Partially tongue-in-cheek because I love all my horses, but I really love this one.
I have posted about him a bit, but at the end of April, my latest OTTB endeavor came to me from Kentucky. The middleman he came from was, well, less than forthcoming, and he came incredibly foot- and body-sore, with the worst hack shoe job I’ve seen in my life. For a horse that was intended to be my RRP horse or be a quick sell, I was a little “WTF have I done?!” Not something I usually feel with my resell projects.
But there was something about him that gave me the much-needed patience to pull his shoes for a couple of months, let him have some Robaxin smoothies, and wait. And now I’m so glad I did because I have the quietest, simplest OTTB I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with.
I recapped our dressage show outing last month, and since then, we’ve started flatwork in earnest, some very good pole work, and added some tiny jumps to the mix. On Saturday, we went to a very nice local show and did two under-saddle classes. He did not bat an eye at a single thing, even having to show in a strange indoor ring that he didn’t get to school in. Our first canter transition was a little frazzled (first under saddle class, I get it, buddy!), but the judge came up to us afterward and said what a nice horse he was and how the transition bobble was such a shame because his trot work was so “fantastic.” I swear it made me teary—that, and the one-of-a-kind Sally Ike (who you’ll see in the photo below) admiring him and complimenting him and presenting him his second ribbon of the day with a warm pat.
I just cannot wait for RRP and the future with this horse.