American "Bashkir" Curly

American "Bashkir" Curly Horse

The American Curly horse is a rare breed that is "gaited" and is approximately between 14.3-15.2hh. They are a sturdy horse with wide set eyes, a heavy head, a short muscular neck, they're stout but have a well proportioned body and extremely hard, round hooves. They come in all common colours. They have special qualities like their unique curly coat and mane, smooth lateral gaits and they are unusually hardy. They are a calm gentle breed that is best suited for ranch work, tail riding, endurance and all pleasure sports. They're place of origin is unknown but they were first recorded in Nevada.

Alter Real

Alter Real Stallion

Alter Real horses are approximately between 15-16hh. They have a medium sized head, convex profile, a short muscular arched neck, strong shoulders, a deep broad chest, a short body, powerful hindquarters, hard legs, flexible hocks and a well set tail. They are very intelligent horses but they can be very temperamental. They have a limited colour variation which is bay, brown or grey, there's also the occasional chestnut. Their main uses are for general riding. Their place of origin is Portugal.

Akhal-Teke

Akhal-Teke

An Akhal-Teke is approximately 15-16hh, they have a lean build with a long, thin neck; sloping croup, long pasterns, pronounced withers, sparse mane and tail and a lustrous coat. They have a variety of colours including bays, chestnuts, dun, palomino, grullo, cremello, perlino and black. They're special qualities are a metallic sheen coat; soft, gliding gaits and extraordinary endurance. They're best suited for endurance and dressage. Their place of origin is the Turkmenian desert, East of the Caspian Sea.

Abaco Barb

Abaco Barbs grazing 

Abaco Barbs are a rare breed of horse to find, they're approximately 13hh. They have typical Spanish traits; head is long between eyes and muzzle, large nostrils and heavy bone above the eye. Of the 12 living horses, most are pintos and the rest are bay and strawberry roan. Some in "rack" or "pace". They're best suited for without human intervention. Their places of origin are Great Abaco and the Bahamas.

This was my totally amazing trip to the Dominican Republic! On the bay (brown horse with black points) horse I had a two hour long trail riding through some of the mountains. We got to gallop up the hills and on flat ground - super fun! On the flea-bitten grey horse (whiteish spotty one) we went through a quick trail ride to see how they lived. I started joking around with the tour guide and said that we should ride to our next stop - lunch. He then told me that I was going to be riding to the next stop with another man who worked there. As they were loading up the bus and finishing up with the souvenirs,  I got to take off galloping down the beach and go into the water. This by far has been one of the best experiences in my life while I was in the saddle. It was something I had always wanted to do.

This is my amazingly wonderful 23 year old lesson horse that I sadly had to leave behind when I moved. Although I still get to see her, it breaks my heart every time I have to leave! Such a good girl! Best horse ever, I couldn't have asked for a better horse to learn on. The ten years she and I spent goofing off in the fields and cantering around the arena, racing the other horses in the paddocks and the barrel races, I'll never forget them and I recently went out to see her after I had had surgery done on my feet. I walked out to her paddock, called her name and she started to slowly come over to the gate. As soon as I got the gate open... BAM she took off in the other direction! She always use to do this to me. I was the ONLY ONE she would ever do this to! You could say it was our little game. I never minded because it got me out of doing chores. I miss her so much and I can't wait for the summer so I can go back and visit my girl again!

This is me and the amazingly talented and wonderful Amber Marshall off of the Canadian show Heartland I absolutely LOVE this show. Although this picture was taken about four years ago, I still brag to all of my horse lover friends that I got the opportunity to meet her. Well I did twice (in one day). The first time, I was so starstruck that I couldn't even say "hello" to her, man did I feel stupid. I'm sure that happens to her a lot though. The second time I had calmed down, slightly. I was still overwhelmed that she was right in front of me, too crazy! Overall, a great experience!