 Curly horses in the 2007 Rose Parade in Pasadena, CA. Photo by Zeetz Jones |
by Kristin Berkery
Most horses’ coats become wild and woolly in the winter, but not Curly horses. Starting in the fall, most Curlies grow a winter coat of luxurious curls or waves covering their bodies. The coat sheds in the warmer months leaving smooth or wavy hair behind, and in some cases, they may even shed their entire manes and tails in the summer. |
Continue reading What is a Curly? »
Tags: Arabian, history, horse, Morgan, mustang, Quarter Horse
by Kristin Berkery
 William Shatner driving his famous Saddlebred stallion, Call Me Ringo, at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. AP photo |
William Shatner “Sussim osim nissim,” translated from Hebrew means, “horses make miracles.” During the 1983 filming of a T.J. Hooker episode at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, William Shatner noticed a black Saddlebred stallion he couldn’t stop thinking about. The horse, Sultan’s Great Day, was a coal-black son of the legendary Supreme Sultan, but that didn’t matter to Shatner. All he cared about was buying the beautiful horse, which he paid a premium for because of his inexperience in the horse business. |
Continue reading Celebrities & Horses: William Shatner, Queen Elizabeth II & Patrick Swayze »
| An OTTB is a brave soul, an animal with movement in his bones, an athlete of tremendous power; but most of all, an OTTB is a horse to love. |
| I’m honored to welcome author Natalie Reinert of the Retired Racehorse Blog as ilovehorses.net‘s first guest blogger. One of Natalie’s passions is Off-the-Track-Thoroughbreds, or retired racehorses that go on to other careers. Check out Natalie’s novel The Head and Not the Heart, which has 5 stars on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. — Kristin Berkery |
by Natalie Reinert
 Neville Bardos, an OTTB who avoided slaughter and survived a barn fire, pictured with Boyd Martin. He is a possible candidate for the 2012 U.S. Olympic equestrian team. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld/USEA |
You’ve heard of OTTBs, of course. You have a friend with a friend who bought a horse off the track. She told you they’re those hot, crazy, fire-breathing dragons you see leaping onto their owner’s heads at horse shows. They’re those mad, spooky animals that take off when a branch snaps beneath a hoof, turning a trail ride into a tantrum. They’re those fragile, sensitive beasts that break out in hives when they’re touched by a butterfly.
But wait, that can’t be the whole story. OTTBs are making the news these days, from the Retired Racehorse Trainer Challenge to the high-profile stories on miracle horses like Neville Bardos, the Australian OTTB whose will to not just live but get back to work as a 4* event horse has made headlines in equine and mass media. |
Continue reading What is an OTTB? »
Tags: horse, horse rescue, racing, rescue, riding, thoroughbred
by Kristin Berkery
Horse and rider in native Turkoman costume, date and photographer unknown
 Absent, foaled in 1952 and winner of three Olympic medals. Photographer unknown |
This summer marks 52 years since one of the most unusual horses first competed at the Summer Olympics in Rome. Absent, a striking black Akhal Teke stallion with four white socks and a star, introduced the world to a little-known ancient breed when he won a gold medal in dressage for the Soviet Union. He returned to the Olympics two more times for an individual bronze medal in 1964 and a team gold medal in 1968, both in dressage. |
Continue reading The Akhal Teke: Desert Horse To Olympic Champion and Back Again »
Tags: Akhal Teke, ancient, breed, breeding, history, horse, thoroughbred
by Kristin Berkery
| What a busy month! I’ve been working on a variety of design projects for marketing clients, doing fun things with my kids, reading a ton of books, researching for ilovehorses.net, and continuing to develop a new book project. You’ll see new articles here soon. |
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I’ve created a Pinterest board for ilovehorses.net and I invite you to check it out. Included are some unique photos you probably haven’t seen yet. Here’s a preview:
Continue reading Pinterest: Some of the Coolest Horse Photos on the Web »
