Give me your Heart

The worst part about being fifty-two is that my body takes it's sweet time healing.  My brain still thinks in teenager time frames so I am annoyed.  In my head, I think my toe should be healed, happy and ready to ride but the reality is that I'm sitting on the couch waiting, waiting, waiting. 

Poor Brett, he had to get up at 4:00 this morning to do the chores before leaving for work.  I felt guilty staying in bed until 6:30 and then doing nothing more strenuous than closing the windows in the house and turning on the espresso machine.

Record heat and monsoon afternoons continue.  Highs have been bumping against the 100F mark with humidity above 50%.  Around 2:00 storm clouds blow in from the desert and we hear thunder.  Saturday we even had some light rain which brought the temperature down to 85F.  I sat outside on the porch and drank in the wet garden smells and the sound of the raindrops spattering on the parched plants. 

I've been writing a lot of poetry as I sit idle on the couch.  I'm sure this would be easier if I were a TV or movie person, but I'm not.  Here's a short piece I wrote about Starman and Auke.  The title is a reference to the form of the poem, not the content.  This form, the sevenling, requires that there be no formal title.  rules, rules.

Sevenling (Starman)

Starman had short stumpy legs,

arthritis in his hooves, and a frizzy red mane.

My Friesian had long black legs,

a flowing mane, and flashing hooves.

Starman gave me his heart;  I sold the Friesian.

I Got an Auke Update!

Two years ago I sold Auke to this wonderful young woman.  She came out to California from Nebraska with her trainer to try him.  They arrived on a hot day in October and went to the barn where Auke was in  training.  He never did well in the heat.  He didn't do well for her that afternoon.  My trainer called me and said she was sure that the girl, Sarah, was going to decline.

But they came back the next morning.  They wanted to meet me and Sarah wanted to try riding Auke again, in the cool of the morning.  I was impressed with Sarah.  She was a tall, serious teenager with a good seat.  She had YR dreams and she wanted Auke to be her partner.  He was good for her that morning and a few weeks later I put Auke on a trailer bound for Nebraska.  She had stocked up on A & W Rootbeer, pending his arrival. 

 They spent the first year getting to know each other.  Auke is a very talented horse but he is a difficult ride.  I prayed that she would figure him out.  At shows, he had trouble keeping all four feet on the ground.  But, she persevered.   She has a good trainer and she takes him to clinics.  She's worked very hard and she hasn't given up.

A few days ago, she sent me a message on FaceBook:

Hey Annette I just wanted to give you an update on how things are going with Auke. He got fourth at regionals at second level and is ranked first for jr/yr friesian breed. He was perfect this season. We are starting third level movements this fall. He has become a real apple lover....

I am so happy, so relieved, so proud.   

 

Auke

I've been working on a page for my blog about Auke, the horse I had previous to Jackson.  Like Starman, he was an important horse to me although in a completely different way.  So my post today is an announcement that his page is up.  If you are interested in his story, the part of his story that he spent with me, click on his name at the top of the page.

Mirror, Mirror

Kate, who writes the blog "A Year with Horses"  http://ayearwithhorses.blogspot.com/ , posted a very thought provoking piece about horses and how they do or don't reflect the personality of their owners.  I've been discussing this with myself most of the day and have come up with the following.

Mr. Mike was my first horse.  He was a 13 yo OTTB.  We were still  living in suburbia when I bought him.  I was taking lessons at a schooling barn so I could learn to ride correctly.  I had access to a horse when I was a teenager but mostly I rode her bareback, racing my best friend and jumping logs.  I knew how to stay on and not much else.  Mr. Mike was thin and out of shape when I purchased him in 2000.  He was a horrible fit.  He was aggressive, bordering on mean -- okay, he was mean without borders.  I got dumped, cracked a helmet, and he tried to kick me while I was on the ground... you get the picture.  I traded him after two years for a little Paint horse named Starman.  I was desperate to get rid of him.  I think he was an aspiration horse.  I thought I wanted to jump.  I thought I wanted a hot horse.  I was so wrong.  I was so not 16 anymore.

Starman lived in the stall next to Mr. Mike.  He was a lesson horse but he hated it.  He wanted to belong to someone.  He tried to intimidate the students and was successful, even though he was only 15h.  But, we liked each other and I started bringing him treats when I went to the barn.  When our trainer offered a swap I took it even though I thought I looked dumb on such a little horse.  I had lost all my confidence and for the first time in my life I was scared to ride.  Starman, being short, was not scary.  Plus he was fat and out of shape and couldn't even canter.  He was safe.  We finished building our house that year (2002) and moved Starman and Flash up to the new barn.  Starman tried to learn dressage - but he had been a western show pony in his youth so he never did more than jog the pattern.  Here we are at our first show -- first for both of us:

Starman wasn't very brave and he was opinionated.  Either he liked you or he didn't and he never changed his mind.  He loved me and he gave me all his heart and all his try.  He had a wonderful rocking horse canter.  Starman also loved my daughter.  When he became too arthritic to carry me comfortably, I gave him to her.  She would ride him once in awhile but mostly they just hung out together.  This is my favorite picture of them:

We lost Starman in March of this year.  I still miss him.  We were both grumpy and opinionated and fiercely loyal to those we love.

In 2004, I bought another aspiration horse.  I had regained my confidence, thanks to Starman, and I wanted to be a dressage queen.  Brett and I found a 4 yo Friesian that we had to have.  Auke was tall, with beautiful conformation, a puppy dog face, perfect gaits and natural rhythm.  But we were not compatible.  He was an extrovert who thrived on attention.  He was arrogant, proud, alpha (but not mean) and demanded perfection from his rider.  With my trainer, he was poetry in motion.  With me, he was total frustration.  I learned a lot and I don't regret the five years spent with him.   It was also difficult to take him on the trail.  He would spook at little pebbles or lines in the dirt.  He would piaffe if I tried to hold him back...  it was a lot of work and not much fun.

In 2009, I put him in full training at my trainer's barn.  He excelled but it was doggone expensive.  I ended up selling him to a young rider in Nebraska with tons of talent and FEI dreams.  I hope he takes her there.

While Auke was in training, I decided to look for a trail horse.  I missed trail riding with Brett and it was clear that Auke wasn't coming home.  He was too talented to be hanging out up in the mountains with us.  I found Jackson and fell in love with his soft eye and goofy expression.  When I brought him home, he met all my expectations for a trail horse.  I can take him anywhere:

I started playing with him in the arena, trying to teach him some basic aids.  He loved it.  He tried his heart out and when I asked him to do something he didn't know, he threw me everything in his book trying to find the answer.  He made me laugh and I realized that he was all I needed.  I didn't need a big fancy Friesian to do dressage.  I could teach Jackson and we would have fun.  Jackson is my once-in-a-lifetime horse.  If he is treated with respect and compassion, he will try anything.  He is honest.  He never quits.  He loves to be pampered.  Neither of us likes to be cold.  We're both level headed and quiet.  We don't like being the center of attention, but we have high expectations of ourselves.  Like me, he gets cranky and tense if he doesn't understand something and we are both excessively pleased with ourselves when we get it right.

And last, but certainly not least, is Brett's horse Flash.  I bought Flash for Brett in 2002 and they have been inseparable since.  I asked Brett to tell me the ways in which they are similar.  He said they are both bullies and they are both belligerent.  Those aren't the traits I was going to highlight, but it is true.  They are also both playful and they both get bored easily.  All the sensory training that they do for mounted patrol suits both of them.  They are co-dependent in some ways as well.  Until recently, they leaned on each other during dressage training.  Brett has learned to be lighter in his hands and Flash has stopped hanging on the reins and falling on his forehand.  They do still mess with each other though.  Flash is aloof and likes to be left alone.  Brett goes into his stall or the pasture and cleans off eye goobers or whatnot.  It annoys the heck out of Flash.  He gets even though.  When Brett works on projects in the pasture, Flash takes the keys out of the tractor ignition or steals tools.  Just last week, he dropped Brett's hammer into the pond.

What has been your experience with the horses in your life?