Perfect horse

I was reading today on Equestrian Ink about our perfect horses... and I have so much to say, that I would rather write a blog about it.

How did you guys come upon your perfect horse? What makes him/her perfect?

Dandy is my perfect horse... Frankly, I never thought I was going to keep her, because when I bought her, she was untrained, nearly unhandled and wouldn't do anything calmly. Why did I buy her then??? Well, because I have the biggest heart in the universe and I felt sorry that she was going to a meat auction. When I saw her picture, she was jet black and her conformation pleased me. Dandy has nice straight legs (she stands a little bit under herself sometimes, which I ignored, it's no major flaw), a big hip, long thigh muscles, short cannon bones, nice big feet, a good neckset and headset. The two things that I didn't like (or liked less) was that her back was a bit long and she seemed to have a big head (at two years of age). Well... I can say that her head is still changing and getting SO pretty! and her slightly longer back makes for a very smooth ride!

When I bought her, she looked like crap! I wondered each and every day why I had bought THAT! Her hooves were so long (never trimmed in 2 years) and she wasn't trained. So, I had a 1 000 pounds of horse... untrained. I started to work slowly with a halter and lead, leading around, we did a lot of that. Then I got her used to having her legs touched without needing to pick them up... then I got to picking them up, not an easy task! She would kick, strike, rear, anything but bite! But she was calm and smart.

It didn't take long before I had trimmed all of Dandy's feet, but being in the state they were in, I trimmed every two weeks, not too drastically, but enough to allow change to take place... and it did. I am very proud, but I kick myself for not having taken more pictures of the before feet and the trims in between then and now.

Training Dany under saddle has been a breeze... in fact, the first time that I backed her was bareback with a halter and lead!!! I was working with her and just decided to give it a try, so I hopped on! She kind of froze for a minute, but did nothing. I made her go forward using the kissing noises, she had no clue what leg aids were and got her used to giving to pressure on each side from her halter. I rode for about 10 minutes and she offered to buck twice, but never did. The ongoing training sessions got Dandy in a bit and bridle, on long reins walking around and finaly with a saddle on + long reins.

When I started riding Dandy, she was almost 2.5 years old, we'd done our ground work, there were still things to perfect, but saddle work would help build her muscles to help her learn more difficult things. She had no muscle mass at all! Our first riding sessions lasted only from 10 to 20 minutes, without trotting or cantering and no hills! Dandy was allowed to focus on her balance and moving forward... she used to sway all over the trail from left to right, and she still does sometimes... silly mare! I started to introduce small trots (about 3-4 strides) about a month later and introduced small canters (3-4 strides) in the fall. I would never push her, she would choose to stop when she wanted. I had no problems training her out of stopping when she felt like it.

Dandy is now in her 4th year, going very strong and I love, love, love her to death! I crave riding her, and I daydream about it all the time. She has a nice little trot, a big trot, a WONDERFUL floating canter and a nice quick gallop! The gait I love the most on her is her canter... I would like to tape it to show you, she has HUGE movement, we spend 3/4 of the time in suspension or traveling through the air without touching the ground. It's like being on a BIG rocking horse, the feeling is undescribable, it's AWESOME!

Why do I think that Dandy is my perfect horse?
Dandy is no easy task for anyone else who rides her, she can be very challenging, but I have set the bar for Dandy, I have worked with her all of her life and I have shown her just as much as she has shown me. She completely trusts me and I completely trust her. I have fallen from her once and it wasn't her intention to throw me, I wasn't paying attention and we were cantering down a fenceline, something from the other side slightly spooked her and down I went. She stopped as soon as I fell and I got back on her to get to the barn, as I was injured.

Dandy is my perfect horse, because we understand each other, I no longer have to correct her so much and she comes to greet me and love on me all the time. She knows how much I love her and I know how much she loves me. She also knows how important it is to take care of other people that are on her back, per instance, my little cousin rode Dandy once and my mom (first time rider) takes lessons off of Dandy. I think that Dandy knows when I really feel that it's important for her to behave. My sister has the same riding experience that I do, and Dandy constantly tests her. Must be because I know my sister can handle it!

My plans for Dandy are: Learning leg yields and side passes. but before that, I want to work on her collection and fitness. I might also teach her to Piaffe just for fun. I want to take Dandy to English tack, because she has great potential in that field. I would also like to take her over some jumps. She has free jumped before (on a lungeline) and shows great interest in it, seems to love it, she also has great scope over jumps. In the western branch, I might start her on barrels or western games. She has potential in all fields and since I do not intend on showing her, well, I can pretty much do anything! When the snow melts (and it's pretty much all gone as we speak!!!) I will get Dandy cantering circles to work on collection and holding herself.

Any thoughts about your perfect horses!?