LaurieB - was that at Wills Park?
I took my greener-than-green new horse over there on Saturday (about 6 PM) to soak up the ambiance, as it were…
Considering that we had a “minor” incident as I was unloading him, he was pretty darn good. Shaken, but stood like a good boy for the rest of the time he was there. Did this very careful slow walk - deliberately putting his feet down very slowly when he was most nervous. It was odd - sort of like a spanish walk lite 
Well, here’s the horse I’m picking up next weekend. I think she’s just adorable 
. I know, she is a little small, but I’m hoping she gets to 15.3.
LuckyMe, have you really?? I actually do not have much experience with paint/QH lines. I’m happy to hear that. This mare is definitely a great mover. Very flat kneed.
Whadaya all think???
~SARA~
Horse, thou truly are a creature without equal, for thou fliest without wings and conquerest without sword.
Please, please can I join? I have become the proud owner of a large 5 year old Canadian Thoroughbred gelding who is the most pleasant ,polite guy to be around. However, he is still very gangly young and stil doesn’t quite know how to move the front end and back end together. Very unbalanced but sweet and willing.
Some minor problems like - doesn’t always like to stand still when I’m mounting, can go past something a thousand times during the course of the week but the 1001 time he spooks, he absolutely hate flys and being hot (I guess he likes the cooler Canadian weather). I haven’t had
my own horse in 6 years due to life and illness and now I have one!
However, I was really just looking for a nice sale horse but he came along and now I just have to keep him. I really didn’t want a green horse but he is polite enough and not crazy stupid and forgiving. I have been riding as much as possible for the past year and I half leased a horse last winter and have been taking lessons to help me regain some of what I lost.
Sorry to go on and on - but I am just so happy and excitied - I had a great young life with horses on LI and now as I get older and my kids are on their on life paths I feel like I can play with a horse again and along comes this nice baby!
Winter in VT does not look so bleak to me now!
Thanks for listening
Congratulations Duffy
Serendipity - another thing to consider is that you may be one of those unlucky owners of “not a winter horse”…
Not that any horse is stellar in the winter. After training my first greenie in winter (used to live in Ft. Lauderdale), I am starting to understand why people used to toss 'em out for the winter. It had NOTHING to do with giving the HORSE a mental and physical break, thank you very much!! I’ve come to the conclusion that training in winter is a whole lot about not losing ground.
Anyway, my old hunter Raven was so very NOT a fun horse in winter. Even in South Florida (it just didn’t last as long down there). Even as a mature, thoroughly trained horse, he was never a lot of fun in the winter. There may have been some way to change it, but it didn’t involve lunging or work. And it wasn’t just freshness, it was like he was worried about life.
There was a thread on this topic not to long ago(probably on horse care) - may be worth checking out people’s suggestions. I know we tried that Winter Companion supplement on a horse at the barn that seems to suffer from the same issues. Can’t say it was a miracle cure, but it seemed to help a little…
Still waiting for Merry’s version of the story…
[I]"You can pretend to be serious; you can’t pretend to be witty. "
Mesach, been there with Elliot. 
Just part of growing up. After the Chiros, three different kinds, Vets, teeth floated, sheath cleaned, saddle fitter, custom saddle and wavey girth…enough was enough and I let the trainer take care of it.
Balance is Elliot’s biggest problem, low in front. Along with the fact that I revel in his slowness, and we get to plodding along and not being in front of the leg.
Like I said before, our love for each other is out of us both being LAZY!! haha 
I wish I was as wise as my trainer, I could give you all sorts of good advise.
Because in the 5 months I have been with her, Elliot and I have improved so much.
There are all sorts of things that with work made it possible for us to stop the swishing tail, the kicking out, the head in my lap attitude.
It makes me teary eyed thinking about how nice things are going now, which can only mean I have jinxed us and the winter is going to be HECK!!! 
haha
Seriously, many of the things I have read here for you to do are what we did.
Now for RF aka Yeehaw!!!
My concern is out of my friendship for you and being a Mother.
I know you will wear your helmet, forever more dear.
now my baby has decided that in the indoor, he can only jump over jumps in the direction away from the in-gate. If you try to jump over the EXACT SAME JUMP, five seconds later, in the opposite direction, he just can’t do it. Crash through it, stop dead, run out, anything except leave the ground.
OK OK, I answered bumpkin via e-mail before I saw this, but I must shamelessly use this opportunity to get in another post (I am competing against Maddie’s mom, you know 
).
I normally use Eqyss Premier the rest of the year, but for the first month after clipping I use a conditioner daily, so I use the slightly more economical Miracle Coat conditioner.
As for clipping bays, you are lucky Bumpkin indeed - Robbie is a true blood red bay, so he turns a hideous O-RANJ color, which is only relieved by a smattering of black dapples on his rump and back.
Rivers is a true mahogany bay, and I thought for sure he would get that “reverse doberman” color thing, but he actually stayed true to his color, just a tad darker (whew!)
Clipping a new horse for the first time is like unwrapping a christmas present from a dotty old aunt - you are never quite sure what you are going to get!
I definately do not want to stay in L/S!!!
I plan on getting very confident in the L/S and hopefully moving up.
I don’t know if in our area that move up is A/A, or if there is another division in between the two or not.
Elliot doesn’t even jump the 2’-?" that the L/S is, and I feel I would be wasting him in that division.
I am leaving all choices of where we enter up to my trainer though.
Since most of the other ladies in our barn pretty much show in the Jumpers and Event, I think she has no qualms moving us up if we need to.
She does not push or scare us at all, but slowly builds that confidence back up.
Another lesson tonight after my realization that my balance leaves MUCH to desire!!!
I wish for a new and improved work ethic and a longer attention span.
You mean I have to jump another fence? I just jumped 3 in a row, without taking a break. I think it is time for a snack.
Wave magic wand Now we can make it through the entire course at a show, instead of just the first half.
“I’m trapped in the equine equivalent of ‘Dungeons and Dragons.’ I’m in the dungeon with the … well, you know.”
Today was Round Two of Hammie versus the Santa Ana winds versus Merry. I think the winds gave up long before Merry did. Hammie, for some reason, kept trying to use the old “there’s a big fat black Labrador climbing all over the blowing silver tarp on top of the shavings pile” excuse for spooking in a corner. Merry was having none of it.
Tigger, meanwhile, was taking it all in as he trucked around the arena. You could almost hear him thinking: “I sooooooo don’t want any part of THAT action! Man, look at him get in trouble … and then he DOES IT AGAIN! Tigger is a good boy, Tigger is a GOOD boy, Tigger doesn’t want to get in trouble, Tigger is A GOOD BOY!”
I see trees of green, red roses too. I watch 'em bloom for me and for you. And I think to myself … what a wonderful world. Yes, what a wonderful world." – Louie Armstrong.
I have several notions about a greenie – and the first is that he must learn to enjoy his work or the rest of the training will be hell. So I focus on having nice times with a greenie – and sometimes it means slipping a little bit of training in when they are not looking.
But I think I go too far sometimes: Today, Mikey (4) was “scared” of the birdies that fly up in one corner of the ring. So we don’t go there. And he was also strong on his circles if I made a big deal about bending (he “pretends” that he gets the “go forward” aid mixed up with the “bending” aid…) So we didn’t fuss too much with bending today. And, being on the muscle, I decided that cantering was not in the cards today (why fight with him when I just KNOW he will be bad and go crow hopping around the ring???)
So, our ride ended up being walk and trot, in 3/4ths of the ring with no bending work. Did he have a good time? SURE! But did I let him dictate the terms of the ride? YOU BET!
How far do all of you do with making a greenie listen when he isn’t ready and forcing issues when he wants to be a dork?
I’m new but I need support!!
I have two green large ponies. One is gorgeous 5 year old, broken late, nice mover, nice jumper, and is such a pretty colour (shes a chocolat brown all over, with red streaks in her tail). Shes gonna be a hunter. Shes a total sweetheart and her trainings going extremely well, minus the sudden urges she gets to rush at fences every now and then, and the fact that she can’t do lead changes! Well I get them about 50% of the time, usually with a circle and a little buck or two.
My other mare, not so sweet, shes a total boss mare, tries to kick other horses all the time when I ride. She CAN do leadchanges, not so gorgeous as the other one, she moves nice, is a connermara (STUBBORN) so not the typical hunter (shes gonna do pony jumpers probaly), but can jump the moon. Good transitions, but doesn’t flat nice (doesn’t like to bend, track, frame). She DOES likes motercycle turns, and to flatten out and gallop to fences (she never stops though). And she does NOT like you asking her for a distance. I can’t do anything too much or sudden or she gets defensive and mare-ish on me. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHH I’m taking lessons on both of them, along with my other guy (my saint horse that keeps me sain) and they are improving, but sometimes it just feels like they are never going to be ready to show.
My trainer just called me. “So, are you doing the baby greens… meaning I have to get there before breakfast?”
Me: “What? Are you insane? I am so out of that division, if only because of the start time!”
(I’ve opted for the low childrens/amateur adult rounds as my warm-up rounds before am/ad.).
I don’t want this weekend to be anymore “trying” than necessary!
“Charter Member of the Baby Greenie Support Group of North America”
Way to go, Bumpkin! We love “good lesson” stories.
I haven’t had a greenie in a while, but I can tell you that just a few days ago I got some pictures in the mail of a horse I sold when he was verygreen. They were from his new owner who has gone through much with him, but there he was at a show, braided, shiny, alert, and jumping a fence with his knees around his ears. There was a nice note telling me how much she loves him. All I can tell all you current green bean owners is keep telling yourselves, “they do grow up, they do grow up”. (Think “there’s no place like home” from The Wizard of Oz and you’ll have the proper cadence)
Now that’s funny.
LaurieB - want me to hold your friend down while you beat her about the head and neck with a wet noodle?
Or maybe you should just wait until summer when its 95 degrees and she is wearing 5 inch long spurs and developing Super Calves in a desperate attempt to go forward as you gracefully canter up the five?
An optimist thinks we are living in the best of all times…
A pessimist fears this is true.
<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Lord Helpus:
We are all MLM’s here (mid-life masochists). Why do you suppose it is that there are few (if any) young 'uns in this group?
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Pam, I suspect it has something to do with the fact that we’ve reached the age where we know what we want. We also know full and darn well that nobody’s going to give it to us (i.e. we’ve come to grips with the knowledge that we’re not going to win the lottery or be the last-man-standing on Survivor ) So if we can’t afford to buy that perfect, pre-made, hunter of our dreams, we know we’re just going to have to make it ourselves.
Gramento thanks ya’ll for the many compliments!
Awww, Merry…You know greenies. Now, if Gramento can come close to being as good this coming weekend at The Barracks…
That is one very handsome boy Duffy!!!
“Always speak your mind, but ride a fast horse” – Texas Bix Bender
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
