I never made a post about draft horses. :T They are the gentle giants of the horse world, sometimes growing as large as 20 hands and over 2000 lbs. The tallest horse in the world is an American-type Belgian horse named Big Jake (I think???).
A very big (but good) boy!
Despite their size, draft horses are known for their quiet, even temperaments, which make them good work horses. They were originally bred to pull wagons and plows, and they still do that. The most famous draft horses are probably the Budweiser Clydesdales, i.e. the horses in those Superbowl commercials that make us cry every goddamn year.
Draft horses can be ridden, and they are often crossed with lighter breeds, such as Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses, to create tall, sturdy-boned, quiet sport horses.
Such horses were a common sight during foxhunts, as “hotter” breeds, like Arabians and Thoroughbreds, tend to lose their minds a bit in the chaos of the hunt. Draft horses can also be crossed with Mammoth Jack donkeys to create draft mules, which are also used to pull plows for the Amish.
Mammoth Jack donkey:
Draft Mule:
There are a lot of draft breeds, some more common than others. Many of the common ones are easy to tell apart from the others, but they’re all large-boned and tall, except for the draft ponies, such as Halflingers and Norwegian Fjord horses.
The Belgian
There are two Belgian horses, one that’s popular in Europe and another that’s very common in the US.
This is the European-type “Brabant” Belgian, which tends to be very thick boned and roan in color.
This is the American-type Belgian, which is lighter-boned and always sorrel/palomino in color:
Here is a Brabant Belgian mare pulling some shit:
A lot of draft horses really do enjoy pulling stuff, as much as a horse CAN enjoy doing anything that’s not eating grass and farting. Horse pulls are a common sight in Middle America, often done using Belgian horses. Here’s one of a team pulling 9200 lbs. They pull for a very short period of time, often only a few seconds.
Next up is the Percheron, which has a similar body type to the Belgians but are always black or dapple. They can be slightly more spirited than Belgian horses, with some demonstrating high stepping action.
They are not to be confused with Friesians, who have much more “feathered” legs and feet (long hair around the lower legs) and are lighter-boned. Friesians also don’t come in dapple colors, like the horse at the top of this post.
Clydesdales
Clydesdales are recognizable because they are a) always bay colored and b) almost always have four white socks and a blaze on their faces. They also have much more feathering on their legs than Percherons or Belgians. Clydesdales are more common in parades and the like because they tend to be slightly lighter than Percheron and Belgians, and because of this, they’re more agile and “showy”. You probably would not want to plow with a Clydesdale. You could, but their feathering means their feet get dirty much easier than a Belgians might.
Shire Horse
Shires come in a variety of colors, usually black or bay, and they are probably the most “feathered” horses of the popular breeds. They’ve got lots of fur on their feet.
Gypsy Vanner Horses
Gypsy Vanner horses got their start pulling Roma wagons, but now they’re mostly used in fantasy photoshoots, and you can see why. They are beautiful horses, definitely not the type you’d want toiling in the muck. They are almost always paint colored, which distinguishes them from Shire horses.
These are the main, most popular and commonly seen full-sized draft breeds, at least in the US. However, there are also draft ponies, the most popular of which is the Halflinger, which resembles a shrunken Belgian horse. They are ALWAYS sorrel/palomino colored, but their frame can vary. Some Halflingers are lighter-boned and more suitable for riding. Others are thicker-boned and better for pulling.
The other unmistakable draft pony is the Norwegian Fjord, easily recognized by the black stripe in the center of its mane, like a reverse ice cream sandwich.
This can lead to some creative hair cuts
So there you go. That’s a somewhat comprehensive review of draft horse breeds. Here is a size comparison for funsies, with the average riding horse in the middle.
the bigger they are the bigger they are
Here’s folk-rock band Jethro Tull’s paean to the big beasties: “Heavy Horses”.
So, letting people be who they want to be is a good thing. That’s shocking I tell you, just shocking. All I want to know is, how much time and money went into this research when you could’ve just asked trans folks how they felt for free
okay, A: they didask. they did listen. like… I don’t wanna exaggerate here but “asking trans kids how they feel” is literally the entire study:
“children (9–14 years old) and their parents completed measurements of depression and anxiety (n = 63 transgender children, n = 63 controls, n = 38 siblings). Children (6–14 years old; n = 116 transgender children, n = 122 controls, n = 72 siblings) also reported on their self-worth”
and B: this isn’t the kind of study researchers do because “oh gosh we just aren’t really sure yet, we really just don’t know”, they do it because cis people have been sitting on their asses for decades ignoring anything that’s not an Official Scientific Study, so they said “okay fuck you, here’s the study, you’re wrong, now do something helpful or shut the hell up”
#Thank you #I’m super over this smug ‘yeah we knew that’ response to studies #I mean I get the impulse to go ’…yes and water is wet thanks captain obvious’ #But the thing is that you *need* this kind of hard data in order to act on it #Which is actually a good thing #BC ‘we don’t need no stinkin science’ policies based on ‘we just Know This ok don’t ask for our data just shut up and do it’ #Is how you get anti choice laws based in pseudoscience and religious belief #And climate change not being addressed in law and policy #Besides. Just think how satisfying it is to throw hard data in some asshole’s face to counter their claims.
Scientist: Treating trans people like people is the way to make them happy. Cis Person: Yeah but…………how do we KNOW? Scientist: *sighs* can I have a grant to study it? Cis Person: Sure. Scientist: Hey, Trans Person, would you be happier if people treated you like people? Trans Person: Of course. Scientists:
Specifically, this study can now be used in medical offices and courtrooms. A trans kid’s parent can take this study to their bigoted local doctor and say “see, this is why you should either treat my kid or give us a referral to a doctor who will.” Or this can be taken into various legal proceedings about name changes, birth certificate changes/corrections, and custody hearings where it becomes necessary to prove to a judge that yes, helping the kid transition (and perhaps leaving the kid with the parent/guardian who is willing to help) is what is best for the kid.
These kinds of studies are exactly what we want, folks. Don’t knock it just because it’s something you already knew.
if we have a meme for shitty male writing, we really need one for shitty thin writing because holy s h i t
who wrote this atrocity i want names
this is the book:
it’s ten years old (published in 2008) and i recently found it on my bookshelf with a $1.99 clearance sticker and no memory of ever purchasing it, lmao (can’t even figure out where i bought it)
i brought it to work because ive been bored in the downtime and it was just. so bad i couldnt even get past this page, which was like page 2 (not even joking)
at least it’s got a bunch of shitty reviews on goodreads. one of which says “
Leave it to Garton to treat Lycanthropy like a STD. Abuse, Rape, Fat Shaming, Adultery, and plenty mo’ raping to go around. Good times.”
Was told by a doctor that I was too fat too scuba dive or freedive, he did no tests, just looked at me and made a snap decision. At that point I had been safely and fatly (is that a word 😄) diving since I was 16, with over 150 logged dives.
Went to a different doctor who actually did tests and talked about my regular physical activity (I train most days off the week) and my mental health (diving is one of the few things that make me happy). I beat the clinic record on the lung function test, it actually went off their chart. He cleared me with zero reservations.
So to the fatphobic doctor 🖕I know the risks and how to mitigate them. Why would you try and take away physical activity and enjoyment from someone. Diving means everything to me and to have someone try and rip that away from me was devastating.
doctors performing c sections during births without informed consent
eugenics via sterilization requirements for trans people to change documentation
eugenics via forced/nonconsenting sterilization of disabled people
eugenics via forced/nonconsenting sterilization of people of color
eugenics via selective abortion of disabled fetuses (fetuses with Down syndrome especially) (these are abortions sought by people who WANT to be pregnant–but only with non-disabled children, when there’s absolutely no guarantee that a non-disabled child won’t become disabled)
if your reproductive rights activism doesn’t incorporate ALL OF THE ABOVE, i want no part of it.
I don’t particularly understand this, especially the second tweet. is there anyone who wouldn’t mind explaining or even just sending me some linked info that would help me understand?
1. See, US imperialism around Korean peninsula and eventual occupation of Rep of Korea.
2. See, for a recent demonization of DPRK, David Frum’s Axis of Evil speech.
3. It is racism in context with the ongoing white supremacist imperialist project the US has long cultivated in capitalist patriarchy. Context matters.
4. Key for you is to be able to/willing to see modern history from a Korean pov rather than through a.US pov. To do that, study. Read in modern history of Korea, on the war in Korea, on Japan’s occupation of Korea, on US history in the region from 19th C onward.
Okay, listen up peeps because this shit is important. As well as hosting all our amazing Eruri fic, AO3 is one of the few open source projects developed, maintained and run almost entirely by and for women. The Organization for Transformative Works (OTW), which maintains AO3, is a nonprofit organization that truly embodies the principles of the open web and relies on your donations to ensure that the archive remains independent, non commercial and free of advertising. Oh and they also provide legal advocacy to help protect authors from litigation and to stop your writing from being exploited.
Now here’s the thing…I get a lot of Erurific rec asks and almost every fic I rec is hosted on AO3. It would mean a lot to me if everyone who sends me an ask or reads a fic I rec, could make a small donationto AO3 if they are at all able. Thanks guys. Erwin would be proud of you. Lost out.
Urocyon's Jaunts 2.0 
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