Virtual Brush Box

Horse Hunt, 2 of 2

The second Quarter Horse was older, less fancy, but full of can-do spirit. He didn’t have pin-up conformation but moved better than he stood. He could trot out briskly or shuffle along at a jog. We asked the rider to take him over a pole. He a) was able to adjust and b) seemed to look forward to a challenge. Probably would enjoy jumping, at least to the extent one can extrapolate a course of fences from a pole on the ground. Not the type to set the world on fire, but would motor happily around the lower levels of dressage, eventing. and local hunters.

Except.

He had the most enormous hunter’s bump. It looked as if a chestnut weasel was taking a nap on the top of his butt. The lump was so large that the line from the point of the croup to the top of the tail was almost concave. It didn’t appear to affect his way of going, although it was more pronounced at the jog than at the trot.

I flagged it as Do Not Pass Go but don’t know that much about the condition. I’ve heard that it is conformational, muscle strain, and/or a problem/not a problem. I figure why start with an issue?

Still, this horse and yesterday’s horse [1 of 2] were both priced sensibly and I would have given either one stall space if fate had sent them trotting up our driveway. That’s an improvement from some. We have seen trop cher horses that I would not have touched for free. I don’t understand horse selling, I truly don’t.

What think you, did I make the right call re the hunter’s bump?

Horse Hunt, 1 of 2

Went to look at two horses. Activity if not progress. Didn’t ride either one. Why ride once I’ve seen a deal-breaker?

The first horse was a gorgeous palomino Quarter Horse. Not just yellow but a beautiful gold with flashy chrome. Not that I’m influenced by color, not in the slightest. Long legs. Nice build. Lots of Thoroughbred influence.

He was billed as a hunter. He was a fabulous hunter for Palomino Hunter Under Saddle. He had forward reach with his front feet, a lovely rounded neck/head carriage, and the hind end of a peanut roller. He will go to his National Show and beat all comers. As for the “real” hunter ring, not as suitable.

I’ve seen the same thing in saddlebreds. Initially, I though ASB Hunter Country Pleasure would be a fun niche for me. Now that I’ve seen several HCP classes, I realize that they do not want a hunter rider nor do they want a hunter horse. They want a saddleseat rider in long boots and a ASB in hunter tack. There is a slight change in head position from a full-on, three-gaited horse, but a far cry from the daisy-cutting feet and forward head carriage of a classic Thoroughbred hunter. The only place my specialized knowledge would come in handy is to organize a neckful of hunter braids without cutting the flowing three-gaited mane. I’ve braided worse.

On one hand, Breed Hunter Under Saddle. On the other hand, Hunter/Jumper Hunter Under Saddle. Both fine and lovely. Not at all the same thing.

Any experience with hunters in non-hunter venues that you would care to share?

Tomorrow, Horse #2.

Foto Friday Furlough

Foto Friday will return when I repair/replace my camera(s).

There’s one advantage to writing. In a pinch, you can use a crayon and a grocery bag. For photography, you really need the gear.

Plus, I’m too beat from my lesson to come up with an alternative. It hurts to sit down. Unlike hunters/dressage, a fundamental part of saddleseat riding is driving your knees into the saddle. My lateral [leg-on-the-horse] muscles are strong and solid; my rotational [twist-the-knee-in] muscles, not so much.

Booie

Another one from the archives. Circa 1979, or thereabouts.

This was at my first off-the-property show. I was 16 years old. I was leasing my second horse. I thought I was the cat’s meow. Since Booie could be strong, I spent most of my class galloping in a small circle around the judge. I may have been less slick than I thought.

Red Flags

Seller: He’s never done that before.
Buyer: Thank you for your time.

My horse shopping adventures continue. Why is it that the only horse trainer who has shown ongoing enthusiasm for my horse hunt is involved with a breed that isn’t popular for jumping? I refer of course to the saddleseat lady. If I had been absorbed by the collective and had decided to go three-gaited, I’d have a horse by now. Or, I certainly would have looked at dozens in the last few months. Unfortunately, I still want to jump. At least, I think I like jumping. It’s been a while.

What red flags have you encountered, with horses or in life?

For the Record

I was emitting my standard whinge about Rodney’s vast, gorgeous uselessness. Hubby replied with,

“Well, imagine how good you will feel when you are leading the victory gallop in Texas next fall.”

????

“Why not? You still have 18 months.”

!!!!

He was referring to the American Eventing Championships, being held in each September from 2013 to 2015 at the Texas Rose Horse Park in Tyler, Texas. I can’t tell whether he really believes this or needs to believe it in self-defense. I think he’s been biking in traffic and inhaled too many carbon monoxide fumes. Currently, the future stretches in front of me as a comfortable, featureless, beige plane filled with an endless repetition of “petty tasks and worthless jobs”, occasionally to be interrupted by tragedy, and gradually descending into terminal rot. Of course, I could be wrong.

In his defense (Hubby’s not Rodney’s), IF Rodney and I could ever trot quietly into a show ring, we’ve got the moves. He (Rodney not Hubby) could be the mid-life-crisis horse that he was bought to be. It’s the trotting-in-quietly that is the rate-limiting step.

Should it all one day come together, I want it on file that Hubby always had faith that it would.

I Got Nuthin’

You know when you go out to the barn and your conditioning program calls for dressage or flat work or some version of concentrated athletic effort and you say ‘Verb it. I’m going on a trail ride’? It’s like that.

This is my brain on a trail ride.
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(Picture looks better enbiggened.)