Left to right: Carola (visitor from Austria) on Bluey, myself on Carlos and Yvonne on Carlotta. I mentioned yet again how it was funny that we were finally taking out a bunch of Cali kids and how great they were. We often joke how much they remind us of Cali, with a certain head toss, a look or a set of three wrinkles around the nostril to show disdain. Also of course, their beautiful gait.

Yes, it was pretty sad to hear that Cali is no longer around.

I am so fortunate. I have a purebred Paso Fino son and daugher of his as well as some really good crossbreds. The colt and the mares are now integral part of my Paso breeding program. And in that way, the opinionated little brown horse lives on.

the importance of having fun

Life is too short to always be serious. Life is also too short to try every form of entertainment and fun there is to be had. And some people enjoy doing things that don't excite me (squaredancing, bungee-jumping, mountain biking and that sort of thing spring to mind..)

I try to be broad minded and I want everyone to have fun. So my personal yard stick I apply to determine if something counts as a desirable activity (regardless of whether I like it) goes something like this:

Where one, two or more consenting beings enjoy an activity and entertain each other, and it's not at the detriment of other parties, it's good value. 

I don't care something of value is created, because the enjoyment in the activity itself is of imeasurable value. Fun and enjoyment are such a necessary part of life. Without it, a creature withers emotionally. Fun is balm for the soul.

As usual, you will ask - well, what does this have to do with horses?? As usual, it does!

There are countless ways in which we can interact with horses. Within the spectrum of what is good for the horse and person, there is room for many different ways of doing things. There is no one correct way to do things. One shoe doesn't fit all. No one method works for all horses or all people. It is good to try new things, to experiment, to keep the daily interaction live and interesting. And we must not forget to have fun.

So if someone thinks of ways to engage their horse, to have fun together and does it in a way you haven't seen, or don't normally do, should you encourage it? OH YES.

If there is no harm in it, but it challenges your view of the world, should you tolerate it? DAMN RIGHT.

If you would have never thought of it, and you can't take the credit for it, or you can't do it yourself, should you belittle it? OH NO, unless of course you are a stuck up, selfish ignoramus.

And here is a fabulous example of someone and her horse having fun. They didn't set out to study a liberty routine, it just happened, she's got her Mojo working ;-)

May I present for your viewing pleasure: Elyane and Mojo Man:




Of course, there is a little bit of pride involved here. You see, I bred Narrawin's Mojo Man. He's a purebred Saddlebred gelding, and a nice one, if I may say so myself...