I think Gerbils are really good small pets. When kept properly they barely smell, are up during daylight, very active and can become very tame. They're great to let run round a room and will climb on people (and run up trouser legs!) My sister and I had them as kids and they were the best small pets ever! My sisters's had an unfortunate end though.... Their cage was in a room with the washer and drier. The gerbils frequently escaped, however they never really got into trouble. Dad was doing the washing one day and when he removed the ventilation tube from the back of the tumble drier, a small, very fluffy, very dead gerbil rolled out. The poor thing had chewed through the tube and climbed into the drier and was steamed.... It was sad at the time lol Mine lived for about 4-5 years despite losing a leg to a poorly designed gerbil toy
or you could always get one of the worlds ugliest chickens everyday that chicken got uglier and uglier
holy *. Big bunny. Still, it's probably dumb as rocks. I'm thinking no on the bunny if they are smelly and high maintenance, even if they're cute. Speaking of pets, I was once back home with my dad flipping channels one night. We came across this documentary about crazy ferret owners (thank you, PBS) and were transfixed. Some of the owners even kept their dead pets in their freezer for years. It was really weird how attached they were. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAhYJI9rmXc&feature=related"]Ferrets[/ame]
right... lol! I always wanted a ferret but was never allowed, plus they can give a nasty bite. Did dye the end of my horses tail pink once .... can't find any pictures though
OH God... prepare yourself for horse overload! I had a couple sort of by accident, but Charlie was my baby. He was a rescue horse, no real breeding to him but he's a palomino. I LOVED showjumping. Had to give him up before uni, as far as I know he's alive and well at the rescue centre. I wont call though incase he's dead' cause he's an old fella. And then there was Magnum... or big B... I'll let you guess what that stands for! He needed a home so we took him on for free...he didn't like women and eventually we got him a new home and he lives with a vet now which must be nice for him lol GIANT Irish Draught, think he'd make a decent hunt ride, hope that what he's doing. And last, but definately not least.... Spike the wonder horse! He was rescued from going to slaughter. He's an ex racer, pure thoroughbred who tore ligaments racing. He had 95% damage so that would normally have been the end but the rescue centre found him and the BBC got on board to film him undergoing hydrotherapy. He was good as new after his rehab! He was my sisters but he had a really bad fall when she got on him one day and she was too scared to carry on with him and he pretty much needed to be rebroken and I couldn't cope with the 3 horses. The owner of the rescue centre rehomed him with a friend of hers and he is doing well too now ! So all ended happily although I would love to have Charlie still, dammit... crying for no real reason lol! Edit: wee sob over, got a grip lol
I rode in college (hunter/jumper) and was the first time I had any real instruction. Before that we had horses on and all my entire life. Usually just generic farm horses. Although after college, I only stuck with it for about a year. It cost way too much to trailer horses several hours to the nearest horse shows. And then there's the clothes, keeping the horses, etc. More on the horsey stuff later. I just got into work.
awesome! My instructor was an alcoholic.... those were my formal lessons lol Got a horse after 2 years lessons and saving lunch money, steep learning curve but it worked out ok. Horses and horse riding seem to be sort of reserved for the young and, after about 18/ school, the time and money privileged unfortunately.
I used to have neighbors who had horses. I haven't seen one up close in years. I'm slightly afraid to do so because I'm not really fond of large animals (I'm small). But even a chimp can **** someone up, so maybe I'll give it a try.
When I was about 12 I was thrown from a horse. When I hit the ground I couldn't feel anything from the upper chest down. I'm sure it only lasted for a few seconds, but it seemed like an eternity. That was it for me and horses. We had a ranch outside of town. Dad had been raised pure country, but we had become weekend ranchers. We lived in the city Monday through Friday. We had a huge backyard so if we were selling a horse (usually the latest one I refused to ride) we would hide it in our backyard. It was easier to show the horse to prospective buyers that way. Early one morning while my dad was out of town the current equine backyard resident escaped. I woke up my proper English mother and my badly hung over brother and off we went looking for the horse, terrified dad would kill us if we couldn't find it. We drove around the neighborhood asking joggers if they had seen a horse. A few would exclaim, 'YEAH, I DID!" We figured out what direction the horse was going in and eventually found it across a very busy street behind the bank. It was surrounded by cops. My mom was like, "Lets drive by and pretend it's not ours." However, we were worried about the whole dad killing us factor so we got out of the car and walked over. The cops had ropes in their hands and were calling like it a dog, "here horsey, horsey, horsey." My brother, wearing nothing but a pair of dress pants bridled her and rode her home. We didn't even get ticketed because the cops were so glad to get rid of the damned horse. My mom and I get home and pull in the driveway. I point out that we had left the gate the horse crashed through down. She, annoyed, yells "SO!" That is when I pointed out that Rocky, our pet Mouflon Sheep, had been in the backyard too. My mother, who rarely lost it, began screaming " I AM NOT DRIVING ALL OVER THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASKING THOSE SAME JOGGERS IF THEY HAVE SEEN A BLOODY GOAT ( she thought Rocky look more like a goat than a sheep)! After slinking out of the car I went into the backyard and happily discovered that Rocky was still there munching on some wild grapes. Sorry for the long story , but it is one of the best ones I've got. Oh, and my cousin eventually took Rocky out to her ranch and got him a wife. He lived out his days happily making baby sheep. FYI to Bonnie: horse was a Leopard Appaloosa.
I think Friesians would look the coolest. == I've owned just one horse in my time, a grey Arabian named Ralph, or Alpo, depending on what kind of a bastard he was being that day. The ones I rode at school included Hudson, a bay appendix quarterhorse, Ryan, a TB, Nosey, a former Grand Prix showjumper (who competed in the Atlanta 96 Olympics) who was an absolute doll and also a TB, and my all-time fave, Cameron, a black bay TB-Hanoverian cross. He had one of the most handsome faces I've ever seen. Broad, athletic, wonderful barn manners, and stood about 17'2 hands. Of course, most all the horses I rode in college were school masters, so I didn't get to try out any mares or the crazy trakehner. There were also a few others I never got on. As for Irish Draughts, I've heard that crossing them with a TB produces a damn fine hunter/jumper. I've never seen any on this side of the pond, but I knew of a couple of studs located out West, back in the day. Oh, and one more horsey bit before I call it quits: Best horse EVER: An Off-the-track standardbred named Magnesium Rust, aka, Rusty (chestnut). He hadn't been raced in maybe 2 years when my friend bought him for $1200 at a local auction. He had a great disposition and was just perfect. He also LOVED to jump. I don't know who or how or even why, but he did. My friend took him out one day, after doing some cavaletti work with him and decided to do some small fences. He jumped them all without flinching. So, she kept making the jumps higher and higher until she had one set for about 5'10" ... He cleared it. No faults. I felt so bad for him, because he couldn't ever be shown outside of small time horse shows (bowed tendons, IIRC, or recovering from them) but he was a good guy. And yes, never have I ever called or gone back to the barn to see who was still there and who wasn't. Most were only about 5-6 years old, but there were a few who were at least 10-12 when I was there. I don't want to know they died.
Those Friesians do look lovely. I really didn't know a lot of you were so passionate about horses. Quite an interesting discovery.
Well, am/was. But again, they're just too expensive and time-consuming now that I have a 60-hour a week job. It's more like walking down memory lane for me.
They were my whole world when I had them. I so nearly went to an equine college at 15 instead of staying in school. Sometimes wonder what that life would be like. Great memories though (and some stupid injuries!). Don't see myself going back to it though, especially as I am horrendously allergic to horses. Was ok when I had them but now it's ridiculous!