And the Herc update, aka MUD WRESTLING!
Apr 15 2010
Herc (original story here) headed home to Second Chance Ranch yesterday and he already has a girlfriend. If you’ve followed the Enumclaw auction stories, this is Stacy who was rescued from the sale in October. Stacy and Herc are bonded at the hip and share a love of…
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Mud.
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Katie wants to note that her property is not a slime pit, it’s just that these two found the one part that is. I think it is hilarious and obvious that, of course, these two would find themselves the yuckiest possible place to have a roll!Â
So you guys next – I want to see your muddy piglet horse pics! Got ‘em splashing in mud, lying in the puddle? Post the direct link (it will start with “http” – no tags, brackets, greater than/less than signs) and I’ll make it into a picture. It’s that time of year so let’s see your piggies!
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Don’t forget, you can become a fan of Hercules on Facebook by searching for “Hercules the Horse” and don’t forget that Studio Callidora still has beautiful prints of Herc for sale here:  Studio Callidora. What a great gift for anyone with a special Thoroughbred in their lives!
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And of course, if you’d like to donate to Herc’s care, Second Chance Ranch would totally appreciate it. Friday is payday for many of us and even the smallest donation is always welcome. There is a paypal link on the SCR site so please consider sending Herc some great big endlessly-eating Thoroughbred money. 
Another cutie at Shiloh Horse Rescue! This one is Beau, and he is an 8 year old, 16.2 Thoroughbred gelding. Learn more about him here.
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51 comments to “And the Herc update, aka MUD WRESTLING!”
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I’m soooo very happy for Herc!!!
And just so you know, I don’t think there will be any “mud” pics of my baby girl. She’s afraid the mud monster will eat her LOL
http://wildponybeast.blogspot.com/2009/04/my-horse-life-guard_10.html
That’s the link to my blog, and my horse the life guard. She LOVES, LOVES, LOVES water and mud!!
I LOVE her expression! I used to ride a pony that loved digging water. We spent quite a lot of time standing in streams while he got stuck in.
Lol, I know, it’s my favoriate! She just zones out and plays and plays. I want to take her to a river to play in it sometime. I think she’d love it!
Oooh I love Beau. It makes me sad I can’t have a horse. His gait seems a little off, but I still would want him. I’d give him lots of love and snuggles… *sigh*
My OTTB who thinks mud is the best. I have way to many pics of him in this condition…:)
Ha ha ha – that reminds me of the time my BFF’s horse and mine got into a splashing fight in a mudhole on the trail once. At first we thought they were going to roll, but it soon became clear that they were just pawing to try and splash each other.
My mom made us hose off and actually borrowed beach towels from the barn owner for us to sit on before we were allowed in her car.
Ah, the joys of owning a gray. As you can see, our horse paddock is no mud pit but Tonka manages to find the stuff anyhow.
Good for Herc!!
In 2005, my family and I took a trip to Steens Mountain which is outside of Burns, Oregon. We stumbled across this herd of mustangs. They were a little skittish, but they let us get close enough to watch them take their mud bathes in the pond. The mares just got their feet wet, but the stallion went completely in.
About to dive in:
http://s215.photobucket.com/albums/cc138/jazzthespazz101652/?action=view¤t=Pic039.jpg
Swim time!:
http://s215.photobucket.com/albums/cc138/jazzthespazz101652/?action=view¤t=Pic040.jpg
The finshed product shaking himself off:
http://s215.photobucket.com/albums/cc138/jazzthespazz101652/?action=view¤t=Pic041.jpg
And here are his pretty ladies:
http://s215.photobucket.com/albums/cc138/jazzthespazz101652/?action=view¤t=Pic042.jpg
Aren’t they gorgeous? Especially for mustangs. Heck, I think that little wild stud is better quality conformationally than a lot of domestic studs. Mustangs don’t get enough credit, they’re breathtaking creatures.
We even got the chance to watch a bachelor stallion try to steel a mare. It was an amazing experience. He wasn’t muddy, but here’s a picture of him anyway:
http://s215.photobucket.com/albums/cc138/jazzthespazz101652/?action=view¤t=Pic059.jpg
And what the heck, he’s a picture of him getting chased off:
http://s215.photobucket.com/albums/cc138/jazzthespazz101652/?action=view¤t=Pic053.jpg
Great photos, thanks for sharing!
Gorgeous pictures! I would totally take any one of those mares…I love those pinto Mustangs! I rode a tri-colored one for about 2 years, and she is one of the most fantastic horses I’ve ever ridden. She had decent conformation (low heels and slightly cow-hocked, in the way it actually gave her more power because it allowed her to really dig in with her back end) and could run faster than any of the QHs we frequently rode with. She was also only about 13.3hh…such a little speed demon!
Definitely cant resist this!
My two horses I used to own were fantastic at coming out after a bit of rain looking like right mud monsters.
The pinto looking one is supposed to be a light grey!
And the chestnut does not always have his tongue sticking out.. Only when a camera is aimed at him.
That is too hilarious!!! What cuties! Love the tongue!
This is my 26 YO Handsome Man! Prior to this picture he had been cleaned up so nice! But I wanted him to go out for awhile…he found the muddiest spot to roll…and then laughed at me when I brought him in! It took an hour to get him cleaned up again!!
Ok, I think this one is it…
My 26 YO…:0)
Cute! And great weight – kudos to you!
Thanks! He is a good boy!! Had him for 15 years:0)
Here is my 7 year old quarter horse X mustang cross, Kody. This was taken right after his bath… He and his girlfriend, Goldie, got to go graze in the pasture. Goldie rolled in the grass and Kody tried to roll up the hill, in a mud puddle. Gotta love the light colored horses
Ok my appy looks for the muddiest place to roll too. My mare she looks for the clean dry spots. Sometimes when he is done he gets himself so covered he looks like my bay mare. Then another time I raked up a small pile of poo in the field and I had to go and dump my wheel barrel before I could add anymore poop in it. Well when I came back, he was all stretched out and using the pile of poo as a pillow. I am glad it was dried poo. Yuck. I asked him if he was trying to be a sh** head. Grrrrrr!!!!!!!! I dont have too many muddy places. Just at the bottom of my field it gets a little muddy because it slopes. It does dry up in the summer. When it rains I do get some areas that get a little muddy but it doesnt take long to dry back out. I just make sure leaves and old hay is picked up. I did a lot of scraping and grading in front of their stalls where it use to get bad. Its soooo much better now. I am thinking of adding a small layer of stone dust. I did add a layer of clay which hardened. I make sure it is draining well when it rains. Sometimes I have to make little trenches.
We called that kind “water dogs” or “mud puppies”
My friends horse would try to roll in any water we came across,saddle,rider and all. Aah,memories..
Such a common sight seems like I see it every time I give baths. They always look so happy with themselves and I think they take even more enjoyment out of it when they know you are watching. LOL
I just wanted to mention I have some things on ebay that I am donating 50% of the proceeds to Herc and Second Chance Ranch. Wish I could do more but as with so many money is really tight, my mom and I talked it over and since we can paint we decided to donate some of our stuff for the cause. This will add nicely to the local rescues, student clubs, and organizations we have given to this year, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I really love this horse you can tell that Hercules has personality and I really wanted to help give him a jump start, and thank Second Chance Ranch for doing such a great job over and over again.
Here is a link to some of our stuff. You can also search mustang_moon_creations on ebay.
http://shop.ebay.com/mustang_moon_creations/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25
This is Gunner, my mostly white paint gelding the first day he was turned back out to pasture after being kept in the barn paddock after a leg injury. Of course, he found the muddiest spot in the field and rolled, and rolled, and rolled! But he was so happy to be free again, I didn’t care how dirty he got~~he was happy, LOL
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-gJV1BMDvOk/S4FoBK52VMI/AAAAAAAAASg/_STvE0hpz3A/s1600-h/101_8562.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_-gJV1BMDvOk/S4FpRpIj7DI/AAAAAAAAASw/mh9DtFucO8U/s1600-h/Gunner+Feb+2010.jpg
Lots more pictures on my blog if anyone wants to visit:
http://horsefilleddays.blogspot.com/
Oh jeez. The CANTER geldings have a mud wallow. It was a stream, and sometimes still is a stream, but they love to tear it up, splash in it, and then roll in it.
The ladies have found a spring at the top of the hill in their field, which they have also worked into a nice mud pit, and tend to come in looking like this (even though there’s not a drop of mud ANYWHERE else in the whole field):
From a distance I thought she was a cute new appaloosa.
And hopefully this video still works (I have no idea if it’s there and can’t test it from this computer, heh) – a new guy his first day off the track taking his test roll:
Glorious Cause’s First Roll
i think i can win the award. this is my dun fjord only minutes after i spent the better part of two hours cleaning him up from his last roll…….
Like father, like son:
Shadow Caster: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RuuHZNYX2lw/S2d4S6f9loI/AAAAAAAAAE8/fgvAmO_u8Ec/s1600-h/Shadow1.JPG
Little Big Red: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RuuHZNYX2lw/S2d8gQB3-lI/AAAAAAAAAFE/-FkokN4Zq2w/s1600-h/DSC01599.JPG
I’m pretty sure there is a genetic component to this.
I don’t know the best way to make this work…
http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?pid=177814&id=100000432649795
There is a silver grullo under all that mud/clay!
Yes folks this is a chestnut…most of the time.
FHOTD in: When you’re in Photobucket, what you want is the “direct link” – the one with an “s” at the beginning won’t work. Thanks.
the clean version of Orion
Notice how many grays are pictured already – filthy from head to toe. I believe there is something in particular about gray horses that attracts them to mud! I wish I had pictures of the many times my gray has been covered from head to toe.
I don’t know how true it is, but I’ve heard that gray horses rolls more because of their light coloration, which if clean will more easily give them away to predators in the wild. If they are brown with mud they blend in easier.
Hear hear fugly! I used to ride a grey arabian and although we didn’t have much mud, it didn’t stop him from getting dirty. Every time I brought him in he would be green and yellow from rolling in the grass…If I left him in his stall the night before a show he would roll in his poop…and if there ever was any mud, he would certainly find it!
Also, A friend of mine had a gorgeous chestnut welsh dressage pony. When we were kids we would go to the lake that was on the farm and take the horses in the lake when it was really hot out. Her pony loved the water and would literally turn into a submarine…she would swim with her entire head under the water for a couple of seconds making my friend look like she was floating on the water…It always freaked us out…
My last horse, he was just a grey.. But most of the time people thought he was a pinto lol
This is our Paint we have had for 7 years.. I have countless photo’s of him looking like a mud pig.
I think every pasture/paddock should have a good mud hole in it (not a nasty stagnant one of course). Luvin’ a good roll in the mud is just another part of being a horse!
Not sure if this is true or not but I have been told a nice layer of mud is one of their natural defenses against biting flies too. (And being ridden…I’ve been known to pick the cleanest horse out of the pasture for a ride on occasion)
My white Buckskin and Palomino LOVE the dirt. So does the red dun BUT it almost impossible to see it on him. I appreciate Herc but there are so so many other horses in worse conditions that need help. Too bad I’m at my limit, 10.
OT, but quite a scary story:
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Jolley–They-Shoot-Horse–Owners—Don-t-They/2010-04-05/Article_HotTopics.aspx?oid=1034823&fid=VN-HOT_TOPICS
Wow, thats an interesting one, looks like a hot mess.
Fugs, would love some of your crack-reporting on this case… it seems a pretty hot issue. The “HSUS=Socialists/Commies/Terrorists” people are all wound up about it and seizing on it hard.
I agree, she (the supposed abuser) certainly doesn’t sound like some ignorant new horse owner, and for the HSUS to not FEED the horses, that just makes NO sense! I want to know what the inside scoop is on this…. Hope Fugly can find out for us. Does not sound good, for the accused, OR the accuser. : (
oh fugs,… it’s a great day in the pacific northwest! FINALLY! Doug Spink arrested for animal cruelty due to bizarre bestiality tourism farm he was running. About damned time.
Here’s my wooly Walkaloosa (cross Appy with a Racking horse)…
and the other side:
this is what she is supposed to look like:
At least I can blame some of the mud stains I can’t always get out as just being her natural spots LOL
One of the horses I ride is a gray Arab with one eye (lost the left one to a melanoma about 7 years ago). She’s not happy unless she has mud IN the eye socket. Silly mare. I can’t find a picture, sadly.
And of course, she hates baths too. She stands at the end of her lead shaking her head (because she knows any more movement is not allowed).
Good for Hercules! He looks very happy now.
I think this is the only pic I have of my Victor when he isn’t clean. I’m a bit of an obsessive compulsive groomer. ;D But here he is wallowing in the dirt like a little piggy:
And here is how he’s supposed to look:
Look, it’s a RARE Krazy Kolor horse with TWO colors of brown!
Filthy tobiano! My favorite! I can’t count the number of hours I’ve spent fighting mud-soaked tobiano. I sure miss it!
Hahaha! Cute! He is one messy boy.
We don’t get enough rain or have the soil to ever get my horses muddy. If they want to get really dirty, I have to spray them down with a hose first. The closest picture I have is when Bandit rolled after his first bath when he was yearling. Please forgive the lead rope. While Dad was snapping the picture laughing at how his “bath” went, I was freaking out thinking he’d break his leg standing back up…
Bandit still has that quirk. He likes to roll within 5 minutes of me putting on his halter. If I let him roll then he gets up and goes right to work happy as can be. If I fight him then he fights back and spends the whole time cranky. Suffice to say, I’ve gotten pretty good at unclipping leads while he’s going down.
Here’s my mud photo
This is a TB gelding named Shadow rolling in a DEEP mud puddle. He eventually flipped over to get both sides completely coated.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mightysquirrel/4526712248/
I dont mean to sound like a wrench, but that TB gelding in the video looks sore in his backend to me? Is it just me and am i too fussy? Looks like his off hind, but he isnt tracking up with either?
We had a completely unexpected downpour today. I rushed out to get Cassie and the baby into the barn, but I was too late. She rolled in the first puddle to form. When I got her to the stall I just shook my head. She’s so coated I won’t be able to get it all off until it warms up again and I bath her. I was too embarrassed to capture that moment. lol
This is my 17hh OTTB freebie, I’ve got better pics of him in mud but I can’t find them… hmmm… This was the day after a night time jumping comp, we got home at 2am (it was so bad, went so over schedule) and we were all exhausted. He decided that instead of sleeping in the dry sand that gets constantly dumped into his yard, he’d find the only wet, muddy patch and flop down in that. He was soooo sound asleep, he plonks his mouth down, open, so his teeth are against the ground, it was too cute, I ended up getting a paddock boot and putting it under his head to lean on.
Flanigan, my now passed 17hh Mustang, after rolling in the late November, freezing cold, Colorado clay mud. And yes, those are big clods of mud in his mane and tail.
giggle. You won’t be getting any photos of my Palomino Morgan mare, because she is a princess and she *hates* getting dirty. Seriously, she is the cleanest horse I have ever met; she doesn’t even like getting her feet muddy. The only time I’ve found her “that” muddy was when we had a freak 80 degree day in the middle of the winter, and she rolled in the mud in her paddock to stay cool. OTOH, the big old gelding I am leasing loves the mud. And there is a little chestnut TB mare where I board who loves mud more than any horse I know. She outdoes any gray, any day, in her ability to absorb quantities of mud.