One word:
Babies!!
Colts and fillies, weanlings, yearlings, and two year olds!
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| Napping in a standing stall |
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| Percheron baby! |
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| Crazy hair! |
So much cuteness under one roof. Some babies were sleepy and some babies were feisty. I loved them all!
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| This one made a pillow out of all the bedding. |
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| Lots of jumping and kicking from the babies. |
The show was fun to watch. I recognized a few people that I have seen over the summer. One was a judge from a show and a couple where at the Great Lakes Haflinger Show. I went with Jaime and Kyle and we met Haley up there the second day. There were a few vendors selling mostly draft stuff. The man from Shipshawana Harness was very nice and answered all my questions for Terry about showing Reba. He also said he would make me girth extenders for Shyloh's harness! I told him I would let him know, as I hope to have her weight down so we can buckle it without excessive force.
And very very expensive wagons.
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| $10150 expensive! |
We watched a bunch of halter classes. The breeds there were Belgians, Percherons, Clydesdales, and two Shires. My favorites by far were the Clydesdales. . .they are just so pretty! They had a judge from Scotland to judge the Clyde/Shire classes, so many of the farms had soaped their horses. It was pretty cool to see.
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| Mare and Foal halter class |
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| Related to Clutch! |
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| Handsome |
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| Smiley dude! |
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| How they wrap the legs and leave the feather out. |
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| Dapply butt! |
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| Sleepy guy. |
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| More sleepy pony. |
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| Halter baby! |
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| Clydesdale bath time to wash out the soap. |
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| Cool markings. |
We also saw the six horse hitches. I am just so in awe by them. . .I can barely drive one. I can't even imagine how to drive six!
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| Percheron hitch |
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| Such beautiful horses. |
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| Getting ready to back up |
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| Mules fanning. |
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| Gorgeous! |
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| Four 6 horse hitches of Clydes, in one arena! |
The end of the first night had the light horse pulling. And by light horse the combined weight of the horses had to be 3350 lbs or less! They started out by pulling 2800 lbs for 27 and a half feet.We didn't stay until the end.
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| So crazy to watch them pull so much weight! |
We even got to meet some horses from the farm where Clutch's sire came from. It was pretty cool, they have the black Clydesdales as most are bay. One of Clutch's relatives was so sweet. She had just come back from a mare and foal class and was standing in the aisle. She lowered her head for me to scratch it and after about five minutes of scratching, I went in for a hug. And she bit me on the leg! At least her filly was quite the cuddlebug.
I love going to these shows and seeing these horses. They are so well trained, so beautiful, and fun to watch. The people are incredibly nice. We stopped and talked to a few guys as we were touring the horses that were in the stalls. Everyone is willing to take a minute to chat and answer questions. It is just a really great bunch of people.
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| This guy made Isaac look tiny! |
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| Getting ready for the hitch! |
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| Draft in a sleazy! |
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| Silly horse! |
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| Mules |
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| Plowing was done outside |
Soaping. What is soaping and what purpose does it serve?
ReplyDeleteLOVED all of these photos. So much cuteness. Leaves me wanting one...what I'd do with it? God only knows.
Soaping originated in Scotland. I guess the Clydesdales have a little bit longer coat, so soaping is done on the body in swirls to accentuate certain features. Usually the neck and top of the butt stress not soaped. In Scotland, the judges pay much more attention to coat than they do here. A glycerin soap is used. The purpose is purely aesthetic.I wish I would have gotten a photo of it.
DeleteVery interesting. It's cool to learn new things about horses like that.
DeleteThere is so much I don't know. I love learning new things!
DeleteOkay I was here to ask about soaping too! Interesting, I did not know that's done!
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool! The six horse hitches are my favorite part of the Hoosier Horse Fair - sadly, there are fewer and fewer of them each year. They have to travel in multiple semis! That is just crazy. They are beautiful, and so well-behaved. They have to back their cart into the smallest area by their stalls, in a crowd of people and it's not roped off, and they are always foot-perfect, though it takes a while and a lot of driver maneuvering.
That sleeping in the standing stall photo is scary, what an easy way to get cast! Hope he got up okay.
Very cool photos of something I don't know a lot about, thanks for sharing!
I was hoping no horses would get cast, either! But I did see one get up and it was so smooth. Plus. there is always someone from the farm around if needed.
DeleteAnd they do travel in multiple semis, it is so cool how they pack them with all the stuff.
Love Clydesdales! They have wonderful temperaments but also have the speed and 'go' that some of the other drafts struggle with. They are still a pretty multi purpose horse for over here and have recently found popularity for trail riding as well as draft work.... must go try! Thanks for the mule pics, always appreciated :-)
ReplyDeleteThe mules are cool! For their class, they had to fan each way, do a figure 8, and back up. It was cool.
DeleteThat must have been such a blast, to be there and see them all :)
ReplyDeleteIt was!
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