Baby Greenie Support Group now open: Share Your Pain!

Lucky Me, I think I have come to the conclusion that there are NO clean slates unless you breed 'em and raise them yourself! Ask a friend of mine who started an unbroken hand raised orphan foal. My goodness, if you ever want to participate in a major effort in training a greenie, try tackling a spoiled rotten horse who has NO concept of the “normal” boundaries between man and horse.

Since that time, I learned that the “new & improved” way to raise an orphan is to put them in a “people free” area and bucket nurse them with other orphans if a nurse mare is not available. The last option is to hand raise them. Makes for lousy behaviors later in life, and I have seen it in a few orphan babies! At any rate, watching her “clean slate” has made me thank the gods I only have to undo all the track behaviors

No e-mail in the profile…

You can e-mail me at rory.gibbs@gecapital.com

(if that isn’t a clue to my true identity, I don’t know what is!)

So where are you living these days? Why the move? My big Eq horse, Terrapin (who most people remember me by) is no longer in this world.

But I since bought a 2 year old WB mare (who is now 5) that I do the A/A hunters with and I just bought a 3 year old WB gelding who has been u/s all of 3 months. Hence - I am not only a member of the Baby Greenie Support Group - I am also a customer!

Great thread!

Elliot was such a good boy at his, “Fun Show”, that at the moment other than getting all his leads correct and wringing his tail like a wind up toy, I have nothing to pray for!! haha

So I guess I am saying at the moment…“My Ignorance is Bliss”!! hahaha

Also I didn’t have to ride him that day, I had a wonderful “sacraficial lamb” riding him and making him look wonderful!!!

I had a close call with sailing through the air today…It was windy and cold and Gramento decided to take exception to the doors at the end of the ring making scary noises. I guess he decided to take pity on me, or maybe my bribes of ginger snaps before I got on helped… But, he decided to let me get my feet back in the stirrups, get my hands out of his neck, and take a deep breath, rather than finishing me off. Phew!!!

Won2Keep. . . I’ll join your “Just Broke Support Group”!

Tigger says he’ll join, too. He’s had innumerable ailments (Oh, shut up, Merry! ), so he’s not as far along as others in his peer group.

So we, too, weave, bobble, drift in/drift out, twisty head, gape mouth, lose all focus and attention to detail… Oh, we’re there, we’re doing that. Right now, we’re learning itsy-bitsy leg yields – a few steps off the rail, then leg yield (well, our version of it, anyway ) back to the rail. Tigger finds this so very, very odd. His take: If you want to go to the rail, we can just TURN and get there MUCH faster.

Baby steps. Isty-bitsy, teeny-tiny baby steps. That’s what I tell myself every time I climb aboard.

Bulletin Board Goddess

Ah, Hopeful, so you want your horse more supple to the right? Gee, who among us has THAT wish???

Duffy, LOL about the “rack”! Yes, Hammie can do this bizarre, almost single-foot gait when he gets spazzed out at the walk, especially on the trail. What’s up with that? I wonder if it’s a warmblood thing. Beezer and I recently took Tigger on a trail ride, and another rider we passed asked, “Is that a Tennessee Walker?”

“Friends don’t let friends eat fish tacos.”

Well, it has been a month since the Greenie meltdown and I thought I would give you all an update. To refresh your memory, our greenie had been progressing very nicely then went to Culpeper and wouldn’t even make a hunter circle to even get to his first fence. We gave him a couple of weeks of light work then proceeded to the local circuit. For the last two weekends, Jumpsalot has ridden him successfully in the Low/Schooling/Baby divisions and has done rather well. He still requires a lot of leg. Don’t know where or why his confidence left him but it seems to be recovering nicely. In the meantime the kid is riding a cute “packer” and having fun. It will probably be a couple more shows before we venture into the show ring with the greenie and kid. Want to make sure both are ready.

News at 11.

Never a thread endder Quinn. Welcome…We’re just starting the spring show season. Should be fun with all these greenies! Lots more pages of support to go.

Dekster is a wonder horse!! We have semi problems with sheep, can imagine a llama…

Nothing like the sun to bring out the best in one’s beastie. We had such lovely extensions today, thought I was on a different horse. No unhappy faces, just bending, softening and opening that step. Transitions to die for, of course once one hits the show ring, well…

Now before you read this, I want you to remember that I told you all about falling off at the first fence last weekend. And I might even, if pressed, admit that I went off course for the first time in my life this past weekend. But other than that (and a few other “duh! why am I here” moments on my part) Tess managed to go to her first big show and acquit herself beautifully. I was so proud of her, I could hardly stand it. Better still, Mr. LaurieB, who had been warned in advance not to expect too much got to see her kick some butt (thankfully not mine ) Here’s a picture of Tess in Baby Green.

Don’t know what possessed Gramento today. It was a good 20 degrees chillier than yesterday, the tractor was dumping gravel dust and gravel, complete with someone shoveling it out of the front loader right at the entrance to the barn. So, Gramento could hear it, but not see it and he still was about perfect today!!! Maybe he knew I couldn’t handle anything else today after staying up all night for Disney last night, after typing, coping, stuffing 150 folders for the Judges’ Clinic! I knew I was probably going to be ok today when I got on and there was no hump under me!

Do the words masochistic mean anything Breezey?? Sorry just had to rib you, excuse the pun. With all those breaks, ummmmmm you might want to narrow down the future possibilities? Plus, aren’t we supposed to gain some wisdom and insight as we get older? Yeah right!!!

DMK riding the layups deserve kudos of the highest degree. When we were young and very stupid, used to break these track darhlings…Bitting them, laying on them, then teaching them to pony…Ah those were the days.

But being true MLM’s, we keep climbing on. Indifferent to the consequences. Ahhhhh, here you have ladies & gentlemen, true horsemen.

And Merry… you have named Barbie Cow such for a reason. Remember??? You love the Hambone. He makes you crazy, yet is phenominal when he jumps. Any chance he can go out for 30 or so days?? Give you a weee vacation?

welcome aboard - I enjoyed your post!

You’re from Palo Alto? I’m from the Peninsula too and ride in Portola Valley. Where do you ride?

“Oh Mickey you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind, hey Mickey! Hey Mickey!”

Lead changes across the diagonal are not a problem for Hammie. There’s enough of a visual clue, like, “Hey dummy, see the arena rail? We’re about to intersect with it, and it appears to be curving to the LEFT.”

Our problem is coming out of a 5 or 6 stride line down the outside rail, and then having about 30 feet to get rebalanced, get a change and THEN turn left before we hit the rail. I’m slowly perfecting this. It requires quite a touch of athleticism. I believe barrel racing will be a cinch.

“Friends don’t let friends eat fish tacos.”

Awww, that’s a great pic LaurieB! How come those photographers never get a good shot of me? Oh yea, it’s 'cause I can break a camera lens!!!

here’s another

Sophia’s mom

Sophia M. Taylor

Gee, Chef, I have sooooo been in THAT movie before! So, how exactly does it feel to you as you make the decision to pull up, circle, and add strides in lines? I’m usually thinking, “Well, there goes $20,” or, “Better do this now or abandon all hope for a ribbon in tomorrow’s class.”

Oh, and I love your comment, “Not only am I a member (of this support group), but I’m also a customer.”

Hey, we aims to please!

“Friends don’t let friends eat fish tacos.”

Well, 1205, I’m not sure which of your wishes made me chuckle more… #5 has been the most humiliating and painful for me.

As for binge drinking before the hacks, my baby gelding is a binger, too. But he absolutely will not pee unless he has a stall. He’ll hold it all day. Then he’s so uncomfortable that he can’t hack with a relaxed back or hind end. sigh Hence, I do lots of overnight shows, or at least compete someplace where he can have an empty stall to hang out in.

Now me… I can pee in the trailer, but we’ve discussed this before.

“Charter Member of the Baby Greenie Support Group of North America”

Sorry to hear about your fall. Since you don’t remember much, does that mean you have a concussion? Are you “grounded” for six weeks?

As for helmets, I have three (and yes, one head in case you’re wondering ) a Charles Owens SJ2000 (for showing), Int’l ATH (winter schooling), and Troxel Dakota (summer schooling), and I like them all.

It is benefitting you by giving you practice at urging forwad a horse who is frozen to the ground. With such valuable practice you will learn which of the 5 possible options available to him he is likely to choose when he becomes unfrozen (I am assuming that “down” is not a viable option – only forward, back, left, right and up are potential avenues of escape).

Such knowledge is imperative if you happen to be mounted when the color guard for the opening ceremonies of the Sat. matinee comes cantering by.

Been there, done that. I have never had a horse back up so far, and so fast in my life. We ended up back at our stall when they were calling for us in the ring.