# Circa 1920 Mounted Calvery Cross Country Ride



## Ozarkgal (Oct 28, 2013)

When I first started watching this I thought I would have loved to join up with them..about half way through I chickened out.  They were way out of my league, even on my best riding days.  

This is a real testament of the trust between horses and riders, no small feat to achieve.  Throughout the whole video I did not see one horse balk at was put in front of him.


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## SifuPhil (Oct 29, 2013)

That's a long trip just for a six-pack and some Slim-Jims! 

I was blown away in the first few seconds when they came down the staircase - I didn't know horses could _do_ that!

And I wonder if those horses are either mentally deranged or on some good lab-quality methamphetamine - as you said, they were fearless. :hypnotysed:

Great clip!


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## TICA (Oct 29, 2013)

Wow!!!!    I wouldn't attempt some of those hills and especially going down them!!!  I've done a few stairs with my horse but nothing like those.   I wonder how many of the horses were hurt though, that was pretty tough going.


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## Ozarkgal (Oct 29, 2013)

TICA:





> I wonder how many of the horses were hurt though, that was pretty tough going.



I wondered about this too TICA.  What is amazing to me is the level of training these horses were able to achieve without being totally blown out...I wonder how many horses they went through to get a few to this level!  They makes today's cross country courses look likes child's play.


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## littleowl (Oct 30, 2013)

I have ridden horses in the Welsh Mountains years ago.
No way I would do that though.
Two things that stood out.
The dog showed a lot of sense he went over the bridge.
I did not see any Lashing of the Horses. Just hand and knee control.Perhaps it was said for effect.


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## Ozarkgal (Oct 30, 2013)

littleowl said:


> I have ridden horses in the Welsh Mountains years ago.
> No way I would do that though.
> Two things that stood out.
> The dog showed a lot of sense he went over the bridge.
> I did not see any Lashing of the Horses. Just hand and knee control.Perhaps it was said for effect.



You're right about the dog, littleowl.  Perhaps that's why they still have dogs in the military, but no horses..lol

This was an example of horsemanship at it's finest.  They were clearly master horsemen who were not only very accomplished riders, but knew how to develop a trusting partnership with their horses.


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## TICA (Oct 30, 2013)

Not to mention gutsy!!!   Both the riders and the horses.


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## Ozarkgal (Oct 30, 2013)

*TWH says:*


> I am seeing is a lot more training and enforcement.



Oh yeah...goes without saying.



> Horses are herd animals and will kill themselves to keep up each other.



TWH...I can't fully attest to that having  spent a lot of time on trails training horses to cross creeks, wade into rivers, descend steep hills and jump tall buildings in a single bound..(oh, wait...that one was superman)..... when all the other horses had long ago accomplished the task, and were continuing on up the trail leaving their panic stricken buddy behind. 

Some of these obstacles were battle royals, and numerous times I ended up mounting some "greenie's" horse to just to finally get them both through the obstacle and continue on. 

These horses may have been lacking some herd instinct, but they weren't about to join the rest of the horses on what they had determined to be a suicide mission to hell, carrying a crazy human.  Water crossings are always the most challenging.


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## Ozarkgal (Oct 31, 2013)

> *You had to have been dealing with halter horses.*



 Actually, I've only owned one true halter horse. She was one I bred and raised. She was haltered up until three, then began her saddle work after I sold her. She was never made into a trail horse, as her career was show, then breeding. All my horses were trail horses, first and foremost and show second. I do not subscribe to the training theory that show horses cannot be trail horses. This idea comes from public trainers that have a barn full of show horses, owned by clients that are taught what buttons to push after the horse is push button ring trained. These days most halter bred horses are so conformationally lacking that they would never hold up for heavy trail riding.

 All of my horses, no matter what they started out as had to be able to go out on trails safely ...getting them there was not always the safest situation. Any horse that I raised that was too young to be under saddle were just about veterans when they hit the trail. They were always ponied along side me on trails and introduced to any and every obstacle I could think of in the barnyard. What I mostly am speaking of are horses that I bought and retrained, or horses owned by timid trail companions. 

My first Appaloosa, Chataqua was a big 16.2 hand lunkhead.  I bought him as a four year old that belonged to a timid lady that would turn around and go home if refused to walk over a log. Chataqua and I had some epic battle of the wills for a few months until he finally came to the realization that it was easier to just do it than to mess with the hard headed human on his back.  

This horse hated water...but, the light bulb finally came on one cold, wet December afternoon when we were out alone trail riding.  We came upon a fairly wide creek, and the battle was on.  We spent about 20 minutes on the bank in the mud duking it out about crossing that stream.  It was a rearing, spinning, snorting, head throwing ordeal, throwing himself down on his knees, all which resulted in him getting two shoes sucked off in the mud.  Finally, deciding to use another tact, he took a big breath, gathered himself up and took a flying leap with the idea of jumping the creek. 

 This resulted in him landing squarely in the middle of the creek instead, in very cold water which came up to his belly and covered my ankles. As he again gathered up to lunge to the other side, I reined him back and made him stand there and look around. We then waded back and forth for a good 10 minutes until he decided that water was our friend.  

When I finally let him out of that creek, we crossed it back and forth several more times for good measure and headed home, both of us sopping wet and muddy, one of us humbled by the skirmish.  No more water problems after that day!   There were no horses to follow that day, he had to accept me as his leader. Chataqua went on to become a brave leader on the trail and my absolute favorite of all time trail riding horses.    That sucker hated trailers though, that's a whole other story!

I also agree very much that if a horse is  pointed at an obstacle and allowed to refuse without further consequence that horse learns a quick lesson of "You can't (or won't) make me.", and can become unreliable in a hurry.  Horses are masters of reading body language and gauging the fear factor or determination of the rider.




> I will say if ever there's a breed I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole for a trail horse, it would be a Thoroughbred. TB's seem prone to blow right when you need them (and even when you don't) to bear down and focus.



 I have to pretty much agree here, from my experience. It's like trying to take a greyhound and make a Great Pyranees out of him. TB's are very quirky, generally speaking of course. Bred for speed , sometimes all that built up pressure to go full steam ahead erupts unexpectedly when it is most inappropriate. It's like a wire gets crossed or snaps. Channel that breeding and energy into a job that they are bred to handle, and it's pure poetry in motion.

Maybe you have read my post on the horse group about Sidney, the _crazy_ (certifiable) thoroughbred I owned.  In fairness, I've owned three thoroughbred, but only Sidney made it to the trails before getting sold, so I can't say how the other two would have turned out.   

Years later, the barn owner where I kept my Arabians got talked into buying a very thin thoroughbred, because she felt sorry for him, and he seemed sweet.  I told her it was a mistake, because when this horse got fit he would be a handful.  When he started to gain weight and feel better, she began to lightly ride him. Sure enough he dumped her twice on the trail, once two days before her daughter's wedding, bruising her ribs.  It wasn't too long before he went down the road.

However the co-operation between man and beast came about in military riding, I loved seeing that old film of horsemanship of an era gone by, and the sheer balls to the wall riding.  I have to get my thrills vicariously these days.


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## Ozarkgal (Oct 31, 2013)

LOL....I'D better start those stretching exercises and find a good mounting rock or stump, and a 2X4 to strap to my ass in case I fall off, I might manage to stay upright...  Honestly, I think if I managed to actually get on, you would have to call 911 to come and pry me out of the saddle (we will have saddles, won't we?)   I guess we could just ride over to the fire station and they could get me off with a bucket truck. No doubt, Mr. A.D.D.-I'll-Have-Your-Number-In-30-Seconds reputation would remain intact.

 The arthiritis in the spine and hands from years of self masochistic abuse in dealing with horses and large dogs has exacted it's toll, and as much as my brain refuses to accept it, my riding and handling days are finished.


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## Ozarkgal (Nov 1, 2013)

Ummm..maybe we should forget the riding and go straight for the moonshine.


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## TICA (Nov 2, 2013)

TWHRider said:


> Ok, I was sure before this thread, now I'm really convinced.  If I ever roll into your driveway with a horse trailer, here's your horse for the day.  Mr. A.D.D.-I'll-Have-Your-Number-In-30-Seconds.
> 
> This pic is three years old; he hasn't been ridden since, and this pic was his first ride since 2006 when my two BFF's came down from PA.  Rusty doesn't have a problem staying broke, he just has a problem with whomever's riding him, if they aren't a bigger smart alec and con artist than he is.  You and TICA will notice I am sitting crooked.  actually I'm not, my eyes are looking directly between his ears, it's my lack of a real back that makes me sit that way.  My vertebra is not straight and I am missing discs in my lower back.  My poor horses have had to compensate for that since forever.
> 
> ...



Great pictures.  I love riding bareback and with my "chunky monkey", it is pretty easy to do.      Beauties you have there TWH.


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## TICA (Nov 2, 2013)

I'm there!!!!  I'll any horse as long as he/she has a kind eye.   I swear the you can read a horse's temperment by the look in his eye.    In addition to the splitzer, Ozarkgal has to give us a campfire cookout too!  Just read her "what's for dinner" beer chicken dish.  Good lord, I can barely cook with an oven, I know I'd burn everything on an open fire.  I'll muck the stalls, groom the horses and carry the wood.


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