Ruby, The Dressage Goddess
Pleasantmeadow is right. I haven’t given my own horses their due. Ruby (Donner Rubina) came out of a broodmare herd 2 years ago at the age of 7. She is by Donnerhall, her grandfather is Rubinstein. She looks like Rembrandt or Rubinstein. She had less than 30 days training when I got her.
Her personality is that of a royal princess from centuries ago. She is about 16H, petite, and reminds me of the painting of the little princess by Velaquez, “Las Mininas”. She is warm, matronly, loving, and very kind. I think she is quite beautiful in a delicate, not touching the ground way.
She has a large book of etiquette that she lives by, and checks to make sure everyone around her follows the court rules. She can whip her fan out and rap faster than you can see it, if there is a transgresstion. She uses her front legs like hands and arms. She will direct you with a bent high knee, sweeping in the direction of her wishes. One of the gelding herd,
an RID gelding, said something rude when he first introduced himself to her. She was immediately up on her hind legs and swatted him with her front hoof, like rapping him with a fan. He was shocked, and quickly backed off and apologized. She didn’t leave a mark on him.
She doesn’t suffer fools gladly and is quick to let you know if you have made a mistake that is offensive. She requires the lightest of hands and works off of my thinking the movement. She is a demanding partner, who makes me grow everytime I’m with her.
She is fond of me and takes care of me, and forgives my achy back and odd postions to stretch. She can throw in perfect one tempe changes if she is concerned about something she is learning that she doesn’t understand. I have never been on a horse that found it so easy to move like a ballet. It can be like a fantasy.
She came with me to the Paul Striberry clinic, at Hunter’s Rest, and watched and picked up jumping and all the turns and the pacing. I never thought a dressage horse would like to jump, but she does. When I collected her too much, she jumped 3 1/2 feet over the itty-bitty vertical.
She has learned courage across hunting country. The coth hunt was her debut. Her reaction to seeing hounds was a series of half passes with great extension and reach, :D:lol:
Then she watched Hunter’s Rest and the other horses in the 3rd field and learned the game. She did well on the river crossings even though she had never been in water that deep. About an hour out, she relaxed and started enjoying herself instead of worrying. When Pleasantmeadow did the gates, Ruby was willing to stay with her and help if needed.
I think she will be a wonderful lifetime horse for me, and interested in doing whatever we want to try. She is such a joy!
It wasn’t a complete backslide today and probably pretty typical for a greenie but man, I was loving having an atypical, easy, peasey horse so far. I called it a day early with me on top, not crying and her mind mostly back with me.
