crazymusings

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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.

[crazymusings]

What theatre geeks do in the shower

“AaAAanGeEeEL oF muUUuUuuUuUu–” “kiSs mE goOooOOOoOooOoOooDbyYyYYyE–” “dO yOU heAR tHe pEOpLe siNG, siNgiNG thE sONg oF–” “mAmaAAaAaaAAAaAaAaaAaAAa wHo bOoOre mE–” “I kNOw tHaT i’M bOUnD tO aNSweR wHEN yOu pRopOoOoOOooOOoOooO–” “wHEn I gRow uUuUUuUUuUuuU–” “jUSt yOu wAaAaAAaaAaAaaAAaAiT–”

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This is for all y’all who don’t understand how terrifying these suckers are. 

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No don't #tape a knife to one!!! @andsamadams I'm scandalized!

Just flip ‘em!

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look at your face in the m i r r o r.

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But Nick Fury. The thing is, even though the film arcs toward openness and transparency (which is amazing in itself) Fury is portrayed as intelligent, thoughtful, righteous, and very correct in his beliefs too—— Steve and Nick Fury have a tense relationship: they argue, Steve gets angry with him, is critical of his style of leadership: they bump heads over Steve’s belief in openness and trust, and Nick’s reliance on compartmentalization and pragmatism.  True, he is shown to be wrong about his support for preemptive technology and weaponization (in CATWS and in Avengers) but he’s justified in his reasoning for his beliefs; ESPECIALLY his reluctance to place trust in any one person.   Both he and Steve are right: Natasha having a seperate mission made Steve’s job difficult, but trusting the big picture to any one person is dangerous; and Fury’s pragmatism ends up saving the day when he reveals he had a backup plan all along.  (scanning his bad eye) Fury’s monologue to a thoughtful Steve in the elevator is a really great moment: it sums up his ethos (a bag filled with money and a gun) and gives background for his beliefs and his outlook.   People have talked about the racial profiling-esque moment with Nick and the cops, but I thought the subtle mention that Nick Fury’s grandfather was a bellhop who lived in a rough neighborhood and had to get rough back was a really great touch that spoke to his perspective as a black man in America. We know that Fury is a “grey” character: someone who withholds information, lies, and keeps secrets, but what I think is SO AMAZING is that one little scene where, even after knocking heads with Fury the entire movie, and being totally at odds with him- after storming out in anger after denouncing the insight project: Steve still rejects the idea that Fury would be evil or secretly aligned with evildoers. It’s when he’s talking to Redford, who’s trying to plant the seed of doubt in his mind about Fury. I think the line is something like “If you knew Nick Fury, you wouldn’t say that.” Steve has no idea which way is up at this point in the movie: he’s confused, unsure of his allies and his enemies; Nick himself said not to trust ANYONE, and jfc he just found out his neighbor was an undercover agent. But Steve BELIEVES IN NICK FURY.  He believes in this man whom he trusts enough to argue with and defy candidly.  This man may make decisions Steve abhors, but ultimately, he knows where Nick stands.  

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This is why I'm so grateful to the middle school social studies class I had. The teacher managed to get several Jewish holocaust survivors in when we learned about it, willing to discuss their experience, and they discussed what lead up to it. This is why sharing their stories and keeping them alive is so important.

It’s ridiculous that I and everyone I know who I’ve talked to about it learned so much about the holocaust in school but next to nothing about the history of anti-semitism leading up to it and what that actually looked like. It’s like they try to eliminate any ability to really look at it as a function or process of oppression; it’s just some random evil act.

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♥♥♥

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have you ever stopped a guy in the middle of sex? I stopped my bf last night and I feel really bad about it. :(

First of all, you didn’t stop him in the middle of sex. That’s literally impossible. The only possible time to stop sex is at the end. Because as soon as you stop it, that is the end. Anything after is rape. 

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about what you think of as the “middle” and why cuz I think that’s gonna be the root of why you feel bad. Now I’m gonna have to make some assumptions because I obviously don’t know for sure why you’re thinking the way you do, but if you’re like most people, you thought you stopped “in the middle” because your partner didn’t cum. 

Which is totally normal. In our culture, we’ve all been trained to view sex as a means to an end. A way of getting from point A (not having an orgasm) to point B (having an orgasm). It starts when a penis enters a vagina and ends when a cis guy cums. 

But I’m gonna tell you a secret that will make your life so so much better. That’s bullshit. Sex is not a means to an end. Sex is an end. Sex is fun. You don’t have to have an orgasm. Your partner doesn’t have to have an orgasm. It starts when both/all parties say it starts and ends when one or more people say it ends. 

And this is the hardest thing to unlearn. It’s something I still struggle with all the time. But you should never ever ever feel bad for stopping sex for any reason. Sex is supposed to be fun and defining it by an orgasm takes the focus away from the sex itself. Orgasms are nice but they’re not necessary. Not for you. Not for your partner. 

In my own experience, have I stopped a partner before they’ve cum? You bet I have and I’m likely to again. For all sorts of reasons: I get tired, I feel sick, I get a back cramp, it starts to hurt, I plain don’t want to anymore, And I used to feel bad because like you, like so many people, I thought I was stopping in the middle, I thought I was negating the point of sex. But I wasn’t. Because the point of sex isn’t an orgasm. 

Not only have I become a lot happier/less guilty as a result, but my sex life has improved as well because I’m just focusing on having a good time. It takes away a lot of the stress and pressure I used to associate with sex (that I wasn’t even aware of until it went away). So. Don’t feel bad. Ultimately, you did something that is gonna help you a bunch for years to cum (hehehe).

TL/DR:  Sex is not defined by someone’s orgasm. The end is not when a cis guy cums. Sex is an end in and of itself. The end is when one party says it ends. Do not feel bad about ending sex. 

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i fully support people being able to vent

but i also firmly support a person’s right to say “hey, i really would rather not hear this right now” for any reason, so if you ever don’t want me to mindlessly ramble about how much my life sucks PLEASE feel free to tell me because i strongly think that helping someone deal with their problems should be VOLUNTARY

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Battle of the Tricorns

Edmund Hewlett

vs

John Graves Simcoe

Perhaps the most important information we have regarding the final episode of Turn yet.

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If you are not black, then you cannot tell black people what it is like to be black. It’s that simple. You are not an expert on black people. You do not know more about being black than black people do.

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Okay but, was anyone else’s mind thinking tabletop and wondering for a second what the hell they meant by elbowing an entire pint of water into their player character?

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Just in case there was any question about how we roll as storytellers in our LARP, tonight’s final thoughts.

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@bdubs8807 Oh man but Dresden was right. I remember 2nd edition D&D when you actually had to calculate the area fireball spread. I cast it into a hallway once and accidentally fried my whole party. I argued the same thing as Dresden when begging the DM to make a house rule keeping the 2nd edition rules for fireball and lightning bolt. @trappedinavelociraptor is right it’s too iconic to lose.

RIP “conform to the shape of the space“ fireball. You are missed.

Mage: I didn’t ask how big the room was, I said I cast fireball

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honestly fuckin “lovecraft inspired” games are everywhere and in every genre except the one they really need to be in

farming sims

like nothing says lovecraft like being aware of cosmic terror in your town and being unable to do anything about it so you sort of just tend to your radishes and hope everything turns out okay but you pull up one of your radishes and there’s a human head at the base of the stalk and you drop it as soon as you make eye contact with it but once you go to pick it up again it’s a normal radish