Horses I Know, Horses I Love

Potter: He was born the same year that i started riding.  I fell in love with him instantly.  The other kids liked the other foals. They were sleek, athletic, bays destined for the show ring.  Potter was awkward.  He was more unsteady than the others because of his long legs.  All horses are born with very long legs but Potter was just more ungraceful.  His tail and mane were thin and his ears were very large.  His coat was a mix of black and white and his nose was pink.  The other riders said that he bit and he kicked but he never misbehaved towards me.  He always came to the stall to greet me and nuzzle my arms.  Today, almost four years later, Potter outshines all of the foals born the same year as he was.  He is still tall and thin but he has grown into his ears and his mane and tail are long and thick.  The lightning streak on his neck shines in the sun unlike the other colts who don't have any special markings.  He has progressed so much faster than the others and his temperment is amazingly gentle.  I should know, I have been training him.  Potter has shown promise in dressage and as a friendly lesson horse.  He is now the envy of the barn.  Riders who had once called him ugly are jealous of us while they are stuck working with their "athletic show horses" who are stubborn and sometimes mean.  Potter has taught me so much but the lesson that will stick with me is that the oddball who is labeled ugly gives the most love when given the chance.

Rosie: I rode Rosie at my first horse camp.  She was a pretty red roan quarter horse she was also stubborn and moody.  After three days of her doing nothing she finally got enough energy to buck me off and into the fence.  I was embarassed and i had the biggest scrape on my back but I got back on.  Through the rest of horse camp Rosie was great, she did what I asked without any resistance.  I have ridden Rosie a lot over the last few years and she has her good mood days and her bad mood days.  I still have a scar on my back from where I hit the fence and it reminds me of a saying I heard, "A horse doesn't care how much you know until they know how much you care."  I didn't realize it at the time but for those first three days I caused Rosie to misbehave.  I never really gave her a chance, as soon as I got on her I instantly labled her as a stubborn brat but when I showed her more respect she was compliant and sweet.  I rode Rosie this morning.  She was an angel as we cantered and jumped around the arena.  She is my show horse this summer and I couldn't be more excited to have her as a partner.

Strawberry:  She came a year ago.  Strawberry a 6 year old red roan belgian draft and quarter horse mix.  She had been a ranch horse her entire life and it was my job to get her used to English.  Strawberry is very sweet despite her one ton size.  Over the summer I showed her twice.  At the first show I learned that I can't expect every horse to go where I asked when I asked.  She shied at the first cross country jump and I flew off over head.  Unhurt but embarassed I hopped back up and finished the course at a walk.  A few months later I was working with her at the barn and I learned the meaning of stupidity.  It was just me and a friend outside.  We were both cantering around the arena for extra practice.  Strawberry hadn't really run for a while but I didn't think that she would get over excited (mistake number one).  I had spurs on, my friend said that she had ridden Strawberry before with spurs and that nothing bad happened (mistake 2).  What my friend neglected to say was that she didn't ask Strawberry for more than a trot.  Halfway around the arena i lost control.  It was then that I realized how massive this 2000 pound horse was!  She had been pushed too hard by the spurs and she bucked...hard!  i flew about 8 feet up and maybe 6 feet in front of her and landed on my head (this totally my fault and I'm much more careful now) .  Thanfully I'm very careful to wear my helmet so there were no serious injuries.  I had bruises all around my head and a very stiff neck.  Now I have been much more cautious when it comes to spurs and I've taken my safety even more seroiusly than before.  My neck still bothers me a lot and probably will for a while but I thank God that the accident didn't leave me a vegetable or dead.

More to come, it's still a work in progress so check with me later and I'll email you when the rest is up.
thanks
    Lindsey :)