Another Urban Stable Under Threat – this time in California

Cliff Yamashita, a retired tow truck driver, owns Miley and her new colt, Titan. Like most of his fellow boarders, he likes to go riding at nearby Point Pinole Regional Shoreline. He said he would probably have to sell both animals if he gets kicked out. “I can’t afford the other stables,” he said. “Nobody …

Whole Heap of Little Horse Links

What the what? No, this is not breaking news, but something I discovered today. Lambourn will have the UK’s first “horse monorail” courtesy of Turkish industrialist and racehorse owner, Mehmet Kurt. As far as I can tell it’s a horsewalker from Tron (have a look at the photo here); apparently the “Kurtsystem” will be great …

Whole Heap of Little Horse Links

I’m usually sceptical about “horses stolen for meat” stories (unless they come from Florida), but this one rings true. A Romanian has been arrested in connection with the theft of several draft horses in eastern France, allegedly for the slaughter trade. Some of the horses were already being raised for meat. (The Horse) The English …

Whole Heap of Little Horse Links

Yes, we’re still deep in the horse meat scandal. You can now buy a “horse burger” fancy dress costume (Business Insider) Only 13% of Americans would consider eating horse meat (almost twice the percentage who would eat dog), whereas 34% would consider alligator lasagna (KTAR) Groups in Oklahoma want to build a horse abattoir. (SFGate.com …

Whole Heap of Little Horse Links

Billionaire Roman Abramovich has purchased Pringle, one of the best showjumping ponies in the UK, for his daughter Irina. (Daily Telegraph) Mustang round-ups in the US are halted after video evidence of abuse of the horses is presented (Salt Lake Tribune) The owner of a pit bull that chased a police horse for a mile-and-a-half …

Whole Heap of Little Horse Links

Questions are raised over the treatment of horses on film and TV show sets. Are trainers’ welfare concerns being overruled? (LA Times) A “horse palace” in Montreal seeks donors for a makeover. (Montreal Gazette) A woman “gives birth to a pony” during a church service in Nigeria. (PM News) Lady Gaga arrived at the launch …

The Romneys, their Dancing Horses and a Fraud Trial

Everyone has jumped in to say something about Rafalca, the Romney’s contender for the 2012 Olympics. The Romneys are rich and they run their hobby as a company, meaning that their spending on dressage is public domain information, so of course when it was widely reported that they were claiming $77,000 in tax deductions on …

Whole Heap of Little Horse Links

Ponies: the fatter they are, the naughtier they be. Thelwell proved correct by science. Cheap gelding clinics are becoming a reality in the US. Here’s one in California. Jane Smiley on National Velvet. A fell pony riding holiday in Lancashire. A swimming race for horses that commemorates a Venezuelan battle of 1819. A wild stallion …