Why everyone should have a useless horse.

[amastrike]

I've had a useless horse for about a year and half now. As it turns out, he's quite useful. He's the one I experiment on.

He came with a mane like this:
http://i35.tinypic.com/xerc5h.jpg


I learned how to pull manes on him, so his mane looked like this:
http://i33.tinypic.com/rrl5pk.jpg


Then I got bored, and decided to roach it:
http://i35.tinypic.com/ve22e0.jpg


Which is pretty easy to do, really, until you decide to make things interesting:
http://i34.tinypic.com/10fukbn.jpg


It's also fun to clip pretty things into his butt, like this:
http://i33.tinypic.com/29h1sz.jpg


Or this:
http://i33.tinypic.com/15g2q69.jpg


And if we're going to clip pretty things into him, why not go all out? This was his costume for my barn's Halloween Show costume class. He was a shooting star :D . The pictures don't show the full glory of all the glitter he was covered with:
http://i36.tinypic.com/mni1y.jpg

http://i35.tinypic.com/726jrc.jpg

http://i34.tinypic.com/1zgci0i.jpg


And we did the walk class, too:
http://i38.tinypic.com/2nrly0w.jpg

http://i36.tinypic.com/x4rvj4.jpg


So in conclusion: Get a horse who isn't really good for much. You'll find they're good for a lot :yes: .


Oh, also. In case anyone is planning on clipping a horse in the horse's stall, with the horse loose, and they want to bring a can of Kool Lube into the stall to use on the clippers, and the horse decides the can of Kool Lube would make a good chew toy, the horse will be able to punch a hole in the can with his teeth, and will then act surprised when the can starts spraying like crazy in the stall. Don't ask me how I know this. (No harm done, except for the loss of a full can of Kool Lube, lol.)

[vbunny]

Too cute.

[Sakura]

Awwwww.... :D... now I want to go "play" with the retired Paso Fino.

[LittleGray]

How long did all those stars take you??

[GatoGordo]

That stegosaurus is a work of art! Very funny.

[seeuatx]

I have one. My 17 yo retired boy. He still can do some dressage, but generally we just hang out. He just got his shoes pulled for winter so he is on R&R for a few months and the only thing on the agenda is to dress him up as a ghost for the Halloween party (other boarders think his fly sheet looks like the costume from Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin ;) ).

P.S. you should get a friend to do a modified trace clip (add a 2nd strip) and then you can do pleasure pairs as Team Stars and Stripes :lol::winkgrin:

[DressageGeek "Ribbon Ho"]

You made me laugh.

[La Gringa]

Are you sure his horse friends aren't making fun of him? I just wouldn't be brave enough... although I do think the stars are adorable.:winkgrin:

You do good stars, did you use a stencil?

The spiked mane was too much.... did it grow out eventually?

[theoldgreymare]

You and my 12 year old daughter would have a field day together! She loves doing things like that (not that I ever let her.....the occasional costume class is all she gets). Cute pics and your boy must be a good sport and love you very much!

[D1nOnlyRocketPony]

I absolutely have to comment about the roached mane with the spikes. I had a walk-trot saddlebred (they sport roached manes). I got really lazy one winter and it got about 3" long. So I cut "stegasaurus spikes" in it and put his green lycra hoodie on top - I then had a "walk-a-trot-a-saurus" as the kids called him!

[amdfarm]

How cute and what a patient boy. I was thinking the same thing, when a previous poster mentioned the 12yo daughter. My friend's 11yo daughter would be the same way and she has done some experimenting, but nothing that has involved power tools... yet!! :) She learned how to plait manes in 4H this year and did my son's pony at the county fair this year. He was not nearly as thrilled w/ it as she was. I usually french braid it for him, but she thought she needed something more stylish and cool.

[TrakGeorge]

;)Awwww....very cute. Reminds me of my old man, who now is officially retired. He maybe considered "use-less" but I let kids practice pulling his mane, clipping his nose and ears....he's a great babysitter outside and when he was able to...an excellent pony horse and we could use for "horsey rides." Not to mention my best friend :winkgrin:

Gotta love those use-less horse. ;)

[BelladonnaLily]

I've got 2 really useless horses. Unfortunately, Really Old Useless Horse is terrified of clippers. Even when being used in the next county :rolleyes: And she doesn't tie...so she really IS useless...but we love her anyway.

But, Really Fat Useless Horse is good for things of this nature. You can do anything with her EXCEPT put on a grazing muzzle. Then she reacts in much the same way as Really Old Useless Horse when clippers are present.

Useless Pony-In-Training will be excellent for these purposes...he did withstand a full body clip last year as a practice run...and looked ridiculous for weeks. There isn't much you can't do with him.

[amastrike]

He is a wonderful boy, and only 7! Being off the track helps a bit, since I'm sure he's been through much stranger things than me attacking him with clippers. And yes, I did use a stencil!! If I tried it freehand, he'd be covered in jagged blobs :lol: . Twinkle makes stencil kits that are supposed to be for the glitter gel, but I just use them for clipping, instead. They do get a bit chewed up after a while. The stars took probably about 2 hours to do, but I did them in shifts. Half of one side one day, the other half of that side and the other, and the neck shortly before the class (I kept him sheeted so no one would see). He really was very good about the whole thing, except he kept getting bored and walking around his stall, while I was chasing him holding the stencil in place.

Seeuatx-haha, my friend did do a little trace clip on her horse, it would be very funny if she added a stripe or two to it for stars and stripes.

As far as the spikey mane, I only left it in for about week, then roached it all off. I'll probably do more random things with it when it grows out again.

Is it sad that I'm 23 and treat my horse like a gigantic furry live doll? :lol:

[Mendin Fences]

He's so pretty-ful! If anyone wants to offer the OP's horse a modeling contract, he would be more than happy to accept.

[amdfarm]

Is it sad that I'm 23 and treat my horse like a gigantic furry live doll? :lol:

Nah, at least you're having fun w/ him and I think he'd be upset if you just stopped doing stuff to him.

And I was doing stuff like that in my 30's (still am in my 30's, but creeping slowly up on 40) much to my old gelding's dismay. Playing beauty shop w/ his mane and tail, as he is terrified of clippers and scissors, is about all we can do w/ him aside from ride him. The whole beauty treatment thing bored him to pieces, the poor guy, but he will tolerate it to humor me. You can pay attention to him or not and he's happy either way.

[Chief2]

I think you could have a second career in hairdressing! Fancy work with those clippers. He looks great!

[VWBug]

Your post really made me laugh. And it's one of those Mondays so thank you. :)

[flyingchange]

Thanks for posting that. It made me laugh. His expression in the photos is classic - "I'm so humiliated. Why me?" But in a good way.

I have to commend you on how healthy he looks now compared to the first pic. Coat is all shiny and he is all filled out. Great job. :yes:

[Sing Mia Song]

Awesome! I, too, have a Useless Horse who is my personal clipping canvas. He name is Puzzle, so I occasionally clip large question marks into his butt. He also gets the roached mane treatment. The stegasaurus treatment is brilliant! Alas, Puz's mane is way too thin and wimpy to stand up...but I could use hair gel...hmmmm....:lol::lol:

[pj]

I have to commend you on how healthy he looks now compared to the first pic. Coat is all shiny and he is all filled out. Great job. :yes:

Was going to say the same thing. Doesn't look like the same horse.

[Mendin Fences]

Seeuatx-haha, my friend did do a little trace clip on her horse, it would be very funny if she added a stripe or two to it for stars and stripes.

Don't even think about it!

[TheOtherHorse]

I love the stars! He looks like a real sweetheart. :)

[War Admiral]

Awwwwwwww what a lovely horse! I love the stars - great job there. Y'all look like you just plain have a blast! :yes:

I do with mine, as well - but let me tell you a story about how clipping stuff into their butts can backfire on you.

Like yours, my (mostly) unrideable is a TB. Like you, I got adventurous one fall, only I decided to clip the logo of my favorite soccer team into his quarters. It happens to be in the shape of a shield...

...So ALL the rest of that year, to my extreme annoyance, I kept getting the remark "Oh!! I didn't know Avery was a warmblood! What kind IS he??" :mad: Even my vet (whom I loff) did it...

It looked really cool, but we can't HAVE my epic TB walking around with people thinking he's a garden variety warmblood! :lol: So I'll never do it again.

We find plenty of other trouble to get into though. :cool:

[amastrike]

He has changed a lot since he came. He was handsome, but rather yucky looking... lots of food and grooming and some Omega Horseshine and a bath, and he's a pretty boy! He's a lot of fun, and my spoiled little boy. My trainer refers to him as "the golden child" :lol: . The closest he gets to ever getting in trouble is being called "Angel!" in a stern voice.

Uh-oh, War Admiral! I wouldn't want anyone mistaking my fabulous TB for some boring old warmblood. (And truthfully, he is a pretty darn nice TB--good lines, and he was a good racer... his track record is still standing at Aqueduct :yes: .) Not to mention, he's a heck of a lot prettier than any warmblood. He looks a bit like an overgrown Ay-rab.


Now the question is... what should I do with him when the stars grow out? I have heart stencils... The next mane look is going to be waves, I think. I love making my horse pretty :D . There probably won't be any more full-body clipping until spring, though, winters in WNY can be brutal.

[i_x3_theponiez]

Hahaha its like a blank canvas to experiment on almost.

[sublimequine]

Did you do the heart on his butt with a stencil, or freehand? I've been thinking of doing that with my mare.. she'd look adoreable! :lol:

[AppendixQHLover]

OMG that is hysterical. He looked SO purty.

I love playing with my horse's mane and tail. i will just play with it non-stop.

[johnnysauntie]

your horse is a real .... star!

(terrible, I know.)

:lol:

[War Admiral]

his track record is still standing at Aqueduct :yes: .)


That's AWESOME!!! :yes: What distance?? Coolcoolcool, SO glad he has a home with you!


Now the question is... what should I do with him when the stars grow out?

Something elegant and sophisticated. A glass of champagne perhaps? With bubbles?? :cool:

[amastrike]

Haha, he's not such a blank canvas at the moment :lol: .

The heart was with a stencil... I have ZERO artistic ability, so I depend on stencils to make things decent. The heart stencil I made with the top of a 2lb container of BL Pellets--just folded it in half and cut out the heart. Now I have my Twinkle stencils, so those work pretty well. The champagne glass sounds cool, but I don't trust myself to do it! I need pretty simple things, lol.

War Admiral, 7 1/2 furlongs. He won over $101k. His last year (5 year old season) he raced 16 times between the middle of May and the end of November.. 2-3 times per month, nonstop :no: . I watched some videos of him running ($4 for up to 40 views in a 48 hour period from Equibase)... it was pretty cool to watch my sweet, cuddly little baby running and winning. Part of me wishes he'd retired sound (though technically, we've been told he did come off the track sound, and was injured later... I'm not 100% sure I believe it; it's much easier to blame his problems on being overraced).... but on the other hand, if he'd been sound, I wouldn't have ended up with him, and he's perfectly happy, so it's well enough.

[3Spots]

That was great!

[Gestalt]

Oh he's beautiful. Even if you're using stencils you still have talent. My clip jobs turn out horrible. I can't blame it on my boy, he'll stand still for HOURS. He loves to play 'dress up'. :lol:

That first pic is sad, he's so thin. Lucky boy to end up with a wonderful Mommy like you!

[BettySueLou]

Love...Love...Love It! May need to take up some of your fabulous ideas.

Thank you. What a great Monday.