Ze Keed Reclaims His Kingdom
Nov. 7th, 2006 03:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancinghorseMy keed is home! He went away to become a Dressage Star, but his genetics defeated him: he inherited bad legs and feet from his father, which even Capria with her Lipizzan legs-like-treetrunks couldn't counteract (or, Why those two are riding stock and not breeding stock, and Why the breeding stock has some serious good-juju genes and structure), and he can't hold up to regular work. So the Wonder Shoer brought him home this morning and tossed him out into the herd. I wouldn't have done that, but the old horseman judged the audience and went for it.
Nobody died. Camilla did try to kill him...from a very safe distance, and there was squealing and galloping and much proof of Why the breeding stock gets to stay breeding stock, at least in the movement-and-charisma department. It shook down into its old pattern: ze keed in charge, Pandora suitably cowed (good; she was getting above herself, and 1400lbs of above herself is a lot of 'tude), Capria back to her preferred position as Alpha Favorite, and the Girlz flurrying around the edges. Camilla still has dreams of moving up, but she'll yield to reality soon enough. Meanwhile, her moves are jaw-droppingly gorgeous, so she's putting on a great show.
Pook is surprisingly calm about all this. There is a fair amount of Shark Week, but he does that anyway when the mares get uppity. Tia and Oreo aren't perturbed at all. Keed had to check out the new little twerp. Twerp said, "Hi! I'm cute!" and that was that.
Twerp is now Halter-Broke(tm). For real this time. He needed his feet trimmed (his first trim), an d we decided to do it right. Wonder Shoer showed me how to end-run around his resistance to having a halter put on: take a big, soft cotton leadrope and sneak it over his nose (easy; I've been de-head-shy-ing him for months), shape it like a halter (over the nose and behind the ears), then slip the real halter on underneath it. Then there was the discovery of work on the lead, at which he did extremely well. He doesn't panic, I've noticed. He may get mad and he will leave the building if given opportunity, but blind freakout isn't in his makeup. He's very Lipizzan in that department. So, in about 15 minutes, we had a colt who can have his halter put on and taken off and then put on again, who will stand when held and who will stand ground-tied(!), and who has a start on the leading thing, which I will continue. Very good mind there. Once he understood what it was all about, he settled down quite quickly. He was ready. As with weaning: long preparation, relatively easy and fast training.
I am glad I took it slow; he came to it in his own time and the race to the finish was very minimally traumatic as a result.
Mind you, when I raise them from birth, all this gets done in the first few hours, but as WS noted, this is how most foals come to their owners or caretakers. Not mine; I've always had babies who knew all this from the start, because I made sure they learned it first thing. I've been spoiled.
At any rate, he is now a Civilized Person, and life is good.
Pooka got his feet trimmed next, out in the run with Tia investigating him curiously and Camilla and Ephiny not ten feet behind him. After a little fussing, he settled down and behaved perfectly. Tough life having a stallion who can stand quietly surrounded by mares.
So now the barn runneth over, and my best bud is back home. I missed him a lot more than I realized.
Meanwhile planning for the big SRS clinic proceeds apace. Teacher and I toured the facility and found it most excellent, the owners and staff are delightful and it will do very well for what we need. We can't use their stabling, unfortunately--January is their busiest time for breeding, and they don't want to risk bringing outside bugs to the mares and stallions, even if they weren't expecting to be full to the rafters--but there is stabling nearby and we'll manage. There's a lot of karma here. It's a reining barn, very big time (they have a Million-Dollar Sire and some big winners), but they love Lipizzans and the SRS. The head trainer is engaged to an Austrian who actually worked at the SRS. He can't wait to see real Lipizzans up close. They're beyond chuffed to be hosting an actual rider and some Lipizzans (as well as the usual mix of dressage types).
Now we're working out logistics, putting together flyers and press releases, and all that fun stuff. There will be definite lj presence--![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
casacorona is coming as groom and spectator, and raithen is making it part of her winter vacation. Anybody else who wants to join us, Come On Down! Remember--Phoenix in January is sunny. And warm. And lovely.
And I have to get Pook and Pandora ready. In two months. With Pook just coming off a layup. He started back in lessons on Thursday and was wonderful. This is all about him, you know. He's going to love playing to a big audience.
Work Now. Finishing drastically overdue book. It will be a very good thing to get that done and out the door.
Nobody died. Camilla did try to kill him...from a very safe distance, and there was squealing and galloping and much proof of Why the breeding stock gets to stay breeding stock, at least in the movement-and-charisma department. It shook down into its old pattern: ze keed in charge, Pandora suitably cowed (good; she was getting above herself, and 1400lbs of above herself is a lot of 'tude), Capria back to her preferred position as Alpha Favorite, and the Girlz flurrying around the edges. Camilla still has dreams of moving up, but she'll yield to reality soon enough. Meanwhile, her moves are jaw-droppingly gorgeous, so she's putting on a great show.
Pook is surprisingly calm about all this. There is a fair amount of Shark Week, but he does that anyway when the mares get uppity. Tia and Oreo aren't perturbed at all. Keed had to check out the new little twerp. Twerp said, "Hi! I'm cute!" and that was that.
Twerp is now Halter-Broke(tm). For real this time. He needed his feet trimmed (his first trim), an d we decided to do it right. Wonder Shoer showed me how to end-run around his resistance to having a halter put on: take a big, soft cotton leadrope and sneak it over his nose (easy; I've been de-head-shy-ing him for months), shape it like a halter (over the nose and behind the ears), then slip the real halter on underneath it. Then there was the discovery of work on the lead, at which he did extremely well. He doesn't panic, I've noticed. He may get mad and he will leave the building if given opportunity, but blind freakout isn't in his makeup. He's very Lipizzan in that department. So, in about 15 minutes, we had a colt who can have his halter put on and taken off and then put on again, who will stand when held and who will stand ground-tied(!), and who has a start on the leading thing, which I will continue. Very good mind there. Once he understood what it was all about, he settled down quite quickly. He was ready. As with weaning: long preparation, relatively easy and fast training.
I am glad I took it slow; he came to it in his own time and the race to the finish was very minimally traumatic as a result.
Mind you, when I raise them from birth, all this gets done in the first few hours, but as WS noted, this is how most foals come to their owners or caretakers. Not mine; I've always had babies who knew all this from the start, because I made sure they learned it first thing. I've been spoiled.
At any rate, he is now a Civilized Person, and life is good.
Pooka got his feet trimmed next, out in the run with Tia investigating him curiously and Camilla and Ephiny not ten feet behind him. After a little fussing, he settled down and behaved perfectly. Tough life having a stallion who can stand quietly surrounded by mares.
So now the barn runneth over, and my best bud is back home. I missed him a lot more than I realized.
Meanwhile planning for the big SRS clinic proceeds apace. Teacher and I toured the facility and found it most excellent, the owners and staff are delightful and it will do very well for what we need. We can't use their stabling, unfortunately--January is their busiest time for breeding, and they don't want to risk bringing outside bugs to the mares and stallions, even if they weren't expecting to be full to the rafters--but there is stabling nearby and we'll manage. There's a lot of karma here. It's a reining barn, very big time (they have a Million-Dollar Sire and some big winners), but they love Lipizzans and the SRS. The head trainer is engaged to an Austrian who actually worked at the SRS. He can't wait to see real Lipizzans up close. They're beyond chuffed to be hosting an actual rider and some Lipizzans (as well as the usual mix of dressage types).
Now we're working out logistics, putting together flyers and press releases, and all that fun stuff. There will be definite lj presence--
casacorona is coming as groom and spectator, and raithen is making it part of her winter vacation. Anybody else who wants to join us, Come On Down! Remember--Phoenix in January is sunny. And warm. And lovely.And I have to get Pook and Pandora ready. In two months. With Pook just coming off a layup. He started back in lessons on Thursday and was wonderful. This is all about him, you know. He's going to love playing to a big audience.
Work Now. Finishing drastically overdue book. It will be a very good thing to get that done and out the door.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-11-07 10:29 pm (UTC)Hee!! Great minds! *ahem* Though I must say I like WS's big soft cotton rope idea MUCH better than I like the finer rope that the tteam folks use ;). Also, tell Tia she is going to help Teach Me About Dealing With Young Uppity Mares, with some help from her human herd, mmkk? (i just decided. so there! ;).
Also, *SQUEE*
no subject
Date: 2006-11-07 11:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-07 11:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-07 11:05 pm (UTC)The trip to OR fell through- vending space is already full. So... now I have to decide- SRS clinic to come watch (when it looks like riding is not going to happen for me in the near future as Mom informed me that a horse at the farm just isn't going to happen) or go to collie nationals?
no subject
Date: 2006-11-07 11:10 pm (UTC)If you come here, you might get a chance to, like, sit on somebody Large And White. 8)
Naturally you have to ask me: Horses/SRS vs. dogs. I adore my Cardis, but it's strictly no contest.
no subject
Date: 2006-11-07 11:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-07 11:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-07 11:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-07 11:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-08 01:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-08 02:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-08 03:53 am (UTC)Clinic in Phx: Indoors - or- Outdoors? If there was still-photog interest I might be persuaded. :-)
no subject
Date: 2006-11-08 04:00 am (UTC)I'll ask about interest in stills. I wonder if the facility has a photographer? They have lovely reiners. Lots of Palominos. There is also a bigtime Ayrab breeder coming--she'll ride a bit, and be there to audit.
If you could scare up a shoot in or two or three in the area that week...
We would, of course, love it if you could come. :)
And you know, as La Twix grows older, and if we succeed in making it an annual event, here's an opportunity for her to shine--with Teacher there to make it a double whammy. And, of course, her dad. :)
no subject
Date: 2006-11-08 06:43 am (UTC)Maybe the folks you encounter might want to peruse last week's gallery for determination of competence: <http://www.photo.lynnesite.com/gallery/2101433>
no subject
Date: 2006-11-08 05:23 pm (UTC)Then I could harrass you in person!cuz I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE for you to be there!! (twix, too, but we can't have EVERYTHING! ;).Off to check new photos!!
no subject
Date: 2006-11-08 05:34 am (UTC)I think I would fly, rather than drive. Dunno yet. I got some uncomfortable (as far as timeing goes) dental news today.
no subject
Date: 2006-11-08 05:24 pm (UTC)