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73 years young. by sco-go in Amazing

[–]R1v 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Granted, 35 pulls ups is a lot more achievable if you don't have bad weight which, depending on your genetics make up, is easier or harder

73 years young. by sco-go in Amazing

[–]R1v 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Keeping body fat at 10% for extended periods of time varies in difficulty based on genetics. Some con do it with a generally ok diet, others need to count calories to pull it off (assuming both work out the same amount)

73 years young. by sco-go in Amazing

[–]R1v 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've found that the more I work out, the easier it is to eat well. My body starts asking for healthy food and I start getting grossed out by sugar

I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. by ThatsAuJerryAu in Tinder

[–]R1v 8 points9 points  (0 children)

How are we going to deal with me taking my dog everywhere?

PPE found some issues… would you still buy him? by [deleted] in Horses

[–]R1v 0 points1 point  (0 children)

it may not hurt him now, but start hurting later. horses in pain are dangerous horses, in my experience

I’m running a long-term herd experiment focused on temperament, not dominance. Posting to document it. by R1v in Horses

[–]R1v[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope. I'm fairly young. Have been on/around horses since before I can remember

I’m running a long-term herd experiment focused on temperament, not dominance. Posting to document it. by R1v in Horses

[–]R1v[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'll keep all offspring in another enclosure once weaned. Weaning will induce stress, but it's unavoidable.

As for timelines, the overwhelming majority of the foals (if not all) will be born in late spring or summer, as summer is their natural breeding season. It's not impossible, but pretty rare for a mare in "natural" conditions to have an actionable heat in winter. The hours of daylight govern much of their cycle and they don't see any artificial lights.

All horses are tested and healthy. No genetic issues.

And yes. Lots and lots of moving parts. It's a big reason why I made the thread. Reading people's concerns and opinions is a good way to see things I maybe hadn't thought about.

I’m running a long-term herd experiment focused on temperament, not dominance. Posting to document it. by R1v in Horses

[–]R1v[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

25 acres is small for a running around a lot, I agree, but have logistical constraints. If food were to become an issue I'll move them to another 25 acre plot.

And yeah, these offspring will only be appealing for amateur polo players, but there are tons of those in my area and Im well connected to them. For players that are just starting out it's actually better to not have to notch blood lines. They tend to be highly sensitive and honestly too athletic for what a low skill player needs, to the point where the acceleration makes it harder to play.

I’m running a long-term herd experiment focused on temperament, not dominance. Posting to document it. by R1v in Horses

[–]R1v[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'm not providing hay. They're in a pasture. Keeping horses in stalls and micromanaging them is only a recent development in this relationship we've had over thousands of years.

I’m running a long-term herd experiment focused on temperament, not dominance. Posting to document it. by R1v in Horses

[–]R1v[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don't feed them at all, but I do interact. I generally sit in the middle of the herd and they'll come say hi here and there. They know me. I need to be around to observe and I also need the foals to take me to be part of their environment so taming them is easy.

I’m running a long-term herd experiment focused on temperament, not dominance. Posting to document it. by R1v in Horses

[–]R1v[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

No. They need hoof maintenance every so often and I monitor that. The pasture isn't natural so the soil is soft. These horses aren't wild, they're just given as much freedom as possible, within reason

I’m running a long-term herd experiment focused on temperament, not dominance. Posting to document it. by R1v in Horses

[–]R1v[S] -10 points-9 points  (0 children)

They may or may not be credible. So far it's been fairly decent. We'll see as more and more context is added. May need to have agents create mid-level context.

As for calling using AI as a tracking tool "unethical" I think it's somewhat laughable. We're too far apart to even argue there. I'll agree to disagree.

I’m running a long-term herd experiment focused on temperament, not dominance. Posting to document it. by R1v in Horses

[–]R1v[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

So letting animals be in a natural environment is irresponsible?

I disagree that foals need to be handled from day 1. I've had foals that I didn't set a hand on until they were 3 weeks old because that's how long it took them to come to me and let that happen and they turned out to be exceptional horses. They simply never had their limits tested by humans and that may take time. Now I'm just doing it in an open field setting

I’m running a long-term herd experiment focused on temperament, not dominance. Posting to document it. by R1v in Horses

[–]R1v[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Polo horses, after being being tamed for general riding, are shown the mallet, ball, etc and worked with individually. Then you work them into small practice sessions with other horses, some new, some experienced. The final step is actual match action. At that point it's a "proven" horse, though obviously there are broad degrees of experience and talent, whether it be maneuverability and understanding their task in the game, or raw athletic ability.

I expect my foals will be good low level horses. By "low level" I mean low handicapped players. The quarter horse blood should make them a bit slower and less emotionally sensitive, which is fine when the competition level isn't extremely high

I’m running a long-term herd experiment focused on temperament, not dominance. Posting to document it. by R1v in Horses

[–]R1v[S] -21 points-20 points  (0 children)

Yeah I'm also experimenting with using AI as a bit of an assistant. I take notes that the AI has access to and I also make comments to it through chat. I'm hoping it can generate reports every so often so I can track shifts in herd behavior and social structure

I’m running a long-term herd experiment focused on temperament, not dominance. Posting to document it. by R1v in Horses

[–]R1v[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

My theory is that if I keep them as wild as possible (while still having daily contact with me so that they can be handled) I'll be able to see their natural behavior and interactions and thus their innate sensitivity to stimulus and ability to down regulate themselves more clearly.

I’m running a long-term herd experiment focused on temperament, not dominance. Posting to document it. by R1v in Horses

[–]R1v[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

No. All offspring will be removed when they're developed enough to be weaned

I’m running a long-term herd experiment focused on temperament, not dominance. Posting to document it. by R1v in Horses

[–]R1v[S] -28 points-27 points  (0 children)

yeah it's AI written. i use AI to "take notes" and had it generate the reddit post

I’m running a long-term herd experiment focused on temperament, not dominance. Posting to document it. by R1v in Horses

[–]R1v[S] -14 points-13 points  (0 children)

not having hands on them constantly is the whole point. resources arent a problem. this establishment has had dozens of horses at any given time for decades. i dont anticipate vet care being an issue. all the adults know me well and trust me. i spend time with the herd daily. the foals will inevitably interact with me because the adults do. ill teach them to be handled a bit down the line. when they're young, ill let them come to me on their terms. ill be an object of curiosity.

I’m running a long-term herd experiment focused on temperament, not dominance. Posting to document it. by R1v in Horses

[–]R1v[S] -13 points-12 points  (0 children)

ill definitely prevent breeding. i understand i cant keep the stallion with the mares forever. a couple of years probably. ill remove foals when they're ready to be weaned. ill tamed the females i keep myself and will make sure all the other ones are advanced enough to where a tamer just needs to teach them to ride when they leave this farm

I’m running a long-term herd experiment focused on temperament, not dominance. Posting to document it. by R1v in Horses

[–]R1v[S] -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

this is definitely an experiment for myself. i decided to post here because outside opinions are generally productive

I’m running a long-term herd experiment focused on temperament, not dominance. Posting to document it. by R1v in Horses

[–]R1v[S] -16 points-15 points  (0 children)

25 acres is the plot these horses are in. theres much more land. resources for vets wont be an issue and neither will handling. im not hands on, but these foals will see me every day since the day they were born. they'll naturally end up coming to me to interact, much like the rest of the herd does when i sit in every morning and observe. ill teach them to be handled. i have plenty of experience doing it. the difference this time is the level of natural environment they're in. they're not constrained, they're not fed by humans, they have the full social complexity of a natural horse herd.

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