At 11:47:45 on 24.12.09, Flicka wrote:
Thought it would be a fun idea to start our own alternative horse dictionary. In this thread put all the words and their meaning beginning with A and start a new thread for every new letter. Anyway my starter contribution is ATTITUDE. Horses with 'attitude' are very opinionated and ninety per cent of the time make it their life's work to disagree with anything you want. Particularly common in mares. And they give you that look!

At 18:20:16 on 26.12.09, johnthecob wrote:
What a great idea...Having just watched the racing from Kempton Park ...My "A" is for the 19 out of 20 racehorses who don't manage to win a race the "ALSO-RANS"....I appreciate there is a side to horse racing that must be questioned however I have to say that especially when we used to live in London it was the only real way to interact with horses and a great way of getting out in the fresh air ...personally I have extremely fond memories of trips to Sandown park,Kempton and of course my beloved Cheltenham. These horses give their all and even if as an "also ran" they never make it to the winners enclosure they are still magnificent animals and I hope that over time the industry is able to find better ways of rehoming them into other activities and disciplines where they are able to live a full and fulfilling life once their racing days are over ...so here is to the Also rans!

At 17:00:05 on 06.01.10, zoelovesanimals wrote:
my A would have to be AWARENESS horses are very aware of everything that is going on around them, there eyes and ears are everywhere all the time. also i will use polly as my example, shes aware of me wherever i go when im near her, shes also aware she has to look after me more than other people as when i am grooming she will not let me stand inbetween her and another horse i think this is because shes aware how nervous i am but also she seems to know when the horse on the other side is going to move so she wont let me on that side.

At 22:12:15 on 09.01.10, Em28 wrote:
My A is for ADAPTIVENESS. Horses are very adaptive to their environments and the demands we put on them. Being able to adapt to their environment has been a major factor in their survival through millions of years of evolution. Now with domesticated horses we put demands on them that are very unnatural asking them to be ridden, stabled, go in a trailor, be clipped, jump a course of jumps, altering their natural feeding patterns, putting constraints on social interactions with other horses the list goes on...... My point is, that horses are very willing and try to co-operate as much as they can with us and our demands.

At 12:51:21 on 10.01.10, NMH wrote:
My A is for Action. It's one of the thing that most excites & captivates us about horses, to watch at liberty or (well) ridden, & to sit on too! At all paces & jumping as well. Our aim must be to work very gradually to enhance our horse's natural action & never restrict or spoil it.

At 17:12:49 on 11.01.10, farasi wrote:
My A is for Addictive - need we say more?

At 18:20:08 on 11.01.10, Laneyloo wrote:
My A is for awesome,this is because no matter who the horse is or where it is you can,t help but think or say awesome,when they play or in work or flat out galloping across a field,awesome animals.

At 18:34:07 on 11.01.10, gallante wrote:
my A would be Appaloosa ,just the very word conjures up visions of spots on prancing indian horses ,their manes & tails fying in the wind , ridden bareback by a swarthy indian with feathers in his hair.Or of talented artist Bev Doolittles paintings of appaloosa horses in silver birch woods with wolves hidden camouflaged in the undergrowth .One of my all time fav. horse artists, if you havn't seen her work its well worth taking time to look at .

At 19:43:51 on 11.01.10, Zoe and Paddy wrote:
A is for.........Amazing because thats simply what horses are!

At 20:03:52 on 11.01.10, vesophie wrote:
ADORABLE as all horses and ponies at some point of their lives will look it!