Rapunzel, Rapunzel Let Down Your Mane

I grew up in proper hunter-jumper barns.  Horses had their manes pulled and their tails neatly banged at fetlock level.  For shows manes were braided (tails optional).  When I got Legs, she still had most of the traditional long Standardbred mane.  I say most, because there was a section mid-way down her crest where she'd self-shortened it to around 4 inches by reaching for tempting tufts of grass under the fence.  Long-short-long is not a good look for any breed, so pulling her mane to uniformity was a no-brainer.  I've kept it short (though I get lazy in the winter and let it grow) ever since.  It's flattering to her and makes her fit in with the hunter TBs and western QH we compete against.

Larry, however, came to me with the most ridiculously thick and luxurious mane and forelock you ever saw.  It gives him an exotic look - like one of Vavra's horses (Google his work if you want to see photos of horses in all their untamed beauty).  It makes him look like a Morgan or Arab cross or a really elegant Mustang. 

 

But it doesn't jive with turnout for a proper hunter horse.  Yea, I could put it in a running braid for hunter classes, and so on, but that's not the hard-core George Morris always proper hunter school of thought I was raised on.  So I've been going back and forth about it for several months now.  On the one hand, pulling manes can be a nuisance, and he might actually place better with a full mane at some shows I attend where the judging's more saddle seat biased and he'd fit in if I took him in roadster classes.  On the other hand, a pulled mane is less work on a daily basis and might help him place better at other shows I attend where the judging's more QH or hunter biased. 

Sometimes I wish I could just invent a Velcro-in mane system.  Going to a hunter show?  No problem, just Velcro your neat and tidy pre-braided  hunter mane onto your horse's neck (just don't grab mane for balance over a fence!).  Showing western pleasure?  Velcro on your banded mane attachment.  Roadster?  Attach your full mane to your horse's neck and away you go.  Want a palomino instead?  Soup. 

Well, Larry's bridle path was clipped for Nationals back in August.  Since it would be too long for a pulled mane, I've been letting it grow out, save for the 3" swath behind the ears where the headstall actually rests.  Well, as you can see he's now sporting quite the Mohawk.  It's now about 5" long, long enough to put in hunter braids, but it still sticks nearly straight up from his neck.   

 

So I could pull his mane to all one length, only to have it stick up all the way down his topline.  I would have no choice but to band or braid for every show or else he'd be mistaken for a recently retired polo pony.  At 5" every 6 months, it would take a while to "undo" and grow back out if it was a shortened debacle.

 

So the easiest answer is: procrastination.  I have decided that, at a minimum, Larry will sport a full mane until he has developed a consistent canter under saddle.  There aren't a whole lot of walk-trot classes in my area, and I don't think his mane will be much of a hindrance to his placing in those classes at this level.  Plus it keeps his career option as a road horse open.  There are several fairs that offer road horse classes around here.  Road horses in my area are full-fledged black jodhpur and custom silks, cutback saddle (or proper harness and snazzy jog cart), full streaming manes, white leather quarter boots, knees to the nose, and oh boy trot at speed means a sub 2:05 mile so you'd better get out of the way slowpoke card carrying road horses.  I took Legs in one roadster under saddle class on a lark a few years back.  There was no question in anyone's mind which horse would be placing last in the class that day as we all entered the ring.  That would be me, with my pulled mane, low efficient strides, hunt saddle, white rubber bell boots, and black dress pants.  (To my credit, I HAD managed to borrow a set of bona fide silks, though I had to fashion my own coordinating helmet cover).  We just stayed out of everyone else's way, performed the gaits to the best of our abilities, and smiled and laughed our way into the lineup.

Anyhow, back to the mane thing, should two nice leads under tack not be in the cards for Larry, roadster could give us a way to keep showing and having fun without being relegated to the solitary kiddie class with the other walk-trotters.  So for showing at present, he'll get to keep his long thick mane and play in hand, walk-trot, and roadster pony.  To that end, I picked up a couple yards of royal blue satin and some cream satin trim last week.  I have plans to modify a shirt pattern I have to create a roadster ensemble for us.  I'm thinking royal with cream bands and diamonds (to match his star).  I have a friend I might be able to coaxe into loaning me a cut back saddle for the shows.  Now I just need to get my hands on a harness and jog cart!

If he develops a nice canter and an aptitude for hunters, I guess I'll have to pull (and braid) it a lot.  If he develops an aptitude for everything, well, where did I put that Velcro? 

Standardbreds Shouldn't Do Airs Above Ground

The weather's been junk lately - a total roller coaster ride.  I'm relieved that we missed out on the horrible ice and snow storms that assaulted my friends in other states, both north and south.  This seems to have been about the only weather bullet we've dodged this year.  Well, it's February now and almost time to think about Spring, I hope!

I get to ride intermittently.  I planned to introduce Lar to riding out in the big back field when we had a milder day.  I didn't expect much of a problem, since he's pretty laid back and he's been turned out there before.  My ulterior motive was to lunge him there beforehand, where there's more room and I could encourage a canter.  (I suspect he will be a tough nut to crack when it comes to cantering under tack.  Even in turnout, most of the time he will trot his little heart out while the others canter.  He's a good Standardbred.  Maybe too good of a Standardbred... lol.  He lands at a trot when jumping, too, so there went my Plan B for teaching the canter.  He has a lot of scope for a horse that approaches and lands fences at the trot - I'll bet he can jump a lot higher once he learns to approach and land at a balanced canter.  But I digress.) 

Plans C for teaching the canter are lunge line work, since he's already shown a willingness to canter on the lungeline.  If I can get him more balanced cantering circles on his own, maybe I can get him to associate the voice commands and balance with under tack work.  Plan D is good ole Kentucky hills.  If I have to put up with them, I may as well put them to work for me.  Trotting up hills is hard work - very hard.  Cantering up them is quite a bit easier.  Once I get Larry to figure this out, maybe we can canter up them together.  Another plus is that it is very difficult (not impossible, as my friend's OTTB has demonstrated) to buck while cantering up a hill.  So he'll hopefully be less inclined to celebrate his accomplishment with airs above ground.

So I lunged him in the back field.  And he put on quite the bucking and rearing show when I asked for the canter.  So much so that I stopped him, checked his tack, and checked for signs of back or leg discomfort.  I even removed the saddle.  I didn't find anything.  I still don't know what he was carrying on about.  I had to abort plans to ride, except for getting on to walk him cool for 20 minutes because he'd worked up quite a sweat.  Even back in the barn, he spotted the neighbor's cattle and got very alarmed until I led him into the yard for a closer look.  The next day was windy when I pulled him out of the field.  He seemed very distracted and snorty again.  Valuing my own neck, I opted to lunge him in the back rather than try a ride.  He bucked some, but not as badly.  He cantered some, but not all that readily and he didn't stay balanced for long.  Patience, steady conditioning, and persistence will be needed.  Though my own impatience with this lousy winter weather makes the persistence part difficult.

Tune in next time for more adventures of Larry the Lipazzaner.  (OK, I hope not!)