Life in the fast lane

Yet again I have been completely lax on this blog. I have been in high gear building the barn, managing contractors and the like. Things are coming along, we moved all the horses over May 15^th. Tomorrow the floors will be poured and the Amish are expected back on Friday to finish up the wood work.

Regal made his move to Training, with a great dressage test in the pouring rain on grass, his score was 27.7 and we scored mostly 8s with a couple of 9s. He was clean XC but unimpressed with stadium pulling 3 rails at all the easier fences, jumped the hard fences well, I can only hope that as he continues to move up and get move impressed with his job this habit will resolve itself. In the meantime I will continue to work on strength and developing the best possible uphill canter to make stadium as easy as possible.

Training horses is coming along well, right now my challenge is finding time to sleep and then ride everyone, but it is going well and all the horses and riders are making good progress. Lily is starting baby jumps. I am really focusing on her canter and head shyness right now. I think she will be slow to mature but, watch out for her when she does! i have enjoyed having some time to school Spiderman again and of course the baby OTTB parade has been fun!

Peri is going for her Pony Club rating this weekend and we will look to move her to Beginner Novice in July.  As the end of the school year rolls around I suspect my teenagers will get into the full swing of show season. Amanda is graduating *sniff* she grew up so fast and will be heading with scholarships to Monmouth in the fall. She will be missed but we are all happy that she will be close enough to come home frequently. 

About 3 runs from being done moving horses and everyone's stuff from the old barn to the new, my truck started making awful noises and I was barely able to drive. Thankfully I was not going fast and was able to pull over with Regal and Lily in tow and get some assistance from friends to get the horses home safe. Turns out my bearings were unhappy, so while in the shop with Kyle and Jim the truck got all new breaks. I hope she is happy as my purse was not...Now if I could only give her a bath we'd be good as new.

The barn has been busy we are welcoming many new boarders and students to the new location and I recently sold Top Position, but he will stay with us as a boarder. This of course means I was free to find another horse to bring in to train and compete. My lovely calm bay gelding was replaced with a red headed mare. She and I got along rather well on our meeting and I am looking forward to turning La Rouge into a top eventer. For those of you that don’t know me, my first horse was a little spitfire red mare called Scolly Square. So this is really just coming full circle just bigger and my training tool box has many more tools.

How to select a horse that has a complimentary personality for a successful partnership with you

There are lots of factors that go into choosing a horse, whether you are leasing or buying. Today, I will explore personality. Much like finding a partner to share your life with, not only do you want to have things in common (i.e both horse and rider want to do the same sport, cross country is not fun on a horse that doesn't like it!) but you must also have a personality match. Horses, like humans have their own characteristics and mannerisms. Some typical classifications:

- Hot: This is a horse that is naturally forward and can easily get "wound up", takes a tactful calm rider to get the most out of this horse.

- Lazy: This is a horse that needs to be encouraged to go forward and do just about anything. This horse can do really well with a more nervous rider.

- Alpha: This is a leader, a horse that likes to be in charge and will be in charge of any horse he/she comes in contact with and will often fight to show it. When you ride them you have to have a delicate balance of being in charge but in a partnership. These personalities are usually best suited for professionals, or a tactful amateur.

- Follower: This is a horse that is a bit more submissive; he/she will join the herd and go with the flow without too much fight. This type of horses enjoys a rider that can be their leader; they will relax and bloom when they are not stressed about being in charge.

- Looky/Spooky: Some horses just notice all the little things going on in life and are more reactive to them. They usually need a rider that can ignore their behaviors and can get on with the ride and someone that has patience and won’t get mad at a horse for their insecurities.

- Sensitive: This horse usually listens the first time or already thinks they know what you are going to ask. They will often get flustered when you use large aids, they want to be asked not told that to do.

None of the above traits are good or bad per say and you will come across all sorts of crosses of the above. One of my favorite horses, Spiderman a Thoroughbred, was a hot but lazy horse. In his case that meant I needed to motivate and engage him even when he felt forward and working, as he was often faking it. Regal on the other hand is more sensitive but mellow and very smart with an inclination to get bored quickly.

Another aspect that will prevent or make a partnership between horse and rider is work ethic. This needs to be examined from both the rider and horse's side. Some horses have great work ethic, they want and are willing to try new things; they learn quickly and do not get too frustrated. Others are a bit slower to learn or quickly get overwhelmed when something new is introduced. I once had a horse in training that would close his eyes and try to lie down when he felt overwhelmed, in his case it was learning to canter. He went on to be a great horse after some more maturing. This I found frustrating as I like a horse that will at least try even if it means fail, rather than an outright "no". But that is My personal preference. The latter horse is best matched with a rider that doesn't mind being a motivator, nearly all the time. Typically some of the draft crosses or Warmbloods (there are several breeds of Warmbloods that are considered more “hot”) fall into this category. The first type of horse can really be matched with nearly everyone, though you have to watch, if the rider is not up for keeping the horses, engaged and interested this horse can quickly get bored and look for fun and exciting ways to spice their rides or barn life up, this is usually in the form of some sort of misbehavior.

So what does this mean to you as the rider? Whenever you meet a new horse, try to take a quick inventory of their traits. Do they come up to you when they are at liberty in their stall or field? Do they make grumpy faces to try and intimidate you? Does the horse require a spur or stick to get forward? Do they spook if anything changes in their daily surroundings? Ask if the horse minds multiple riders or prefers a single rider. Note: A horse that prefers a single rider is usually more sensitive or an alpha personality. Take notes and don’t rely on breed generalizations, horse are individuals too.

When horse shopping or trying a horse for a lease, make a list of what type of horse you like to ride. Make a list of your own characteristics. Then decided what you must have and what secondary requirements are. For example a timid rider should have a bold horse, where as a more aggressive or bold rider can encourage a more timid horse. I often find less mature riders who do not have total control over their emotions do better with a lazier/mellow horse, they often get the more sensitive horses jazzed up with their own emotions. BE HONEST with yourself, if you aren’t, you and the horses will suffer in the end. Your goals will not be reached and frustration will rule.

Lastly, have someone that knows either the horse really well or you as a rider give you an outside opinion. There are so many wonderful horses out there, don't get matched up with the wrong one!

One of my favorite young horses for sale right now:

http://tennantsporthorses.com/horses-for-sale/fernhill-cascum-marco/