The Tennessee Walking Horse

#202
#202
joevol320 said:
are you serious? :lolabove:
Click to expand...

Completely.

images


images
 
#204
#204
I think the Tennessee Walking Horse at the opening of the game is gay, and I could care less if it goes away for ever. The only animal that needs to be on the sidelines in the one who runs through the T - Smokey.

I'm not an alumni, so maybe it means something to them, although from what I could gather at Saturday's game, it only really meant something to the geriatric alumni, those in the 20s 30s or 40s didn't seem to care.
 
#206
#206
gay as in stupid... you know. gay now has 3 meanings...

1 - happy and carefree

2 - homosexual

3 - really stupid, more than the usual stupid


so yeah, I thinking having a horse that's been tortured to walk funny come out and prance around the field while folks find their seats is gay. as in really stupid.
 
#208
#208
:popcorn:


(I realize I posted this not too long ago, but I feel as if it's fitting yet again)
 
#211
#211
stumps said:
I think the Tennessee Walking Horse at the opening of the game is gay, and I could care less if it goes away for ever. The only animal that needs to be on the sidelines in the one who runs through the T - Smokey.

I'm not an alumni, so maybe it means something to them, although from what I could gather at Saturday's game, it only really meant something to the geriatric alumni, those in the 20s 30s or 40s didn't seem to care.
Click to expand...

Thank god for the ignore button!
 
#212
#212
stumps said:
gay as in stupid... you know. gay now has 3 meanings...

1 - happy and carefree

2 - homosexual

3 - really stupid, more than the usual stupid


so yeah, I thinking having a horse that's been tortured to walk funny come out and prance around the field while folks find their seats is gay. as in really stupid.
Click to expand...

How did this guy ever make it a year???...:crazy:
 
#214
#214
stumps said:
I think the Tennessee Walking Horse at the opening of the game is gay, and I could care less if it goes away for ever. The only animal that needs to be on the sidelines in the one who runs through the T - Smokey.

I'm not an alumni, so maybe it means something to them, although from what I could gather at Saturday's game, it only really meant something to the geriatric alumni, those in the 20s 30s or 40s didn't seem to care.
Click to expand...

You're certainly entitled to your opinion....but I really don't think someone who calls themself "stumps" is qualified to speak for the generations in their 20s-40s. You really didn't have to clarify you weren't an alumni....it was understood in your post.

I like the walking horse. Bring it back at some point during pre game. We can cut out the Stars & Stripes forever....or something else.
 
#215
#215
rockytophigh said:
You're certainly entitled to your opinion....but I really don't think someone who calls themself "stumps" is qualified to speak for the generations in their 20s-40s. You really didn't have to clarify you weren't an alumni....it was understood in your post.

I like the walking horse. Bring it back at some point during pre game. We can cut out the Stars & Stripes forever....or something else.
Click to expand...

Hey, if you don't like America, then you can get out.
 
#216
#216
We, at Tennessee, need to remember that the Tennessee Walking Horse is not only a horse but a symbol of alumininum bats, tarps, bicycle chains, bleeding sides from spurs, horses trying to hide in the corners of their stalls, horses that require two people pulling and two people beating to get the horses out of their stalls, gag bits used on horses whose mouths have the corners cut with a pocket knife, all the above mentioned hoof/pattern abuse. Violence, just like we love it!

If we ban that Prancing Puddle of Misery from our sidelines, if the sore traveling horses are not rewarded, this practice will soon end. People might stop supporting the sore shows.

Middle Tennessee will collapse entirely into the State Of Alabama!

Quite frankly, there is very little positive to say about an industry that has been run - including the inspections and judging - by trainers and their big owners, and is as infected, rotten and inflamed as a pus-filled boil that needs to be lanced, cleaned out, disinfected and healed.

Certainly, we, at UT, do not need to pile on the unfortunates!
 
#218
#218
I'm going to weigh in here again for a moment (I noticed I weighed in on the previous page 11 years ago). There are valid arguments on all sides .... abuse versus natural versus anything else. My family trained these horses for many, many years. The horses lived like royalty and their every need was administered to immediately. Even if we ate canned potted meat the horses never did without top of the line nourishment. Their stalls were kept neat and clean and many had fans in their stall windows to ward off the summer heat. Their water to drink was maintained through an auto feeder so fresh water was always just a sip away. They wore heavy blankets in the winter to not only keep warm but also to keep their coats shiny and short-haired. They were washed and soaped daily and their manes and tails were picked out where one could run a fine tooth comb through it.
Their training consisted of many hours in the saddle to get the timing correctly and to encourage the horse to reach farther with its front hoofs while driving the backend to overstep the planted front hoof. All horses have gaits that "walk" (4 beat), canter (3 beat), and a 2 beat gait that is either a trot or a pace. The trot has the near front leg and the off back leg moving in unison while the pace has the front and back leg of the same side moving in unison. The Tennessee Walking Horse is the only breed whose faster gait is not a 2- beat gate but remains a 4 beat gait for a much smoother ride where posting in the saddle by the rider is not required.
Now has the industry lost some of it's early grandeur? No doubt as many have tried to hasten the training process to be competitive in the showring, hence a bad image on the breed itself. My family has been out of the horse business completely for the past 35 years and I no longer even keep up with it. myself.
I am proud to say that my father rode the walking horse at the game against Georgia Tech in 1979. The horse was a 4 year old World Champion and Dad exhibited him many times carrying our nation's colors at horse shows as well as at the Royal Mews in England back in 1980. My father passed away years ago and I never got into the horse business myself but chose to draw a steady weekly paycheck without the worries and hassles of competing and trying to make a living in a business that has so much potential for failure. The Tennessee Walking Horse is still an extremely beautiful and graceful animal and its docile nature is a bonus for those both young and old.

By the way, if anyone has a picture of the 1979 Georgia Tech game with the horse, I'd love to have a copy. I was stationed in Germany at the time in the US Air Force and didn't get to see it.
Here's a pic of my Dad and the horse when they went to England in 1980.
Dad in England.jpg
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: krichunaka, CR-vol, njvols and 9 others
#219
#219
FortWorthVol said:
Back in the 70's when I was in school, there was a different Tennessee walking horse that circled the field before each game. If I remember correctly, this tradition was stopped because there were several instances of the horses almost slipping on the field due to rain or traction. Since the horses are so very expensive, it was not thought to be worth the risk. So now it is done only at homecoming and when the weather is good.
Click to expand...
The big problem was artificial turf. The original Tartan Turf worked fine but subsequent types became slick when damp and a few of the horses slipped when making the turns at the end zone corners. Damage to natural turf was minimal along the sidelines, but by the time TN switched from synthetic back to natural, the walking horse training controversy was in full effect negating a return of the tradition at every home game. I truly miss it.
 
#220
#220
Easy fix. We don't need variety, Simply select a single trainer to supply the horses just like we acquire access to our blue tick hounds! If needed simply have their methods validated each year and if that is not enough have the Vet School walk over, or catch a shuttle from the AG campus, to the stadium and inspect each horse on gameday. Bet those supplying horses would comply with rules as defined.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Buzzbait, tbwhhs, Brave Volunteer and 2 others
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top