Weird Horse News

Kentucky isn't the only place where horses are celebrated for their speed. In Turkmenistan the Turkmen Racing Horse Festival is a celebration for horsemen of all ages, which takes place on the last Sunday of April. Turkmenistan is known for the Akhal-Teke horses and its ancient tradition of horse racing and riding.

President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedoy, who also is a writer, published a book about horses. Excitement for the annual festival was built up a week before the event with daily poems published in the state newspaper on the front page glorifying his favorite horses written by the 54-year-old president. Full-color photographs accompanied each poem.

The festival was kicked off with a "Most Beautiful Horse of the Year" contest--an equine beauty pageant. The finalists are turned out for judging wearing traditional bridles and a coat that requires sunglasses.

President Berdymukhamedov hosted the second edition of the contest with 10 horses vying for the prize, according to KDFW FOX4 in Dallas, Texas. The winner this year was a Thoroughbred stallion named Khan of the Eagles.

It's great to hear about how other countries celebrate our favorite four-hooved animal.

Have you heard of other countries celebrating the horse in such grand fashion?

Over the winter I have been training for my very first half marathon (13.1 miles), which I am running April 28 in Louisville, Ky., as part of the Kentucky Derby Festival. I'm really excited and have gone through many miles of tough hills and lots of sweat, but I'm ready for it. Of course, my accomplishment of 13.1 miles can only be eclipsed by the runners in the London Marathon (26.2 miles), which will be run this weekend, April 22, in England.

Horse & Hound posted an article about some marathoners running in the event for a cause we can all relate to--horses. What a great idea!

Thirteen runners will be running for Racing Welfare, including horse trainer George Baker (how did he have the time to train himself and horses??), jockeys Nlall Halley and Will Pettis, jockey valet Andrew Hardacre, and a few from Hacombe Stud, among others. Other runners will be representing World Horse Welfare, Countryside Alliance, The Animal Health Trust, Riding for The Disabled Association, as well as three members from the World Society for Protection of Animals' veterinarian clinic.

It's a great idea to combine two very passionate sports--running and equestrian--and it's a great way to show that equestrians are athletes that can do more than just "sit astride a horse."

Have you ever used another sport/event to promote the horse industry and/or horse welfare? If so, please share!

I know we've covered this topic many times, but I just can't help discussing it when we see more news stories about people under the influence of alcohol riding horses through the streets. Unfortunately, unlike some of the other ones we've discussed, this story has an unhappy ending.

Dateline: Elizabethtown, Ky. Two men in their 20s were riding their horses along a side road around 8:30 at night when an oncoming vehicle hit both horses and riders. One horse was injured and the other was killed, while the two men escaped with only minor injuries. The injured horse was taken to a nearby farm for veterinarian care and is expected to make a full recovery.

Both men were cited for DUIs (one was only 20), but the driver that hit the horses was not charged.

Of course there's anger towards the two men who were riding their horses in the dark, drunk, along what might have been a busy road. Because of their "joyride" a horse was killed. They're lucky the other horse will make a full recovery, and that there weren't any more serious injuries to the driver or themselves.

A few of the readers on the news website expressed concern that the driver of the vehicle was not charged with anything, and they have a valid point. I understand that it was dark and, therefore, hard to see horses along the road, but how fast was the driver going? His headlights should have been on, which would have shown the pair of horses walking on the road.

Don't think I feel the riders aren't the ones in the wrong--they are. But, there has to be a bit of a share of the blame with the driver as well.

I know we joked about the Montana designated driver commercial last year, but to be completely honest, it's putting your horse in danger if you're riding it while intoxicated on a dark street (or any street, for that matter). Just don't do it.

What are your thoughts of the whole incident? Should the driver of the car be charged as well? Should the two riders be charged with more than just driving under the influence?

My horse Dorado and I have a slight difference of opinion of how dirty he should be when he comes in from the field to go riding every day. I can deal with a few little patches of dirt here and there, but I'd prefer he stay mostly clean to minimize the time it takes to prepare for a ride--especially when I'm trying to get a good work in before the sun sets. He, on the other hand, thinks he should be as dirty as humanly (or equine-ly?) possible. At all times. Needless to say, my opinion doesn't much matter in this situation, so I push up my sleeves and get to work scrubbing him clean. Every day.

Imagine my excitement when I opened a news story and saw a horse wearing an almost full-bodysuit. I must admit I didn't even stop to read the article before deciding to save my pennies for one in yet another attempt to keep my horse clean between rides. Yes...this invention was going to make life so much easier!

Well, as you might have guessed by now, the body suit definitely wasn't designed to keep horses clean between works. In fact, its real purpose might even be cooler than an equine body glove. According to the article posted on MyFoxDC.com, this equine body suit is actually, essentially, a mobile compression chamber to help horses recover after strenuous exercise.

"They are designed to aid recovery, help with muscle fatigue," Australian horse trainer John McNair explained in the MyFoxDC article. "We have been using them on (Australian champion racehorse) Hay List for a couple of weeks now and it makes a huge difference."

And as my Weird Horse News co-author and avid runner Megan pointed out, this body suit seems pretty similar to the compression socks and pants that some human athletes wear post-workout to help with stimulate blood flow and helping legs recover faster from strenuous exercise.

Pretty cool if you ask me! And if I had the nearly $950 lying around I'd be tempted to try one out for Dorado--not to keep him clean, but to see if it helps in keeping the old man going.

Would you try or use a bizarre-looking treatment modality if it meant your horse could do the extra mile?

Remember the post back in January 2009 about the “creepy headless donkey machine”? Well, we can now add creepy headless cheetah machine to that list.

Earlier this week MSNBC.com had an article on how a robo-cheetah had set a new speed record. (When did we start keeping records of robot speed, by the way?) The headless machine was clocked at a blistering 18 mph, besting the previous record set by MIT Leg Lab’s Planar Biped Robot, which was clocked at 13.1 mph back in 1989. (As a side note, actual cheetahs--you know, the ones with fur and a head and tail--have been clocked at up to 70 mph, so the machine still has a ways to go.)

You can see the video on MSNBC.com, but it’s rather odd because, to me, it looks like it’s running backwards. Although I could be wrong, what do you think?

These kind of stories make me think--why do we waste thousands of dollars on projects such as these, when we could put it towards more endearing things such as horses in need? I have yet to see any applicable notions to help mankind come from these contraptions. It’s not like they’re trying to come up with prosthetic appendages for cheetahs or donkeys from this research, nor do I think the use of such machines will replace automobiles as modes of transportation.

Though they did say that about the four-wheeled buggy with a loud engine when it came to talk of it replacing the horse back in the late 19th century…