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 Am I really the Weirdo?
Posts: 11181
   
Location: Kansas | Yesterday, Tuffy and I road-tripped it to Oklahoma and picked up "Royal Red Streaker," a 12 year old appendix gelding who ran on the track and then ended up in pretty bad shape before he wound up with one of our BBs. I decided that turning a new horse out with 5 others would be a bad idea so I took Clifford out to my brother & sister-in-law's place and turned him out in their pasture so Streak would have a buddy right off. Cliff and Streak became buddies right off and they met me at the gate this morning when I went out to feed. I gave them time to eat, then went back out with halters and before I could latch the gate behind me, there was a 16 hand bright sorrel gelding standing behind me. :) I wound up saddling them both up with the wind howling, then got on Streak for just a couple minutes. Didn't do much besides turn and walk a few steps then walk to the other side of Cliff, but I hate to do much with a new horse when the wind is so crazy, so I got on Cliff and ponied Streak around their yard and barns for a few minutes before I couldn't stand the wind anymore.
Anyway, he is HUGE. Cliff is a legitimate 15.3 and 1150 pounds and Streak has a full inch and probably a hundred pounds on him. My biggest achievement today may have been just getting on! LOL.
and now so I'm not breaking BHW rules, here are some pictures. (Streak is the brighter red gelding with the solid face. Clifford is a lighter sorrel with a bald face)
 (0220 Sorrels at trailer.jpg)
 (0220 Sorrels grazing.jpg)
 (0220 Racehorses.jpg)
 (0220 Streak Breakfast.jpg)
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 0220 Sorrels at trailer.jpg (54KB - 221 downloads)
0220 Sorrels grazing.jpg (85KB - 184 downloads)
0220 Racehorses.jpg (76KB - 171 downloads)
0220 Streak Breakfast.jpg (90KB - 179 downloads)
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1028
| Such pretty boys! You may have to invest in some mountain climbing gear to climb up on that giant though! |
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Am I really the Weirdo?
Posts: 11181
Location: Kansas | bowersk - 2014-02-20 10:55 AM Such pretty boys! You may have to invest in some mountain climbing gear to climb up on that giant though!
That is no kidding! My vet (who is 6-7) likes to ask me what it's like to have a horse whose withers are even with my head when I take Clifford in. No idea what he'll say when he meets Streak! LOL.
<Looks like he is going to be my new motivation to work out and do enough yoga to stay flexible and get my leg up that high.  |
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 Pork Fat is my Favorite
Posts: 3791
 
Location: The Oklahoma plains. | YAY- so glad they are buddies! I told you he was HUGE! And as little grain as he now eats- its sad to have seen how poor he was when we rescued him!!
I hope he is a good boy. He loves people and will follow you everywhere.  |
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Am I really the Weirdo?
Posts: 11181
Location: Kansas | TurnLane - 2014-02-20 11:18 AM YAY- so glad they are buddies! I told you he was HUGE! And as little grain as he now eats- its sad to have seen how poor he was when we rescued him!!
I hope he is a good boy. He loves people and will follow you everywhere.
I figured they would be friends quickly and it literally took two sniffs across the fence before they were like OK lets go explore. This morning they were not 10 feet apart when I got out there and Streak kept looking at Clifford when I was doing stuff to them (brushing, saddling, offering treats) to see if it was OK. He hasn't taken a treat from my hand yet but it probably won't take long before he's knocking the treat jar around in the trailer like the rest of them! LOL. I can't imagine how long it took for him to get in that bad of shape because he's a beast now. He is going to be another one who follows the others to their feed bunks or pans and checks for crumbs, I can already tell. But that's understandable with his past.
My brother is going to want to steal him and at least show him in halter at the fair - that dude will wipe the floor with the other geldings in this county! So far he's been nothing but sweet, though he doesn't really like my brother's heeler mix puppy. However, I think its great that Streak will kick towards Bandit - he's going to break the little brat of running around behind the horses or chasing them. :) |
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Pork Fat is my Favorite
Posts: 3791
Location: The Oklahoma plains. | I did forget to mention he doesnt like dogs! Ooops. You should have seen how long it took to get me to have him eat from a bucket I was holding- it is like he was hit for diong so? Took like a month!!
I did check to see if I could get a blanket over his head and I was able to. I cant imagine how good he will look when he is used/ridden and gains muscle tone. He is more handsome than picks show- dont you think? I just love him and I am so hopeful you enjoy him! |
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 Expert
Posts: 4121
Location: SE Louisiana | Cliff ain't dumb. It's better to be friends with something that big than otherwise!! He's a good looking fella.. Good luck with him..  |
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Am I really the Weirdo?
Posts: 11181
Location: Kansas | TurnLane - 2014-02-20 12:36 PM I did forget to mention he doesnt like dogs! Ooops. You should have seen how long it took to get me to have him eat from a bucket I was holding- it is like he was hit for diong so? Took like a month!!
I did check to see if I could get a blanket over his head and I was able to. I cant imagine how good he will look when he is used/ridden and gains muscle tone. He is more handsome than picks show- dont you think? I just love him and I am so hopeful you enjoy him!
He doesn't mind my mini aussie, but Tuffy knows to stay away from the horses. Kyle's puppy hasn't figured that out yet, but it won't take long. Streak isn't mean to the puppy - just kind of picks his back end up as a warning.
He'll eat a treat off the side of my trailer and he watches Cliff eat from my hand, but you can tell he's not sure he's supposed to eat out of my hand. he has no issues eating out of a bucket I'm holding - this morning he had his head in the bucket while I was turned around shutting the gate LOL.
He's going to be a good looking dude - pictures do NOT do him justice. I think we're going to get along just great. :) |
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 Total Germophobe
Posts: 6437
Location: Montana | He is a big fella isn't he!? So, I'm guessing this will be a new barrel prospect??? That will be fun! I bet he is really nice looking when his winter coat is all slicked off! |
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Am I really the Weirdo?
Posts: 11181
Location: Kansas | mtcanchazer - 2014-02-20 9:20 PM He is a big fella isn't he!? So, I'm guessing this will be a new barrel prospect??? That will be fun! I bet he is really nice looking when his winter coat is all slicked off!
Yep, he's a big 'un. My brother who is 6-foot-4 says he won't look stupid on this horse! We'll see about running barrels - I need to actually ride him before I decide what career path to aim him towards. Even if he just winds up being a nice trail horse, that is OK. My other brother and his wife want to get a couple horses when they get settled into permanent jobs so by then we will know if that's an option for him. Between my brothers, my boyfriend and I, there are lots of opportunities for a horse to find his niche here.
He's really not terribly hairy and you can really see the muscles in person. Hopefully tomorrow the wind isn't so crazy and I can get some decent pics of him on a real camera. We'll need a profile pic for Brett's 4-H ID papers anyway. I sold Brett's horse so Brett is already plotting his theft of the new one. I say good luck sneaking this guy away from me! He's too big to hide! LOL. |
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 Tried and True
Posts: 21185
Location: Where I am happiest | |
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Am I really the Weirdo?
Posts: 11181
Location: Kansas | Just want to offer an update on Streak after a week in my herd. I took him with Chance & Cliff to Matt's for the weekend on Saturday morning. Rode him up there with Matt and his Joker, survived and won the battle of "I wanna go back to my friends," then took him with us to a barrel race Sunday. He rode great indoors though he was pretty lazy. We trotted a couple of exhibitions so I could see if he knew anything about barrels and how he would act in the arena alone. Did fine, and I figured out some things he needs to learn before we go back to the pattern so I considered it a success.
He got Monday & Tuesday off to be a horse because my work schedule is nuts those days, then I have ridden him the last two days and made improvements both days. When I went out Wednesday to start catching horses, he met me at the gate and laid his head on my chest. I'd say he missed me. :) Wednesday he learned to do 180 degree pivots on his hind end, and yesterday he rode off out into our fescue field without even nickering for the other horses. I don't think he'd ever really been alone so not seeing another horse makes him nervous, but it's improving significantly every ride.
He is also now eating treats from my hand, standing calmly beside a lick tub/step stool so I can get on without tweaking both our backs, and he meets us at the big pen gate when Dad or I feed. Chance, Joker and Cliff have established themselves as the first three to eat, and Streak doesn't challenge them, he just waits out by his feed bunk, then trots over to meet you, trots back to the feed bunk and digs in. I don't think Chance and Joker are letting him eat hay with them yet, but they don't eat 24/7 so if they aren't at the hay bale, Cliff and Streak usually are.
Maybe the coolest thing is that last night my dad admitted to his mom on the phone that I made a good couple of decisions in selling Brett's gelding and getting Streak. Dad could do without the horses entirely so for him to say that was pretty neat.
 (0226 Streak.jpg)
 (0226 Streak After Ride.jpg)
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0226 Streak.jpg (80KB - 188 downloads)
0226 Streak After Ride.jpg (88KB - 176 downloads)
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 Wide Darn Open
Posts: 2141
| Love his sweet face in the last pic! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1028
| He looks like such a sweet boy! |
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 Tough Patooty
Posts: 2615
Location: Sperry, OK | Such good news to hear! I was there when TurnLane brought him home (well the next day, I think) and he was such a horrible mess! So gland you two are bonding and he is working well for you! |
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