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And finally...Camilla!
May. 16th, 2004 07:43 pmToday is the last horse birthday of the year at DHF. Camilla is five, and has grown noticeably since February, when she last wore the saddle. She is now as wide as Capria--was markedly narrower before--and has gained about an inch, maybe two, in the girth. That's a lot of horse. She's pretty short--just shy of 14.3--but that's in all dimensions. I expect she'll top out around 15 hands, like her daddy. She's another slow grower.
She's been on work break while we dealt with her TMJ and let her think about her first experiences with saddle, bridle, and rider. It's time to get her back on track.
Camilla is an interesting person. She has a terrible temper and a really, really strong will. When she was halfway out of mom, she lifted her head and looked at me and said, "You. Slave. I own you." At a couple of days old, when she saw me riding Capria for the first time, she pitched a screaming fit--running up and down shrieking like a steam whistle--in pure rage that I wasn't riding Her.
She hated being a baby. She hated being little and weak. Other babies love growing into their bodies. She was a full-sized horse in her own mind from the moment she was born, and the limitations of a baby's body and mind drove her crazy. The older she got, the calmer she became--then when the younger fillies started coming along, she found a job she loved, to tide her over until her stupid human would get around to riding her: babysitter supreme.
Now finally she's ready to do what she's wanted to do all along--and she's been having Issues with it. It's not easy! It's not simple! Why does she have to learn all this? Why can't she just up and do it?
The perils of hardwiring. They have what seems like a racial memory, but the early days are difficult because they expect the work to be much easier than it is.
In addition, she's a very difficult personality type for me. Horses tend to come in two flavors, forward and not-forward, or horses that react to new stimuli by taking off and those that react by stopping cold. Capria and Pook are forward horses. So is Ephiny. I prefer forward horses. I don't mind the spurts and rushes at all. What drives me nuts is the horse who hits a tough patch and freezes. This makes me crazy. Keed tends to be this way, which is one reason why I don't much like doing dressage with him--not-forward horses can be great on trails but downright sticky in the confines of an arena. And Camilla is the queen of the stonewallers. Anything new, confusing, or scary, and she grows roots. She can give a mule a run for its money. Or a balk for its money. If you take my meaning.
Normally I would sell a horse like this so fast you wouldn't see the door slam shut. But this is Camilla. She Impressed like a queen dragon and that was it, I was a goner. She's my horse of a lifetime. She's a real old Lipizzan type, the grand Maestoso, built like a marble outhouse, but she has the long, scopey, elastic movement of the modern Warmblood. Her front is Spectacular. Her rear is under construction, but when it's done, will match the front. She has a short back, which in a Lipp is a rarity, and feet that farriers croon love songs to. They're damn near perfect. So is the rest of her. She is a very, very, very good-quality Lipizzan. When she's working, she fills the arena--she'll go from thick little cobby pony to huge charismatic horse with gaits like a Galaxy-class starship.
We presume she came to teach me patience. A not-forward horse like this is not lazy or insensitive--quite the opposite. She's as hypersensitive as her brother Pooka, but instead of going eek! bolt! buck buck buck when disconcerted, she stops cold. And literally chews over all the options. And analyzes every angle. And thinks about what to do. And then, upon due consideration, does it. Usually with an attack that would make Xena proud. She is, after all, a War Mare.
She's the smartest horse I've ever met, and the deepest thinker. Which considering what else I've got here is pretty scary.
We are, at this point--"we" being Joni and I--occupied with figuring out her parameters, and discovering which approaches will work best, i.e. make her happiest and most willing to do whatever we ask. We've tried various options and settled on the "let her do what she likes as long as she goes forward" choice for now. She gets it very nicely in hand; we've done minimal work under saddle so far, most of it of the pony-ride (me on her back, Joni at her head) persuasion.
Tonight, for the first time in two and a half months, I saddled her up. She was delighted. She got a Grooming! And Carrots! And the Saddle! Then I played with her in the arena--loose with saddle on, horses around us, telling her we could do whatever she wanted...as long as it was forward. She elected to walk all over beside me, stopping when I stopped, going when I went, doing figures and enjoying the interaction. When Ephiny (who is old enough to be getting quite jealous) got a little too pushy, I attached a lead to the halter and took her outside. That required some pauses for thought, some teeth-grinding nerves, and the eventual decision to stride along purposefully with me around the back and into the hay storage, where she got the saddle off and got to pig out happily until she was ready to go back out with the herd and get her official dinner.
Camilla is a happy horse. I'm a happy human. She's remembered all her lessons that I've tested her on so far, and her sense of Forward is very good. As long as I allow her some thinking time when she hits a new spot, she's happy to entertain the notion of Forward.
Next step: work in the trot. That's a bit more challenging. For one thing, I have to trot with her--so I'll need to be a little less ouchy first. But we'll get there.
She's been on work break while we dealt with her TMJ and let her think about her first experiences with saddle, bridle, and rider. It's time to get her back on track.
Camilla is an interesting person. She has a terrible temper and a really, really strong will. When she was halfway out of mom, she lifted her head and looked at me and said, "You. Slave. I own you." At a couple of days old, when she saw me riding Capria for the first time, she pitched a screaming fit--running up and down shrieking like a steam whistle--in pure rage that I wasn't riding Her.
She hated being a baby. She hated being little and weak. Other babies love growing into their bodies. She was a full-sized horse in her own mind from the moment she was born, and the limitations of a baby's body and mind drove her crazy. The older she got, the calmer she became--then when the younger fillies started coming along, she found a job she loved, to tide her over until her stupid human would get around to riding her: babysitter supreme.
Now finally she's ready to do what she's wanted to do all along--and she's been having Issues with it. It's not easy! It's not simple! Why does she have to learn all this? Why can't she just up and do it?
The perils of hardwiring. They have what seems like a racial memory, but the early days are difficult because they expect the work to be much easier than it is.
In addition, she's a very difficult personality type for me. Horses tend to come in two flavors, forward and not-forward, or horses that react to new stimuli by taking off and those that react by stopping cold. Capria and Pook are forward horses. So is Ephiny. I prefer forward horses. I don't mind the spurts and rushes at all. What drives me nuts is the horse who hits a tough patch and freezes. This makes me crazy. Keed tends to be this way, which is one reason why I don't much like doing dressage with him--not-forward horses can be great on trails but downright sticky in the confines of an arena. And Camilla is the queen of the stonewallers. Anything new, confusing, or scary, and she grows roots. She can give a mule a run for its money. Or a balk for its money. If you take my meaning.
Normally I would sell a horse like this so fast you wouldn't see the door slam shut. But this is Camilla. She Impressed like a queen dragon and that was it, I was a goner. She's my horse of a lifetime. She's a real old Lipizzan type, the grand Maestoso, built like a marble outhouse, but she has the long, scopey, elastic movement of the modern Warmblood. Her front is Spectacular. Her rear is under construction, but when it's done, will match the front. She has a short back, which in a Lipp is a rarity, and feet that farriers croon love songs to. They're damn near perfect. So is the rest of her. She is a very, very, very good-quality Lipizzan. When she's working, she fills the arena--she'll go from thick little cobby pony to huge charismatic horse with gaits like a Galaxy-class starship.
We presume she came to teach me patience. A not-forward horse like this is not lazy or insensitive--quite the opposite. She's as hypersensitive as her brother Pooka, but instead of going eek! bolt! buck buck buck when disconcerted, she stops cold. And literally chews over all the options. And analyzes every angle. And thinks about what to do. And then, upon due consideration, does it. Usually with an attack that would make Xena proud. She is, after all, a War Mare.
She's the smartest horse I've ever met, and the deepest thinker. Which considering what else I've got here is pretty scary.
We are, at this point--"we" being Joni and I--occupied with figuring out her parameters, and discovering which approaches will work best, i.e. make her happiest and most willing to do whatever we ask. We've tried various options and settled on the "let her do what she likes as long as she goes forward" choice for now. She gets it very nicely in hand; we've done minimal work under saddle so far, most of it of the pony-ride (me on her back, Joni at her head) persuasion.
Tonight, for the first time in two and a half months, I saddled her up. She was delighted. She got a Grooming! And Carrots! And the Saddle! Then I played with her in the arena--loose with saddle on, horses around us, telling her we could do whatever she wanted...as long as it was forward. She elected to walk all over beside me, stopping when I stopped, going when I went, doing figures and enjoying the interaction. When Ephiny (who is old enough to be getting quite jealous) got a little too pushy, I attached a lead to the halter and took her outside. That required some pauses for thought, some teeth-grinding nerves, and the eventual decision to stride along purposefully with me around the back and into the hay storage, where she got the saddle off and got to pig out happily until she was ready to go back out with the herd and get her official dinner.
Camilla is a happy horse. I'm a happy human. She's remembered all her lessons that I've tested her on so far, and her sense of Forward is very good. As long as I allow her some thinking time when she hits a new spot, she's happy to entertain the notion of Forward.
Next step: work in the trot. That's a bit more challenging. For one thing, I have to trot with her--so I'll need to be a little less ouchy first. But we'll get there.
