She Believed She Could So She Did

I'm Leah, 25, Australian, vegan, and a proud equestrian since 1994. Qualified veterinary nurse, Introductory level coach with EA. horses are my way of healing. Dedicated endurance rider and amateur dressage rider in the off season. //There is always H O P E

[kcequine]

It is September and the horses are happy.

[horsiie]

[kindness-and-horses]

Anyway here’s me starting Pearl! It was her first time with someone on her back and I rode in a halter with pvc reins lol I am so proud of her good behaviour! We’re building up super super slowly, so it was only a little walk, and I’m gonna need a whole lot of patience because I just wanna take her out and show her off 😍 she is such a good girl!

[kindness-and-horses]

Karen Chaton riding Bo in the Tevis cup

[kimblewick]

this is too cool

[craigslisthorses]

goals

[kindness-and-horses]

Cougar rock 👌🏼

[theguidetoforever]

Sunday hacks with my pony are the best

[kindness-and-horses]

This looks so nice

[nicomorgan]

Because they hate what they are asked to do…

[wannabewerewolf]

Something is missing..?

[myblackmare]

I love the random clump of grass flying up in the air. 

[ithelpstodream]

[jonpertwee]

I feel like this would be a slippery slope towards making it illegal for people to choose to not vote.

[hamfistedbunvendor]

that’s already how it is in australia

[jonpertwee]

That’s just so fucked up. :( Do certain medical conditions exempt you?

[sapphicdalliances]

?????? why is it be fucked up to have compulsory voting? that’s the way it is in most democratic countries? it’s a part of being a citizen, like paying taxes and obeying speed limits? the fine for not voting is only like $50 and because of the compulsory voting law, our country bends over backwards to make it accessible: it’s always on a weekend, lasts most of the day, and is set up at schools and community centers so there’s one within easy reach of almost everybody. you can also mail your ballot or vote early if you’ll be out of the country on the day. like, IT’S EASY TO VOTE, and the penalty isn’t even that ridiculous. i don’t understand why the usa doesn’t have this, except obviously it would make it harder to literally stop minorities from voting.

[salparadisewasright-deactivated]

I think we Americans tend to forget that a lot of other countries don’t actively work to make it harder to vote.

[thisdiscontentedwinter]

Adding to this here, in Australia you don’t have to vote. Or, more precisely, there’s no way they can tell if you ruined your ballot. You have to turn up, get your name marked off, but you can put a line through the ballot if you don’t think any of the candidates are worth voting for. Or do this: 

Or this: 

Or this: 

You have get your name crossed off (if you don’t want to wear the fine), but you don’t have to make your vote counted if you’re opposed to it. 

And it is so, so easy to vote. Stuck at work or on holidays? That’s fine. Do a postal vote.  Stuck in hospital? That’s fine. They’ll go to you. Stuck in an old people’s home and can’t get around? Again, they’ll go to you. It’s amazing to me that it’s so hard for so many Americans to actually vote. If you make it compulsory, than at least the government is obligated to provide you with the means to vote. 

And look, I get it. Sometimes I don’t want to vote either. But I suck it up, I walk three minutes down the street, and I hope that this year they’re selling lamingtons again. Oh, and I buy a democracy sausage, which, even if all the candidates suck, makes the effort of turning up pretty worthwhile. 

[julad]

ALSO, you can see even on the fucked up ballots that you NUMBER CANDIDATES IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE. There’s no need to calculate whether I would be throwing away my vote on the candidate that I most agree with if they’re not from a major party. I can say, I want that independent person to get in, but if not them, give me Big Party A, and if not them, that minor party person is still better that Big Party B, and I’m not giving any preference to the Lunatic Fringe Party.

Our system certainly has some issues still, but I can show up to somewhere nearby, line up for a few minutes (if at all), vote exactly in line with my values (on paper, leaving a paper trail that can be recounted), and then buy a sausage and some home made cupcakes on my way out.

A country’s voting system matters a hell of a lot and every citizen deserves one that makes it easy to vote and results in a government that is representational and accountable.

And by the way, one time I had a bad asthma flare-up on Election Day and didn’t make it to my polling station. I got my fine in the mail, I filled out the form explaining why I couldn’t vote, no more fine. I would rather have, you know, expressed my preference for who should run my country, but they were cool with the fact that I couldn’t do it that day.

[batmanisagatewaydrug-deactivate]

“oh no, what if people actually have to participate in picking the government officials who will impact their lives” jesus christ

[evepolastriyoupieceofshit]

Seriously compulsory voting is one of the greatest parts of democracy here in Australia

[kindness-and-horses]

A quick bareback ride to check the creek after all the crazy rain and storms we've had 👌🏼

[transperceneige]

Im getting mugged by 2 adorable individuals

[transperceneige]

Pau 2017 | © Nicolas Hody

Gwendolen Fer & ROMANTIC LOVE, 3.2 time penalties and a 2nd place on the leaderboard after XC 

[kindness-and-horses]

If u look closely u will see there's also a bit of bread on Mo's head 🙄non horse ppl can be weird

[systlin]

What’s your favourite Alexander the Great story?

Probably how he tamed his horse, because that is some straight up Mary Sue level bullshit that no one would ever believe except the people who saw it wrote it down going “Yeah son of a bitch the kid did it what the hell.”

[wilddragonflying]

… I am intrigued. Elaboration?

[systlin]

When he was still a young teenager, his dad, King Philip of Macedon, went to look at a super awesome horse that a horse breeder was showing off trying to get the king to buy. Philip took his son along because horse shopping was the sort of father/son bonding ritual you did back in the day. 

Well, turns out this horse is beautiful and strong and fiery and wonderful and no one can ride it. Philip and his advisers agree that it is a gorgeous example of a horse, but regretfully they don’t want a half-wild and unmanageable stallion and they’re gonna turn the deal down.

At this point Alexander, who’s been watching very carefully, says “It would be a shame to lose such a wonderful horse” and just fuckin goes over to the half-wild stallion, catches hold of the bridle, and hops up on the 1500 pound half-wild horse. 

(This is a good way to get super dead, if anyone is wondering, but Alex never, once in his life, gave even a single fuck.)

Phillip and all his advisers are slightly freaking out now, visions of tragically dead and trampled prince and heir flashing before their eyes. And Alex, the little shit, proceeds to ride that horse around the paddock as calmly as a lamb. The horse quiets down and behaves beautifully. Everyone goes “What the actual fuck.” Philip is crying tears of manly pride, and according to legend says here “My son, you must find a kingdom big enough for you.”

(What happened, see, is that Alexander, being an observant sort, noticed that the stallion was shying from his own shadow. And so he turned the horse towards the sun, where Bucephalus did not see his shadow and therefore calmed down.)

Bucephalus would go on to carry Alexander through battle after battle, to an empire that reached from Greece to Africa to India. When the stallion died, Alexander gave him a hero’s funeral. 

[wilddragonflying]

Oh my god Alexander what the hell most people would just LEAD the horse away from its shadow not ride it!

But considering everything else I know about Alexander the Great… I’m not really surprised.

[systlin]

Alexander the Great had absolutely Zero Fucking Chill and a highly developed sense of Drama. 

[kindness-and-horses]

Mmmyyyyy god. Shying from his own shadow 👌🏼

[made-to-endure]

This lil guy is the definition of bombproof!! He doesn’t even blink when people speed past us! Quick 10km training ride, he was really well behaved even though we ended up getting home in the dark.. love this lil dude😍

[made-to-endure]

Mojo met the love of his life, a paint Brumby gelding called Drover😍 we did the whole 40kms together!

[free--fall-deactivated20180421]

What’s the weather like today? Uh…we do not know right now. Let’s hope for the best!

[transperceneige]

Steve Guerdat at home with his retired Olympic Champion, NINO DES BUISSONNETS

[made-to-endure]

The great thing about endurance training rides is that there are no places! No one can come first or last! It’s about how well your horse vets through, it’s about how low their heart rate is, how fit their are to continue working. Everyone gets the same ribbons/trophies depending on the distance you do.. Idk.. I think it kinda looks like him 😝

[kindness-and-horses]

My greatest treasure💕