Not yours. Don't touch.

[wordgirl]

The funny thing is I was discussing the last thread with a friend of mine who is a horsey person and I said, "Geez, is it really so common that horse owners - people who actually own actual freaking horses - so commonly try to walk up to a whole 'nother horse and say 'Hi there, you are my horse?'"

I just couldn't imagine doing that with any animal that you actually own. So I had to ask her, "Is that a thing?"

She just sighed and said, "Oh yes, it's totally a thing" and told me stories of times people tried to lead off her prize-winning horses instead of their presumably not-so-fancy equines (or even fancy ones - in one case the person's actual horse was worth almost double the one they were trying to claim.)

It boggles my mind that people are so blind when it comes to this giant, possibly touchy, extraordinarily powerful (and often, powerfully intelligent) animal that they plan to ride, potentially risking life and limb. (Forget about the duty to, you know, nurture and love the horse, because clearly some folks can't be bovvered wit dat.) I can much more easily see someone saying "That's my silver Ford Mustang. No wait, that's my silver Ford Mustang." Maybe it's time to start genetically engineering horses to be key-operated.

[otter]

I know a Palomino is golden with cream mane and tail while a Morgan is dark brown with black tail and mane. Can I tell golden or brown horses apart by breed? Nope. But I can confidently say that if a horse has a penis he is definitely NOT female.

You're thinking of a bay. Morgan is a breed.

[MoonCat]

Well, going by those pics, they're all gorgeous!

I know nothing about horses except Never Stand Behind One, and even I can tell a stallion from a mare!

I wonder if they were trying to claim a better horse knowing that it really wasn't theirs, and just thought they could bluff and bully until they got what they wanted?

[SmivMoc]

Does your state still hang people for stealing horses?

[Seanette]

It boggles my mind that people are so blind when it comes to this giant, possibly touchy, extraordinarily powerful (and often, powerfully intelligent) animal that they plan to ride, potentially risking life and limb.

Good point here. Apparently, the thought that the animal him/herself is likely to have an opinion on the subject, and the physical ability to express said opinion VERY forcefully, never makes it through the entitlement.

[Shyla]

She isn't ready for competition, even beginner, if she hasn't spent enough time with her horse to identify her properly. She can't possibly have practiced enough. And she obviously doesn't like her horse enough to spend time petting her or brushing her or anything.

[Cia]

You're thinking of a bay. Morgan is a breed.

Okey dokey.

[AkaiKitsune]

Well, going by those pics, they're all gorgeous!

I know nothing about horses except Never Stand Behind One, and even I can tell a stallion from a mare!

I wonder if they were trying to claim a better horse knowing that it really wasn't theirs, and just thought they could bluff and bully until they got what they wanted?

Put it this way, a registered Arabian with show experience and trained to a decent competition level is about $2500 for a 6yr mare. A little less for a gelding and about $200-400 more for a stallion. (These prices reflect here and assume there's no fancy lineage). A 1yr old PRE stallion starts at $8000 here. That's assuming there's no notable names in the family tree and is a standard colour for the breed. Last I got mine appraised (insurance reasons) it was appraised at a value of $520,000. Bit of a difference in price. Part of that is because he is a stallion and can presumably be used for stud. Another big part is genetics. He's an extremely rare colour, and has a few notable names. Another is because he's an import from Spain, and the breed is prized there. He's registered so that brings the price up. And he's never placed worse then 3rd in any show he's been in. Hell, since I've got him the worst I've had happen is one knocked rail in jumping. A few time faults. And a couple screw ups during some dressage (my weakest area) during a really windy day. He was having problems with the wind and having an off day, not to mention it was the beginning of the spring show season and I'm always a little tense at the beginning of show season. So I wasn't helping.

So I really wouldn't put it past them to have tried that. It doesn't help that I look like a 15yr old (I'm almost 30 btw... Damn I'm getting old)