Shire horses racing…to the brink?

The Express (UK) reports that Shire horse numbers have dropped to an alarming low in their native Britain. While the Shire Horse Society takes steps to preserve the breed, a comment at the bottom of the article caught my eye:

The revelation comes ahead of a shire horse race to be held at Lingfield Park racecourse in Surrey.

On June 15, eight shires will take to the track in Britain’s first professional race over two furlongs.

The Showerking Flying Feathers Maiden Stakes was won by Joey; video here: http://www.lingfieldpark.co.uk/news/racing-shires-to-appear-on-bbcs-the-one-show/

 

World’s Oldest Genome Sequenced From 700,000-Year-Old Horse DNA

 

World’s Oldest Genome Sequenced From 700,000-Year-Old Horse DNA

Samples from a horse leg bone more than 700,000 years old have yielded the oldest full genome known to date.

The ancient horse genome also allowed the team to determine the evolutionary relationship between modern domestic horses and the endangered Przewalski’s horse, a native to the Mongolian steppes that represents the last living breed of wild horse.

The team found that Przewalski’s horses were an offshoot of the lineage that gave rise to domestic horses. The two groups diverged around 50,000 years ago.

More at NatGeo: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/06/130626-ancient-dna-oldest-sequenced-horse-paleontology-science

Multumesc; drive through

Found at The Similepedia Blog; I believe the photo was taken in Romania. (Multumesc = thank you)

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Brigadier

The amazing Horse-o-Phonic!

…and could you pick some carrots out of a salad?

What can I say?!

Say it with a quagga

Check out these adorable notecards from Etsy seller EnfinLaVoila: “This is a Photoshop montage I made with antique baroque prints. Can you resist?” You know you can’t. Get ’em here.

(“But Defrost, what’s a quagga?”)

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Embroidered prints and cards

Things you can buy, part two

Things you can buy, part one

Promise?

Gucci’s 85th anniversary horse

Another breakthrough in colour genetics (or, if you prefer, “They’ve more or less dun it”)

Ma préférée, originally uploaded by freddou_lutra.

Dun factor genetic testing is now available. Sort of. According to UC Davis, “The specific mutation that causes Dun has not yet been identified, and there is no direct test for the gene. VGL has identified DNA markers associated with Dun that can be used to determine if a horse has the Dun gene and how many copies.” They’re still doing research to pinpoint the exact genes, but this is still an exciting breakthrough. Also check out this article on primitive markings from Dun Central Station.

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Brindle filly

New dilution gene found

Recent breakthroughs in colour genetics

Silver dapple update

Dappled things

Brindle horses

What’s dun is dun

Starving horses were part of an unusual breeding program

One for Ripley’s?

Horse colour demystified: the basics

Horse colour demystified: the cream gene

Quiz: what colour horse would you be?

Horse colour demystified: the dun gene

The science of spots

World’s first cloned horse has a foal (the old-fashioned way)

Prometea, a cloned Haflinger mare, gave birth to Pegaso on March 17; full story here. Interesting that her creator, Professor Cesare Galli, has faced criminal and religious sanctions for his reproductive research. Anyone know what legal grounds Italian authorities would have for seizing a cloned bull?

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Five memorable mares

They did it again

Cloned mule trains for first race at San Joaquin fair

Company produces clones from cutting horses

Bits and bobs

Isn’t that one of the most arresting horse photos you’ve ever seen? It was taken by Wojtek Kwiatkowski; see a bigger version here along with more of his fantastic work.

And, er, um, hi again. 🙂 Yeah, I’m back, and I do plan and sticking around for a bit this time; I’ve got several articles I’m researching at the moment, which will be posted in due course along with the usual drivel and filler. 😉 Might even be a book giveaway/contest in the future! It was gratifying to see that even while I was away, Bridlepath was still garnering several hundred (or more) hits a day; thank you all for reading it, adding it to your blogroll, telling your friends and so on. I’m catching up on updating my links, so if you asked for one, it will appear. Soon. Ish.

A few people have asked me about the header image I’m using. It’s The Horse Fair (1853-55) by French artist Rosa Bonheur. The full painting is below; click to embiggen.

So, now that I’m back…anything I should know about? What would you like to see more of? Less of?

Bridal path

A bride crosses a lake as she rides a horse during a photo shoot, in Shidu, southwest of Beijing Monday, April 28, 2008. A company is running group tours to the area for soon-to-be-married couples, to shoot their wedding photos in spectacular settings. Link

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Trash the dress?! Never!

Crush it good

From Cheezburger, duh. (OH HAI A COUPLE OF THOSE LOOK FAMILIAR)

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Invisible ladder

And so it begins

Police horse clocks out early

(Image source)

From The Gothamist:

After getting spooked and throwing its mounted officer yesterday, Aldo the police horse managed to make its way home to the station house at 6th Ave. and Ericcson Pl. Aldo freaked out at the sound of screeching brakes in Soho yesterday afternoon, causing him to throw his rider, who was taken to St. Vincent’s with minor injuries. After getting the cop off his back, Aldo ran free through the streets before ambling about ten blocks home. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne says that Aldo “knows his turf.”

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Another day, another RCMP scandal

Have you got a warrant?

Brigadier

Horses take over American streets

Update on retired NYPD horses

Retired NYPD horses at centre of dispute

Monty the police horse retires

Remembering Brigadier

“White Mane” (Crin-Blanc) now out on DVD

Has anyone seen this 1953 flick? It’s a 40-minute, b&w film directed by Albert Lamorisse. From IMDB:

In the Camargue, France, ranchers go after wild horses led by a leader, “White Mane,” which escapes capture time after time. A small boy who witnesses the horse’s furious fight for its freedom makes friends with the horse after the trackers supposedly give him up to whomever can capture him. They change their minds when they see the boy has tamed him and take off after the horse again, with the boy on his back. Both boy and horse, fed up with the continual fight for freedom and peace, and the duplicity of men, head out to sea as the men plead with the boy to turn back. (Winner of the Cannes Grand Prize in category in 1953.)

It’s now out on DVD; KiddieMatinee.com has another short review, and more images like the one below.

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Lorenzo and his Camargue horses

The Ballad of the Irish Horse

Eight Belles

(Image source: New York Times)

I know. I know. Go read these:

Why we care…or not

Please don’t create a cult around her

Read this one twice:

Breeding out the usefulness?

UPDATE: oh hello Washington Post, nice of you to ask the same questions… 😉

More freebies and contests

appaloosas in the snow, originally uploaded by normanack.

It’s time to show your battered wallet a little love, yes?

• Request a free sample of horse wafers from Majesty’s Animal Nutrition (US only)…
• You can win some useful stuff from Your Horse magazine (UK only)…
• Download and print some cute horsey stationery and note pads…
• Equine Research Inc. offers a free horse book catalogue…
• Yo Barngoddess: Blue Seal is running a “Love Your Horse” senior horse photo contest; all entrants receive a complimentary box of treats (not stated, but probably US only)…
• Win a handmade hoofpick from farrier/blogger extraordinaire John at care4horses…

 

Merry Christmas from Bridlepath!

What’s On Your Christmas Tree?, originally uploaded by appaIoosa.

Hope this message finds you well.

The Pony Lady

Is anyone else totally coveting that bathtub?