My next equine project horse

So pleased your lad has improved.
Ted seems to love going out and about, is he turning into a more sophisticated party animal? or does his wind problem still embarrass him? maybe he should swop the fizzy pop for a good red wine now he's growing up.
You must be so proud of him though, turning into a real super star.
 
lovely to see the gorgeous ted again....well done on the results 68% is pretty good IMO. fingers crossed your big horse stays well and you can have a little holiday....
 
Well done Ted! Even more well done to his support team!
Clearly he just likes to keep you on your toes.
How about Alice - is she still out of action?

Fingers crossed for your big lad and the August holiday.
 
teacups said:
Well done Ted! Even more well done to his support team!
Clearly he just likes to keep you on your toes.
How about Alice - is she still out of action?

Fingers crossed for your big lad and the August holiday.
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Thank you, Ted is entered and off on another adventure next Friday at Allens Hill, doing an intro as his warm up and then Prelim 7. He is loving cantering and we now have the problem of explaining to him that he cannot stick in third gear all the time. His rider tells me just a tiny weighting of the seat bone is all that is needed to get the canter transition. How wonderful I thought, rules me out of ever riding him, my backside flaps in the wind so god know what Ted would produce, a back flip probably.

His girlfriend alternates between on the sick and on the dole. I fear she is one of the dreaded living, breathing and limping disaster equines. There is absolutely no doubt she has no intention of wearing her new Jimmy Choo's out. Weeks off with a cough and on the day she was due to start walking again she produced a pair of swollen hinds, not lame and no pain. They went down after a couple of days and she is going hacking this evening - I hope, plenty of time for her to think of something to avoid exercise.
 
So how did he get on this time? No report yet - is it because you are stunned into speechlessness by his progress, exhausted by his teenage tantrums or because you are still asleep after partying hard to celebrate his success?

Loved the backflip idea! And Alice...oh dear...how did the hack go?
 
teacups said:
So how did he get on this time? No report yet - is it because you are stunned into speechlessness by his progress, exhausted by his teenage tantrums or because you are still asleep after partying hard to celebrate his success?

Loved the backflip idea! And Alice...oh dear...how did the hack go?
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Please tell me it wasn't you he tried to run over at Allens Hill yesterday. Whoever the lovely lady was that came up to us as we unloaded and said 'oh wow, that is Ted isn't it'? and then he promptly behaved very rudely, I sincerely apologise on behalf of the furry ejit.
 
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update - started farted and ecked off just about sums yesterday up.

He travelled really well but was an idiot in the lorry park, not a clue what wound him up but it was instant as he came off the ramp. Whirling around me it was the nearest I will ever get to wind surfing, then he started thrashing out with his front legs. Tantrum or colic was my first thought. Hanging on for grim death and shouting to his rider to get a bridle we led him into one of the arena's, shut the gate and got a bridle on him. Note to self, put the bridle on in the lorry next time, don't assume he will be quiet just because he normally is.

Then he started screaming at other horses and I realised he was having some sort of anxiety attack. Once mounted he was ok which was a massive relief. His work was tense as can be seen above but he managed 69% and won his warm up intro test. Finally a judge has seen what he is and put it into words on his sheet. She said - 'Fabulous active and sensitive horse, he needs to relax both physically and mentally' . We have waited so long for a judge to realise what they are watching and understand just how hard it is to ride him. Appearance is not always the real picture, yes he looks like a common carthorse but his brain his needle sharp, Carl Hester would love him !, we would prefer a bit more of a plod.

Prelim 7 was a disaster, rider brain fade and error of course followed by Ted doing most of the test, including the walk in canter. He loves to canter now he has mastered it !!

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Onwards, not sure where he is going next, possibly a pleasure ride to relax.
 
I lost the vote on the leg warmers, rider and veterinary say Ted would not be Ted without the fluff, plus I am too broke to sedate him to do it. He blinds the judges with his sparkly feathers and then they cannot see all the naughtiness.
 
AdorableAlice said:
I lost the vote on the leg warmers, rider and veterinary say Ted would not be Ted without the fluff, plus I am too broke to sedate him to do it. He blinds the judges with his sparkly feathers and then they cannot see all the naughtiness.
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Absolutely - Ted just wouldn't be Ted without the feathers. They are beautifully clean and therefore totally smart as far as I'm concerned - especially Daz white! :) Very well done Ted. My Clyde cross the same age hasn't got to prelim's at all yet so you are well ahead of us. :)
 
Another newbie to the thread here. I've just spent two days reading the whole thing and have loved it all. Definitely addicted to updates now.

I saw at some point that someone suggested photoshopping the feathers off Ted, so I've taken the liberty. Without the fluff he's pretty much the doppelgänger of one of my aunt's horses from years ago. (Funnily enough, my aunt always had it in mind to sell him on to the police at some point for use as a drum horse. They decided to take him and came to pick him up, but she decided at the last minute she couldn't part with him. The police left with an empty lorry.)

tedclipped.jpg
 
How clever is that ! Interesting too because I have always felt his Shire sloping pastern would not look great with clipped legs and this photoshopped picture confirms my thoughts.
 
Sven said:
A month and no update!
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He is asleep and has been for a month. Between his rider and I we have got rid of an entire month on holiday so he has also been on holiday too. I did ask his breaker to come and ride him but he is too busy at this time of year with his show horses. Tomorrow Ted comes back in and will start hacking in readiness for an autumn/winter of dressage. We are really hoping he will not bat an eyelid tomorrow when the tack comes out and just be very grown up. I think the long break has done him good, he is tricky to catch but over his break he has been calling to me and trotting over each end of the day to have his check and a carrot.

Adorable Alice, his girlfriend has been doing a small amount of work but remains woefully behind Ted in her education. She prefers to be on the sick and is so frustrating. Having longed for a pair of Jimmy Choo's she promptly lost one in the first week, we found it and put it back on so she took the other one off and lost that, blooming creature is back barefoot now. She is booked in for a training clinic in the morning, I hope she doesn't think of an excuse overnight.
 
Hi, I just discovered this thread after searching ' shire x ' after a frustrating couple of weeks with my baby. I too bought a shire x Irish draught ' rough diamond ' scardy cat and your thread has a lot of familiar themes.
Please don't stop it now that I have discovered another who lives a life of frustration with a 'big quiet' horse.
hopefully I have successfully attached photos of my Molly below. This is when I bought her for a bargain price (read felt sorry for her)
https://goo.gl/photos/oJibBzF8Zp3H8JEF7
and these are now just as I was considering a WT dressage test before she stuck her back leg through a gate, caught a chill and then developed cellulitis (hense aforementioned frustrations)
https://goo.gl/photos/HAUXk2dCtXpFXxVg8 https://goo.gl/photos/oJibBzF8Zp3H8JEF7
P.s can't wait to next update
 
I love Molly, what a nice stamp. I hope she gives you lots of fun, she is more athletic than Ted so should be more useful.

I am mightily relieved to be able to report that Ted was a total gentleman this morning, hacked out no messing and confident. He will be entered for the local riding club winter series starting in October along with Allens Hill, Swallowfields and Solihull winter dressage. Blooming great furry fool needs clipping already, I wonder if he will be more compliant with the clippers than last year.

I need to whisper the next bit.......Little Alice got on the truck, travelled, worked and came home without a) moaning and b) breaking, now there is an achievement. The trainer said the horse has loads of potential, lovely forward going paces and will score good marks. That's the kiss of death then, I could see the look of horror on Alice's face and have no doubt she is plotting another holiday.

I need to look at the BD Heavy Horse series, he isn't good enough to register but maybe he could go on a ticket. I will investigate.
 
Sandstone1 said:
I've read and enjoyed your thread. Do Ted's breakers do schooling livery at all?
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Davis hasn't done anything this year as he has been showing youngstock all season. I can ask for you, but bear in mind he is an old fashioned nagsman not a dressage trainer, so it would depend on what you are after really. Forget renver, traver and half pass, think more of you are going forward and doing as you are asked training with a rider that just sits there and does nothing more than stay relaxed and tell the horse to 'get on with it'. Pm me if you want me to ask.
 
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