Rain, rain GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the words of Scarlett O'Hara, "As God is my witness, my next place WILL have an indoor arena!!"

So the blog has once again gone dormant. Really I am so sick of rain. A friend of mine told me the farmers around here have to get corn in before Memorial Day or they can forget it. One things for sure, they'll have a real nice wheat crop this year!

I'm at the point now, that when the weather is good Dino must work. As of this writing, we have just over 4-weeks until our first show. I was really hoping to go Training Level, so that we can canter, but our canter needs a ton of work. I don't know, I guess if I really want to show we'll have to do Intro. Not like there aren't other shows happening this summer, pretty much every weekend until early October there's a show somewhere. What's so important here, this show is being held where my trainer is based. Its familiar territory and I believe a good experience for Dino.

All in all, Dino is good. Great in fact. His grouchiness has faded for the most part and he's a fairly agreeably fellow. I'm really not sure what the deal is...I have added a bit of alfalfa to his diet, so maybe that helps with his tummy. I have noticed when he's in work, his stall walking is not as bad and he doesn't touch his manure. Hopefully when this bit of rain passes, we'll have good enough weather again to start back to work.

A sad bit of news, as my last entry had to do with her, I had the vet out last week to pull a coggins on Dino and check Angel. What is typical in a lot of older horses, they sometimes don't handle winter very well, especially the hard keepers. Unfortunately for us, we had an unusually long and hard winter. It was very cold and we got a ton of snow. Back in October, I changed Angel's grain to a grain with a low starch and sugar concentrate, foolishly thinking her metabolism had slowed down enough that she could maintain weight and receive enough nutrients on hay and this grain alone. I was feeding her the recommended amount and supplementing it with oats, she started to loose weight. Then she started to go off her hay, she would eat what she wanted and scatter the rest in her stall. We got to the point of letting Angel go through the hay and whatever bale she started eating was the one we'd feed her. We had a 80% success rate. So then we called my old hay guy who deals strictly with alfalfa hay and got a few bales. She ate and ate all of it! When we mixed in the alfalfa with the timothy, she not so neatly sorted it and ate the alfalfa, so clearly there was something about the old hay she didn't like. But she still wasn't gaining weight, so I switched her back to her old grain and added a fat supplement to her feed. She started to gain weight, but not enough and seemed to hit a plateau.

This has been going on long enough and I needed some answers, but I didn't want the answer I was about to get. My vet has diagnosed Angel with a heart condition, specifically aortic regurgitation and he has assured me that Angel is NOT in any pain. There are no signs of immediate cardiac failure, but we don't have a time frame. As for my options, I really don't have many options outside of blood work & a possible echo. I have to be realistic, she's an older horse with soundness issues. It breaks my heart that I have to look at this from a financial standpoint, I love this girl so much, but I have to do what is right by her and still consider my other two horses. Currently she's developing edema's on the bottom of her belly, she's not maintaining weight, with any exercise she does cough, but (good news) there is NO fever. Right now we are taking it one day at a time.

Dino and Angel, September 14, 2010.

Rain? What rain??

We've had dry weather now for a few days, so I took my chances and worked Dino this morning. Nothing fancy, just freestyle lunging. It was really a spur of the moment ordeal. When I got home from work this morning, I peeked out the back and saw the pasture had dried sufficiently enough that I thought I could turn horses out while I cleaned stalls. But then I got distracted with the news, so I turned horses out and went back into the house to watch the coverage. That's when it started raining. Again. Actually, I'd been in the house for atleast an hour by that point. Or was it two hours?

It was just a little sprinkle, but I ran down to the barn and let Angel out on the grass while I started stalls. After I got Sancho's and Angel's done, I put the remainder of their breakfast in theirs, moved the manure cart to Dino's stall and brought those two in.

I'm standing there, in the rain, watching Dino who's watching me. I knew I had a window of opportunity and I had to take it, so I grabbed my lunge whip and entered the pasture to freestyle lunge Dino. My trainer doesn't like freestyle lunging and I can see her point; you don't have any control over the horse and you really don't accomplish anything with it, except the horse running itself ragged. Other people will say they don't like lunging in the traditional sense; surcingle, side-reins, cavesson, lunge line and whip. Really it has to do with pulling on the horse's head, which subsequently pulls on their neck and back, causing them pain. I can understand that, and it is just like anything else with horses: Everyone has a different opinion and what works for one person/horse, may not work for another. I can go either way.

Back when I first got Dino, lunging was an important part of our everyday training. For one, I wanted to get Dino conditioned and two, I needed to install a "WHOA" before I ever put my foot in the stirrup. To me, that is the most important step for anyone getting an OTTB or mounting any new horse for the first time, and it sounds silly, but I seriously want to know, "Will they stop when I ask them to?" Stop walking. Stop trotting. Stop cantering. Stop galloping. Stop before we run into the wall/fence/tree. I've had these experiences, go with me on this and let me tell you, that horse will manage to come to dead stop before you will. Personally, I think that's how Newton came up with his Laws of Motion, he was riding a horse without a WHOA.

Funny story time. When I was a junior I was riding this lovely American Hanoverian mare named Lila. I loved Lila, she was just so beautiful this big bay mare. We were so close that I could walk down the aisle and call out her name, "Liiillllaaaaa", and she'd nicker. Not just any nicker, that deep throaty nicker that horses reserve for their closest herd-mates. Lila was way out of my price range, so I was just happy to keep her ridden, but she was my first experience with WHOA. It was my first time jumping her and she had picked up speed coming down a line, so I, obviously, said "WHOA". I'm sure you know what happened, she came to a dead stop and I did not. You would have thought, lesson learned. Nope. It took several more identical experiences for me learn that lesson. Moral of the story: WHOA is to stop and EASY is to slow down. Lila. Nice horse. Smart horse. Not so smart rider.

Which leads me back to today. Going to the left, Dino was king. He walked when I asked him, trotted when asked, and cantered. He even changed directions when I simply switched my lunge whip from my right hand to my left. I was so happy that Dino was remembering his lessons. He was even staying on a 20-meter circle around me. Such a good boy that Dino! But then we changed directions and all of a sudden I was still dealing with Dino but I was suddenly speaking a foreign language. Serenity. Serenity now.

Well two can play this game. You don't want to walk, well then you get to canter. A few trips around me, "Trot...good boy". A few more trips around me, "Walk...WHOA....walk....CANTER". This went on for several minutes. Or was it several hours? At first, I think Dino was kind of amused at my frustration because he kept turning his head towards me and hanging his tongue out. But then that went away and while he continued to turn his head towards me, his ears were flat back.

Then Dino got really tired and hot, and when he's really tired and hot both sides of his brain make a complete connection. So when I say, "Walk" he walks. And when he walks, he gets to stop and go back into the barn. As I'm putting his halter on, I rub his forelock and ask, "Was it really that hard, to do what I asked?"

Apparently so. And I still haven't learned WHOA = stop, Easy = slow down.

14-years....and counting!

Angel has never lost her inquisitive nature.

It was Spring 1997. I had graduated high school early and my days were filled with horses and riding. I'd been horseless for about 8-months, my junior career was over and it was time to move on, so I was back to catching rides on whatever came along. I had thought I had found a nice Hanoverian gelding the previous winter, but his owner's were firm in the price, which was too much, and my trainer said, "We'll find you something, just have patience..."

On March 24, 1997, a truck load of horses arrived from South Carolina. I remember the date because (one) they were a week late, one of the horses was a steeplechaser and his owner wanted one more race, and (two) this steeplechaser was renamed Oscar with the show name Academy Award - it was the night of the Oscars when they did finally arrive.

I knew one of the six horses on the van was for me, but I wasn't sure which one yet. I was secretly hoping it was Harley. He was this big bay gelding, just built like a hog and he had the most enduring personality. Every opportunity I got, I was taking care of him. After more than a month had passed, all but three horses were spoken for: Harley, Andrea and Aaron. Andrea was a young-green-grade filly. You couldn't tack her up in the cross-ties, you tacked her up in the arena, you had to lunge her before you rode, and you had to make a moving mount-up. Otherwise this filly would EXPLODE and she had a buck on her that no one stayed on! Aaron was a BIG imposing mare, very curious and inquisitive. She had the most amazing eyes and this beautiful dished face. I would hang on the fence and watch other riders school her, her jump was always flawless. I saw her take a 5' vertical with a foot to spare and it never mattered the size of the jump, her jump was always the same. She would boldly gallop to the base of the jump, spring up catlike with her knees to her nose and crack her back over the jump. She was just so round, not too many riders were able to stay with her. One day, during a home show, I was asked to turn her out in one of the back grass paddocks. I couldn't get over her size and how attentive she was, I was definitely smitten.

A few days after the home show, head trainer, Polly, told me to go get Andrea and my friend, Katie, to go get Aaron and be ready to ride in the outdoor. We were both probably nervous, I knew Andrea's reputation and by this time she had earned the nickname 'Bucking' Andrea. Katie was a good rider, so I can't imagine what she'd have to worry about. But then out of the blue, Polly came by and stood watching us get ready. She announced that she had changed her mind, I was to ride Aaron and Katie was to ride Andrea. "Whew," I thought, but then I remembered how bold Aaron was and her concussion forming jump. I was not going to win that day.

Katie and I joined the next lesson, and at the end of the hour Polly came out to check on us. I'll never forget what she said, "That one [Aaron] will like Kelly's soft hands, they'll be good together." I was ecstatic!! The date was April 28, 1997.

I had my new horse and now it was time for a new name, we had been calling her 'Aaron' because she came from Grand Prix rider Aaron Vale's farm in South Carolina. (Similarly, 'Andrea' was named for Aaron's business partner, Andrea King.) I was NOT going to call her a 'boy's' name, so at first I thought Sasha because she was so sassy over fences. I was also a big fan of Fox's Kindred: The Embraced, where one of the characters, a red-head, was named Sasha. However, the name just didn't feel right and instead I just kept calling her 'Mare'. Just a few days after I got 'Mare', I had a particularly bad jumping lesson, "It's like learning how to jump all over again....", I cried. Then it hit me, I learned how to jump on an old American Quarter Horse buckskin, named Angel (see below), and so 'Aaron' who became 'Mare' was officially christened...Angel.

Angel, an American Quarter Horse mare.

It wasn't long before Angel lived up to her new name. We were always short on taller-bigger horses in the lesson program, so I had agreed to Angel being used from time to time for the adult riders. I was not at the ring to witness this, but from what I was told, they were jumping a line of combinations and the rider became off-balance. So Angel stopped, but in doing so, somehow, got her reins caught on the jump standard pulling the jump onto herself. Angel didn't freak out, bolt, spook, panic, etc., she just stood there like a statue while my trainer walked up and untangled her. After the lesson my trainer, Beth, came up to me all smiles telling me what had happened.

This trademark in her personality has continued over the years. There was the time we were hauling to a show and her foot mysteriously became wedged under the manger in the trailer. We had to use a sledgehammer to get her free, and she didn't freak out. When people go to horse shows, they typically stay away from the loud speakers. They crackle, hiss, are loud, and basically they spook a lot of horses, not Angel; we could park right underneath one and they never bothered her. Best part was, no one else was ever parked next to us! Another time was when I had my accident, no one saw me fall and Angel got me help. A few months after my accident, I was getting on Angel bareback when I over-estimated my strength and actually leaped over her back. Instead of my falling to the ground, I had my hand still on the reins, Angel pulled back sharply keeping me upright and then lowered her head so that her head caught me in the chest.

If I hadn't decided on the name 'Angel', I think Cat would have been just as good. In all my life with horses, I have never seen such an accident prone animal...and one that has lived to tell about, too!

1. She tore her left front tendon.
2. She had a reaction to a bad rhino flu shot.
3. Said reaction^^ caused her to founder so badly she seedy toed.
4. She fell through an ice covered pond.
5. She fell into a 6' ditch, with me on her!
6. She got loose once and caught in a rope - major rope burn.
7. She slipped on ice and broke her knees open.
8. She jumped the pasture fence, landed on asphalt and re-broke open her knees.
9. She got her foot stuck under the manger on the way to a horse show.
10. She's colicked twice.
11. Has been cast once in her stall,
12. While rehabbing her took her swimming; she reared up and cracked her head on the ceiling.
13. Another time while backing out the horse trailer she slipped and cracked her head again.
14. Got stung in the eye and nearly lost said eye.
15. Accidentally stepped on her lead rope, reared up and slipped on the grass injuring her sacroiliac joint in her back. (Which has ended her career and almost her life.)

Angel doesn't let those little things bother her too much. She still gets free-range when turned out, we seriously don't pasture her just turn her loose in the yard. She rarely leaves the property and comes galloping when called. Recently she was up by the side of the garage and I called her to the back, she turned picked up a canter and jumped the corner of the back patio, a good six feet wide corner. But she didn't miss a stride, she was simply in her glory. When she was younger and I would leave the jumps up in the pasture, it was not uncommon to see her out there jumping on her own -- completely freestyle. People can say racehorses don't love to run or are not born to run, but I disagree. All you have to do is watch Angel jump something and you know that she truly loves it, so why can't racehorses love running?

Angel freestyle jumping.

One of the things I always considered myself lucky was, you couldn't tell when Angel was in season, as in ovulating. I've heard stories and I've witnessed mares that are purely witchy when in season. All they care about is not what you want them to care about and because they don't pay attention to the handler they are easily spooked and can kick out or bite. Under-saddle, I've heard its not even worth your time trying to ride them, you just can't gain their attention long enough to get any work done. Angel was never a moody mare in the sense of being nasty to ride, she was all business all the time. I just couldn't go changing my mind on distances or expecting her to carry me if we chipped in while jumping. In fact, to this day, the only way you know when she's in season is by her frequent 'potty' breaks.

On the ground was a different matter, as I've said before, Angel is truly an independent horse and has little use for humans or Dino and Sancho for that matter. She's still not moody, just a tough cookie and she truly has mellowed with age. Except when it come to blanketing. She will still nail you (or me, in this case) if you mess with her blanket. The last time my farrier was out he touched Angel's blanket up by the withers. Immediately Angel's eyes narrowed and her ears went flat back. Don't know what it is, but I think everytime she has bitten me it was over blanketing.

Even with all those injuries, freak accidents, and personality quirks, I look at Angel now and remember all the good times, 14-years worth. We know each other better than anyone, there are no secrets between us - just raw thoughts, emotions with no self interest; its a pure relationship. I look at her now and I still see this beautiful-amazing creature. This creature that is so smart, sometimes too smart for her own good, you show her something once and she'll do it herself the first chance she gets. What I don't see is this broken down animal, which is the reality. I remember in her 'glory' days she was so big that she wore an 80/82" blanket, and now her in twilight years she wears a 75". Her girth was a 52" and now she could probably wear a 48". I have to constantly remind myself now that I can no longer live in the past and rehash what was, instead I have to live in the present and cherish what time I have left with my Angel. And really, isn't that what's all about? Always being in the present and appreciative of what you have?

Angel and I enjoying some quality time.

As for 'Andrea', my friend, Katie, leased her for that summer and gave her the show name: Russian Roulette. Horse-people really do have a sick twisted sense of humor, don't they? When Angel was out for an injury and Katie had gone home for a few days, it was I who got to keep Andrea in work. As I had already mentioned, she had a buck no one could stay on....well that's not exactly true. She never got me off, she tried though, boy did she try, but I stayed on and I was the only rider to have ever done so.

Ahhh, to be young and stupid again, with a touch of stickability. :P

You want something? Don't wish for it.

You know how they say, if you want something bad enough, wish for it and it'll come true? Well it's ALL hogwash. You see, I've been wishing for wonderful riding weather. Wishing for it with all my might. What did I get instead? Rain. In fact, I have been able to work Dino since April 13! Which is why the blog has been so quiet. How was he prior to that? Doing pretty good, he was just starting to show signs of Losgelassenheit -- looseness in his back. I could visually see him swinging in his back, and let me tell you, it got me so excited! For a dressage horse, it is one of the hardest things to truly achieve. With this, Dino was also really starting to come over his back, engage his hindquarters while using them more effectively beneath him. A lot of racehorses, they, obviously, don't know how to properly use their body. So when they trot, they kind of just go up and down on their hind legs like a pogo stick. To make them more engaged, loosen their back and have a connection is really a step forward in the right direction.

But then it started raining...and it hasn't stopped!

So what else has Dino been up to? Remember a few posts back when I said Dino really doesn't have anyone in his corner? We can emphasis that now. On April 7, Dino managed to kick off Angel's stall door.

What happened was simple (and completely my fault). Angel, for whatever reason, has decided that she doesn't like the timothy grass anymore and was literally starving herself over it. So I went out and bought $4 alfalfa hay, but I'm still mixing it with the old hay. Doesn't really do me any good, Angel just shifts through it and scatters it in her stall. I don't want to waste it, so when I clean stalls I pull Angel out of hers, put Dino in there and I'll then clean Dino's stall while he finishes up her hay.

Angel's a smart girl, too smart. She knows how to open and close her stall door, open the grain barrel, the pasture gate, etc., among other things. This is were it becomes my fault. I've shown her how to do the first two things, after that she started to figure things out.

So I'm in Dino's stall, he's in Angel's stall and Angel's loose in the barn. My back is turned and out of the corner of my eye, I see Angel open her stall door and enter. Before I could even do anything, Dino started kicking. I don't know how Angel escaped unscathed, but poor Dino didn't. He actually kicked Angel's stall door off, and I'm talking the 4x6 that the door was hinged to split right down the middle and the door itself, landed 4' in front of the opening! How do I know the distance, because it cleared the 4x6 rubber mat in front of Angel's stall door.

At first, I didn't even see if Dino had any cuts on him. I thought he had injured his patella by the way he was holding his leg, and the fact he was hopping around on three legs. The patella is the knee cap and on a horse and is located at the stifle, the juncture where the hing leg meets the belly. When the patella has slipped out of place, it will move over the joint locking the leg. The best way to remedy this is to either a)back the horse up or b)pick up the hind leg, stretching it back until the horse pulls it forward. I opted for option (a) and backed Dino up to see if it popped back into place, if that was the problem. It wasn't. Then I discovered the bleeding right at his left hock. It was a good abrasion. I cleaned it up and managed not to get kicked. Yay me! Last year, while I was at WEG, I purchased a bottle of Well-Horse and I am so glad I did! It really came in handy and I'm happy to report, the product lived up to its claim. Dino's leg healed within two weeks with new hair growth. I should also mention, that Dino's entire left hind stocked up but a little DMSO cleared that up within a few days as well. I just swear by DMSO.

So without further adieu, and for your viewing pleasure, the pictures:

Angel's stall door (top), right where it landed, four feet in front of her stall. Dino's back left hock (bottom), the day after the incident.


In other good news, Dino has two projects in the works. Along the lines of National, and not just me writing here, publication. Stay tuned! ;)

In like a lion, out like a lamb

Don't you love these little weather idioms? The only one I actually like is: "A dry March and wet May, fill barns and bays with corn and hay." Not so much an idiom, but a lovely little rhyme that fills my heart...and lessens my pocketbook. But what can you do? But FINALLY, the weather has broke and the ground has dried, which can only mean one thing: back to work for Dino (and I). HA, a little rhyme. :P

We started back to work yesterday morning and it couldn't have gone better. I have to say, I had very little hope of getting anything accomplished, but Dino proved me wrong, and re-enforced the theory that horses do in fact have wonderful memories, by remembering his lessons from last year. For one, Dino walked when asked and did very little jigging. It wasn't until I made a conscious mental note he was walking that he started jigging (murphy...), but came back as soon as I asked him. So yay!

This was a very simple work/lesson, no need to over due it on the first day and risk injury. So we walked for 10 minutes in one direction, long and low, and then trotted for two minutes before changing direction and repeating. We ended on a high note when Dino halted when asked. Again, yay!

One might think: why are you so excited for something so trivial? Au contraire. Nothing is ever trivial when it comes to horses and their training, or this case reconditioning. Nothing is worse than a suspensory or tendon injury in a horse, I know...her name is Angel.

Shortly after I got Angel in April 1997, she suffered an injury to her superficial digital flexor tendon, that's the tendon below the skin and lies against the canon bone from the back of the knee to the fetlock. Angel's injury occurred just below the knee with the tendon fibres tearing. How this happened, I don't know. She could have overstretched the tendon while jumping, i.e., landing after a jumping forcing her fetlock down; she could have been overworked that day, when a horse is fatigued everything in them is fatigued and fatigued tendons loose their elasticity making them more susceptible to strain and injury; or she simply just was not in good enough condition for the workload and therefore her tendons and ligaments where not strong enough to handle the increased stress. In the end, Angel was injured and originally out a couple of months, which didn't work and she ended up being out of commission for 18 months.

So the lesson for the moment: 1)make sure your horse is properly protected from leg injuries, nothing beats a good polo wrap (IF you know how to apply them) if not good work boots that protect their legs. 2)if your horse is tired, what are you gaining by forcing them to continue working? NOTHING. So stop it! I am a big fan of walk breaks, frequent walk breaks. 3)gradually work up to a fitness level. Have a thought out plan on how you are going to get your horse and you back into shape, and have patience. It takes a lot of time to get a horse back into even a moderate workload after being off for the season or from an injury.

Of course I have a plan, I've been fretting over it for weeks now, just chopping at the bit to get back into the ring. Will the plan actually work? Well, that's a totally different question. But hopefully, weather permitting, he will be worked, no more, than 5 days a week and at least 3 days a week.

Week 1: work up to walking 20 minutes with two sets of 2 minute trots
Week 2: work up to walking 30 minutes with two sets of 5 minute trots
Week 3: same as above, add in large serpentines to prepare for flexion and suppleness
Week 4: walking 45 minutes with two sets of 15 minute trots, continue with serpentines adding in loops
Week 5: same as above, add in leg-yields
Week 6: same as above, increase trot time to two sets of 20 minute trots
Week 7: same as above, add two sets of 5 minute canters
Week 8: increase walking to 60 minutes, two sets of 20 minute trots, two sets of 10 minute canters
Week 9: walking 60 minutes, 30 minutes continuous trotting with direction change, two sets of 15 minute canters (if needed)
Week 10: same as above, start asking for impulsion

In the beginning it is not important to use my corners, I will instead work on an oval shape as Dino will be stiff. As the weeks go by and his fitness level increases, going into the corner and becoming supple will be asked. Working on downward transitions are important, especially coming off the canter.

GOAL: first horse show on June 18 and FDCTA camp, July 6-9. Between week 10 and the horse show four weeks later, will allow time to work on the test. I have not yet decided on what level we will show at, Intro or Training Level. Anyone who rides a horse should be able to show at Intro, it is only a walk and trot test with 9 - 13 'movements'. The idea is the horse should be ridden in a light and steady contact. Training Level is walk-trot-canter and has 13 - 16 'movements'. The goal here is show the horse is supple, moves freely, maintains a steady rhythm and accepts contact with the bit. I would feel better with Intro, but in all honesty, I should show at Training Level. We shall see.

After camp I hope to show Dino two more times, so it will make for three shows plus camp this year for us. I'd say that is very feasible, however, nothing is more important than having everything be a positive experience for Dino. At any time we can take several steps back and when we do, we will just regroup and try again!

Howdy!

Compensation

Ralph Waldo Emerson believed that all things are balanced by their opposites. Darkness by light, cold by heat, loss by gain. With that thought, pictures from this past winter (while waiting for the ground to dry).

Dino is always pestering Angel, February 2, 2011.

Angel eating snow, don't know why, February 2, 2011

"You caught me!"

Sancho in a snowstorm, December 13, 2010.

Sancho cantering in the snow, December 13, 2010.

Dino trotting in the snow, December 13, 2010.

Dino being nosy, February 2, 2011

An Empty Corner

My farrier came out this morning to trim everyone's hooves. Dino was first and he had been good all morning with me, so I didn't think much of it. But he kicked at my farrier. Three times. And then charged him when he was back in his stall. He then did the same thing to me, which he hasn't done in about a year. You know, right about now, Dino doesn't have anyone in his corner.

I was thinking about this last night; we've simply gotten use to having two seniors that have been there done that, two seniors who are quiet and don't give much trouble. But, as I reminded my Dad, they weren't always that way.

Angel was a tough horse. I remember just to clip her you'd place her in cross ties, have a chain over her nose, someone would ear twitch her, someone else would hold onto the lip twitch and she'd still be fighting. And man, when she got mad her big brown eyes would just glow red with fury. She was the complete stereotypical (Chestnut mare, beware) package of a chestnut thoroughbred mare with a double swirl; pretty, feisty, head strong, brave, tough, hot, etc.

Riding Angel was an adventure, then AND now. She is the perfect example on why you shouldn't over jump a jumper, instead spend about 95% of the time on the flat and only 5% over jumps. She was nearly impossible to flat, went in a simple egg-butt snaffle - I'd say it was a heavy weight snaffle, very thick. She was always behind the vertical, meaning that she carried her nose just off her chest, kind of like someone who's using too much draw rein. I think I had her atleast a week before I ever cantered her. Boy did she have a stride on her, scared the crap out of me!! An average horse's stride is about 12', Angel's was closer to 14', so it made jumping more difficult. At the end of that first week my trainer at the time, Beth, told me I had the weekend to learn how to canter her...or else! 'Or else' was the silent threat that I was loosing something, probably my stirrups, but I did learn.

When it came to jumping Angel, there was no going back. If the line was a straight forward six strides, I may ask, at the last minute, for seven. Inevitable, we'd chip in which is a big no-no. Angel didn't play that game. If I committed to that six strides, it was six strides. If I tried to see-saw her into seven, she'd make it five. Angel had experience showing in the Level Five classes (3'9" - 4'), she knew more than I. A lot more. So I really needed to let her teach me. She always took care of me and never had a stop in her. No matter the distance I put her at a jump or the angle, she tried. Even if her ears were flat back and her tail swishing angrily.

On the ground, Angel could be sweet as strawberry pie one minute and angry as a hornet the next. She just had no use for people and when you bothered her too much, watch out! Angel took people, including myself, in doses and was truly an independent horse. When I brought Sancho home, we had them in the pasture together. I was holding Sancho and Dad had Angel, we were just letting them touch noses. There was something about the look in Angel's eyes that made me warn Dad, "You better step back..." and that was all I got out because at that very moment, she lunged open mouth for Sancho's jugular! To this day, I don't think she'd care if Sancho or Dino disappeared never to be seen again. She'd probably enjoy the peace and quiet!*lol*

Señor Sancho is a different character all together. You don't find Paso Finos bred like him anymore and if you do, you're shelling out some money. Pasos today, I really don't like. They look very weak in the loin and croup, and appear to become strung out while gaiting. Sancho's just bred so nicely, but maybe I'm just biased. ;) Even at 23, Sancho still has brio, meaning controlled energy or spirit. I must of had Sancho two or three years before he ever walked under-saddle, it was always go-go-go. In hand, Sancho's respectful. Most of the time atleast. He has his 'stupid' moments. But he's a typical Paso; he's got brio, he strives to please, is very willing, responsive, etc. But he still has his moments, those stupid frustrating moments, I just want to rip my hair out moments, moments thinking to myself, muttering to him, screaming/yelling across a field: "I'M GOING TO KIIILLLLL YOOOOUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!! It happens. I can only imagine what my neighbors think...probably why they don't talk to me. Whatever, let them deal with that nut job.

Back to Dino, Dino who is relatively young, feisty, tough, hot, head-strong, athletic, and can test one's patience...

By George, I'VE GOT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! He's Angel and Sancho all rolled into one!

Sh*t. I am soooo screwed.