Not even Evil Kanevil practices showmanship like this!

Last night was our first perfunctory ride.  Waning daylight only afforded me about 10 minutes of riding time once I had groomed, tacked, and lunged him.  I neglected to bring the lunge whip out, so there was no cantering on the lunge line, and a diminishing amount of trotting as he dispensed with his high jinks.  He was good for mounting and dismounting and walked off on cue.  Overall he was very good, though tended to be distracted looking around at his surroundings.  We tried just a bit of trot and it went fine.  We had our first spook at a bird fleeing from the neighbor's pine tree.  He jumped with all four feet, but didn't actually go anywhere.  If a horse has to spook, that's a better way to do it from a rider's perspective.  It looks like we have some work ahead of us on focusing, working in a frame, and steering off leg cues. 

One of my tasks for today was to burn the scrap pile that's been mounding up.  Never one to pass up a learning opportunity, I figured that fire would be another excellent desensitizing tool for Larry.  Naturally, he balked at first and nearly stepped on me trying to scoot away, but by the end of our session, we were walking calmly around the fire and practicing showmanship maneuvers with the smoke wafting around us.  The more we work together through varied experiences and learn to trust one another, the better we'll function as a team.  And now if we're ever asked to do a showmanship pattern in the middle of a wild fire, we'll be ready.  lol

Baby Steps

Larry's stocking up was completely gone and he was sound with no Bute or medication.  I had enough daylight to let him out with the herd  after work.  The ground was too soft for lunging or riding from the rain, so we spent just a little time on some despooking and ground work, working with the landscape flag and a bag full of aluminum cans, as well as touring the yard and gardens.  He was pretty good for it, and figured out standing still was easier than dancing around, though he never got 100% relaxed.  In part, he did seem full of himself with the cooler temps and potential lack of self-exercise during turnout.  Group turnout will help, and we'll keep working on different little exercises.  One of these days, I'll finally get to ride him!  (New saddle should be on its way!)  I gave the herd the run of both fields when I let Larry out.  With his fast trot, he was pulling away from Lee's canter.  He never did break gait into a canter himself.  Just trotted all around the field like a little machine with the others trailing after.  His stride has flattened out with shorter toes, though it's interesting to see the difference in his fast trot (he really hunkers down and gets wide behind and under himself) and his cruising speed (just a normal trot).  I'm looking forward to actually riding him, hopefully Friday.  Lee seems accepting of him; Legs is a typical stand-offish mare, but I'm sure she'll warm up to him over time.

Improvement

In our last "episode," Larry stocked up in all four legs while I was out of town.  I am starting to suspect that he's just not self-exercising enough in the paddock by himself.  Sure, he walks for food and water, but I don't think he's doing much traveling about otherwise.  The last few times I've gone in with him, he's been full of beans and wanting to play.  The poultice and Bute helped, as his front legs looked much better and the hinds were half as swollen as they'd been.  He stood quietly for a perfunctory sheath cleaning after I hosed the poultice off, too.  He looked plenty sound trotting away from me in the paddock, so I decided to let him and Lee get acquainted in the field.  (I took Legs out to groom and ride her).  Lee opted to stand across the fence from where Legs was tied for grooming while Larry carefully investigated every corner of the field.  He was quite thorough.  He examined every inch of fence, every corner, stood and looked at the shed for several minutes, and sniffed out the salt block and hay racks.  He and Lee got acquainted with minor squealing and sniffing, then promptly started playing "kissy-face" with each other.  Since it was already dark when I was finished with Legs' ride, I decided to put Larry back in the paddock by himself, rather than have Legs harrassing him in an unfamiliar field in the dark.  I did fit him with a furazone sweat overnight, which had done a good job bringing the rest of the fluid out of his hind limbs by this morning.  Tonight, if all seems well, I will let him out with the herd in the daylight.  Hopefully friends and movement will keep the swelling at bay and I can think about riding him.  I sure hope so, because I just made payment towards a new saddle for him!  My old Collegiate looked like it would fit him fine, but it is nearly 16 years old and showing some wear, so I finally upgraded to a slightly used Circuit Elite.  Larry WILL have a job and a pretty new (to me) saddle for it!

Another Day, Another Something

While J and I were off in AR at the last national (car) race of the season, my farmsitter called and told me Lar was stocked up in all four legs.  Not terrible, not painful to the touch, and no lameness, but definitely swollen.  I had her give him some Bute Saturday and leave him in the paddock so he could walk around and let the blood circulate, then I'd be home the next day to check on him.  Sure enough, when we got back, his legs were pretty stocked up.  They're not painful to the touch and he shows no lameness (in fact, he was quite eager to squeal, carry on, and show off his dressage trot when I was attempting to catch him to apply poultice this morning).  Looks like Bute, wraps, hosing, and light walking are in order for a bit.

Starting to Get Into the Routine

I don't have a whole lot to report yet.  Last night, Larry had his first date with my wonderful farrier.  (Who was kind enough to make a special trip out just for him. :)  He was a very obliging patient and had his front shoes pulled and quite a bit of toe taken off.  He has nice solid feet with good hoof wall so I'm happy that he can go barefoot.  Now that his feet are done, I can think about getting him under saddle and seeing how that goes.  Tonight, my friend M will come out to meet him for the first time and she's bringing her gullet gauge and I have my tape measure ready, so we'll do some saddle fitting and take some blanket measurements, and just generally play around with him.  Yes, sometimes we treat our horses like giant Barbie dolls, because they're fun to brush and dress up and take pictures of.  (And yes, I rebraided his mane last night.  It's ok, bc my farrier teased me about it.)  Larry's going to get the wrong idea and think that my place is a vacation home with nothing to do but eat and pose for pictures!  But M and I both have the philisophy of exposing our horses to as many odd experiences as we can and generally "torturing" them with odd trail obstacles and the like in the hopes of making them calmer and more trusting overall.  I have a basic trail course set up right now and worked Legs through it the other night.  From what I've seen of Larry so far, I doubt he will be fazed by it.  Starting next week, I hope to start riding him and get him into as much of a work routine as my schedule allows.  (Evening daylight is most certainly not on my side.  The fall colors are beautiful and the weather's still mild, but I really hate the dwindling daylight this time of year.)  I am thinking about setting up some "arena lights" to make it easier to work in the front.  More to report later.

First Impressions

I named this blog Another Legacy, as my wonderful STB mare is nicknamed Legs in honor of her sire, Nuclear Legacy.  Although they didn't get their first choice of registered name for her (she is registered as Veruca Salt), I often show her in open shows as Just Legacy or First Legacy.  It is ironic that I ended up with Valiant Legacy (aka Larry) as my second STB.  The other irony is that despite the name similarity, Larry (a trotter) has no close common ancestors with Legs (pacing bred but prefers to trot).  So First Legacy was my, ahem, first legacy, and Valiant Legacy will be another legacy of equine companionship and competition for me.  I feel very fortunate that I was chosen to give him a home.

With Larry settling into his new home, I was eager to assess my new equine friend.  As one would expect from a previous national halter champion, he's a very nicely built horse, who looks quite capable of successful athletic performance.  His racing career has left him with one or two miniscule blemishes, but nothing of any consequence or concern.  He's light on muscle from not having much riding or work over the past year, but a good training program will soon fix that.  His head is gorgeous and refined with large soft eyes and a slightly dished face; a staunch rebuttal to those who call all Standardbreds "jug heads."  He could easily pass for a Morgan or half-Arabian.  He is a true black with a star and one white foot, making him ready for the casting call for "Black Beauty."  lol  His mane and forelock are ridiculously thick; he could lose 75% of it and still have very full tresses.  His has a long shaggy bridle path as he was trimmed "Arabian style" a few months back.  I trimmed where the bridle rests, but left the rest to grow out until I decide how I will style his mane.

I have never met a friendlier horse.  He's eager to introduce himself and get attention.  I can tell that he's exploited his good looks and charm to his advantage, though, as he's nippy side from expecting treats.  So far I haven't seen any inclination of spookiness from him, as he's been unconcerned about road traffic, poles and obstacles on the ground, and even a sweatshirt and landscape flag being flung around by his face (First he licked it, then he tried to eat it!  Yes, eat it!).  He's far from a dead-head though, as he comes alive on the lunge line and is sharply responsive to showmanship cues (we need to work on understanding each other, though, or we'll end up backing clear across the arena when I'm only trying to cue for 5 steps!).  He trotted cantered readily on the lunge line (albeit after some celebratory bucking).  As a trotter, he has a more rounded stride than Legs, though he may lose some of the knee action once his feet are trimmed, as they are currently quite long.  He's a nice height (15.1 1/2) and in good flesh, despite not being on grain.  He's not perfect, as he doesn't like dewormer and won't tolerate having his ears clipped (yet!), but overall he has an excellent foundation and has good manners.  He sometimes pulls back a little when tied (cross-ties great, though), but doesn't panic - just maintains tension.  It's still something that we'll work on, though.

WARNING: shameless plug for Off Track Standardbreds.  Yes, I am biased.  My bias is based on my personal experience.  OTSTBs make excellent pleasure and show horses.  As a whole, the breed is hardy and easy to care for, with good feet and good dispositions.  On the track, they are handled daily, they are used to being driven amongst other horses pulling jog carts and tractors working the footing, and they are trained to trot or pace behind a Cadillac with giant swinging arms (mobile starting gate for those unfamiliar with harness racing).  If you can think of a better way to acclimate horses to odd vehicle traffic, I'd like to hear it!  They come off the track used to wearing a harness and other equipment, being driven, trailered, cross-tied, groomed and bathed, and having their feet worked on.  They can and do train and race barefoot quite successfully and soundly.  My experience has been that they tend to be calmer and lower maintenance than other racing breeds.  There is no single breed type, and individual STBs are often mistaken for Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, Warmbloods, Walking Horses, Morgans, and Arabians, and in heights ranging from 14.1 hh to 17+ hh, so you can find what you're looking for within one breed.  Contrary to some of the negative stereotypes about them, there are a great many beautiful examples with pretty heads, nice conformation, and nice movement.  There are also many caring owners and trainers who will give you an unsuccessful harness racehorse for next to nothing or even for free if you are trustworthy and agree to provide it a good home.  And yes, they can canter!   I urge you to consider one for your next riding or driving horse.

OK, I'll get off my soap box now.  lol

Christmas in October

Even though I had only found out that I would be getting Larry a scant two weeks prior, the wait suddenly seemed unbearable.  I waited and planned and schemed, and hoped that Rob wouldn't change his mind (though I certainly would have understood if he did), but mostly waited.  Conveniently, the Grand Circuit had come to the Red Mile and Rob was able to find a trailer headed from NJ to KY with an open spot.  Larry would spend the night at the track, and I would take him home the following day.  I felt giddy like a kid at Christmas; I couldn't wait to get him and start working with him.  My Christmas came on 10/15 when I got to take him home.  I was able to spend much of the day at the track on the backside, a new and exciting experience for me.  Rob let me help prep one of his charges for a race, a good looking 3 year old colt, a stakes winner, and as nicely mannered a colt as you could ever wish for.  A close second place finish kept us out of the winner's circle, but I have no doubt he'll get there next time.  I thoroughly enjoyed my "backstage pass" to harness racing and it was nice to meet so many people with a genuine love of the horses and the sport.  I took Larry home that afternoon.  Rob was understandably sad about letting him go; I sympathize, having gone through a similar situation with my palomino gelding.  I was both excited for myself, and sad for him, as I know how much Larry means to him.  I hope that chronicling Larry's new adventures in photographs and blog posts will help to make the transition easier, and I hope that he is able to come visit often.

The trip home was quiet and uneventful.  Larry scoped out his new surroundings, stared for a while at the cattle across the street ("what kind of funny looking horses are those?"), but was basically unconcerned.  After a break in his new stall and paddock to let him rest and stretch his legs after two days of travel, he got a bath and a brief spa day.  My ocd side felt the need to shampoo and condition his exorbitant mane and forelock, and to put it in braids to keep it out of the way.  Once clean and dry, I fitted him with a safety halter and let him enjoy some peace and quiet.     

9/30/10 A Surprise

August through October was a frenetic time period for me.  Within a span of 7 weeks, I took my mare, Legs, to Standardbred Nationals in New Jersey, helped put on our major gala fundraiser for work, traveled to Nebraska for a week of autocross competition at the ProSolo and Solo National Championships, looked for houses and came very close to making an out of state move, and prepared to host family, friends, and horses for the International Equestrian Festival (IEF) and World Equestrian Games (WEG)  in addition to exhibiting in those events with my mare.  Whew!  I am not the type of person who likes to be bored, but I had certainly exceeded even my own threshold for activity!

If you read my previous post, you know that I have been looking for a second horse for some time, and wanted to make that horse a Standardbred. I had gotten my hopes up repeatedly for candidates through horse adoption operations (SRF and New Vocations) and through private arrangements.  It seemed like every time I thought I'd found the right prospect, it was already spoken for or turned out to be unsuitable.  I had resigned myself to the interminable waiting game.

J and I were en route to the IEF with Legs when a text message came through on my phone.  The message was from one of my NJ STB friends, Rob.  He was looking for a home for his nice gelding, Larry (Valiant Legacy).  His work and travel as a racetrack groom left him without the time or money to care for Larry any more.  Of course I was familiar with the horse.  He was a gorgeous black gelding who had won High Point Standardbred Rookie of the Year honors in 2008 showing exclusively in halter and showmanship classes and was well decorated in in-hand classes, though he didn't have much riding experience.  I had seen him go in the National show in August and he looked nice, though of course I didn't view him with the same critical eye as if I might own him.  The message startled me to be sure.  My first thought was, "Is this for real?  Rob loves that horse."  My second was, "What a difficult decision this must be for him to make."

I digested these thoughts throughout my exhibition with my mare.  When I had some time that afternoon, I spoke with Rob on the phone.  Just like that, my horse search was over; I would become the proud new owner of a gorgeous black gelding in just a few short weeks!   




  

9/30/10 A little history.

I have been the lucky owner of a fabulous OTSTB (Off Track Standardbred) for 13 years.  Contrary to popular misconception, Standardbreds are capable of beauty, trainability, versatility, and purpose beyond harness racing.  Yes, they can be ridden, they can jump, and they can canter!  Some, like my wonderful mare, Veruca Salt, can even lope as nicely as any Quarter Horse!  I came to own Veruca Salt (aka Legs) out of sheer luck.  She was barely 3 years old, untalented at pacing, and lacking much of an apparent future.  I was in college, out of state, and not in a great financial position to own my first horse.  Thankfully, through accommodating parents and a whole lot of luck, our story ended up quite well.  Rather than rehash our life together, those who want to know more can find information here: http://xwebapp.ustrotting.com/absolutenm/templates/?a=38042&z=13

Suffice to say, my little mare has exceeded my wildest dreams for her.  Starting from very inauspicious beginnings, she is the proverbial free horse turned champion, having earned over 175 blue ribbons (closing in on 200 soon), numerous championships, show series awards, state year end awards, multiple gold, silver, and bronze medals at the Bluegrass State Games, and many national championships.  She has won repeat National Championships and Reserve Championships in Western Pleasure, English Pleasure, Equitation, and Working Hunter.  She has been the Standardbred National Championship Horse Show High Point Senior Horse each of the three years we've attended the show, as well as the 2008 High Point Grand Champion Standardbred in the Nation.  There is practically no discipline that she won't try for me, and quite successfully at that!

Besides her show career, she has also been an Intercollegiate Horse Show Association mount in flat, fences, rail, and reining, including carrying a rider to the IHSA Intermediate Western Horsemanship Reserve National Championship in 2004, and she spent a year as a handicapped riding horse at Central Kentucky Riding for Hope.  She was the only non-stock horse used in the western divisions.  The icing on the cake was being 1 of only 8 Standardbreds from across the country chosen to exhibit at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky.  She is beautiful, intelligent, versatile, and easy to work with, and I know how lucky I am to have her.  She's 16 now, and has served me faithfully.  Early stages of foot problems are now beginning to slow down our competitive career; thus, I have been searching for a second horse to supplement (there's no replacing Legs!) her.

Around 2004, I had aspirations to compete at horse shows on a national level.  At that time, I was not aware of the existence of state Standardbred Pleasure Horse Organizations (SPHOs), or the National Standardbred Horse Show, and felt that my best option was a more "traditional" versatility breed such as the Quarter Horse.  Being well aware of the constant travel, expenses, and politics associated with showing AQHA at a high level, I focused my search on color breed organizations, such as PHBA and ABRA.

After a few unsuccessful endeavors at purchasing such a horse, I thought I had found the right one in 2006.  He was a palomino yearling colt I found at a horse trader's: unbroke, with a string of 4 owners over just 18 months of life, but nicely proportioned and good natured.  I took my time working with him and he was my pride and joy.  Unfortunately, when it came time to progress with his under saddle training, it became apparent that he had latent physical problems.  After 2 years of money, time, and effort attempting to diagnose and rehab him, I became clear that he had a long term chronic hip problem.  Though he was sound for light riding, I knew it would not be fair to expect him to compete at the levels I aspired to.  At the same time, I knew with his sweet disposition, he could be much more than a pasture pet.  I was fortunate to find him a great home as a companion and light riding horse where I could keep in touch with how he's doing and even visit him. 

In the meantime,  I had confirmed that there were, indeed, other nice Standardbreds for riding and show use.  I had found the SPHO program, first participating with the Ohio chapter, and later, finding the New Jersey chapter.  My very brief experience with PHBA sanctioned shows had been a bit underwhelming (the people were nice enough, but the shows seemed oriented for chasing points rather than having fun), while my Standardbred show experience had been quite positive; I decided that another Standardbred seemed like the right ticket.  The SPHO NJ offered a first rate National Show, great competition, great year end prizes, and other nice folks who were passionate about STBs and their capabilities.  Thus, I was hopeful that I would find my next STB superstar through my contacts there.