And the greatest horse you have ever seen is

[backwoodsnanny]

you have ever seen or known anywhere NOT just in the show ring as I do believe you when some of you say there are amazing horses out there who have never been in a show ring. Add pictures if you'd like. If I were going to pic a show horse I guess I would say Ms Kentucky too but have seen other amazing horses doing other jobs who have never seen a show ring and would like you to add them as well.

 

[Jill]

You know, I am honestly really partial to my own current herd

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I think the most beautiful MARE I've ever seen in person is Erica's Peas / Erica's RFM Spring Thunder. She is so etremely refined and elegant. She's a horse you can tell at a GLANCE is a mare. So feminine. I had admired her greatly in photographs and got to see her at a Lexington, KY show this summer and she is even more breathtaking in person.

 

[NMMack]

There are lots and lots of gorgeous, well coifed, perfectly trained horses out there, that are bred to the 9's, and fed special diets to achieve close to perfection in body and shine, but in my book, the greatest Mini out there is:

My Little Peanut!

This little guy consistantly makes me giggle and laugh like an idiot! He has me wrapped around his little tiny hoof, and he knows it! He follows me around like a little puppy dog, even though he has to trot to keep up to me! He is pretty and he knows it, but hates when I try to fuss with him, he will eventually heave a sigh, and let me brush him up all pretty because he knows it pleases me! I ask him to "stand pretty", and he will park out, and stretch that long little neck and nose of his out like he is in a show lineup, just for a treat! And there is no entertainment on earth, like that when he gets a bug up his nose, (figuratively speaking) and will start bucking and jumping practically in the same spot - he is hilarious! I could sit out in the pasture and watch him for hours, and do whenever I get the chance! He will wrap himself around and around my legs like a kitten when he wants me to pay attention to him or needs a hug, and I just love when he runs and hides behind me for protection when one of the other horses is picking on him.

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To me, he is the epitome of the Miniature Horse, he looks and moves like a horse in miniature, he is smart, beautiful, and he makes my heart smile! I don't need to show him, I have no need of anyone else's opinion of him, because only mine matters to me! To me he is perfect even with his imperfections, and no World Champion could take his place! (Ok, Ok, so I do like to drool over them too!

: ) Peanut will always be one of the greatest horse in my books because he does what God intended for the horse to do with humans, be your friend and inspiration, and make your heart smile! I am very, very fortunate!

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Nancy

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[ThreeCFarm]

Charlotte's Star Skipper!!!! He has some nice professional photos, but they don't do him justice. To see him in person is an experience. I require more than just a pretty horse (my big horse background!), it must be athletic. Skipper is the most athletic mini I have ever seen, and he's very well put together too! He is so athletic that if he were a big horse, there would be no limit to what he could do in terms of performance--he could handle any discipline.

If I could have my pick of stallions, Skipper would come home with me!

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[Shari]

that was wonderfully said nancy.

in my heart, maggie. though her daughter theia is better conformation wise than her dam,...there is just something very special about maggie. she has been my heart and always has been there for me.

her picture is the one in the advatar.

for out side horses,,, i do not remember the mini stallions name,as it was a few years ago, but he was black and had the most perfect conformation on any mini i have ever seen and i am beyond picky about stallion quality. give me time,,might remember who he is.

susanne's mingus is really nice. would really look smashing in a cart!

ok...here she is last winter blasting around.

: hard to get good action shots of her.

http://hometown.aol.com/danishpb/images/me&maggie2aug05.jpg

 

[JWC sr.]

Without a doubt the most correct and refined mini I have ever seen is the current two time Champion Of Champions "Miss Kentucky" Owned by Don & Beverly Burdette when she is showing well. Ulta refined, great eye, head and neck and a proportioned body with straight legs. I can't say enough good thingsabout her. The only thing wrong with her is that I don't own her LOL. :aktion033:

:saludando:

 

[backwoodsnanny]

Nancy your post was exactly what I was looking for. Many here dont show or only show on a local level and though we do drool over the beautiful horses who do show sometimes the greatest horse in our lives isnt that perfect show horse but rather a horse who has done great things for our hearts or our neighbors. I have a boy here who though maybe not the greatest horse I have ever seen is a great horse because he makes all who see him smile and go away shaking their heads at his antics. He brings joy to all who meet him and for this he is a great horse.

 

[kaykay]

One of the greatest horses i have ever met was Mona. She was a CMHR rescue. Cathy, ginny and I found her standing in a tiny stall with manure up to her knees with a tiny filly on her side. We took her to ISU and the news was so bad. Her hooves and legs had literally rotted out from under her. The vets couldnt believe she could even stand. But she did it for her foal. You could see the pain in her eyes but she still took care of that baby. We ended her suffering but I will never forget the way she would try to walk to her baby to take care of her knowing how bad the pain had to be

Heres to you Mona

 

[Miniequine]

Miss Kentucky ~ I have yet to see a nicer mini.

She gives me goose bumps just looking at her.

 

[Charlotte]

AAhhhhhhhhhhhhh Nancy, that was beautiful.

: And most definitely, the show ring isn't the only place to find those individuals who are beautiful....in looks and in actions.

Stephanie, thank you for the kind words about Skipper. We fell in love with him as a gangly 6 month old, his show career validated our feelings and now many years later those qualities shine through out in the paddock.

Chrlotte

 

[Mini Mouse]

One of the greatest horses i have ever met was Mona. She was a CMHR rescue. Cathy, ginny and I found her standing in a tiny stall with manure up to her knees with a tiny filly on her side. We took her to ISU and the news was so bad. Her hooves and legs had literally rotted out from under her. The vets couldnt believe she could even stand. But she did it for her foal. You could see the pain in her eyes but she still took care of that baby. We ended her suffering but I will never forget the way she would try to walk to her baby to take care of her knowing how bad the pain had to be

Heres to you Mona

Oh My God!! That story broke my heart. Hats off to Mona! And Thank God for people like you.

 

[Crabby-Chicken]

[SIZE=12pt]KayKay,,,[/SIZE]

That is a heartbreaking story. What a girl Mona was..... And still is. There is no end to intregity like that.

 

[Sandee]

The horse that impressed me most and made me want to have "one just like that" is Hidden Hollow Joseph. I saw him at the first World Pinto Show I attended and fell in love. It's not that he's so perfect looking, although he is cute but that he can do so much. I think he's around 30" and he drives like a dream. I could actually see him "float" - all four feet off the ground in the driving. Then he also jumps, does obstacle, halter and probably more that I can't remember. He's won the Jerald cart for high point at least 4 years at the Pinto Show. He's the inspiration that makes me want to have a horse that will "do it all"!

Oh, he's on page 6 of the August Journal in the Pinto ad (the sorrel).

 

[MooreAcres]

My favorite horse outside of my own herd is Little Kings Buckeroo Baccarra. He is the nicest conformationally correct stallion I have ever seen. I like him better than his sire, Buckeroo, himself. That gorgeous head, long archy neck, and those legs that never end...plus his dark bay coat is to die for.

My favorite horse from my herd would have to be DF Chip Ahoy. I fell in love with him the first day I saw him when he was a mere 18 months old. That love has only grown with every passing day. Although each of my horses in special to me in their own way, if they weren't they wouldn't be here in the first place.

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Erin

 

[4mymirage]

Well, the greatest mini horse I've ever known was my beloved SPs Joey!!

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Yes I am barn blind and predjudiced....

This little horse was found by "Santa's Elves" on a logging chain in a ladies back yard after a hurricane in Sept 1990.......He was a little 2yo stallion with the halter permanently wedged into his nose....

Luckily, I know the vet really well

: and he had the halter cut out, and his extra baggage removed (castrated) and by Christmas 1990, he was pulling a cart with little children in tow

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For years, he raced the big horses (namely my hubby's Arab mare) the mile to the fish pond and back... he could take corners at a full run with the cart up on one wheel

: (I know not the safest or smartest thing but definitely fun and I am a helmet fanatic) Yet he would pull the 4H kids, church camp kids or school fundraiser crowd for hours on end without the slightest hint of fire! He even played the part of the donkey in at least 4 church plays - carefully riding Mary to the stables down the aisle of the church. (And not once messed the floor!)

In 2002 my daughter decided to show minis, so who else but Joey to do it... Joey came home the roadster champion in his first show ... against a national roadster champ (BTW pulling a homemade cart with nylon harness and red and white rope reins :risa_suelos: !!)

In 2004, in his first AMHR show, he beat a HOF Country pleasure horse - even in the stake class and was the high point youth horse for the day :aktion033: . He went to AMHR nationals as a complete unknown and came home national top ten in Roadster. He was the WCMHR high point performance horse and won the "Super Gelding" title. Other titles included the Va state fair High point performance horse and champion driving mini at the NC state fair - winning all but 1 driving class!

Every time someone at a show would tell him he couldn't do something, he would do it just to prove them wrong!

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Sadly, a neighbors dogs attacked Joey in Oct 2004, and he fractured and dislocated his hip. :no:

Though there were salvage options, we knew Joey would never be happy unless he could run and go and he was humanely euthanized and buried in my yard. :no:

While not a halter beauty, he had a beauty from within that made every who met him feel special.

Here's my favorite show pic from his first AMHR show

Red was his favorite color

 

[hairicane]

Awww, Joey was such a wonderful horse , sounds like he had a ton of heart.

 

[horsesmakeubroke]

My greatest horse is my own mare Robyn (aka Vanir Remember Me). Sorry, not a mini (she's 17hh) as I don't own minis (yet!). She arrived with me 3 years ago, as a 4 year old, badly damaged and completely wild, for starting and eventually selling. She had been roped and haltered for the first time that day and they'd attempted to drag and push her onto a trailer. During the struggle she had slipped and fallen and her head had been trapped under the trailer and her skull fractured below her eye. She had a massive foot abcess but as she was completely unapproachable, she was almost impossible to treat. She was in deep shock and all we could do was give her anti tetanus vaccine over the trailer door before releasing her and driving her gently into a stable.

She clearly had potential as a top class ridder show hunter and I bought her 3 days later and placed her in a stall nearest the tack room. The rule was that if anyone had to pass her stable, they must spend a couple of minutes talking to her. When she healed, we started working her. Instead of the usual 3 week average to lie over our horses, she took 12 weeks and was a complete nightmare. Probably the only horse who regularly drove me to tears of frustration. After months of patient work, Robyn was jumping a small course of fences and going to a few tiny local shows. She was always spooky tho and needed constant reassurance. She liked to smell us, as if to assure herself of our familiarity and her safety. But she was never nasty.

It wasn't until Robyn was sold to Belgium for a substantial sum, subject to vetting, that we discovered she was almost completely blind. She had cataracts with almost no sight in one eye and could see only light and shapes in the other. We were devastated, not only for the financial implication but also that this stunningly beautiful lady was so disabled yet had carried on and done her best for us. I was advised to dump her at a local sale but of course this was not an option for us. We would find her her own white "guide pony" and she would live out her days with us at Kilnacloy. I decided to put her in foal, praying the cataracts weren't heridetary. I know it was a huge risk but if they were, her foal would have to be destroyed and she would never be covered again. She gave birth to a colt foal, Vanir Remiro (Alfie) (pic on my website) who's eyes were and still are perfect.

When Alfie was 10 weeks old, we had a call (not unusual) from a distraught client who'd lost his mare and was stuck with a weak 10 day old foal. Jonesey, almost on the point of collapse joined us after a 3 hour journey. I nursed him through the night and got him going again but by day 3 and having tried 2 foster mares who were aggresive to the point of being extremely dangerous, I too was on the point of collapse. I had a large yard to run and 35 other horses needing my attention. I'd noticed Robyn unusually tolerant of other mare's foals in the field and to cut a long story short, Robyn took on Jonesey as well as her own baby and reared them both to weaning. We couldnt' believe it as we do a lot of fosterings and acceptance by the foster mum can take days of hard work. Robyn took all of 15 minutes to accept her new foster baby. Alfie wasn't too impressed tho!

She's done it again this year too. A friend lost a mare and she fostered the foal alongside this year's colt for a week, until we found a suitable foster mare.

But the best bit of news is that over a period of 18 months, Robyn's cataracts have completely disappeared. They were almost certainly as a result of her awful head injury. Apparently it's not unheard of, but pretty rare for them to go away. She's the most placid, sweet natured lady I've ever known in my 36 years with horses and she will never, ever be sold. We named her "Remember Me" before we knew of her problems and talents... but we didn't know just how appopriate her name would turn out to be. That's her pic on my profile with her two sons, last year.

Kate

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Kate , that is a GREAT mare!!!

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

Not a Miniature Horse, but had the opportunity to see Lynn Palm and Painted Rugged Lark at the PA Expo the last two years. I am in love with that stallion!! He is soo neat!

In Miniatures, I love my stallion Chips. He is soo sweet, very laid back stallion, loves kids and is very careful around them. He is not the most perfect in conformation, but he does have very flashy movement, and I hope to train him to drive sometime soon.

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Some other great stories here about great horses!!

 

[Ginia]

Hands down, my very own Cedardell High Jinks, my little Arab gelding that quite literally saved my life, (In Memory page on my website www.postrockminiatures.com). Next would probably be Baby Doll, a nationally well-known Quarter Horse on the rodeo circuit in the 60's, that I had the misfortune to see die in a freak roping event during a rodeo in Salina, Kansas. Hmmm --- Count Dorsaz, beautiful old-style Arab show horse. Ansata Ibn Halima. Naborr. Many of those names won't be familiar to you, but you middle-aged and older Arab readers will remember them too. Wonderful horses.

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