HORSES AND PONIES - PART 1

OUR HORSES PRINCE AND AMAN HORSING AROUND, BOTH THOROUGHBREDS

We are among the not so many Malaysians who have been rearing horses over the last 10 years or so. Like so many boys of my generation, I grew up on a steady diet of John Wayne and later, Clint Eastwood movies, depicting hard, silent not-so gentlemanly cowboys doing things what every boy has always wanted to do and almost always getting away with it.

Central to these cowboys' life was of course his horse and his equally important his six-shooter. The latter has got a bit out of date, but the horse is still around. So when we first opened up the farm in early 2000's, we wanted to give it some life. Initial additions like chickens, goats and deer did not make much of an impact as they got swallowed and disappeared in the huge space. So we thought the horse might do the job.

Therein began my adventure with horses, relieving my childhood fantasies, albeit forty years too late. Thus began my trial and error on how to rear horses and also to ride them. Yes, the falls were painful, especially at my age, but I learned nevertheless, through personal pain, discussions with other horse lovers, visits to stables, expos, TV, videos, etc. So, for some years now we have been giving basic riding lessons to those who are interested.

Over the years we have been receiving all kinds of inquiries on horse rearing and the issues related to it, especially from a personal, private perspective, as opposed to the commercialized riding clubs. Visitors have always been curious on the amount of effort and money it takes to upkeep these beautiful animals, especially since horses have never been a part of the Malaysian culture. Strangely enough Peninsula Malaysia seemed to be a unique exclusion from the horse experience. Surrounding countries and areas have a far more greater historical connection with horses compared to Peninsula Malaysia. The old Thai Kingdom was very familiar with horses so too the old Indonesian Empires. In fact Java, Bali and Lombok seemed to have their own indigineous breeds. Even Sabah have their own peculiar bred of ponies. However, I may be wrong.

Anyway, in view of the general interest I shall share our local knowledge and experience with regards to horses in this and InsyaAllah other articles to follow.

We shall start with the basics, i.e. when do we call them ponies and when do we call them horses? A common misconception here in Malaysia (any understanding here is uniquely Malaysian) is that a pony is a young horse (or baby horses, as children would like to call them). 

Actually the pony is a different grouping altogether. It is the smallest grouping in the equine (horse) family. A pony is anything upto 13 hands tall, which is the number of times the palms need to be joined from the bottom of the front hoof to the withers (the hump at the base of the neck). At Uluhati, Mary is a pony.

THE LEAD HORSE IS OUR PONY, MARY

Between 13 to 15 hands, they are called Cobs, or rather small to medium size horses.

Above 15 hands, they are called Horses, essentially big horses.

Generally, these differences don't really matter, except when you need to purchases equipment for the horses, generally called tacking, i.e. bridle sets, head collars, saddles, etc. Unless you bring the horse to the shop itself, usually quite problematic, the store keeper would ask you whether its for a pony, cob or horse. So, it is helpful in that sense.

Another demarcation or distinction which may be useful relate to the blood types and I am not referring to types O, B, etc, Every now and then in your discussion with horse lovers you may come across terminologies like Warm Blood, Cold Blood and Hot Blood horses. Now, to be sure all horses are warm blooded, i.e they are not cold blooded reptiles, if my old biology still hold true.

Warm, Cold and Hot largely has to do with their temperament, i.e. whether they are excitable, docile, obedient, independent (rebellious). This differences in temperament has over the centuries led to different tasks these horses were put to and also consequently also to their sizes. 

Essentially the higher the "temperature", highest being hot, the more excitable and energetic they are. Warm is intermediate and of course Cold Blooded is the coolest of them. They can do a lot of work without getting flustered, patient and obliging which you would see in many farm and draft (working) horses.

HOT BLOODS

These are horses originating in the Middle-East, mainly Arabia and Egypt but also includes all of North Africa, Turkey, Caspian Area and the Persia (Iran) and India. That these are hot areas may perhaps contribute to their temperament. They are normally smaller in size to European horses, perhaps due to scarcity of good grazing, hardier, able to stand harsher environment, generally the hot weather, and perhaps because of the harsh environment, more nervous, agile, rebellious or independent, excitable and highly intelligent.

The prime example of the hot blood is the legendary Arabian horses. The Arabs, horses I mean, are said to be the purest breed of horses in existence today, and because of their fiercely independent qualities they have for centuries attracted horse lovers from all over the world and, have been cross-bred with many other varieties for centuries. Among the most common of such cross-breed is the Thoroughbred. These are the ones you would see in every race course all over the world.

It is said that the Appaloosa (the Red Indian Painted Horse) have a fair dosage of Arabian blood in them. This is because horses were introduced in the Americas by the Spaniards after they kicked out their Arab masters, here I mean the Arab rulers. Bear in mind that Spain was ruled by the Arabs for 800 years. So naturally the Arabs would not settle for anything less than their owned trusty steed which they brought across the Straits of Gibraltar by the thousands. Over time they cross bred with local horses and when the Spanish Conquistadors paid a visit to the Americas they brought these horses with them.

ARABIAN PURE BREED

The unique feature of the Arab is that he has one less rib bone, two less lumbar bone and two less tail vertebrae which give rise to its unique stature.

ARAB - NOTICE THE RAISED TAIL WHICH IS TYPICAL TO THIS BREED

Perhaps one of the main reasons for the spread of the Arab horses was the spread of Muslim Empire itself which spanned from the borders of China to the shores of the Atlantic and the gates of Hungary. In fact if not for their horses it could not be imagined how they would have got to these areas.

ARAB WITH THE UNIQUE RAISED TAIL

ARABS IN FULL CEREMONIALS

ARAB WITH THAT DISTINCTIVELY LONG AND NARROW FACE

ARABS IN THEIR DESERT GLORY

ARABS HAVING FUN

The Arab love affair with their horses is legendary. Favorites are treated like favorite wives, leaving in the same tent as their masters, and in times of raids by hostile tribes, one of the top priorities is to make sure the horses are secured. Geneaology are maintained verbally over the centuries to ensure purity of lineage. It is said that one of the horses belonging to Tun Mahathir Mohammed could be traced back to one of the war horses of Khalid Al-Walid, one of the most illustrious Muslim generals 1500 years ago. One could almost imagine the Arab warriors thundering across the deserts in their flowing robes and their trusty steeds. Poems were dedicated to their horses as one would dedicate them to fair maidens.

THAT'S ME (MIDDLE) IN SHOWERA, MOROCCO ON A BARB HORSE. THEY ARE QUITE SPIRITED

BARB HORSES, FOUND IN NORTH AFRICA IN MOROCCO, ALGERIA AND TUNISIA

It is said the Arabs, chose their own masters, i.e. only those whom they see fit to be their masters. Having seen a few myself, I tend to think this is true. They emanate such bearing and intelligence in their eyes, that they seemed uncanningly human. It is horse you would have to deal with intelligence and confidence, rather than brute force to get its respect, obedience and ultimately friendship. It is a partnership of equals.

Over the Americas, the Nez Perce Indians of the Washington area were famed breeders of the Appaloosa horse. These horses are well known for their various spots and patterns on their coats. After the Nez Perce lost their war against the American Cavalry, they surrendered their horses and this breed fell into neglect. Only in the 1930's were efforts made to revive this breed by injection of Arab and Thoroughbred bloodlines. So what began as a Warm Blood variety in its final form became Hot Blood or Semi Hot Blood.

APPALOOSA

APPALOOSA

APPALOOSA

APPALOOSA

The other famous Hot Blood is the Thoroughbred. All Thoroughbreds can trace back their lineage to three Arab Stallions which were brought to England in the 1700's and 1800's for cross-breeding with English Dames.

THOROUGHBREDS

As we can see they inherited the speed and vitality and the handsome Semitic nose of the Arabs, but have adopted the slightly bigger size of the Mat Salleh's.

In Malaysia, the most numerous breed is the Thoroughbred, used mainly as race horses. Once retired they are nowadays are sold to private owners like myself for a fraction of their original price ranging from RM5,000-00 to RM10,000-00 depending on their age and conditions.

So that's it for now. InsyaAllah I shall write further on this subject.

HARI RAYA CAMP

little ones enjoying the space

Fasting month ended on 23 June 2017, and the following day was Hari Raya, an occasion of family and friends amidst an overflow of food, largely traditional Malay.

This year we decided to do something different. Normally we close the farm during Hari Raya Festival but this year we made an exception. Ms. Wan together with her friends decided to join us for Raya by camping on the farm.

And they did their own cooking and BBQ

So whilst they had their fun, we were busy getting the preparations ready and then we left the farm to them as we went around visiting relatives all over the place.

Deciding whether its should be ketupat or lemang

Elders daughter's house

With the older generation having been recalled by the Almighty, that leaves my generation as elders and focal point for family gatherings. It was great having everyone together again on this once a year occasion and to catch up with everyone. All those snooty little nephews and nieces are now professionals in their own right, with a thing or two to enlighten us oldies. How time flies. Wait, soon it will be their turn to regale in the stories of their young ones.

sister's house

back in the kampong

Youngest daughter (Fatty Meow) totally exhausted

That reminds me, can't wait to see them struggle with their young ones with the unmistakable "I told you so look". My job then would only be to make things tougher for them. My mandate is only to take the young ones to the farm, spoil them silly and send them back to their parents for recalibration. Ah, revenge is best served cold.

Eid Mubarak, or as we say it, SELAMAT HARI RAYA, to all Muslims friends and the best of wishes to our other brothers and sisters. Salam

RAMADHAN IN VIETNAM

congressional breaking of fast at Ho Chi Minh City mosque

This is my second Ramadhan in Vietnam. Over the years I had fasted in some foreign lands but most of the time only for a few days. For the last 2 years it has been the complete month.

For sure the atmosphere here is different. Sun rises at 4.15 a.m. So you stop eating as early as that. But the sun sets much earlier at slightly over 6.00 p.m. So you save about 1.5 hours compared to Malaysia. As you go through the day, before you know it its almost 6.00 pm.

Breaking fast here is a simple affair. None of that insane tour of the Pasar Ramadhan (the Ramadhan food market), loading yourselves up with all kinds of deserts and savouries, trusting your eyes over your common sense. Most of the time, half of the food bought in the bout of temporary insanity goes to waste, defeating one of the purposes of Ramadhan, i.e. to control the urges of temptation to excesses.

Here again I would like to share and remind ourselves of the meaning of Ramadhan. It is a yearly calibration exercise. A yearly exercise to bring back the balance in all things, i.e. nothing should be done in extreme. In fact, the Quran is clear on this, "you (the Muslims") are of the middle path", i.e. not inclined to either extreme. In that spirit too, the Quran declared, "there is no monasticism in Islam" for life is to be lived to the fullest, within the boundaries of what are universally accepted good values.

It is also the period of yearly overhaul. If we believe that our vehicles need periodic overhaul and in bigger assets, mid-life rebuild, what more ourselves. It is overhauling our minds, our hearts, blasting away the accumulation of dirt and grit which has accumulated over the last 11 months so that we emerged renewed and rejuvenated with proper thoughts, proper speech and proper actions towards a higher spiritual refinement. restoring our humanity, so to speak. Otherwise, all we get is just hunger and thirst, as the Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. has warned before.

To be sure, fasting is not practiced by the Muslims alone. Various other religions also encouraged fasting from the earliest of times. The Prophet David May Peace be Upon Him, also known as King David, fasted all his life. Hang on, he fasted every alternate days. 

Apart from it being a divine decree, surely there must be some benefit to it, for God does not do or decree anything in vain. Some research on this subject, for example examined the effect of fasting on stem cell regeneration. See USC News "fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system" article at //news,usc.edu/63669/fasting.

Back to fasting of other religions and beliefs, this should not come as a surprise to anyone. When God despatched Adam and Eve down to earth, He told them not to despair, for from time to time He will send guidance (through His messengers). The Muslims believe there were over 100,000 of these messengers. Now, the number is not important, but the meaning or context is, that there has been continuous stream of messengers sent to guide mankind through the right path, for God would not leave His most prized creation in the dark.

Essentially the message has always been the same, how to relate to the Almighty and how to conduct ourselves with His other creations, be it man or otherwise. When it comes to the former, it has always been the basic tenet that there is only one creator and with the latter it has  always been on the principle of justice, equity, compassion, responsibility and accountability. Simple enough words, but understanding and fully living it are two different things. Volumes has been written on this subject and volumes more will be written, but the challenge will always be in putting it into practice.

So it should come as no surprise that there many similarities in practices among various beliefs. For if God is one, then His core message or values will always remain unchanged till the end of time.

And it is this core values, in the broad sense which is Islam. That is why the Muslims have always believed that Islam began from the time of Adam. Something which the adherents from other religions find confusing. The Quran is explicit in its pronouncement that Abraham, Solomon, David, Joseph, Jesus and all of the prophets in between, before and after them were Muslims. For they all submitted themselves to God. And submission is the criteria of being a Muslim.

Now the word submission itself can be a source of contention. Some quarters may say this word is derogatory, implying the forceful subjugation of the mighty over the weak. They prefer the word "choice" instead, as it restores the dignity of man by allowing to decide for himself and not be forced into submission against his will.

Fully agreed. Together with His guiding principles, God has given man his intellect, with which he can observe and understand the universe, figure things out and decide what is right and what is wrong and decide for himself to believe or not to believe. So you submit, or accept His Sovereignty upon full understanding and acceptance of the facts. Hence, no subjugation. It is simply our choice. Again, the Quran is very explicit; "the is no compulsion in religion". And we may decide not to belief, it is entirely our choice. Again the Quran pronounced; "If We had wanted to, we could have made all of them Muslims". But what would be point then of giving man his intellect.

Some would contend, there is no need for all the ritual of not eating and not drinking to refine oneself. For that matter, what is the need of all the ritualistic prayer, charity, pilgrimage, etc when we can change or refine ourselves if we want to without any of these actions. My simple minded response might be, try imagine being full without the act of eating.

Some have taken the fruit as an allegory. The actions are likened to the skin of the mango, or if you may the apple. The belief or the essence of the fruit is in the flesh of the mango. Together the skin (actions) and the flesh (belief) forms the fruit. One does not exist without the other. The skin (actions) also protects the inner flesh, without which it would spoil in no time.

But perhaps the words of a man of wisdom of long ago are more eloquent;"Action without believe is wishful thinking, belief without action is delusional".  

So have a blessed Ramadhan to my family, my children wherever you are, my friends, and my brothers and sisters all over the world, for the doors of forgiveness are open wide in this month (now that is another subject)

Salam

BIRTHDAY PARTY AT THE FARM - NUREEN'S BIRTHDAY

It was last minute. Su, our eldest daughter and mother of the bride, oops, birthday girl called out of the blues and asked if they could celebrate Nureen's third birthday at the farm. Luckily we have good service providers who were  more than ready to obliged our impromptu request, in particular the food. For this occasion they requested for roast lamp on the spit.

It was planned for about 20 adults and 20 children, but I think the final attendance exceeded that. The food was nevertheless sufficient.

It rain for a bit but did not dampen their spirits. The children (small and big) did not mind the rain and for children raised in the city, playing in the rain was a treat, a  luxury not be be missed. So too, rolling on the ground. Afterall, how far can you roll in your bungalow lot compared to  3 acres. Its amazing how they could stand up straight after that. I would have vomited out my meals for the last 3 days.

TOLD YOU, IT WAS AN ADULT PARTY

Children today have much more in terms of quality of life but I guess the word quality is relative. I remembered their mothers playing in mud-filled ponds as a past-time in the village. And they were not children, but full grown teenagers. See how they turned out. Must be the mud.

THE LAMB WAITING PATIENTLY 

It was supposed to be a children's party but I think it was just an excuse for the mothers and fathers to unwind. With today's lifestyle its good to get silly every now and to restore the balance to sanity.

Rave reviews for the lamp. Went very well with barbequed pineapples

"AND WE PROMISE TO BE FRIENDS FOR LIFE, IN SICKNESS OR IN HEALTH"

MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME

BIRTHDAY GIRL

MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME AGAIN

FAMILY AND FRIENDS

THIS THING ABOUT CHILDREN AND SAND I CAN NEVER UNDERSTAND

Good fun. Nice to have the family and friends together, though not all the children was there. One was on the way up Mount Kinabalu and the other who just began work was busy impressing his boss. And another was biting her finger in frustration in Japan.

Ahh, the simple things in life. 

Have a blessed Ramathan everyone, family and friends

GRADUATION - NORM DID IT

Every now and then the Almighty, ever gracious and loving as He is, gives you a blessing which leaves you soft and all mushy inside for weeks, eternally grateful that things turned out the way it did, settling down years of anxious wait and expectations, leaving you peaceful inside.

I suppose its nothing new as millions of parents all over the world go through the same thing several times of the year, but for me its a big deal. Like many parents prior to that big day, you wonder whether it will come at all, what with all that divergent teenage inclinations, leading to subsequently divergent views and expectations, not to mention disagreements on both sides.

Suddenly, there he is before your very eyes, strutting around in his brand new suit, looking good and so matured, ready to take on the world. His friends said he looked like James Bond, but he said James Bond actually looked like him. His mother said his strut and cockiness comes from me, but I beg to differ. His great grandfather most likely.

Your heart ache as you see that little boy in crumpled and dirty shorts, and equally dirty T-shirt, disappeared forever, except in your dimming memory and photographs, and in his place stands an adult seemingly ready for the world. Your ache mingle with pride at the transformation. Suddenly you are seized by panic, for you know what the world has in store for him. Very soon the reality of the world will come crashing on him with all its greed and competitiveness, business and me first mantra which has left many of us badly shakened and sometimes broken. Gone are the sheltered world of schools and parents, your fall back option for everything from school bullies to pocket money.

For a while we can stand by and provide advice and moral support as they navigate the treacherous waters of the corporate and the business world, but soon enough we will be out of touch with the ways of the ever changing world and we will fall into a sad and confused silence.

In the early difficult years of my career, I used to talk to my late father and I valued his advice and encouragement. In the latter years, his advise became lesser for as he told me, he no longer understood how the world functioned. He could only look at me sadly as I run through my litany of problems and grouses. Strangely enough however, just having him there to listen was comforting enough. I invariably felt better afterwards, and would go back well resolved to make things work.Perhaps too that resolve was due to my guilt at putting him through such pain.

Well, I shall try to be there for him as I had for his other siblings. God, you wouldn't believe what I had to listen to as they all unload all their office problems and politics, as if I have the answer for everything.  And one can get really long-winded.

Our children, all born after 1980 are all millennials, That in itself will be a great challenge as they struggle to fit into the business and corporate world still very much run by the earlier generation. Now some people may debunk this issue outright, but I believe there are pertinent points to be recognized and addressed.

Being born and raised at a time of greater prosperity, affording them better quality of life, through their parents of course, and witnessing and experiencing the explosion of new technologies, plus being highly connected to the world, the expectations of this generation are far more complicated than that of the older generation.

For a start do not expect them to stay around and take all the nonsense the company has to give in the name of building a career. Given their connectivity and network, they have great access to other opportunities. Do not just give them instructions and expect dutiful execution. Often times they require rationale for what they are doing, a sense of awareness and belonging in the entire scheme of things. One of our girls having got into her much coveted position in one of the Big 4 accounting firm, asked after a while "what is the meaning of all that?". So she promptly got herself a mortgage, to provide some meaning, I guess.

The issues with millennials have been address in volumes but I guess, the key thing here is not to see their trends as disruptive, but rather opportunities to expand our horizon and maximize on their special skills, tendencies and outlook to bring organizations to greater heights. The sooner this is realized the better, for very soon the working world will be full of them, and those who can extract the best from them are the winners.