Does anyone else own a horse as it would be good to share knowledge and information about these wonderful critters.Apart from when I lived in Canada this is the only other place that I can afford to own a horse.The horse that I own now is a 16 year old grey mare( I know the song) called Pepper. I purchased off who are now my friends at the beginning of July along with a Karichka.I cannot ride English style at the moment as I learnt to ride Western style in Canada but when I get a Girth strap for the saddle I will give it ago with some instruction from my wife.
I do profess to know a bit about the husbandry of keeping horses and thier health and feeding needs but I do not know everything.It would be nice to have some horsey talk and it would be valuble to those who have never owned a horse but may be thinking of getting one.For those who are thinking of getting a horse just remember that Bulgarian horses are used for work and not pleasure or should I say have not been treated as pets!Most have never been ridden with a saddle and have only pulled a Karichka so some training may be needed if you wish to hop on it's back.You may laugh but you will have to give it English lessons as they only understand the Bulgarian commands. Our Pepper understands commands in both languages thanks to the previous owners and was trained by them with the saddle.Prior to them owning her she was ill treated by her Gypsy owners(supprise supprise) who had her since she was a foal. She now has her own field which our back garden and a nice new stable.She lives the life of riley being loved and cared for and is now semi retired as she was a riding school horse for begginers and I am ashamed to say that she has been spoiled by my wife and I and has developed a "
DIVA"
attitude!

I know of these 3 members who keep horses but there could be others? Equinus,Suzee, beautifulangel

Hi Speedgunner.

We have a horse as mentioned here viewtopic.php?f=30&
t=5883

I have had horses for 25 years and worked with them for 20. Now that I am old and fat with arthritis I rely on Mr Eq to do all the difficult stuff, and even though he is a novice he has done brilliantly with Murphy (with supervision and guidance from me, I have done this a few times in my twenties) and we now have a lovely boy who is learning to enjoy being ridden by a lady who is sympathetic to his past problems, and he has shown absolutely no sign of bucking with her. We are hoping to send him over to her yard down the road for a bit more intensive few weeks while we move house. At the moment she is only riding him once a week and he is amazing in that everything he learns stays with him till next time. Mr Eq is desperate to get on him, as am I, but I am not going to risk fluffing it and setting him back. My legs sometimes don't do as asked and he has a bit of an issue with the mounting block!

Anyway, it is looking hopeful that he will be coming with us, and we are hoping to be able to buy/rent enough land to keep him and another, but if not, find a yard somewhere. It will sort itself out.

I believe beautifulangel is opening a riding stable in the Ruse region, and Suzee has two Bulgarian horses. Between us we should be able to give you some support in whatever you want to do with your mare. And with the other two already being in Bulgaria, they should be able to guide you through the winter worries.

This is Murphy's story up to a month ago. Be warned, it's long! Had to take the music off in case of copyright issues.



Mrs Eq

Some useful links

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Well done Guys!!! excellent feedback. Don't you just love this forum

Oddy

For your replies! Whilst on the subject of horses is anyone having trouble getting hay and straw?At the moment I am as I have looked around and so far have only managed to obtain 18 bales of hay and no straw at all. I have been told that the crops were not very good this year so allis in short supply.My mate took me to a place where he got a 100 bales of hay last year and the chap said he had very little because of bad crops so he wasn't selling any.I live in the Vulchi Dol area so if you know where I could try get some it would be appreciated thanks.

Hope no one minds if I rekindle this post. Really looking forward to getting to know some horsey folks once we get to bg. I have been lucky enough to have been involved with horses all my life, and for most of my working life too. In Canada I had a stable and bred trained and showed arabians in all disciplines, although jumper and dressage were my main thing. However I also had western and saddleseat horses from time to time. I love teaching aswell but after a brief forary into the riding school business kept my student base quite low (my temperament isn't suited to a big school). Since coming back to the uk I have cut back a lot as my health has not been so good (nothing to do with age I'm sure) but until this last year have kept teaching and reschooling with a bit of local showing. Sadly we made the decision to sell the last of our ponies and just have the two sport horse mares left. They will stay with my daughter in the uk, at least for a while. However, the chances of us not keeping horses in bg are probably slim to none!! In the mean time if I can offer any one any help or advice I'm always happy to do what I can. Have enjoyed working my way through all the interesting posts on this forum I must say.

speedgunner wrote:

I do profess to know a bit about the husbandry of keeping horses and thier health and feeding needs but I do not know everything.It would be nice to have some horsey talk and it would be valuble to those who have never owned a horse but may be thinking of getting one.

I don't have a horse now, but had a Welsh Cob for 25 years, both my daughters had ponies from a young age and we all competed in showjumping competeitions regularly, also cross country. My youngest daughter had the privilege of showjumping at Hickstead, we also had a riding stables and livery yard with 48 stables. This was when I was younger of course and had more energy, never a dull moment with grooming, feeding, competing and keeping my staff under control. A large amount of knowledge was gained and I am more than willing to help with problems if I can remember the answer.

How lovely to see the horse How i would love to get my but back in the sadle. Don't own horses any more the daily work involved in caring for one now is beyond me but if i like itchy feet can help with any of your questions then i will too.
Enjoy your best friends the horses and the dogs be kind to them and they will kinder to you three fold and some

hi glad ur enjoying your new horse. Im a qualified riding instructor with over twenty yrs experience in breeding, competing, showing and teaching. So feel free to ask anything you want to know.

just another thought, theres a great horsey forum on facebook for everyone in bulgaria who is interested in talking about horses. Theres more of us around than you would think. And for anyone interested due to my husbands buisness interests My stables are in the process of being relocated to Konstantinovo near Haskovo, so we'll be opening in the south east very soon

Could you post the name of the Facebook group? Thanks so much for that, will be nice to get to know other horsey folks there

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] the group is called horse stuff bulgaria. Hope to see you added soon

Great thanks for that!