The first week...
Jane Saranac
And in that time....
Chance is now affectionately known as Atticus;
His nickname, christened by a friend due to his sweet eye and general
mush-tolerance, is Kiss;
He is better and better (lighter and more self carriage) every day;
You can sit his trot all day;
He is straight, and steers well;
His transitions between walk and trot are superb (canter still needs work);
My trainer pronounced him a pleasure to ride and train;
The first day he didn't "get" backup and by the third day he was a backup
machine;
He definitely has a brain;
He's brave to almost everything new, and the most he has done is snort a
little bit and get looky but then he Follows Orders;
He's a week Fitter and a week Lighter (he arrived w/ about 150 lbs to lose);
He is a gem at the mounting block and in tacking up;
He totally gets "stand";
He has a great work ethic and looks happy, with his ears forward and a
relaxed way, even when cantering which is his weakest gait;
He has made friends with a ton of the other horses over the fence;
He's quite a gentleman in his stall, for a horse who wasn't in one until
three weeks ago;
He wore his first blanket like a prince, without fuss, only it is _just_ an
84 so is a tad too small (the 86 is on order<g>);
I got a baby picture in which he's almost 2 and already huge;
I found out his mama was a large gray registered Perch named Hilltop Meadow
Lady;
He loves carrots and treats but knows not to be a pig;
After the first day in which he resisted a bit, he has been great with
picking his feet and his feet are in wonderful shape;
I am back to coming to the barn excited to ride <g>.
Today was a 2-horse day, in fact, and it was great fun.
I am SOOOOOOO thankful for this horse!
Tara
news:7lk7bbF...@mid.individual.net...
That is awesome! I can't remember if you said in your original post but how
old is he? My daughter's trainer says its time to start looking for Amie's
next horse and a WB/TB or TB that hasn't raced would be ideal. I'm partial
to Percherons.
Tara
Jane Saranac
"Tara" <irn...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:7ll25vF...@mid.individual.net...
>>
>> I am SOOOOOOO thankful for this horse!
>
> That is awesome! I can't remember if you said in your original post but
> how old is he? My daughter's trainer says its time to start looking for
> Amie's next horse and a WB/TB or TB that hasn't raced would be ideal. I'm
> partial to Percherons.
>
> Tara
but given that the seller had 17 horses to ride as per the vet bills I saw
and only 2 part time riders besides herself, I am guessing he couldn't have
been ridden too often. But a good foundation was definitedly put on him.
I've always been partial to the drafts -- my GF was a logger and had
Percherons or Clydes or Shires or all of the above, my grandmother didn't
know what breed they were and I only remember they were huge. But the TB in
him definitely adds some lightness, refinement and impulsion that makes for
a very nice package.
Tom & Win
> I am back to coming to the barn excited to ride <g>.
>
> Today was a 2-horse day, in fact, and it was great fun.
>
> I am SOOOOOOO thankful for this horse!
>
Wonderful news, wonderful report. I am happy for you.
Winnie
betsey
>
> Today was a 2-horse day, in fact, and it was great fun.
>
> I am SOOOOOOO thankful for this horse!
I'm so glad for you! what does Ari think?? (and how is our girl
feeling???)
Sue Leopold
> So... it's been a week!
>
> And in that time....
<snip>
He sounds wonderful! Just perfect.
But...
Welcome to the world of oversized horsewear, where the
resellers charge a premium for the large sizes. Ouch! :-D
But totally worth it.
Congratulations! Jumping may yet be in your future!
Dawn J-L
> So... it's been a week!
>
> And in that time....
>
> Chance is now affectionately known as Atticus;
> His nickname, christened by a friend due to his sweet eye and general
> mush-tolerance, is Kiss;
> He is better and better (lighter and more self carriage) every day;
> You can sit his trot all day;
> He is straight, and steers well;
> His transitions between walk and trot are superb (canter still needs work);
> My trainer pronounced him a pleasure to ride and train;
> The first day he didn't "get" backup and by the third day he was a backup
> machine;
>
> I am SOOOOOOO thankful for this horse!
Wow. Could he be any more perfect?! You must be walking on air! :-)
--Dawn JL
Dr Corinne B Leek
<jsala...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>So... it's been a week!
>
>And in that time....
>
>Chance is now affectionately known as Atticus;
>His nickname, christened by a friend due to his sweet eye and general
>mush-tolerance, is Kiss;
Sounds like he's an absolutely wonderful beastie!
Congrats!
Corinne & Crazy Canuck Crew...
--
*** Conserve Energy: Laughter is easier than Anger!
*** cl...@ns.sympatico.ca
Judie
> I am SOOOOOOO thankful for this horse!
He sounds lovely. I wish you the best with him.
Judie
Maureen
Draft horses are the best! Holy Cow...he must be HUGE! My Irish WB
wears an 84" and I thought that was big. My dear old Belgian is only
an 81".
Hopefully there will be pics in the near future. Inqiuring minds and
al that..... I love his name also....all the best for you and your
new guy!
Maureen
Jane Saranac
"Tom & Win" <tl...@comporium.net> wrote in message
news:gN-dnXAxycb...@comporium.net...
Thanks Winnie!! I'm really enjoying.
Jane Saranac
"Sue Leopold" <svle...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:1j8t190.1ss509sdaf0x3N%svle...@earthlink.net...
> Jane Saranac <jsala...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> So... it's been a week!
>>
>> And in that time....
>
> <snip>
>
> He sounds wonderful! Just perfect.
>
> But...
>
> Welcome to the world of oversized horsewear, where the
> resellers charge a premium for the large sizes. Ouch! :-D
LOL. I hear you. Pal had a big head, but he's bigger : ).
>
> But totally worth it.
>
> Congratulations! Jumping may yet be in your future!
>
He really is good at it. Me, on the other hand....
Jane Saranac
"Dawn J-L" <tjon...@together.net> wrote in message
news:7cb8dc49-d930-43ca...@j4g2000yqe.googlegroups.com...
>>Wow. Could he be any more perfect?! You must be walking on air! :-)
I really am. In fact he is so wonderful that (cynic that I am) I keep
waiting for the other shoe to drop.... I keep thinking, he can't really be
this wonderful, can he?? Is it possible???? But so far, he really is. He's
passed every test we've given him, to date. So naturally that does worry me
<g>.
Jane Saranac
"betsey" <twox...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:04a81379-3c57-4123...@j9g2000vbp.googlegroups.com...
course, she loves him. She also loves that he is a big moosh. She'll loves
him even more, when she can ride him, though. I had the most awesome ride
tonight in the indoor -- there was a trail course set up (simple, just a few
obstacles) and we did it, and he got everything so easily. No spook at all.
I do love this horse.
Ari is ouchy on the foot, bearing weight, but the ugly purple bruising went
away so she is slowly building up calf muscle again, and that's a good
thing. Slowly but surely, she'll be just fine.
Jane Saranac
"Dr Corinne B Leek" <cl...@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:ljvbf512eh17418v6...@4ax.com...
> On Fri, 6 Nov 2009 22:20:11 -0500, "Jane Saranac"
> <jsala...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>>So... it's been a week!
>>
>>And in that time....
>>
>>Chance is now affectionately known as Atticus;
>>His nickname, christened by a friend due to his sweet eye and general
>>mush-tolerance, is Kiss;
> Sounds like he's an absolutely wonderful beastie!
> Congrats!
>
above, it makes me nervous <g>.
Jane Saranac
"Judie" <judie.m...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:5698f071-075f-4915...@x5g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
On Nov 6, 7:20 pm, "Jane Saranac" <jsalaci...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I am SOOOOOOO thankful for this horse!
>>He sounds lovely. I wish you the best with him.
Thanks so much Judie. I hope that Axl and Miss Pixie are doing well?
Jane Saranac
"Maureen" <mrsmaur...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:33c1df87-ebc4-4465...@d21g2000yqn.googlegroups.com...
>>Maureen
Thanks Maureen!! Did you see his pictures that I got before I bought him?
on my flickr account, here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jsaranac/
They were taken just two weeks before he came home so it's an accurate
resemblance. I am usually the camera lady but I have been so busy riding
him rather than hanging around taking pictures that I have no other photos
yet. But I will. Once he trims down a bit I will take some new photos.
I am now officially a diehard draft cross fanatic. Of course I love all of
the horses but this guy's temperament, if it is in any way representative,
is just a dream.
Judie
> "Judie" <judie.m.stan...@gmail.com> wrote in message
Pixie is just too easy. I did take her to be evaluated by a Western
trainer who took over a barn I used to frequent back in the early 00s.
It was obvious that Pixie knew what he wanted. He did ride her two
handed and jiggled the rein quite a bit and also did some roll kur for
a few minutes. Then he let her alone. She did the collected slow trot
and lope for him.
She was kind of worried standing at the trailer. We had to park up by
the road in a coldesac next to a KOA camp ground and large rigs would
go by which gave her worry and she moved around quite a bit. At one
point I just kept her moving to see if she would get tired of it and
she sort of did although it could also have been she just settled on
her own. She did not pull back ever though. When she got in the arena
she was fine and did not need any lunging or anythihg.
Pixie has been seen by the Chiro 3 times now and he says she doesn't
need any more work but she is still getting sore on her left front.
She has missmatched feet. The right is a large low heeled "platter"
foot because it is her favorite. I thought she was doing better when I
was riding her 5 times a week but now that I don't have sunlight I
only ride on the weekends. She needed a lot of deworming (per the
chiro) she had tightness in her gut. I did power pac 5 days and then a
month later she needed an additional 2 days. That part seems good now.
She was getting really stocked up in her back legs and had cirulcation
issues but that seems to have been eliviated. She is no longer puffy
there at all. Mostly her left front is a big issue. I need to hook up
with the barn and see when the vet will be there again so she can get
checked but I am not sure if I can do everything they want due to
funds.
She is really fun to ride and is a happy worker and does a lot of soft
blowing. She is a really sweet, sweet mare. And she is comfy to ride.
I put my daughter on her when she visited and she has not ridden in
over 5 years and she was good for her. There were steering issues but
Lauren felt confident and said she was smooth and thought she was a
sweet good horse.
I have been ignoring Axl. He took it out on me Sunday when I rode him
and he bucked like a maniac. Do you think he is jealous? Maybe he is
overfed now that he is not working. So I have cut the amounts down a
little to see. You have to understand his personality is quite
vivacious. He does try to get the upper hand or "get my number" as I
have been told. Our session ended very well with him jumping happily
and calmly but I had to lunge him quite a bit to get all the excess
out.
Judie
Jane Saranac
Responding to myself, since I seemed to be on the lookout for holes <g>....
one of the big gaping ones that he apparently can fall into and need a crane
to get out of, is women <g>. I have had generally awesome rides on him as
has my trainer, since he came, apart from the day after he arrived when he
really wasn't listening to her because of nervousness, distraction, etc.
Last night Freya (named after some kind of sexual Norse goddess) was in the
area. She is a gorgeous selle francais/TB cross and a HUGE flirt (I think
she wears an invisible sign under her tail that the horses can read, that
says "open for business 24/7") and has every male horse in the barn gaga
whenever she walks by. Atticus was turned out next to her all day and got
to chat with her a bit apparently and tonight while my friend was riding
Freya, his mind was completely GONE. He paid attention to me minimally,
enough to get the job done but not enough to make it a good ride. When my
trainer hopped in to do the canter work he fought her tooth and nail to
evade and avoid and be near Freya. It took her a good fifteen minutes of
work to get his mind back on his job. By the end of the ride both of them
were exhausted. So we will have to keep an eye on "the Freya factor" and
work a little harder to retain control in those cases <g>.