At 18:53:18 on 22.02.09, vetgirltotherescue wrote:
Hey everybody! Just to let you know that we are holding an Intelligent Horsemanship day on the 19th April 2009 at the largest Caspian Stud in the UK.The stud has over 60 Caspians (and hopefully some foals!) for you to meet as well as seeing some great Natural Horsemanship techniques. The stud is based in Chippenham, Wiltshire. Tickets are currently £15 including lunch and we shall also be having a raffle with some amazing prizes! We shall also ba lambing then, so there' shall be plenty to see and do! message me for more info or visit www.caspianbreedsociety.co.uk
http://www.caspianbreedsociety.co.uk

At 20:58:33 on 24.02.09, Horse Girl wrote:
Thanks for this information. I would like to ask the question again who the Intelligent horsemanship trainer is? so that anyone who is interested in going knows who is running it.

At 19:10:44 on 25.02.09, vetgirltotherescue wrote:
The Intelligent Horsemanship trainer is going to be Sarah Weston. Her website is www.sarahweston.co.uk. and she is one of the Monty Roberts trainers who covers the south west.

At 20:34:20 on 26.02.09, saddleup wrote:
Nice to have the info and would go if I could as it sounds fascinating. Also love the idea of these small horses, not ponies, right? Never come across them before so good to have some information on them. Keep it coming. Thanks. PS What do you think of the video from youtube...is this typical of the Caspian?

At 20:49:52 on 27.02.09, vetgirltotherescue wrote:
Yup small horses! If you want any more info then just email me or visit the Caspian Breed Society website. I like this video! What's this horse crossed with? It's got the typical Caspian paces and jump. We have a few members who cross breed Caspians with other breeds and it's always amazing how much of the Caspian comes through. I'll try and load up some more videos of Caspians (if i can figure it out!)

At 17:40:27 on 01.03.09, saddleup wrote:
No idea what the horse in the vid is crossed with but interesting to hear that it's not typical. Great website you have for these Caspians, by the way. I wonder what the story is about the breed being 'rediscovered' in 1965. That's within living memory! I'll bet there's a good story here. Wonder if you might know it?

At 18:08:09 on 01.03.09, vetgirltotherescue wrote:
Well i can try- there are a couple of books about the Caspian Horse by Brenda Dalton which have it in complete detail! Basically, in the 1960s, Louise Firouz moved to Iran with her husband and she set up an equestrian centre over there. however, she had a lot of children coming for rides and only had two horse breeds to offer them- the Turkoman (tall, TB-like horse) or the very stocky traditional Mongolian-type ponies that children couldn't get their legs round. From the locals she heard rumours of a little narrow pony that was semi-wild in Iran but no-one knew where to get them. So Louise trekked all over the northern part of Iran searching for these little horses and bringing them back to her centre, one or two at a time. She named them Caspians, after where they seemed to originate from near the Caspian Sea. Louise sorted through all the horses she had found and kept the best examples of the breed and from then on, set up the breed standard. After that, it all gets a bit complicated with some horses being exported to England and presented to Prince Philip and the first British studs being set up. It's only recently that they've done genetic testing on the Caspians and found that they date back to 3000 BC in writings and artefacts where they are referred to 'little horses'.They are the original 'Oriental' horse and predate even the Arab. In Iran they are used for everything and carry huge loads relative to their size. Any more info, i think it's in the books or check out the video clips on the Caspian Breed Society website. Louise Firouz died in May 2008 but these clips are of a documentary about her and the Caspian and shows some in Iran (there's even a clip of Louise judging at an Iranian Caspian Breed Show!).

At 18:29:01 on 03.03.09, saddleup wrote:
Thanks for taking the time to post all that. Have to say you're a born story teller. The only problem is I wish that person Louise was me...can you imagine anything more exciting than rediscovering a horse with bloodlines as ancient as that. I'll see if I can get hold of the book. Talking of which this is so interesting I think it should be posted in the Book worms group. Do you mind if I copy your text there?

At 21:10:11 on 03.03.09, vetgirltotherescue wrote:
Wow thank you! I know- it must have been amazing being Louise back then knowing that you were discovering something entirely new! please feel free to post it in the Book worms group- that would be brilliant.