VERY proud mum alert!!!! Pics included.

eventrider23

eventrider23

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OK - I have been resisting gushing for the past couple of weeks about my darling 3.5 yr old (the coloured in my siggie) who I have just backed but today I can resist no longer!
I moved him to the college where I work about 2 weeks ago in preparation for backing him...he lunged, etc. already and all the ground work was done at home but I needed and arena to go any further.

We backed him about a week and a half ago and he has been the best youngster I have ever known...nothing seems to phase him...he was off the lunge line on day 1 trotting round the school like a grown up and in and OUTLINE. No...no one was asking him at all it is just the way he is built - in fact we were trying to not get him to go too soft. Well within 2 days he was riding round the indoor school with people coming in and out of the gallery keeping noise and working with other horses in the school like he'd done it every day of his life (we are only doing about 15 minds MAX at a time btw).

So up to this point I have already been the blithering idiot of a gushing mum as I have been waiting for this day to come since I bought him as a weanling.

So today we decided to go on his first proper hack - we've been going to the end of the college drive and back with coaches, etc driving about no problem all week. We went out with 2 nannies for what was supposed to be a quiet walk and trot around the block however plans had to change when the quiet Saturday morning traffic suddenly turned into what looked like rush hour on the M25 with my poor boy starting to get quite nervouse at the 20 or so cars lined up behind him and in front of him to overtake, OR if they weren't waiting they were refusing to slow down and passing us at about 70mph. Strangely enough it wasn't the cars he was scared of but instead all the leaves they were kicking up when they went past (scary monsters those leaves!
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So...as he was getting nervous we decided we had to go up a different route which encompassed going up onto the South Downs and along the top and the back down so that we coudl come out by the college entrance. Bearing in mind going up on the downs is now mean feat for someone on an older horse, farless a newly back 3.5 yr old on his first hack. Well....I couldn't be prouder of my little boy. He marched all the way up the hill without ba second thought....LED the way through some very scary gates that the others refused to go through....trotted along the top of the hill and then came down the other side and back him like a grown up!!!

Well what can I say?? I have never been so proud of any horse in my entire life and have never worked with one with such a fabulous attitude to life...in his view, nothing I have ever asked him to do has hurt before and so he'll trust me when I say it's ok. Not to mention I have never felt so safe and balanced on a youngster in my life/career....there is not even a question of bucking or rearing ever and he just in general acts as though he's done it all before. I have been so emotional about my boy being so grown up in the past 2 weeks that I hope you guys don't mind me gushing on about him on here.....

I am due to get some proper ridden pics done of him soon but just haven't had the time. Here are a couple pics of him through the ages though that I hope you will like and one of him just after I threw my mate who is showing him next season, who is on board on day 1.

The pic that made me fall in love:
mayday2.jpg

Then at 18 month's:
storm-oct06.jpg

Taking it easy at his first show (aged 2):
n517898863_79905_5027.jpg

At Heathfield show this year:
sogorgeous-1.jpg


and last but not least - a pic of him on day 1 of riding (not great quality as taken on my phone) - he was actually just about to fall asleep I think!:
bigboy-1.jpg
 
Just a quick question did you spend a lot of time on the ground with him, ie daily grooming catching leading, rugs feet etc etc, be interesting to know as i could be getting a 2year old next spring. And would love her to turn out like your boy!!
 
CONGRATULATIONS. He is a real credit to you! What a handsome boy he is too
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I take it you are going to keep him for eventing?
 
Thanks you guys.
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Trullimagicmoment - I have always been keen to get the right balance between doing the ground work and handling but also at the same time not doing too much and thus ending up with a youngster who is overconfident with people. I never did lots of daily handling - of course I went and checked him in the field and had a scratch and a cuddle and maybe a groom out in the field but I wanted to make sure he had plenty of time to just be a horse and grow up without people all about. What I did do though as a yearling/2 yr old was bring him into the yard once a week and do the usual stuff and tie up, groom, faff, etc. I also led him out on walks with me everywhere around the countryside in hand so that he learnt about the ways of the big bad world - I did this on his own and in company sometimes. In this way he also learnt the voice command for walk, trot, whoa, etc. plus got used to cars, etc etc. as well as trusting his handler. I also started putting a saddle on him, etc as a yearling/2 yr old and got him used to all the equipment that comes with working and started long reining him very gently every now and then as a 2 yr old and lunged him a couple of times to get him used to it (10 min sessions working in walk and halt mainly but getting him confident in being out on a circle away from me).

Generally tho I did a bit of everything with him - took him out to the odd show, turned him out with any and everything, and just generally made him understand that nothing I would ever make him do was going to be bad - the ONLY thing I still cannot now do with him is pull his mane or put fly spray on him - THOSE are just unspeakable things to do apparantly! LOL
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He actually had pretty much the whole of this summer off after doing Heathfield show and then when I started working him I did things like take him out doing ride & lead with another horse (getting him used to seeing me up above him), lunging him over poles and small x poles with tack on (so he got used to feeling the pressure and release of girth over a fence). He is now going to be ridden (mostly hacked out) till mid-december and will hen go back out in the field with his friends till mid-January so that he can have some time to process what has been done with him.

The biggest thing I find that works though is that I never treat them as babies (within reason of course). All of my guys, from the weanlings up, are taught to do things how they should always be done.....I personally think that if they are taught how to do things correctly from day 1 that you end up having everything turnout fine....I think the probs generally come when you have babies that have always been allowed to get away with things 'because they are only little' and then when they are older they then have to be taught the right way, which can end up causing arguements IMO. Both our weanlings for example will stand quietly to be rugged up and have their feet picked out whilst completely loose in the field....they've been taught to stand still from the start and so they do and should (hopefully
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) carry on this way.

PS - If he's reformed you to coloured btw I know that the lady who now owns his mum now has his full sister's for sale - both are very similar - one is a 2 yr old (3 nxt yr) and one is a weanling (1 nxt year)....lol....
 
HOLLYCAT - He is going to do a bit of everything to start with although ideally I would love to event him - jumping is just sooooo easy to him and he loves it. The plan for next year is to just get lots of experience under saddle and he will go out and do some affiliated WH and Ridden classes (coloured and non-coloured classes) as his full baby sister has been a prolific winner in the show ring so far and my showing friend's have been dying to get him into the ring properly as he has done so well whenever I have 'played' at showing him - he qualified for PUK and BSPA champs on his (and my) first foray into affiliated showing. If all goes well I'll also do a couple of BYEH classes....but we'll see....
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Well good luck with him - I'm sure he will do really well as he is a stunning boy. I totally agree that babies should behave themselves. I think peeps may think I am a bit mean to my three year old at times, but I can count on one hand when I actually need to repromand her. She too will spend the winter hacking both alone and in conpany just to get used to the world, before doing a bit more school work next spring.
 
Thanks you guys.
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I don't know why I waited actually...I guess I figured that everyone is backing their guys at the moment and so it's not SO big a deal but I was just sooo proud of him yesterday that I couldn't hold back any longer.

He is by the coloured stallion at Greenvale Stud called Alderfarn VII and out of a Dutch WB X Welsh D mare. This mare is proving to be pretty super actually as she is a solid bay and has so far had three foals to Aldi and one to Phanten...neither of whom are homozygous...and has had 4 exquisitely marked coloured foals.

This is dad:
aldistand.jpg


and these are his three sister's (he is the oldest and so far the only boy):

2yr old by Alderfarn VII (full sis):
pddancer.jpg


Yearling by Phanten (pic as a foal):
darby.jpg


Weanling by Alderfarn VII (full sis):
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Needless to say I am desperately trying to afford to by mum for myself as I would love to have a baby sister to Storm to breed from in the future!!
 
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