Friday, May 7, 2010

Daffodil................Hey, Lady! That's a Stallion





Part 1

I'm not going to tell you that blue ribbons and even red ones aren't a thrill for me because they are. I haven't been doing this so long that ribbons don't mean much BUT they are not my primary goal. That is about getting this horse trained to the level a top notch professional would do. Ribbons are only one measure of that as an accomplishment so they are only part of what gets me excited about showing.

Getting it "right" is as important to me as that darn ribbon. Getting through that select rider class with a clean go meant far more to me than those ribbons. It meant I could take my horse back into a difficult circumstance without the benefit of schooling through it so to speak and still come out the other side. To me, that was a huge milestone. I was floating on air walking back to the barn.

Coming through the door, I ran into that same woman. She was again working on horses in the barn aisle. She spied my ribbons and I'm thinking from her reaction she was beginning to wonder just who I was. We struck up a brief conversation on our way through and she again commented about the manners of my horse.

As we walked a little farther off, I heard her say, "Hey! He's still a stallion!" The surprise in her voice was obvious so I turned to her to nod my agreement. "Yes, he is." and the following conversation ensued.

Her "Is he on regumate?"

Me "Nope"

Her "Has he bred mares?"

Me "Lots"

Her "Not live cover"

Me "Yupe, live cover"

Her "How can that be?"

Me "They have to have manners like this to live at my house."

Her "Who's he by?"

Me "GS Khochise"

Her "What kind of a mare is he out of?"

There in lies the thing that draws serious breeders together in search of that perfect horse and builds relationships. I told her I'd put my horse away and I'd be back so we could talk.

After I got done putting my horse up and getting my clothes changed, I went back to talk with this woman. I found out she'd been a small breeder in the Arabian industry much longer than me and she lived on my side of the state.

She was showing a couple of purebred hunter horses at this show, hence the barn aisle work braiding and unbraiding for classes. Without knowing their pedigrees I'd guess they are somehow related to my horses just by their look. I'm going to check that out later and let you know what I found..........but I might even be willing to bet money on it. They had a look that was very familiar to me.....

We ended up going to the chili bake off together and talking some more about breeding. Mostly she wanted to talk about Legs and his disposition and that of his get. It was clear she just didn't think stallions could be as quiet as Legs. It was clear that Legs had acquired another fan. Before the bake-off was over she had volunteered Legs and I to present the American flag at the evening's opening ceremonies.

I laughed at the thought of my horse scared to death in that arena that afternoon presenting colors at night..........and obviously declined. Boy, could that wreck my afternoon's work in one instant and it could have turned out to be one h*lluva ride. Not that I don't think the day will come when Legs can present colors............it just isn't here YET !

I explained the situation to my new friend and she understood. She was unwavering in her admiration for Legs and his temperament even knowing we were dealing with fear in the ring. Being a long time horse owner she understood they are still horses and sometimes life gets in the way and messes with their heads. She had no doubts that Legs will conquer his fear.........and I'm hoping she's right.

To be continued................

Pink Night


Visit Blog Village and vote daily for this blog Here They are now measuring the rankings by votes out, so if you find my blog on the site, please click that link too to improve my rankings. TY

7 comments:

  1. A new friend, ribbons, and an opportunity to put your horse through his paces. Sounds like time well spent to me :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Spreading the message about how good Legs truly is can mean so much more than winning ribbons in the long run. You are wise to take him to shows and get exposure for him. He is a truly wonderful stallion and needs to be appreciated.
    Wouldn't it be fun to ride the colors one day? I'll bet you will be soon, too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. How wonderful! Leggs obviously has the presence to br noticed and the temperament to boot ! He will one day blow the doors off presenting colors as well!

    ReplyDelete
  4. For a second there I thought you were going to say that you did present the American flag for the ceremonies!
    I think a lot of people misunderstand stallions. They think that they are all wild and out of control. All the stallions at our farm, whether they are breeding or not, are good mannered. That's not to say that there aren't bad stallions out there, I know there are. But there are a lot of really good minded ones and you are lucky to have one of those in Leggs!
    Hopefully one of these days we will see you and Leggs presenting those colors! That would be pretty dang cool!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great story. So happy to hear how well Legs did and that he has another fan. Stallion or not manners are important for every horse, glad your new friend appreciates how good a horse can be now that she's met your boy.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey, I use to exercise a couple of Kochise babies!
    Glad to see a well behaved stallion out there being a great example of how they can behave when handled correctly. Good for you and Legs:)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have to ask, what is Regumate? Is it something given to horses to calm them, or is it something given to Stallions to reduce the hormones racing around their bodies?

    This lady sound like she could be a good friend for you, and even though she has been breeding horses for longer than you, it seems like you can help her to learn something more about these beautiful Arabian horses. Good on you and Legs for showing her that manners can be something that a stallion can have.

    Looking forward to finding out if her horses are related to yours.

    Karren from Australia

    ReplyDelete