# How did YOU find out about Horse Forum?



## csimkunas6 (Apr 18, 2010)

Good question! I have no idea either! I do know when I lived in NH I was part of a New England horse forum, when I moved down to NC, I found a forum for that area....both changed drastically, or even changed so I believe I went searching for a new forum and low and behold here the horse forum was!


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## akihba (Jul 8, 2013)

Googled "horse forum" and lo and behold this one popped up. I was looking for a horsey place to hang out and seek out advice from. 

Akihba was the name of a horse I rode growing up. He was my favorite.


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

I don’t for sure remember how I found it or why I joined. It probably was a search. I know I was looking up equine self-mutilation and there was a thread regarding it with zero information. Lol. I’m not sure if that was the first time I saw it though. I think I stalked it for a while and finally decided I wanted to be a part of it.

Knave is a character I liked from a version of Alice in Wonderland.


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## rambo99 (Nov 29, 2016)

I was a member of another forum wasn't really liking it anymore. So went searching and came across this forum which I found to be very helpful and members here are very respectful of others. 

My user name Rambo was the name of a deceased dog. I just put the 99 because he was 9 years old and was put to sleep in 2009. Its my way of honoring him every time I log in


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## MissLulu (Feb 3, 2019)

I Googled "horse forum" and looked over the first two results. I did a few searches on both forums and decided I liked the layout of this forum best.


Lulu is what I call my horse and I tend to add "Miss" in front of the name of all my female pets and "Mister" in front of the name of the male pets.


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## BlindHorseEnthusiast4582 (Apr 11, 2016)

When I first got to be around horses, I started googling all sorts of things I wondered about, because their owner really wasn't any help. Over and over I ended up on here, until eventually I had a question I couldn't find an answer for, at which point I decided to sign up. I'd been lurking for a year or more by then. I've never regretted it!


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## aubie (Aug 24, 2013)

Great topic Tiny

I had actually typed in something I can't remember now only that it had to do with racing. Something here popped up. I remembered the site and would come back. I liked the information as I like learning about horses. For me it really is the horse part of horse racing I love if that makes sense. Not really into car racing. Open wheel seems stupid and boring to me. NASCAR I do follow somewhat, I guess partly from being Southern. But less with each passing year. 

The people is why I stayed and eventually joined. The truth is I'm not good at a lot of things. I can't draw, don't write well,not creative, ok at things with my hands but it takes me longer than it should. But I am a fair hand with people and horses/handicapping. 

The people here are special. It's really something for me to look back and think what a great place and experience this has been. Yall have become part of my life. I'm thankful for that. 

Ok back to my usual nonsensical self. The first name I wanted, Topcat, was taken.Although I've never seen it used. It's my name on the only other forum I am a member of. I get asked about it- there is an old cartoon called that. But no. I made rent a few times in college thanks to a greyhound named JJ'S Topcat. Each time I swore I would never forget him.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

You guys, and your answers, give me chills of happiness!


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## aubie (Aug 24, 2013)

Note** should be people are, not is. 

I had a tough English teacher. Her wrath is really far reaching it seems.


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## SwissMiss (Aug 1, 2014)

Not really sure how I found it the first time. Probably just googled a question and ended here.
Lurked for almost a year - especially the 40'ies thread and eventually felt uncomfortable just lurking. So I joined and it felt like family ever since. It is amazing how much people care on this forum and how close we get.



SwissMiss has a two-part meaning. First, I am a Swiss miss :wink: and second, at a costume contest I changed my friend's fierce barrel horse into a cow, put on a dirndl and went as Swiss Miss... That poor horse was so embarrassed, especially when I milked him, but he gladly accepted the first price (a big bag of cookies). The next day she smoked the competition in barrels and poles and his pride was re-established :biggrin:


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I can just imagine! (the so-called milking, I mean).


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## SwissMiss (Aug 1, 2014)

tinyliny said:


> I can just imagine! (the so-called milking, I mean).



I made an udder out of pink felt and put it on the day of. Never tried before and he was just a saint. I love that horse


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## HombresArablegacy (Oct 12, 2013)

I believe it was a link posted by Fuglyhorse.com. It was about the time Cathy sold the website. I really miss fugly, but am so happy to have found HF. 👍👍👍


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

I was googling something, can't remember what, back in early 2014, when I came across HF. I'd seen some other horse forums and found them rather unappealing, due to sniping and, especially on Australian forums, shocking language, logic, grammar, and spelling.

It was so impressive that basically everybody here was so good at writing - not just the grammar/spelling thing (it really does get on my nerves when people don't care about good communication), but the way things were constructed, and the depth in many responses. And before anyone laughs about that, let me just add it was also one of the things that appealed to me about my now-husband when we were getting to know each other a dozen years ago. His emails were so readable and lovely. 

_Horse Talk For Mature People Over 40_ welcomed me with open arms even though I couldn't vouch for my maturity. :rofl: They couldn't vouch for theirs either. It was great fun talking to and getting "postcards" from other people with horses from all over the world. The regular reports of their horse time and just general banter were so much more worthy of reading than the internet news. This, I thought, was the real news - real people living their real lives, not just the lastest natural disasters, plane crashes and political idiocies, which are not life, just a regrettable aspect of it. 40+, and the member journals, etc, were continuing stories written by people you got to know and care about on a human level, like a group of international penpals on a sort of conference call, with photo sharing, clips etc etc. That really is an excellent thing - I always had penpals as a kid, but this was better. I now care about real people from all over the globe, and am much more aware of the world as a whole.

I also thought that was such a refreshing contrast to what often happens on the Internet, which is people hiding behind their anonymity to troll others, make up fantasy personae etc etc. Also I think the modern world is already depersonalised enough, and I enjoy community and fellowship, and being my authentic self with others who are also authentic selves, whether or not they have a screen name. I understand that the latter protects anonymity, which is an important option to have. My screen name is an abbreviation of my real name, because I'm an Australian writer whose identity is already out in the open anyway, because I'm in several independent magazines on the national newsstands here as a regular contributor, and people in those communities also get to know each other, write to each other, etc - it's all open identity. In fact, some of us exchange books and homemade goodies to surprise each other. For Christmas, a lady from Queensland sent me a gardening apron she made for me on her own sewing machine - that was really lovely! 

Last year, my husband was stopped in the supermarket by a lady, "Oh, are you Brett from Redmond? I love reading your wife's articles in _Grass Roots!_" That was very funny - we shall have to wear a disguise now out in public. :rofl:

A writer friend tried to get me to join an online writers' group, but I already spend enough time online here!  I don't do any other form of social media, and don't even have an iPhone, because I'm one of those fossils who likes to have a phone to _phone_ people (only!), and do internet stuff on a proper computer. And I really love the people I'm in regular contact with on HF!


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

@tinyliny, I always thought your screen name had to do with your beautiful drawings! 

I was a regular reader and contributor of Horsetopia and it started to die. I would click in and there would be no new replies. It was so sad. I loved the people on Horsetopia. We once had a "meet and greet" and we had 14 people show up, spending 5 days riding and camping together. One of our members got a heart transplant. We followed her through her illness, learned she was on the list for the transplant, sent her wishes, cards, and caring as she healed (or didn't heal, in this case). It was tragic and broke our hearts when she died. Smilie was a member of that forum and I loved her replies even back then.

When Horseforum seemed to peter out, I began googling Horse Forums, and found about 6 of them. I liked Horse Forum the best, plus a lot of my forum friends from Horsetopia had moved over to here. I have no idea why Horsetopia died, and I truly hope that Horse Forum stays viable.

My screen name comes from my theatrical jousting days. I wanted JousterGirl, but somebody had that name, so I picked Knightrider. Now days, I am glad I didn't get JousterGirl, since at this time, I am a long way from being a girl. Hah.

I love Horse Forum, like @SueC, I love seeing and experiencing other parts of the world. I love the thought and care that goes into people's replies. I love the journals.


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

It looks like my first thread was asking if anyone knew of places to ride horses on vacation in Australia or New Zealand. Apparently I had so many helpful responses, it made me stick around to read about other things.

Here's something I said in an early post, and I still find it to be true:


> Thanks, I appreciate the logical replies. There are some intelligent and helpful people on this board.


I remember the first forum I tried was called "A White Horse." It has long since disappeared. People were very mean on there, and someone posted - "if you want to be treated nicer, go to "A Black Horse forum."" This was an Arabian forum, and was limited and people didn't post much (it also has disappeared). From there I tried an endurance forum, but the responses were similar to "what are you, stupid?"

Gottatrot was a name I ended up with randomly after trying a few usernames that were already taken on the first forum I joined. 

I agree with @SueC and others, that this forum is unique in that it has real people being real, and it has true horse people rather than people who are getting some ego trip from telling other people how smart they are while sitting on their couch. 

When @Smilie passed away I really felt sad, and still miss her. I believe she was who she represented herself to be, and it felt like if I met her in person I would know her already. I also feel like I know some of the horses. I've met one person from the forum, @horseluvr2524, and she was a great horse person, and it was fun to meet her. 

Having many horse friends in person can be difficult, because schedules don't align and horses keep us very busy. I don't end up being friends with coworkers and such because I want to be out riding and training or else I have too many things to do at home. The forum is perfect because you can chat with friends in the times when you need a rest and it's conveniently too dark or stormy to be doing other things.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

I'm sure it was a Google search for one of the many issues I had with Pony as a "green on green" horse owner (sometimes I can't believe how far we have come. For instance he has this one hoof that he would always fight me on picking, refusing to lift and then snatching away, constantly and one day he showed me that he could pick it up himself if he wanted, which seems obvious now, but from then on I started just ASKING him to pick up his feet rather than trying to force it and now he does it himself happily). I found lots of forums, but like a lot of people said, the people on here seemed nicer and the answers better. Also, yes, people here use decent grammar and spelling (says the person with the giant run-on sentence above). Through googling so many questions, I eventually came to realize that there are basically two or three main horse forums on the internet, and this one just seemed so much better than the others. I also think the fact that people here are thoughtful and write well is self-reinforcing, as those who are inclined to ask "What horse bred u thnk 4 me?" probably read through some questions and answers and decide to go elsewhere.

Name: trying to come up with a unique "internet-y" name that says something about me without giving it all away.


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## blue eyed pony (Jun 20, 2011)

I think I found this forum through google? I've been here a while too though!

I chose my username because I had just bought a pony weanling with a half-blue eye


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Lets see....
My son chose my sign-in name...
I was looking for a answer to some illness I was told my horse might have...and did not believe nor understand.
When searching, several places came up as information on topic previously written about...
Here was one of those places...
I liked it.
The people are friendly, they offer opinion but do not look down or ridicule for a different way of doing.
There are rules of friendliness, courtesy often lacking on many forums and I found contributions made were very educated answers shared by well-respected individuals_._
What was offered to help another was fact not fiction and could be backed up with absolute proof...

Over time I have discovered this place is like a giant family...
We can bicker and argue at times...being human.
But...we are all there in spirit and strength when the going gets tough..
We do care about each other even though we probably shall never meet, doesn't mean you are not friends nor able to offer advice, a shoulder and a cyber hearty hug to another for good, bad, sad or fun times.

I joined several years ago, a baby compared to some of you, and now you are stuck with me...








:runninghorse2:...


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

Hmmmm....I was never on Awhitehorse, but was on ABlackHorse, and Chronicle of the Horse, but only really the driving part, and I think I signed up here when we moved to Kentucky. Maybe. 🏇 I still love Ridecamp to keep up with my endurance information, but most everyone else has left for FB. I tried FB, but failed. I’m old. I prefer the forum format, instead of the constant scrolling.....and I DESPISE notifications....lol!

I only work on an iPad, so I can’t type well, and then when I DO type some real thought out, I get kicked off, so I don’t say too much. Internet editing! You all are probably lucky. 🤪 

My name is my farm....I continued it from my DH’s father, who raised Champion Paint Horses in the 1970’s.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

I had an old TWH that was off his feed. I was googling it and came across this forum. I posted a question about it and this 4-H kid named Tim answered the question with "Try grazing him on green grass". He said sometimes older horses just go off their feed and need a little jump start. I thought it was kind of a "dumb" response because I had pasture but I figured what could it hurt? I pulled him out of the pasture and let him roam freely around the house and geuss what?! It worked. He started grazing and then when I put him back in the pasture a few hours later - he was ready for dinner. So... my first visit here gave me good help.

As for my username... I remember the first horse show I took Pistol to. I was so proud of him. I had just bought him and I knew he was thin. (truthfully he was scary skinny. You could put fingers between his ribs and you could see his hip bones. He also had this swollen pussy hole in his cheek). He was BEAUTIFUL. I took him to my first horse show and I remember a group of people gathered around because I had been taking lessons at this place for years and so everyone knew I had just bought my first horse. He backed off the trailer and this kid (he is forever known as "Snot Boy")... said "Are you really going to show THAT? It's a FARMPONY". Well... farmpony turned out to be one heck of a hunter jumper and over the years he brought home the ribbons. The name stuck. All my friends have called him that forever. The 84 is his birth year... He's proof that beauty really is in the eye of the beholder AND that rust can be sanded off and the shine can be returned...

That's my story...


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## LoriF (Apr 3, 2015)

I joined a few years back when I was doing a lot of research because I was getting ready to breed my mare. I'm so glad that I did as this forum is filled with a whole bunch of wonderful people and so much knowledge. 

This forum is different in the aspect that everyone just shares. The good, the bad and the ugly and no one really judges, externally anyway. Everyone treats each other as if we are face to face instead of being an *** because we can hide behind the computer. I really love the culture here. Thanks to the members and the Mods.

I've been a member on other forums for various things and eventually faded out because it just got to be too much drama. Even when you don't participate in the drama, it just gets to be too exhausting.

My screen name Ha ha. No creativity at all on the day that I joined. Sometimes wish I could change it.


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

What a good question! I had no intention of joining an "online forum"- in fact, I found it sort of a creepy idea. Would there be weird stalker people there? Or overrun with what we now call "bots" just selling/advertising things? I don't really "do" social media, though I grudgingly joined Facebook years later than most people because it seemed like the only way I would ever stay in touch with my college friends.

Around 2011ish, I was getting more serious about riding again (coming back to it as an adult), taking lessons and studying to get my therapeutic riding instructor certification. Through that process, I needed to learn a lot I didn't know about horse handling, nutrition, basic medical care, etc. I was doing a lot of googling and it seemed I kept getting linked to HF. I liked that people here seemed to be "real," posting lots of pictures of them with their horses and the "threads" seemed to be real conversations, not just posturing or shouting. I can't remember exactly when I moved from just being a reader to actually joining as a member, but I guess it's because I wanted to start posting my own questions for feedback. My in-person horse network was (at that time) pretty small, and I had a lot of questions with no one to ask. I started free leasing a horse that I would eventually buy as my first, and working with her solo was very challenging- and the members here were great! I miss a lot of people who used to be very active before the "great Horse Forum rebuild login debacle" and am sad we couldn't get in touch with some of those folks to bring them back to the conversation.

I'd say what solidified the value of Horse Forum for me was when I took the leap from just interacting with people online to actually meeting people in person. I first learned about endurance because @phantomhorse13 was journaling about something called "the Vermont 100," which turned out to be an awesome event less than an hour from where I lived at the time. For a couple of years she invited me to come along and help out, but I had to decline because I was teaching therapeutic riding at that time and all my lessons were Saturday mornings. But a couple of years ago, she invited me yet again and my schedule worked out, so it was a go. I do remember having a conversation with my husband about whether or not it was a good idea to meet "a random online person" in real life- but I am happy to say that @phantomhorse13 is in fact just as lovely a person in real life as she seems here, and decidedly not a serial killer or the like :wink: I've since met a few others, like @Avna, in person since we live relatively close to each other, and connected with still others on FB to get to know them in a bit of a different way. I never thought I'd say it, but this anonymous online community has truly become a "real" set of friends to me, even if it still sounds weird to say out loud to my husband, "I was talking to one of my Horse Forum friends about x, y, or z...." 

I've learned so much here, gained confidence, shared struggles, and can't imagine if it didn't exist. Thanks to all of you who have been part of that!


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## JoCash (Dec 20, 2017)

I'm pretty new. I was/am a member of another board that seemed like a lot of members were leaving for one reason or another. The topics seemed to be dropping due to that reason and I was looking for something more "active".

What drew me to the site, after lurking around and figuring things out, are the blog posts. I think it's a great way to follow along with people and horses. I get inspired by seeing other's doing what they love.

My "name" is a combo of 2 past horses. My current horse's name is Bill. That just doesn't inspire me....and he is kind of a dork.


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## rmissildine (Feb 1, 2019)

I believe I stumbled across HF when I was Googling "horse tack repair". The person we bought our place from had horses and when he moved he left all sorts of tack. So I decided to see if I could learn how to do minor repairs and perhaps make it usable again. I got all sorts of hits on Google, including HF. This was back in December 2018. I hung around for a while, just reading through some of the actual horse posts, and I liked what I was reading, so I decided to join. 

Like others, I don't do social media and my phone is for calling folks, and a small bit of texting. Remember the old "flip-phone"? That's what I use...
I've read and received some very good responses / advice on HF. Some of it, I had heard before, but it seems to reinforce it to hear it from other folks as well..
My sign in name, well as you can tell, first initial, last name.
I enjoy this forum because of all the friendly folks and their manners. I too, hope it lasts and lasts..


Roger


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

I've been a member for almost 9 years.

I found out about it because I used to be on a hamster forum, then I got into horses, & searched 'horse forum'...& the rest is history. :lol:


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

A friend, who ironically doesn't come here any more, suggested this forum and I liked the atmosphere.


My user name is based off an old nickname. I once worked with an OTTB named ghost - a grey, of course - who had some whip issues, so would bolt sometimes when hacking and a branch touched him in just the right place. We would crash around in the woods and people at the barn got to calling us the phantoms of the forest. When I picked my first email long ago, plain 'phantom' was taken, so I modified it to phantomhorse13 (13 being my favorite number).


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

I totally can't remember. It says I joined in 2010, but I remember there were some issues with the site back then and I had to re-sign up so really joined a couple of years before that. Can't remember exactly when either. I DO know that this is now the only forum I belong to, others have just allowed snarkiness and nastiness to run way past what I want to tolerate. It's also the forum I've been in the longest for the previous reasons.


I was on A Whitehorse a few times, hated it because people were just so ugly. I called "A White Trash" forum. Then tried A Blackhorse, it was ok, but again, folks could be just nasty. I forget what the name of the next Arab forum I was on was, none of them are around anymore anyhow. 

User name is just what the farm name was back in the day. When I sold my Arabs and got out, I didn't change the name because people were used to it. I did change the farm name a little, dropped the Arabians part and now it's just Dreamcatcher Horse Ranch. 

It's funny, I run into people that still call me DC or DCA.


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## csimkunas6 (Apr 18, 2010)

Was too late to edit my post yesterday and forgot about it until now....perks of getting old I guess..LOL, Ill be 28 in a few weeks, perks of having 3 kids is what it really is.

Anyways, I believe I joined to get a second opinion on my fugly purchase of Rodeo at the time LOL. I believe I was told NOT to buy him due to several conformation faults and yet here we are 8yrs later haha

My username is the name Ive always had, and since it was one I could easily remember, I kept it....my maiden name....Ive met 2 people on the forum, one down in NC, she actually got me a job that I had for several years, we still talk on Facebook every so often, and the other in Ohio who is an amazing friend and has helped me quite often the past few years!


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Like a lot of you I am almost certain I found this place through a google search for horse message boards. I was a member on another one for a couple of years, though I rarely posted because people were very quick to judge and I pretty much stopped after being told I was unfit to teach lessons because I had to ask a question about them. I loved forums and message boards though (social anxiety, easier to talk to people online than face to face) so I wanted to find another. I think I probably lurked here for a while. Anyway, I apparently started here in 2012 but didn't really become active until around 2014/15 just after I bought Nav. Which also ties into my name, because I am Navigator's mom.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

I was looking for info on anything that would help me through the 'lost in translation' period of moving from the UK horse world to the US one and the Horse Forum popped up.
I am now almost bilingual!
My username - I was going to use my initials made into a word but for some reason it got rejected so I switched them around and became Jaydee (JD) 
That was rather weird in a way because before I was born I was going to be called James if I was a boy and Denise if I was a girl (I never did get to be called Denise in the end as mum changed her mind) so my grandfather referred to the unborn me as James Denise that quickly became shortened to JD


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## QueenofFrance08 (May 16, 2017)

I was google searching when we first bought our farm and found the forum. I had no idea what I was doing and loved the advice on here. I found out about endurance riding from reading @phantomhorse13 's journal for which I will forever be thankful. I wanted to do something with our horses more than trail riding but there's only western barns out here and none of that interested me very much. I jumped a little when I was a kid in lessons but there's nowhere to take lessons for that unless I want to drive an hour plus. Endurance sounded perfect! 

My username is my first instant messaging user name from when I was a kid on AOL. My friends and I were "QueenofFrance" "DukeofFrance" and "LadyofFrance". I think it started from a sarcastic "Oh yeah and I'm the Queen of France" comment I thought I was super smart from making in middle school. I knew I could remember it and I didn't really intend on posting at first, just lurking. 08 is the year I graduated HS, also part of my original AOL username.


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

When I first started on the Internet I became a member of Haynet, a wonderful horse site. It was run differently to this but I made a lot of very good friends there, have met many. That was back in 1987. Then the site got sold and it was all changed so I floated for several years. 

I got fed up with H&H and COTH as there were so many petty tiffs and much bullying so I Googled a d came across this one back in 2012.

Guess I am a fixture here!


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## LoriF (Apr 3, 2015)

QueenofFrance08 said:


> I was google searching when we first bought our farm and found the forum. I had no idea what I was doing and loved the advice on here. I found out about endurance riding from reading @phantomhorse13 's journal for which I will forever be thankful. I wanted to do something with our horses more than trail riding but there's only western barns out here and none of that interested me very much. I jumped a little when I was a kid in lessons but there's nowhere to take lessons for that unless I want to drive an hour plus. Endurance sounded perfect!
> 
> My username is my first instant messaging user name from when I was a kid on AOL. My friends and I were "QueenofFrance" "DukeofFrance" and "LadyofFrance". I think it started from a sarcastic "Oh yeah and I'm the Queen of France" comment I thought I was super smart from making in middle school. I knew I could remember it and I didn't really intend on posting at first, just lurking. 08 is the year I graduated HS, also part of my original AOL username.


I have to say that I admire people like you and @phantomhorse13 with the endurance riding. It takes a lot of dedication to keep the horses and yourselves in condition for it. Every time I've trail ridden for ten miles or so, I always end up thinking "there is no way I could do even the LD rides that you guys do" The 50 miles? You guys would be calling an ambulance for me. 100 miles? I'd be dead so just throw my body over a cliff. 
I do think that it is a pretty neat sport to be in. I wish I had more time for it.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

LoriF said:


> I have to say that I admire people like you and @*phantomhorse13* with the endurance riding. I do think that it is a pretty neat sport to be in. I wish I had more time for it.


Just give me a few more Florida visits and I will get you hooked too.. :Angel:


To keep this somewhat in line with the OP, I feel so blessed to have made the connections to fellow horse people that I have thanks to HF. Where else can I message someone ( @knightrider ) literally a week before a surprise trip and wind up with horses to ride?? Or have someone ( @egrogan ) willing to come spend a good part of their weekend slogging stuff in and out of a truck all day and half the night? And then she even came back the following year to do it again, for an even longer amount of her precious weekend!


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## secuono (Jul 6, 2011)

I google search forums for each of my hobbies. Whichever forum(s) have the most members and are active, I'll join them.


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## LoriF (Apr 3, 2015)

phantomhorse13 said:


> Just give me a few more Florida visits and I will get you hooked too.. :Angel:


You just might! 72 more months of the busy work life and I'm done. Maybe sooner if I hit the jackpot.


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## kewpalace (Jul 17, 2013)

I am in the "probably Googled it because other forums were dying" group, LOL. I like to hear others opinions and suggestions/advice on different threads, even if I don't contribute a lot (don't want to be redundant). But enjoy the knowledge & courtesy of the people on this forum, for sure!

My screen name I've had for 20+ years; I use it for most everything. I originally created it for my AOL account & wanted "kewgardens" since I love London and was spending a lot of time there. But it wouldn't take kewgardens, so I after 50 tries I stuck in kewpalace thinking it would be rejected too. Nope, it took that, LOL. So kewpalace it was!


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## GMA100 (Apr 8, 2016)

I was just getting into horses and was googling a TON. I came across the forum, and literally stalked for hours on end. I didn’t join till 2 years later after I got my second horse. 


I HATE my username, but my name starts with G, My first horse was Misti and my second horse was Asher. So I took the first letters of those and put it together. I also was doing the 100 day mustang challenge, so that’s where the 100 came from. 


If we could change usernames, I would 100% do it without thinking!


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I am sorry if you are stuck with a Username you dislike. I often wish that people would really think good and well about their username before choosing. I mean, not rush into it. They are fixed, as per the rules, becuase to allow folks to change at will would make it very hard to know who is who when looking at threads, and connecting to past threads and comments. I mean, we are technically anonymous, but we develop a personality that is connected to that one username, and people know it and associate the two together.


I am always just a wee bit tickled to be called 'Tiny', because I'm the farthest thing from it!


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## aubie (Aug 24, 2013)

GMA100 said:


> I was just getting into horses and was googling a TON. I came across the forum, and literally stalked for hours on end. I didn’t join till 2 years later after I got my second horse.
> 
> 
> I HATE my username, but my name starts with G, My first horse was Misti and my second horse was Asher. So I took the first letters of those and put it together. I also was doing the 100 day mustang challenge, so that’s where the 100 came from.
> ...


Don't hate it. First it fits right in with how everyone else came up with names.
But more importantly, it's how we think of you. Which has become fondly. You bring a lot to the table and such a caring person. I know everyone enjoys hearing what is going on with you.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

I forgot to mention how I came up with my username. :lol:
I may have joined HF 9 years ago, but years before that, I had AOL & this was my screename!

I basically thought one day..I like Poptarts, & I like to shop...so I just put them together. LOL.


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

I selected Foxhunter because that is what I enjoyed. 

Or, was it because at the time the anti hunters were coming out of the woodwork and it riled them. I had a great discussion with several who were hounding me and I pointed out to them that Foxhunter was the name of a British Show Jumping series for novice horses. They didn't have an answer for that.


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

Great topic @Tinylily;! If memory serves me, and that's debatable most days, I was searching for answers when my mare T developed ERU. I found HF, and liked the exchanges between all the different backgrounds of horse people.


While I have been absent for several years, I would pop in just to keep my account going. Seen many come and go, and have to say that right now I feel is probably the best it's been with an exceptional group of people.


My username is the name of my gelding Walkamile. I needed to keep it simple and something I could remember! LOL


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## RegalCharm (Jul 24, 2008)

I belonged to a horse forum that had a giant crash and while waiting for it to come back I mistyped the link and this one popped up so I bookmarked it and lurked while waiting on the one forum to come back. It never did make it to what it once was and it didn't work right so I joined this forum in 08. I also was on Black Horse and learned a lot about the different strains in the Arabian horse lines. 

My user name is my first Arabian mare I bought. Her and later her filly taught me the real meaning of live in your tent. That is why Arabians are my favorite.


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

rmissildine said:


> Like others, I don't do social media and my phone is for calling folks, and a small bit of texting. Remember the old "flip-phone"? That's what I use...


Oh, you lucky person, you still have one of those? My all-time favourite phone was a silver flip phone I could actually take riding; it was very compact and fitted in the palm of my hand, plus it had a kicker "Toccata & Fugue" ringtone option!  Alas, it gave up its ghost many moons back, and I got stuck with a brick, even though I don't use the Internet on the phone. At least it was only a $30 brick. But I'd have that old silver flip back in a flash!

Mobile telephone evolution: 

suitcase phone ---> large brick phone ---> small brick phone ---> flip phone ---> brick with Internet access whether you want it or not


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

I don't remember how I found the Horse Forum. Probably on Google. But I do remember how I got my user name. I wanted to be "trailrider" or something similar to that, but it must have been taken because it wouldn't let me have it. So I came up with "trailhorserider" instead. To this very day I have never seen anyone on this forum called "trailrider." It is still a mystery to me. :think:


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

SueC said:


> Oh, you lucky person, you still have one of those? My all-time favourite phone was a silver flip phone I could actually take riding; it was very compact and fitted in the palm of my hand, plus it had a kicker "Toccata & Fugue" ringtone option!  Alas, it gave up its ghost many moons back, and I got stuck with a brick, even though I don't use the Internet on the phone. At least it was only a $30 brick. But I'd have that old silver flip back in a flash!
> 
> Mobile telephone evolution:
> 
> suitcase phone ---> large brick phone ---> small brick phone ---> flip phone ---> brick with Internet access whether you want it or not


I have a "brick" with internet access (a cheapie) and I never use the internet and it drains the battery even if you don't use it because it's always trying to connect to the internet (or so I am told). So as soon as I get a new phone I go through the settings trying to turn off as much of the internet as I can. 

First of all, I am not going to pay more than about $30 for a phone. Secondly, the kind of phone you can get in that price range is junk. And the screens are tiny. I am not going to pay for a good one so I just use my phone as a phone, occasionally text (because some people feel they have to text me instead of call???) and I use my computer, with a wonderful large monitor for the internet. With a keyboard. And a mouse. Much more user friendly and easier to see than an itsy bitsy tiny touch screen. Give me a good sized monitor, a keyboard and a mouse any day! For the life of me I don't know why "smart phones" are so popular. The seem so inconvenient to me. But I'm obviously in the minority. I just hope desktop computers never go out of style.


Both my parents have flip phones and I love them.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

old flip phones is good condition are available for sale on Ebay.


I had one up until 3 years ago. I finally came to the dark side. ( I love the dark side!)


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

tinyliny said:


> old flip phones is good condition are available for sale on Ebay.


I think our problem with that option is that the old phones don't support the 3G or 4G or whatever they now use as their upgraded phone network in Australia, and they turned off the old network. But I'll check out if any of the old flip phones are compatible with the current network! Thank you - eBay is pretty good, @tinyliny!  And I just bought a refurbished classic iPod because I seem to have had memory loss / brain malfunction and appear to have left my missing one on the roof of the car over the weekend, and not noticed it all weekend or the Monday morning...

(Now returning you to standard on-topic transmissions. ;-))


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

I am an old hand at online forums. First one I was part of was a Yahoo Australian Shepherd stock dog forum, back in the early 2000's. I actually started and admin'd a few. When the Aussie thing went south, and I got a horse, I scouted the horse forums. From being behind the scenes I could tell which were well-moderated and what kind of crowd was encouraged. Some were too juvenile, some were nasty and arrogant. This one is the best. From my brief venture into being an HF moderator I can tell everyone that the reason this board exudes friendly helpfulness is not because the people here are somehow different than those on other boards. It's because of the hidden hand of the moderators, who are trimming and schooling every day to keep it that way. Consistently nasty people are edited down, given time-outs, until they get so frustrated they leave, or are reluctantly banished. YAY MODERATORS! 

I too have made several friends in person from this forum, and hope to meet more. It's my little home on the digital prairie.

As for my user name, it is the name of one of the protagonists of a young adult fantasy novel I wrote for my daughter long ago. She was bossy, opinionated, stubborn, and a lousy rider.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

trailhorserider said:


> I have a "brick" with internet access (a cheapie) and I never use the internet and it drains the battery even if you don't use it because it's always trying to connect to the internet (or so I am told). So as soon as I get a new phone I go through the settings trying to turn off as much of the internet as I can.
> 
> First of all, I am not going to pay more than about $30 for a phone. Secondly, the kind of phone you can get in that price range is junk. And the screens are tiny. I am not going to pay for a good one so I just use my phone as a phone, occasionally text (because some people feel they have to text me instead of call???) and I use my computer, with a wonderful large monitor for the internet. With a keyboard. And a mouse. Much more user friendly and easier to see than an itsy bitsy tiny touch screen. Give me a good sized monitor, a keyboard and a mouse any day! For the life of me I don't know why "smart phones" are so popular. The seem so inconvenient to me. But I'm obviously in the minority. I just hope desktop computers never go out of style.
> 
> ...


I tossed my cell phone back in about 2011 and RARELY do I feel the lack. My hubby has an iPhone and I detest the thing. It comes in handy every now and again but I just prefer my peace & quiet to being instantly available to any and every one. I also detest all this "touch screen" stuff and would love to see it go away. I find it hugely annoying and very inaccurate. I, too, have a desktop computer with a 27" curved screen monitor, ergonomic keyboard and "tail less" mouse.


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

> As for my user name, it is the name of one of the protagonists of a young adult fantasy novel I wrote for my daughter long ago. She was bossy, opinionated, stubborn, and a lousy rider.


Oh, oh, @Avna, could you possibly put that novel up in the section for Horse Stories and Poems? I would dearly love to read about a bossy opinionated stubborn lousy rider, and you are an excellent writer, so I know it would be good. I love that section and have read way way back so that the people who put their work up are long gone.

About usernames being long gone, I did like that section on the old Horsetopia where it listed all the usernames and you could see the names that never posted. If you look at the bottom of the threads on Horse Forum, you will see related threads that go way way back and see usernames of people we miss . . . and people we never heard of.

@egrogan, you did not tell why you chose that name, and I always wondered.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

knightrider said:


> Oh, oh, @Avna, could you possibly put that novel up in the section for Horse Stories and Poems? I would dearly love to read about a bossy opinionated stubborn lousy rider, and you are an excellent writer, so I know it would be good. I love that section and have read way way back so that the people who put their work up are long gone.
> <snip>.


It isn't a novel about horses. They are peripheral -- the reason Avna is a poor rider is that the country she comes from is so mountainous that there is not much of any riding there. Her love interest is the horseman; his people originally come from a culture rather Bedouin-like (although they are no longer nomadic at all, having moved to a climate where that isn't necessary). I put in his horse, Dusk, because I like horses, but she is peripheral to the plot. Sadly, she eventually gets eaten by the primitive tribe which captures our heroes intending to sacrifice them on their altar to the Headless Gods. It was fun to write.

However, I might, if I am truly motivated, post the section of the chapter where Avna rides Dusk by herself. She falls off a lot.


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

knightrider said:


> @*egrogan* , you did not tell why you chose that name, and I always wondered.



Oh, very unoriginal- part of my actual name :hide: I am like many others in wishing I had picked something creative!


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## elkdog (Nov 28, 2016)

I was watching you tube videos and came across a babbling idiot . If you can stand to listen to the guy long enough he eventually says something that makes sense. Kind of like Rush Limbaugh. Even a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while.
Anyway This guy just hated the horse forum so I figured I'd check it out. 

It's just like any other social media. There's some vast knowledge, some good honest questions answered, and some clueless nonsense. The challenge is to figure out what is what. 

I got the name reading a children's book about the native Americans when they found the first horses in the 1,500's. They didn't know what a horse was. I forget the word but it translated to "big dog" or "elk dog". Kind of a fun read on a cold snowy night out here. There was a whole series.


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## lostastirrup (Jan 6, 2015)

This has been super interesting. I found the HF when I was googling bits I think. I had found a Waterford in the tack room and wanted to try it, it looked like an interesting bit. At the time I thought I knew A TON. Being on HF has helped with that symptom of youth. 

I love my username. I picked it because I was always too short for most leathers so always crossed them when I got on someone else's horse. I also grew up bareback and if I'm honest- have spent a significant portion of my riding life without a saddle on the horse so no stirrups there. And because I was so short when I did ride with tack I would put my stirrups down to make my leg look longer than not be able to keep them (I adjust them correctly now) . To this day- I am way more comfortable without, and will frequently kick my feet free to use myself better or get them out of the way.


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## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

I was referred to Horseforum when I was a member of Horsetopia and then an off shoot of that forum. Horsetopia became a ghost town and the other forum seemed to become something just to bash the members of Horsetopia. I love it here and have learned so much. I work from home and use this forum as a way to let my brain clear from the many many emails and conference calls I have each day.

My username is my actual real name - a family gem that has been passed down but may end with me as my kids want nothing to do with it.


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## koda2004 (Sep 2, 2017)

I was looking for a place to discuss horse related topics. So I looked up horse forum and it popped up! My username is the name of the first horse I fell in love with and my bday.


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## Whinnie (Aug 9, 2015)

Every time I searched answers for horse related questions I kept getting links to Horse Forum and a couple of other sites. HF looked very informative with a lot of discussion so I joined.


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## Whinnie (Aug 9, 2015)

Every time I searched answers for horse related questions I kept getting links to Horse Forum and a couple of other sites. HF looked very informative with a lot of discussion so I joined. My user name is my mare's name. I know it was suggested not to do that, but I'm pretty sure she is my last horse, I am older than your average rider.


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

I was looking for information on how to fix a broken horse. Googled up how to win trust, I think, and found this forum.

I've been here ever since and I'm looking forward to one day meeting several HFers I've met that live close enough.

My horses thank you all for being so kind and helpful.


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## gunslinger (Sep 17, 2011)

Honestly, I really don't remember....but it's been awhile now....


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## The Humble Horseman (Dec 5, 2018)

I had the forum bookmarked for probably two years before I signed up. I'm sure I was originally just searching horse-related topics and this forum came up in the results. The civil discourse and abundance of information kept me checking back. I'm not part of any other forum, and I don't do social media outside of my Instagram. I only have that because I like photography, and I enjoy being able to scroll through my posts on IG to remind myself of some of my favorite things and moments at a quick glance, while being able to mostly avoid the deluge of political propaganda that seems to pervade social platforms nowadays. 

I chose my forum name not because I consider myself to be humble, but because it is who I aspire to be. I approach my professional life with a ferociousness and tenacity that could rival that of Alexander of Macedon (okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration), but it's different with horses. Working with them is a constant reminder of the need for humility and compassion. Hubris is a dangerous bedfellow in the horse world. No matter how much I think I've learned about horses, they always find a way to remind me that I don't know as much as I think I do. 

As an off-topic side note, I'm thankful to have this forum and its patrons as a reference, and I appreciate the efforts of those that try to help others when they are in need of guidance.


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## The Humble Horseman (Dec 5, 2018)

Accidental double post.


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## SueC (Feb 22, 2014)

Re user names, I've not seen a "Headless Horseman" around here yet! 

Nice link to that story here:
https://edmooneyphoto.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/an-dullahan-the-real-headless-horseman/


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

@The Humble Horseman


I think you need to post more!


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## Cordillera Cowboy (Jun 6, 2014)

I bought a saddle from a Facebook friend. When we met in person to close the deal, we had lunch and long conversation. She suggested the forum. I looked into it, and found it to be full of down to earth horse people, rather than unicorns and butterflies, or self righteous know-it-alls. 


I chose my username because our ranch is in the foothills of the Cordillera Mountains of Luzon.


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

I've been around for a while. I started lurking in the color forum. The forum I was admin/moderator for had undergone changes when the owner switched platforms(?) and several members were lost. The forum never recovered and the site was allowed to expire several years later. Many moved to FB or another forum created by members but by that point I was ready for a change and wanted other discussion topics rather than charting and human infertility.


My username is unique to this site and used because I had both Belgians and QHs. Paints have been added.


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## Spanish Rider (May 1, 2014)

I came across HF during recovery after an accident. Lots of time on my hands, and my fingers were the only things that didn't hurt to move. Psychologically, it was a great help to get through it all, and later on it was equally important to have someone in my corner who understood my absolute insanity and the need to ride again - or to at least try.

"Spanish Rider" is simple: I live in Spain and ride Spanish Purebreds, although when I chose the name it was more of a wish than a reality.


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## jpenguin (Jun 18, 2015)

I was a member of a site called Equestrian Life, when it closed a few years ago- I just searched for a new community.

https://web.archive.org/web/20140117080735/http://www.equestrianlife.com/

Sent from my E6810 using Tapatalk


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