Good Night, Sweet Prince

Monday was a very sad day for all of us out at Blue Wave Stable.We lost the wonderful Friesian named Black, who I just wrote about a couple of weeks ago, to colic. It happened so fast, it's hard to believe, and it's taken me a couple of days to be able to even think about for more than a few minutes without melting into an ugly cry.

I know I talk, on here and in real life, about how Skye is the prettiest horse there is, but even I recognize that there are some horses who stop everyone in their tracks. Black was one of those. He was the big black horse that people think of when they hear those words, large as most Friesians are, probably at least 17 hands, and so black he seemed more solidly in the world than other horses. He was so beautifully put together that a sculptor making the ideal horse couldn't have done it better. I see horses all the time, yet whenever I dealt with Black, I'd be amazed at him. He was that beautiful.

Here he is. He's the one getting the pets, as he was clearly the boss of
these two. I called them the Incredibles.

Erin rescued him from a life that had been spent for seven long years in a stall. I don't know the details, but I believe his owner had loved him and cared for him at one time, but had a back injury and let him languish while she keep thinking she would recover. She finally called Erin, who went and got him, and you could tell Black never forgot it. If you were standing with him and he heard her voice, he'd turn toward it, looking for her. In recent months, Erin had restricted who could ride him and started riding him more herself, for her own pleasure for a change. You could tell he loved getting more time with her, as he dropped some of his normally regal reserve even when she wasn't around.

He'd always been a little aloof with me, which is unusual since most animals, dogs and horses especially, have my number in a matter of seconds. But the evening he knocked down the rails in the round pen he showed me his mischievous side, and I was utterly charmed by him from then on, and he definitely knew it. I'm glad I have helped out feeding as much as I have lately, as I would go out of my way to try to get him or put him back just to be in his presence. Those few encounters are so precious to me now.

Up close and personal. You can see the mischief here.

He was a blast to ride as well, smart and well-trained, but you had to keep alert because if he sensed you would not control him, he would have his way with you. He was so naturally good natured this generally meant turning in to the middle of the ring instead of staying on the rail, but you knew you weren't on a pushover, so when he did what you asked, you knew you had accomplished something.

Apparently he was found rolling and obviously in pain on Friday and despite repeated visits to the vet, mineral oil treatments, fluids and the best care they could give him, he developed an impaction that would not budge. He was not a good candidate for surgery as he was 20 years old, and so when he was in pain, they put him down on Monday to spare him.

A horse would be hard-pressed to have had  a happier life than he has in the last few years, leading a laid back existence as the king of his own little herd, and respected and adored by a horde of people, but it still seems so unfair.

About a month ago, Erin led a trail ride on him, and as she was coming by, she rode by the barn on him. She was smiling, and he was stepping out beautifully. It was such a lovely picture of a woman and her horse enjoying each other. I am keeping that picture in my mind, even as I cry thinking about the loss.

It was privilege to know him, I just wish my acquaintance could have lasted so much longer.

A prince among horses.

Horse Heaven

Unlike me, who falls utterly in love with every horse I encounter, my trainer Sara is a tougher customer.  She prefers to think of herself as more of a connoisseur, but still, her standards are very high.  (She will even say, out loud, that Skye is not perfect. So you see, she is tough.) So I was interested to hear what she considered her favorite horses. I expected her to say a Warmblood of some kind, as we will often admire Nigel together as Carey goes cantering past on him. Instead she said she likes Spanish horses, such as PRE's, Andalusians and Lusitanos. As it happens, I have also been reading various books on balancing your horse and improving your relationship through liberty work and several of the authors mention how much they love the Spanish type horses.

This is Rayo. He has the
classic Lusitano head. He has
tipped me over into loving
grey horses. He's stunning.

So I did a little searching to see where I might get to see some, and lo and behold there is a renowned breeder of Lusitanos in Siler City, North  Carolina. Even better, Siler City is between Charlotte and Raleigh, so I could stop in on my way home from taking the dastardly test in Raleigh last week.  So I e-mailed Victoria Morris of Don E Mor Farms, and she  said she would be happy to let me visit. I got there a little late because of a traffic tie up in Raleigh, but it was totally worth the drive.


To learn more about Lusitanos and see Don E Mor's  jaw-droppingly gorgeous website, go to:

www.donemor.com

While the farm and the horses are so impressive, Victoria could not have been more down to earth and welcoming. My Quarter Horse Appendix-owning self felt perfectly at home.


The farm itself was so beautiful, with post and rail fencing, rolling hill pastures and tall trees everywhere, and that's before you even get to the horses. If I were to run away from home, this is probably where you could find me.

It was cloudy, so the color isn't as vibrant, but it's just lovely.

Lusitanos are famous not only for being beautiful, but for their docile and friendly personalities, and I have to say, that was definitely evident in these horses. Victoria mentioned that temperament was one of her most important, if not the most important, consideration in her breeding program, and you could really tell. We visited pasture after pasture and each small herd would meet us at the fence, ready for affection. Kind eyes and sweet expressions on every one.

Look at those sweet eyes.
Not that I can be won over by that kind of thing.

I got to see a couple of her stallions, and I fell hard for her buckskin stallion Lavrador. Absolutely gorgeous color, beautiful conformation, and the same kind eye and affectionate personality. Granted, I'm such a horse lover that I'm easy to impress, but even the toughest customer would see he is something special. And his offspring carry his qualities forward, as the babies at Don E Mor are just  beautiful and sweet.

The welcoming committee!
Every herd was this friendly. I just love their personalities.

 I don't often wish for things I don't have (other than more free time) but I was wishing I had a horse farm and plenty of money to spend when I was there, as there wasn't just one but several horses I would have loved to bring home with me.

I'd be happy to take these two off her hands.
Because I'm generous that way.

Of course, who won my heart the most? Shocking news: a bay mare! After perusing the website before I went there, I thought I would come away dying for a buckskin gelding, as I have such a weakness for buckskins and I have this image of a Lusitano buckskin gelding in my mind . . . . But instead, I met this girl . . . .

This is Isabel. She loved me too; I just
know it. Look at that face.

Which of course reminded me that I am so lucky to have the horse that still makes me feel like I am rich, as I still haven't seen the horse that I like the look of better than that red mare of mine. Not that my head can't be turned by a buckskin baby or two.

His color is like burnished gold.

So the good news is, I know exactly where to go when I come into money and it's burning holes in my pocket!  Whenever I have visited a breeding farm and seen the breed, I've been impressed and able to see why the people fell in love with the breed they raise (such as Icelandic horses or Rocky Mountain Horses) but with these, I definitely became a believer. I just loved them.

Not as much as this girl though. There's no point in being silly.

She had me at "let me eat this grass."

Go Go Girl

Ahhhh, now that I have my stupid specialty exam behind me (I took it Friday. All day Friday. Ugh), I can now get back to avoiding cleaning my house by writing my blog instead of worrying about my exam. Not that my minor worrying about the exam made me study for the exam, but it did distract me.

But I am back, and I am back in the saddle on my girl. Something Buck Brannaman said at his clinic struck a chord with me.  He said groundwork is important, and we should not neglect it, if we need it, but we shouldn't hide behind it either. We can only get so far on the ground before we have to get on. So I made a vow now that she is sound again that I need to ride her more and get back to the progress we had made before I went to camp.

So I have been riding her, and having a hell of a good time. I rode her on a Sunday afternoon, and though she was really ready to go, and wanted to trot and not walk, we reached an agreement early on in the ride that I was going to let her trot, but if she wanted to work, we would work. So we did figure eights, we did big circles, we did small circles, we did serpentines and went over ground poles. We did a clover leaf around barrels and we stopped and backed up and started trotting again. After all that, I asked for, and got a nice walk around the arena. And when I got off, she followed me just like a puppy out of the arena and into the barn.

The following Tuesday however, was a whole 'nother story. There was a nip in the air and a slight wind, and all the horses seemed riled up. I did a little lunging but not much because the arena had two lessons with beginners going on, and these two new sweeties were in the round pen:

Meet Copper and Winston, new additions to the
barn membership program. Yes, as a matter of fact they are
awesome.

Even though that girlfriend was a little touchy, I didn't want to hide behind my groundwork, and frankly it was just a beautiful night to ride, so I got on. Well, that red mare was READY TO GO. She wanted to trot almost immediately, but I kept her from trotting for at least a little while, then I just let her go. And she was going fast, and unlike recently, she hollowed her back again and had her head up and had none of the nice rhythm we'd had. Okay, though, I posted slower and put her in circles and figure eights, but finally went down the straightaway on the rail, and she just burst into a fast canter, and leaned in around the curve. She was on the correct lead and actually on her weak side, so I had to admire her spirit (and let's face it, fast is fun!), but I couldn't have her cantering around like a mad thing, thinking she could ignore me. So I brought her back down to a trot and worked in smaller and smaller circles moving her feet around, then finally getting a nice relaxed walk before calling it a night. I was a little discouraged, but all the horses were in a weird mood. I remembered the first days of fall at the barn where I grew up riding and how all the horses would run around in the pasture, so I decided not to let it bother me. And though she was feisty, then, as always, I never felt like she was trying to get rid of me. She just wanted her own way. Which is something I can understand even if I can't let her get away with it.

Here she is after being a wild thing.
Don't be fooled by that sweet expression.
She is not actually an angel in a horse suit.
Or so Sara tells me.

As it turns out, I was right not to overreact. (Sadly, overreacting is rarely the right thing to do, even though it is so nice and easy to do.) When I rode Skye again over that next weekend, she wanted to go, but not so badly that she didn't want to listen. Then on Tuesday I rode again, and I had one of the best rides I've ever had on her. She relaxed her head and neck much more, contained her trot to a nice easy rhythm and was very responsive to my leg and did not avoid nor lean into my light contact. Bravo, I thought, then quit while I was ahead.

Scarface. Who else could have scars front and center
like that and still be so beautiful?

And, as it happened that night, Craig was riding the beautiful Symphony that night. Symphony is a gorgeous and very well-trained American Warmblood who Erin bought to save for a girl to buy back one day. She is a great horse, and only advanced folks can ride her. I remarked that I'd like to ride her trot some time, since it is legendary for being so smooth. Craig said "do it now!"  So I said yes! And I hopped up on that pretty girl and walked a little and trotted a little. And her trot is amazingly smooth, and much easier to sit than to post to. This cannot be sad about my girl's trot. Yet, I did have to keep Symphony going. It didn't take much, but still, it made me miss the willingness to go forward that Skye has.  Symphony was great, but I still like my girl better. Shocking news.