They are awesome because they are horses... that's all the argument I really needed. (All horse people would agree)

Incitatus for PRESIDENT... just kidding. No but really... let's but a horse in government. Caligula did it.

In all honesty... I would run my horse for a position in Congress. Let's be honest, she would probably get more work done. 

The best of the best

So, in order to prove once again the raw awesomeness of horses here are some horse heroes and horse triumphs.

1. The highest jump ever cleared by a horse was 2.47meters (8 ft and 1 in), it was completed by Huaso and Captain Alberto Larraguibel.
2.Secretariat... the fastest and most notable race horse in history never lost a race. His average speed was 37 mph. He would sometimes exceed 40 mph.
3. The world toughest endurance race for horses is 1,000 kilo-meters (621 miles), it's located in the Mongolian steppes.
4.Some notable horses:

• Black Jack: Named in honor of General J. (Black Jack) Pershing, the only person to be promoted in his own lifetime to the highest rank ever held in the United States Army: General of the Armies. He served more than 1,000 Full Honor Funerals. A symbol of a fallen leader. Participated in the funerals of president John F. Kennedy, Herbert Hoover, Lyndon B. Johnson and Five-star general, Douglas MacArthur. Black Jack himself was buried with Full Military Honors. 

• Brown Beauty: The horse Paul Revere road during his famous Midnight Ride.
• Comanche: Purchased by the US Cavalry in 1868, he got his name because after being wounded in battle against Native Americans, he screamed like the Comanche Indians. After the destruction of General Custer's troop at Little Bighorn, Comanche was found severely wounded. He spend a year recovering, then took place in ceremonies and parades. He was a symbol of Custer's memory. He is now stuffed and is displayed at the University of Kansas Museum of Natural History. 
• Merango: Most famous for walking over 3,500 miles roundtrip from Paris to Moscow, carrying Napoleon Bonaparte... yes he was Napoleon's horse. It was said Napoleon had captured him in Egypt, Merango quickly became his favorite horse carrying him into battles such as Waterloo. 
• Sergeant Reckless: She carried antitank ammunition to the front lines mainly and carved her name into history and the hearts of her fellow Marines. During the Battle of Outpost Vegas, Reckless carried 9,000 Ibs of ammunition to the front lines, she had to take 51 round trips in one day. 
• Incitatus: The Kim Kardashian of horses really... he had no real talents but his fame was world renowned. He was the personal pet of Roman Emperor Caligula... Caligula personality was like Julius Caesar on a bad day crossed with Hitler and Mussolini and a dash of Daffy Duck. He actually planned on making Incitatus a Consul of Rome. The Consul was a head of state, military leader, and a executor of various decrees. 

•  Bucephalus: Alexander the Greats personal and favorite horse. Bucephalus rode into every battle with Alexander until his death at 30 years old. He was once kidnapped by a group of Persians, Alexander threatened to destroy all of Persia and slaughter everyone of its inhabitants unless the captors returned his horse immediately (honestly if someone stole my horse I would kill as well... horse people are crazy, you just don't screw with us.) Alexander named a city in India in Bucephalus's honor. 
• Madonna: the most famous horse in the entire Universe.... my horse. 
  

My inspiration for this project

The little brown foal is my horse madonna... the little girl is me. 

Madonna starting to shed her brown coat

Madonna just being flawless

Best feeling in the world

The future

I took this picture of my hero about 3 years ago... even though cameras weren't allowed. BUT I got the photo none the less. (This was actually the first time I saw him, the second time I saw him I was about to go up to him and tell him how awesome he is... but I freaked out and couldn't find the guts to say hi... he was only 10 feet away from me.) 

Who is this man and what does he have to do with horses? 

The future.

Yes... you heard me.... the future. More specifically horses' future. 

I've talked about why horses are so awesome and how much they have given us as a society and sacrificed for our benefit, but now how to we reciprocate the love?

WELL let's start with Buck Brannaman. He believes that mans old method of beating down the horse and conquering them is wrong, in fact if we just understood how amazing and understanding these animals are we wouldn't need to beat them down and since their ancestors have helped us so much, it's time we helped them.

Now if you don't believe in his qualifications, well let me tell you this... you know the movie AND book the Horse Whisperer, yeah you know the one... with Robert Redford... that's based on Buck's practices. Buck was even on the movie set directing ROBERT FREAKING REDFORD on how to handle horses. There was a scene where one of the Hollywood trick horses wouldn't complete the scene and he used his horse to do the trick and they were done with the scene in a matter a minutes. Yeah so him AND his horse were in the movie. 

But anyway... in my pitch I talked about what we are doing now to help these amazing creatures. Buck teaches that we have to respect them and use methods called natural horsemanship. I'm not talking about that health cleanse you're on, but its just a different way of training horses than from the conventional practice. Natural horsemanship builds on creating a relationship with the horse and not beating them down as we have in the past. Being patient and understanding is key to being a good horse trainer.

There are many horse practices still in place for training that are torturous to these animals that have been with us for 6,000 years. 

People who use the methods of "biting up," or having a less than gentle touch end up beat their horses a lot of the time if they mess up. In 2013 a horse in Southern California was killed because it had broken one of it's bits so the trainer started beating it... the blows were so heavy and strong the horse died.

Personally being in the showing business I know how nasty it can get. I know a man (he used to be a family friend) who owns a show barn in Southern California... one of his horses bit him when he wasn't looking so in retaliation he got his gun and shot the horse (the horse probably bit him in the first place because he was angry and distressed).

 Practices such as shackling hooves together and places grounded up hot pepper around the nose and eyes to make horses seem more aware are prominently used today. 

Overall, this is not how people should treat the animals that have sacrificed so much for the human race. A lot of people I know joke around about how stupid horses are and how they are like any other livestock. All I have to say is... you don't understand. You don't know what it's like having an animal that can't speak your language and yet know everything you want to tell it. You don't know that feeling when you have worked months... no years on accomplishing a goal whether its winning a race, event, or show. You don't know what it's like to walk into a barn and hear all your horses whinny at you in joy. You don't know what it's like to reach amazing speed on your horses back and feel like your flying. You don't know what it's like for a little girl going through her parents divorced and visiting the barn everyday to tell her horse about all her problems and have your horse comfort her and sense how upset she are... seeing in her best friend's big brown eyes that she knows your upset and she is there for you. You just got to experience it. 

Horse therapy shows that horses heal us.... they make us feel awesome. 

Now we have to return the favor. 

All the King's Horses

More proof of why horses are awesome...

 Elvis became fascinated with horses when he saw his wife Priscilla riding one day... he actually was afraid of horses because of an "incident" on a movie set. He wanted to buy Pricilla and his friend Jerry Schilling's girlfriend a horse so he have someone to ride with. After a lot of looking and laughing together Jerry and Elvis found a horse called Domino for Priscilla and another called Sheba for Sandy.

All that was needed for the puzzle was for Elvis to get a horse... and he had a vision for what he wanted. 

He specifically wanted a, "Golden Palomino," and wouldn't settle on anything less. Elvis would get up at 3am just to go from horse ranch to horse ranch and ask, "Do you have a Golden Palomino for sale?"... I mean if Elvis showed up to my front door and asked that I would sure as heck would  find one. 

Soon the word got out about Elvis's want of this Palomino horse. 

Then a man named Robert Boyd reached out to tell Elvis he had a beautiful Palomino Quarter Horse!

It was love at first sight you could say. He named the horse RISING STAR!

Soon Elvis became a riding pro needless to say and even named his barn House of Rising Star. 

So many people become fascinated with horses and grow to love them, the King loved his horse Rising Star and cherished him until he died. 

The present

This week I would like to focus on the present since last week I talked about the past.
SO how ARE horses helping us today? Well in a lot more areas than you would think there is.
There are therapeutic horses, police horses, search and rescue horses, sport horses, military horses, agriculture horses (although not as common in todays society.)
One of my favorites is therapeutic riding. Through organizations that use horses for therapy we are able to help veterans, troubled kids, and the mentally ill.
But how?
Horses are prey animals and their instincts make them depend on the ability to sense underlying energetic and emotional currents in their environment. They use their animal wisdom (smell, hearing, body, awareness, and vigilance) to keep safe. The are masters of mindfulness because the are fully in the present moment... They don't judge someone for who they are or what they have done and they don't deny or mask their feelings. They can sense when someone has something wrong with them and they project our inner selves. Horses teach us to be calm and learn from our environment as they do.
It's because of all these traits we are able to learn from them. They have become the teachers in a sense. They teach soldiers to remain in the present, to be part of a herd again, they develop social skills, physical skills, and develop confidence.
Many people going through therapy say there is something rewarding about being with such a beautiful creature.
When people say they have created a bond with their horse like no other... it is because it is like no other. The horse connects to you as if you were part of its herd. They make the people (such as veterans) in need of love feel loved.