How about some Horse spam? :)

Sangmort · February 2009

There are three horses who have lived on a certain piece of land near some houses that I drive by on my way to work every day. These three horses have been here since I started working at my current job a year and a half ago.

I love these three & my day never feels "complete" if I don't see them when I drive by to work! Well, I finally had some time so on my day off a few days ago I took a friend & my younger sister to go see them & we fed them carrots

They are the sweetest horses I've ever met! They were off in the distance when we went up to the fence, and one they saw us they came trotting over the way a dog does when you call it. [ non-nihon ken of course ;p ] They gave plenty of kisses & were super excited to get some carrots & they even walked along the fence following us back to the car when it was time to say our good byes.

I'll be visiting them again soon, hopefully with some apples this time!

I only had my kit lens on me, [ my 70-300mm...has been...decommissioned. ] but I'm actually really proud of these pictures. They were all shot in Auto as I wanted to focus more on composition [ my weak point ] then the picture quality. Some post-processing in CS4.

My first time shooting horses, great fun! ~

Sangmort · February 2009

& has anyone else made a switch to CS4 yet? I absolutely HATE the user interface, the only nice thing is it's in 64bit version so I can allocate 6gb of ram to it! ~

Calia · February 2009

Haven't had a chance to use CS4 yet, boss has to set up a new mac since it won't run on one without an intel chip. It won't be long though, so I'll tell you what I think

Edgewood · February 2009

Nice horse spam Osy! I bet that they were hoping that you had treats or scritches for their head and neck. My horses love treats (peppermints, carrots and apples are favorites) but they also love good scritches around the face and ears.

Osy, where do you live?

Sangmort · February 2009

Peppermints? Really?

They got lots of scratches behind the jaw [ ? ] & ears. Though to be honest I was a bit nervous so they only got a few pats from me. I'm not around horses too often [ tho they're one of my favorite animals, since I was a kid ] but when I'm around them I just feel...like...this power coming from them

Makes me a bit nervous [ which I know they pick up on ] Hopefully next time I'll have more courage to give them some love!

I live in Kissimmee, Florida. Where Disney World is haha. On the border near Orlando. We have lots of open pastures with cows & horses around, however, these three are my favorites.

Beth - Let me know! I'm very curious. I've been with photoshop since version 4, all the transitions were great for me...this one, not so much. [ but it runs SO much better on mac now! ]~

grandemu · February 2009

Strangely enough, another thing horses love (and will get very messy) is watermelon rinds! The pics are great!

Sangmort · February 2009

Thanks!

Really?? Watermelon rinds? Wow.

---
BTW, Does anyone know what breed they are? I'm horrible at identifying horse breeds other than the obvious Friesian, Arabian, & Clydes. Or maybe they're "mutts?" lol~

Edgewood · February 2009

Hmmm...grandemu, I haven't tried watermelon rinds. Might have to try those.

And yes, Osy, mine LOVE peppermints. They would be tied for 1st place with carrots.

Although I found a funny survey at one of the Olympics that a guy surveyed all the treats that the various competitors gave their horses and bananas were ahead of carrots in the country-wide poll. Now, I went and tried bananas on my horses (peeled of course) and not a single one would even try a banana. So I guess only "foreign" horses like bananas ;-)

Hard to tell on their breed. But I would guess a QH or QH-cross.

PS - wow, FL is a lot browner in the winter than I thought (ie, the grass). I thought that it would bee green all year around.

tobyshiba · February 2009

Oooh, you live in Kissimmee? My grandpa lives in Clermont, not too far off.

asia · February 2009

These pics make me miss the horse I grew up with. He has passed on to a better place, but very much resembled these beauties. His white patch was just in between those pictured.

Sangmort · February 2009

Kris, Yeah, unfortunately [ central ] Florida has been in a bit of a drought the past few years as well, that only adds to the brown~ness.

Steph, I had a house in Clermont when I was a kid, & now my grandparents live there

Very pretty area, it's been developed quite a bit now tho.

Amber, Awww! I'm sure he's given you some fond memories

~

Kaddy · February 2009

I wish I could give the Arabian horseys near me a treat... they've been out quite a bit lately, but the sign says "Please enjoy the horses, but do not feed" I also feel uncomfortable petting a horse I don't since know I'm also aware of the amazingly powerful aura they give off (the Keiko doesn't quite feel it... as seen in my pictures ;o)

asia · February 2009

Arabians are beautiful!! Horses do have an amazing aura about them. It was on of the things I loved about watching our horse on the farm. He would really stand out in the pasture.

Unfortunately Osy, Tee (my dad allowed the kids to name the animals...go figure) and I had a love/hate relationship. We loved each other a great deal more when we were further away. He was an amazingly stubborn horse. Whenever I went to ride him, he would always run like he was on fire. My ponytails would fall out, and he felt like he was cornering on two hooves. It was only with me. We could never decide if he didn't like me, or if it was a size thing for him (less height, less weight, more freedom - since I was the runt of the family). He was great with me when we were both on the ground. We had a donkey too, and they were the best of friends. I think one of the hardest things about growing older on a farm was watching the animals grow older as well.

I am glad you get to enjoy your beautiful neighbors!!

Sangmort · February 2009

Evan, yes! I'm not the only one! That sucks tho, Arabians are just...stunning!

Amber, I SO know what you're talking about. My mum had a simillar experience with one of her horses growing up. This horse was a complete nutter...racing thoroughbred [ they had 5 that they raced ] He would run full force into a WALL, then get up off the ground like nothing had happened. He also bit a Lady's BOOB OFF. Crazy. [ it was her fault tho, in his stall when she was NOT suppose to be, she owned one of the other thoroughbreds ] ~

TeamLaika · February 2009

Here are a few photos of my new filly! She is coming three year old Trakehner x Thoroughbred. I intend to use her for combined training events and foxhunting once she is broke. Her name is Lilly.