Horse Fiction “Thanks,” She muttered under her breath. Cautiously she moved toward the stallion. He now pawed at the shavings on the stall floor with his right fore foot. “Easy,” She cooed quietly, “Easy boy.” Reaching out she brushed her finger tips against his well chiseled cheekbone. The stallion’s dark eyes fixed on her, snorts came forth from his nostrils and he arched his neck. “I’m not going to hurt you.” She whispered. Carefully she stepped toward him again. Sliding the clip of the lead line though the first metal ring on the stallion’s halter, she then clipped it to the opposite one. The chain rested light on his light face. Everything was still before he yanked his head back, shaking it as if trying to get free.

Care and Grooming Understanding your horse’s anatomy is important. It will help you understand how your horse moves, and how to train him effectively and prevent injuries. It will help you protect your horse from disease and illness, and keep him feeling his best. If you are shopping for a horse, a knowledge of anatomy will help you choose a horse with good conformation, or at least recognize which conformation problems matter for your discipline, and which may be less of a factor. What’s most interesting about anatomy though is how it reflects the evolution of the horse, and there’s a lot to learn about your horse’s psychology just from how he’s built. In this series, we’ll take your horse apart from the ground up, and see how all the bones, muscles, tendons and everything else work, and what that can tell you. Let’s start right at the bottom – the hoof.

Graphics For week 12 we introduce the Tiger Horse graphic. The CorelDRAW and Adobe Illustrator vector format have also been included. The only stipulation we have to these graphics is that you do not sell the graphics for monetary gain or include them in a downloadable library or distribution CD. Your welcome to use them for any other purpose, both personal or commercial. If this is something you would like to see more of on Ponybox news, please leave a comment and let us know.

Horse Fiction Brielle felt a tingle run up her spine as she climbed from her deep blue Ford F-250. The soft cool wind tousled her short chestnut hair, and caused her to shiver slightly. Her small frame looked as if it was blow over with the slightest force. Hazel eyes scanning over the landscape she shoved her hands into her pockets. The female ducked her head slightly into her oversized hooded sweatshirt as she trudged on toward the large white building. Swallowing back a bit of shyness that washed over her she reached for the doorknob. Her head turned slowly and she took in the sight of the fields, fields filled with horses. Memories filled her mind, and she felt her heart leap in her chest. Reaching up she curled her tiny fingers around the gold heart-shaped locket hanging from her neck. “You can do this Brielle.” She whispered to herself.

Horse Fiction I rode Victory out onto the race track. I was wearing my new jockey silks and Victory was in his smart white bridle and racing saddle. The time had come. The vet had given us the all clear and Victory was dancing across the track in excitement. I gave a firm pull on the rains, “No boy,” Deep down, I was just as excited as he was, but I had to keep calm or Victory would get out of control.

I glanced around nervously at our competition. Many of the other horses were taller than Victory and all the other jockeys, I noticed, were male. They all looked much more experienced than us and suddenly I regretted doing this.

Horse Fiction Warm sunlight filtered through my faded lilac curtains as the sun crept into the sky. Today was the day. Today was my race. I leapt out of bed, ran to the curtains and tore them open madly. I was met by a warm, glowing sun, blue skies all around and not a single cloud in sight. The breeze that blew in through the open window was cool; perfect conditions for racing.

I quickly changed into my riding pants and put on a polo shirt; the race wasn’t until 2:30, I would get into my racing gear then. A heavenly scent drifted into my room. Waffles; my favourite thing to have for breakfast. I galloped downstairs, following the scent to the kitchen and my mom, “Hi honey,” she attacked me with a hug, “Big day today! I’m making your favourite!” I quickly finished my waffles and dashed outside to go and see Victory. Nothing would
spoil my day.

Horse Stories The first horse I owned was a Christmas present from my grandparents, a safe, sweet cob named Makaela Marie (Arabic for 'a gift from God). I was only 6, and therefore Makki was the perfect horse for me to learn to ride. However, after a few years I was keen to move on. I watched my older siblings leap over 4 foot jumps with their horses, but my mother refused to let me ride them. I didn't understand at the time, but I know now that a fiesty arab mare wasn't a good jumping horse for an 8 year old. I tried hard to convince Makki to jump higher than 2 foot, but she refused. She was a beginners horse, not a showjumper.

Horse Fiction The rain attacked me as I struggled through the storm to the barn. Before stepping inside into the warmth, I glanced up at the angry, gray sky. Will the race still be on tomorrow I wondered. I quickly stepped into the barn to be out of the cold. Two weeks had gone quickly and now it was nearly time. I couldn’t believe it, my first race!

I strolled along the line of stalls, checking on all the horses. Sugar, my mom’s appaloosa mare, seemed slightly startled by the storm, but all the others were fine.

Horse Fiction Upon my mom’s call, I and Victory rocketed forward into a fast gallop. I was wearing my new silks and Victory, well. Victory was just in his usual tack. The world seemed a blur when I was up here; I urged Victory on and checked my goggles were on tightly. I could hear his hooves pounding against the dusty track and I was glad my goggles were on properly as the dust flew everywhere.

We were quickly round the whole track and passing my mom again. She banged her hand down on the stopwatch and I slowed Victory down to a smooth canter, then a gentle trot. She beamed up at me as I approached her. Victory’s neck was smooth and dripping with sweat and he was puffed loudly; a bit like a bull I thought.

Graphics This is a very basic tutorial. A lot of artists go into more depth with their work, and I often like to as well, but for the purpose of learning and gaining confidence I've just whipped up a quick tutorial to get you started. There are plenty of tutorials on sites like DeviantART if you want to go further. But for the sake of time, and my sanity, here's something for any beginners out there who want to learn how to paint linearts.

"Good movie. Though if you have read the books, you may just be a little disappointed. Some things wh "  VanZweden