TOABH: Shining Star

Beka of The Owls Approve has another great blog hop topic: Let's talk about the biggest achievements your horse has accomplished.  I'm not talking about you as a rider - I want to know what your ponykins has done to make you proud.  Is there a glorious satin collection, did he/she figure out some dressage movement that took months to learn, or are is it just a great day when your butt stays in the saddle?  

Kentucky Horse Park, our first recognized event
at Novice level.

Moe has achieved many things in the 11 years I've had him. He's jumped all kinds of stuff. He's let beginners tool around on him. On his back, I've accomplished things I wasn't sure I'd ever do. He's done it all with his cheerful, can-do, try-hard attitude intact. For those things alone, he's a shining star. 

But I think I'm most proud of Moe for overcoming his spookiness. At his previous owner's farm, Moe lived a very different life. He was stalled, ate Triple Crown, and was ridden mostly by the wonderful trainer who sold him to me. When he came to live with me, he was kicked out in a 10-acre field with two other horses who weren't very nice to him, he ate my dad's 'special' mixture of sweet feed, corn, and oats (I wasn't into nutritional analysis when I was 16, okay?), and he had to cope with a teenager who thought hacking out down the road with no shoulder was awesome. Poor Moe. It's a wonder he's made it this long.

I distinctly remember hand grazing Moe in the front yard one day. I did this with my horses a lot, mostly after riding. I wasn't paying a lot of attention, and Moe stepped on his lead rope. He tried to move his head to graze, couldn't, and promptly freaked the fuck out. I thought Moe was an idiot. 

I'm not sure when the shift from spooky to solid occurred, but a couple of years ago, I was hand grazing Moe after a bath when he stepped on his lead rope. He tried to move his head. Instead of losing his shit, he moved his hoof and went back to eating. I've hardly been more pleased.

Gina is easy. I'm proud of her for jumping without huge, awful problems. I'm obviously happy she's a good dressage horse, and I'm glad she and I seem to have bonded- as hokey as that sounds. But I was so disappointed when she wasn't the jumper I thought she was. Now, she's jumping as if there's never been a problem. Princess Pony isn't such a brat after all.