Everybody's introductory thread - moved from General

[Fizzbw]

Hi everyone,

I've been doing a bit of work with several people over the last week and each of their horses are so wonderful, and so characterful that, although I "know" them I find I don't really "know" them. I thought ages ago that we needed a sort of cheat sheet of who's who - so maybe this is the time to do it? It would be great to have a thread that new people can look at as well as post on, so they know us all a bit  better - and also as a place where there are always photo's for people if someone needs vibes etc.

And a place for us to show off our wonderful beasties!

I thought that a photo and brief (sadly brief, but fun and getting the character) biography would be best. If you want to say anything about yourself is up to you. Oh and add in other SFO's (significant Furry Others).

Well? Who's going first?  : 8)

Niki xxx

ps if people like this idea, and most of us post, then I will pin it so it is always around....

[TashaKat]

Me, Tashakat aka Lynne aka Saffy's mum


Saffy's story is here:

http://www.enlightenedequitation.com/ee/boards/index.php?topic=16883.0


and one of my favourite photos is of Saffy copying Emma's (aka Kassidy) leg movement:




I currently live in Yorkshire but work in London as a Clinical Cardiac Physiologist.  I'm unemployed as of 21st December 2007 though so who knows what the future holds  :P  

I started life training as a dancer (ballet, stage, tap etc), actor and musician (cello, clarinet, flute, trumpet/cornet/flugelhorn, bit of piano, even smaller bit of harp and basically any musical instrument I could get my hands on).

I always loved horses though but wasn't supposed to dance and ride (that came from the dance side) because of the difference in muscle usage.  That didn't stop me, though, and I mucked out, groomed, cleaned tack etc for friends and the local riding school just so that I could be around horses.  I was very lucky in that my first RI was BHS as it should be, very classically orientated with the welfare of the horse being paramount.  

After 'O' levels I looked after 7 showjumpers who belonged to a friend of my dad's.  Spent many hours at the yard and loved every minute of it.  Did lots of stupid things like hacking out bareback in a bikini without a hat but lived to tell the tale (just!).

Long story short(ish).  I moved to London for work and couldn't afford to ride anymore (could barely afford to eat) especially as London prices were astronomical.  I was still dancing and took up figure skating and ice dance.  In my spare time I used to rollerblade around London with a gang of skaters, most of whom were better than me  Boy was I fit!

I booked a ride in Hyde Park and was disappointed.  I wanted to ride but didn't want a 'donkey' ride.  Some time later I moved to Hertfordshire where I discovered Contessa RC and started back riding again.  I was approached on my second week there asking if I wanted to 'help' there at weekends.  So, for 3.5 years I spent all my weekends and days off working on the yard.  I did my NVQ L1 while I was there.  It was great experience and even though my 'pay' was a group lesson once a week I wouldn't have changed it for the world.

I was also going to the Equestrian Centre in Wrexham during this time (3 lessons a day) and was seriously hooked.  Believe it or not I even did jumping and cross country there!  I really enjoyed it but as I don't get paid if I don't work the risks prevented me from really getting back into jumping again.

Fast forward ... lost my job, moved back to Yorkshire (kicking and screaming all the way) and couldn't find anywhere to have lessons.  I ended up driving to Nottingham on my day off for a group lesson!  In the meantime I was working at an RDA yard doing yard duties and also helping with the RDA lessons.  It was great but I wasn't being paid and had to find a 'proper' job.  During this time I worked in Nottingham, Sheffield & Leeds which was ok because it meant that I could get to see Saff every night.  At the end of July 2004 I decided that I had to get my own, I couldn't bear not to ride.  Went to view Saff in August and picked her up on 11th September 2004!!!  Unfortunately I lost my job at Leeds (found someone cheaper, the story of my life) and had to head back down to London.  The rest, as they say, is history

Oh, and am the single parent of not only Saff but a kit called Tigger who is just as much of a character as the Saff Monster


I'm hoping for a new chapter in the tale in the New Year so .... watch this space


Crikey, that wasn't very short was it?  Sorry ....  

[lmevans]

yay, me too, me too


love of my life number 1, Tonka (Firienwood Juggernaut!), 15hh gypsy cob stallion, home bred, rising 5yo, softest, fuzzy fool you could hope to meet!


number 2. Noosa, 17.1hh TBxShire, rising 14yo, beautiful girl and has steadily repaired my shattered confidence, bless her!


I'm 31, just approaching the end of teacher training (secondary science), already been through several other careers (research scientist, university lecturer) and am an EE Teacher and Sports Injury Massage Therapist!


Looking forward to reading everyone else's!
Lucie x

[Fizzbw]

Ok, this is my wonderful 15hh 8 yo purebred Connemara Braemar Bright and Breezy aka Cirrus - he's fab, very special, rather tricksy, blindingly intelligent and a total babe. Thanks to my ill health and his time off with a suspensory ligament injury he is still green and shiney at 8, but is showing a lot of potential to be the best hacking horse in the world  :P

He is also very furry (he also has pretty severe sweet itch, which we are coping well with at the moment)



Then I have Jasper - 16hh KWPN but really Selle Francais, 12yo - ex showjumper (and ex dutch dressage horse) come to me for an understanding second home who will be kind on his emotions and hocks. He is a very very complex character, with some major issues, but is coping well with the transition to Niki-world. He is also transitioning to barefeet well. I share him with a friend and we are getting on really well - he has a blog in the blog section. He came to be a friend to Cirrus and they are totally joined at the hip!



Sadly my wonderful old pony Fizz was pts in August due to old age - he was the best pony in the world and he deserves a spot here!



I also own a third of Ianto - bought in horrid condition Feb 07 - rather than sell him to the numpties out there as was the plan he is now on loan to Erin (Magnatise on here). He's now back with us so we will assess him once he has had some chill out time and then find a really good home for him. He's a cracking pony!



I have a lurcher Ellie who is wonderful, and a family dog Murphy, a Golden retriever cross something that jumped over the hedge...




Oh and a hamster called Assassin (the third hamster and the third winner of the Derby)

I'm 36, am a Bowen Therapist and Reiki person - I do a bit of AC as well. I live in Wales and keep my neds at home (very lucky me). I do live at home with my folks due to a neurological condition that is still a bit limiting, though I am getting to grips with it after 5 years. I ride/go outside in a mask or wrapped up if it is cold (as the pic of me on the boys!) as the cold causes severe pain in my face. I'm known locally as a highwaywoman in training....  8)

That's me and mine!

Niki xxx

[Bradders]

This is a really interesting thread

Ok, I am the wrong side of 40 and a civil servant! (Not saying which Dept I work for, but please no one mention missing disks!)

Am originally from Wales, but have spent the last 20 years in Sussex.

Always wanted a pony as a child but did not actually learn to ride until I was on my 30s - have been broke ever since

I have 2 horses:

Nemo, my lovely old codger:



He is 3/4 arab 1/4 ID and I very reluctantly retired him last year - he is 25. He has more than his fair share of ailments (epilepsy, narcolepsy and sweet itch to name but a few), but can still be seen strutting along in the field He has the most stunning trot - but loathed school work so we only ever really hacked - nothing can compare to the feeling that I got when his trot shifed up a gear - it was like floating

Then there is Rolo my little tank.



I could not have gone for anything more different to Nemo if I had tried. He is now 5 and is a sensitive little soul - he came with afew hidden issues which we are gradually resolving He is the kindest most placide little chap (kind and placid are not words that could ever be used ot describe Nemo!)



They are both at the same livery yard - about 15 mins drive from me, although Nemo has been on grass livery for the last year - and , despite my reservations, is loving it!

Rest of family:

Jerry Springer and Otto the dogs:


3 cats (no decent piccies!)
Charlie and Lola the chins:



And finally - where my user name came from - my dear old departed Bradley. Gone for 4 years now, but certainly not forgotten.

[whisper's mum]

I have 3 gorgeous mares, the first being Whisper, my 14yr old Welsh Section C that is only 13hh (but try telling her that  :P)



The 2nd is Rija, my 16hh Luso mare who I bought from Chapsi

The 3rd is Espiritu (Spirit) my 4yr old PRE who is by Gastador 

My dog is called Darcie and he is a Working Collie x Working Collie and my OH's dog is called Blue, we think he is Springer x Lab, both are 18mths old and from rescue. 

And my human Soul Mate is Paul (Fixador) who Heather was instrumental in helping me to find 

I'm 34yrs old but don't as yet feel it  :P I teach in a Middle School and am responsible for the Coodination of RE, a suitable responsibility for an enthusiastic Pagan 

[ek]

I love all your horses and furry friends.

It's nice to put faces to names as well.  Good idea Niki.

Here's some of mine:


Nell, Willy (Willow behind), Gordie and Bobee.
Willow is Nell's mum
Gordie is Bobee's mum.
Willy (gelding) thinks he's dad.

Dudley and Freckle (Dudley is Freckle's dad) JRT's leading the herd in for dinner.
Shannon and Willy

Skye my Border Collie making sure Nell behaves.


Freyja and Spingo

And Pepsi and her baby Hazelnut at 1 day old (now sold) but still lives with us!   

I'm 45 and a subpostmistress.  Work very, very long hours and it usually rains during my 3 afternoons off per week!

Work to live don't live to work!

Hobbies include Skiing (which I do better than I ride) and looking at this website during the day.  Also have 7 sheep and 4 chickens.

I have a tame blackbird that comes in the shop and my OH John has named him Bill (due to his yellow bill?)

I have an 18 yr old son Christopher.

[twinkle11]

what a great thread really good idea

well im kelly im 21 and i own two horses Twinkle and Amber

Twinkle is 12.1 and a Hackney pony who is homebred ,but was with my uncle for 11 years then came to me when i was 13/14 my first pony i was chucked in at deep end she was a cow to say the least but wouldnt change her for the world. she was used for driving but she had always been sat on so when she came to me i rode her and she is a little madam who is now 18 and dont act it in the sligtest :P or look it.She got laminitis this year 2007 and we really didnt think she was going to make it but shes a tough cookie and pulled threw got it in all four feet and rotation in both fronts what a feacow that was mis diagnosed at first the farrier lied to me lots of probs but we got there in the end! now shes just coming back into work november 07 and have just got her a barefoot cheyenne which she likes and im getting used to  8)


just after all clear from lami having a run around at old stables in menage


first time she had a bit of grass in a long time but now has a muzzle on which she hates


being a little poser


when she had her lami :'(


when she was a week old and thats me in the pic


me and twink in the field


and her driving days

then i also have Amber who i got when she was 2 and is now 7 they grow up so quick!
this is how i came across EE because she was sent away to be backed and when she came back to me i struggled bad and ended up with instructor that told me hit her with he whip hit her with the whip and i just didnt want to,then i found ee and jill ee teacher and have neverlooked back since thanks to ee!
would love to compete a little for fun and she how things go!


amber at friesian inspection 06 i think




one of when she was younger




riding holiday in sept in norfolk

[twinkle11]

also have a dog named Alfie who turning 4 his a german shorthaired pointer
and a character at that who comes down stables with me everyday and loves it






I left school and went to writtle college and done a horse course which i hated horses wernt treated great and i was a big scivvy for everyone else and was ment to be learning i didnt learn one thing!

I then changed and decided to do beauty and done waxing,nails,facials you name it i did, also went to college with jade goodie who is a complete looney but actually quiet a nice girl but very stupid!
didnt do that as i thought why make them look nice when i look a scruff pot so gave it up!

so went back to horsey routes as thats what i love and am now doing my eet training have just done my first moudule and its fantastic i love it cant wait till april!

[winnieandben]

Good idea, some lovely pics already.

I havent been online much recently so nice to re introduce myself!

I have had ponies and horses since I was 4 years old my first pony shared with my sister a shetland x highland, we then adopted a welsh sec a who became my pony both very sharp and quirky and lots of fun!  Then I bought an ex racehorse when i was 16, sounds like a very bad idea but we had an amzing bond.  After several years I was in a poor financial situation so decided to put her on short term loan as a broodmare to someone I knew, biggest mistake of my life!!!!  Basically she was mistreated and I took her back at 9 months in foal in very bad condition unfortunately she had to be pts 4 months after her foal was born she had given everything to her foal  :'(  (dont have a scanner to put up a photo).  I kept her foal.

Then started the next chapter of my life with horses 'Winnie'  I didnt bond with her till she was about 3 she was the most difficult horse I have ever worked with, all teeth and feet and used to throw the biggest temper tantrums ever but sadly she had to be pts last year at 7 years old just when I had got her going well.
This is Winnie


And Ben my rescue clydesdale with my new youngster Jinx

And Jinx again showing in hand

And finally my gorgeous dogs


I live in Perthshire and am a qualified vet nurse but currently working as a dog groomer, I also live with my non horsie husband Iain!  Ben the clydie is retired and Jinx is now 1 1/2 so hope to do some more showing with her next year then who knows watch this space.......
Sorry a bit long thanks for reading  :

Janet 

[ChrissieW]

I started off my horse ownership about 15 years ago with a very green, very tempermental, nappy just backed 4 year old "irish type" called Kelly.   Should have been a match made in hell (vet actually passed her with flying colours physically, but warned me off behaviourally!!), but I just felt a bond with her from the first moment and despite some ups and downs, we had an amazing time together, until devestatingly just when she was really coming to her best, I lost her to a broken knee in a field accident at 10 years.    No photos on the PC, but will dig one out and scan in at some point.   Couldn't not include her, as she was an absolute one off, never to be repeated type mare!

Now I just have the one horse (not sure how you all find time for multiples!!  )    She's my world and a 16hh Danish Warmblood x TB, 12 year old mare, Double Thyme aka "minnie".   I've had her since a just backed 4 year old.   She's opinionated, bossy, grumpy, stubborn, but boy when she does decide to lower herself and play ball, she is absolutely wonderful       She loves to terrorise the yard and controls her "air space" round her box better than any paranoid dictatorship!  , but will allow her chosen people in and out quite happily and my sister's kids love her to bits.    

She's kept on DIY livery, unfortunately on three months paddock rest for an annular ligament strain, but hoping its not too bad and we will be back in action one day!   She's barefoot (which is how I found all you wonderful people!  ) and when sound, we normally play at a bit of low level dressage/riding club stuff and hacking.

2 year old Minnie (one poking her tongue out!)


Minnie & my nieces


Rare action shot of us leaving the ground (together for once!!  :P)


One of our rare posh days!


My gorgeous girl and a favourite photo




Plus can't leave out my sister's boy - he's a 10 year old WelshxTB gelding called Chase and after quite a few years being a bit of an ASBO kid, he's finally grown up and is loving doing pony club with my nieces.





And I can't possibly leave my Goldie out of the equation (or Whitey as we call him!  :)    He's 18months old and called Dexter and an absolute darling, loves everybody and everything.





As for me, I'm 36 years old, do one of those boring office/sales type jobs (actually its not that bad) and single (not sure how anyone has time not to be with horses!!  ).   After years of "traditional" riding and instruction, I am now becoming ever more interested in alternatives and classical - not as committed as many of you, but this wonderful forum is gradually drawing me in!!! 

[cazz]

civil servant! (Not saying which Dept I work for, but please no one mention missing disks!)

That sounds like my mum thats all shes's said this week!! 

Well im 17 starting at harpury next year doing my equine vet nursing course!!!! I started riding at about 11! I was riding at a local riding school untill i moved to weston and i started helping out at Sueblue's yard!! Where i fell in love with the most amazing horse my little Amalia shes an andalusian 3 in june  thats gone fast!!! We are inseprable! Cant wait for our ridden work in a year!! 
Amalia a few weeks old!


At our first show where she came 2nd 


Then the same show but a year on where she came 1dt 


Then we have my lovely Gabrielle shes Andalusian x Anglo Arab 15 going on 4  She such a sweetie although she loves mud and pooing lots in the stable  > Im hopeing to do some ridden shows next year with her!! But we have a fun ride on the 16th 

Around about the first time i met Gabs with her foal Jimmy


Gabi her first week at the yard out with Margarita youd think shed been here for years 


Then me riding her 2 months ago!! 

[visconde]

lovely reading all of the backgrounds!

I am 37, worked as a groom and then as a veterinary nurse for years. Finally got around to going to Uni as one of them mature students  and studied microbiology following with a PhD in potential causes of equine grass sickness. currently working in sheep parasitology. I do some photography and web design in my spare time.

from a non-horsey family and been riding since I was 5. lovely parents became horsey and we had three ponies in total- a rescue, a section C and lastly a TB x NF. left home at 16 to do my stages and PT. Party time in my early 20s led to time off riding while I pursued other pasttimes such as husky racing and scuba diving. but the horses always called me back..



Discovered lusos on a chance holiday to Portugal, fell totally in love. a few years later my nan died and left me a sum of money to 'do whatever made me happiest'. So I bought V





currently living with a wonderful man, a complete townie who has adapted to mud and horse hair much easier than he expected 

this is my other boy, irish setter by name of Flynn-fabulous dog,love him to bits

[NickeringNotions]

what a lovely thread

well im in college and currently failing AS levels  :P ive owned Woody for just over 18 months now and here he is




Woodz/Woodster/The Bear/Woodzy/Woody/WoodBear is 16 beginning of next year, and he is a 16.3 TB gelding


When I got him he was a very skinny little thing that stood there and just looked sorry for himself the whole time :( He wouldn't even eat treats out of your hand!  :'(, would just stare into the distance..


I got him on the 11th May '06 as a surprise, when i was woken up at 1am in a panic to be told that my sister's mare was colicking  and when i got to the yard, she popped her head over the stable door and looked at me as if to say 'what?'  : i thought it was some sort of cruel joke, but then i heard hoofsteps and i saw my handsome boy for the first time and just burst into tears!


Since then he has not only gotten fatter and hairier (and made my bank account far lighter!) but he has come out of his shell he is now a cheeky little monster that will shut you in the stable when you are mucking out, and will throw things on the floor to get your attention, he'll also bite you if you're not paying enough attention to him he constantly 'talks' while you're riding him with his bottom lip and if you stop to have a chat with someone he will turn round and start chewing on your boot to keep himself amused  ???
 
he has had a very hard life and not been looked after properly and so is quite a complicated and sensitive fellow, he's never had a truly stable home. and for the last years before i got him he was shipped from dealer to dealer  :(

he has a home for life, even if i have to retire him, he will just be a spoilt field ornament

after i nearly lost him at the beginning of this year due to severe back pain i realised just how special he is to me and how he will always have the best life i can give him. 

[Erin's mum]

Great thread and really interesting to read too

I'm nearly 16 and currently at school in Edinburgh doing my highers (such a stress!) . Well, I started riding when I was 10 when we moved out of Edinburgh and my sister and I pursuaded my mum that was what we wanted to do. Of course, my sister chickened out after she was bucked off one of 3 extremely unsuitable for begginer horses that a err, 'experienced' lady suggested we bought, including a growing 16.2hh 2yo warmblood   :

Anyway, we then decided it was better looking for something ourselves and thats when Mulberry came along, though even that was a bit silly really. 3yo, just backed, came from Mul so had had little human contact! But with the help of a neighbour we managed to get him to a level that we could go out to PC rallys and PC camp succesfully. However, after over a year of trying to get him happy going in the trailer (having stayed overnight once and missing a flight to birmingham the next day!) we decided we'd either just have to never go anywhere, or get something else. But here's Mul first;

He hasn't done that for a while! :P


What he does best!


So then Erin came along- another probably not ideal horse. 5yo IDxTB bought from a riding school because she wasn't suitable for it, previously came from Ireland and we reckon she's been speed jumped a fair bit. But hey, it all seemed like a good idea at the time! Over a year down the line and we are only really beggining to fully get to grips with everything. We've had a fair few false starts along the way with too many days of feeling like giving up to count and it is still very much a work in progress but with the fantastic help of Pauline (harmony) and Lisa (lisaNW) off here, things are starting to slowly come together.

Love this pic


Mucking about in the field


Our 1st PC area competition (6th in arena which was bit of a shock : )


We also have 3 mini sh#tlands who are great fun but rather fat! The best thing to do with them is take them for walks into the village- the looks you get are priceless! :lol:

Other animals include the famous pigs!, sheep, goats, geese, hens and dogs.


Wont go through all the dogs individually but basically we have 7. 6 of which are border collies, all related to each other! My sister competes a lot with her three in obedience and the rest just enjoy the open space! The 7th dog, sparky, a rather large shetland sheepdog is most special to me though. I got him when I was 8 and he was my first ever pet. I still remember driving down to Newcastle to get him!

Here he is


And on holiday with Freya and Findi (sisters)