Turning Sibling Rivalry Into Harmony?

The Major General, Don Pecos du Cheval and Chevals Topp Mentor are half brothers.  I have wanted to put together a show pair for almost a decade and just can't find a fit with these three.  This is my dilemma:

Major
Confirmation: Round
Way of Going: More Hock than Knee Action
Height: 14.2HH
Color: Black

Ace
Confirmation: Angular
Way of Going: More Float than Bounce
Height: 14.3HH
Color: Brown

Don Pecos
Confirmation: Very Round
Way of Going: Supercharged on all Four
Height: 14 & 1/2HH [the half is important!]
Color: Applevale Orange

Maybe I'm splitting hairs.  They all look pretty round in the above photos.  But I know them.  They don't look, move or match each other.  But, this is what I have and I want a pair.

Major and Ace match the best in size and color.  Major is a stud.  Ace hates him.  Ace kicks and bites and generally beats the snot out of Major.  Major just wants to be friends.  Ace does not.  Oh, well, color is the last determination for a pair.

Major and Don Pecos grew up in adjoining paddocks.  They sort of get along.  Don Pecos tolerates Major. Just.  Pecos clocks Major with both hind feet when Major pushes his buttons too far.  They match in conformation.  Sort of.  Pecos is just so bloody short.  But we don't tell him that.  Ever.  Major has a longer stride because of his extreme hock action.  Pecos can keep up, though.  They just don't match.

I've been working Major and Don Pecos together, free lounging in the indoor arena.  This works out well about three quarters of the time.  Until Major's AD/HD clicks in and he leaves the tandem formation they have assumed and runs off to the far corner of the arena to sniff some sweet smelling something.  I run after him and Don Pecos stops, rolls his eyes and waits for me to herd Major back behind him.  

We get the whole thing going again and I study them.  I watch them move.  I do a lot of observing horses movement to determine how I can adjust the conditioning regime to get the best performance from the horse's potential.  After about 20 minutes, I see their cadence beginning to match.  After some sprinting, I can see their strides balancing.

Maybe.  Just maybe...

When we finished today, they decided to groom each other.  Major got a little too enthusiastic and Don Pecos wheeled and plowed him in the gut.

Brothers.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

To Ace and Pecos, With Love

Yesterday was a really tough day in the life of this blogger. I was fighting so many battles at once and being repeatedly wounded. I retreated to the barn and found more problems. It all seemed too much to bear. I thought of Belle Beach and her teaching and tried to 'ride' above the problems.

My adorable little lesson girls arrived and we got Ace and Pecos ready for the task at hand. Somehow the channeling of Belle Beach gave me the power to make it work. Ace settled back into routine and was being his brilliant babysitter self. I told his rider to ask him to get up on the bit by shortening her reins, moving her legs back and squeezing him up to his elegant self. Pecos was going clockwise with his head off to the left. I told his little rider to bring her right leg back and tap him on his side to move his body to the left and his head over to the right. Both girls worked hard with these new concepts and both horses responded beautifully.

My third poppet [5 years old] rode Ace [who returned to default babysitter] with the beginning of form of a great rider. I could see her processing multiple step directives: eyes up, legs back, hands quiet, rhythm, and making adjustments to each without being prompted. Pecos recovered from the terrifying hoodie malfunction of his winter duds to be a rock steady therapy mount.

The difficulties of the day still permeated and dogged my life, but when I finally gave up for the day, my last thought before falling asleep was of my two beautiful boys: Ace with his reassuring cuddles, Pecos with his constant struggle between duty and fear. They are a constant example to me about why it is necessary to keep on fighting. They are the best reason to do so. Accidental sagacity for yesterday: look for answers in your own reflection mirrored in the eyes of the horses.

Thank you Ace. Thank you Pecos. With All My Love.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Creating a Show Horse

As a trainer of carriage driving show horses, I am often asked, "How do you get that horse's coat so shiny?" "How do you get that horse to extend like that?" "How do you get that horse to bend like that?" I have a stock of answers, mostly involving variations of "Hard work." Usually the long answer is accidental sagacity.

Show horses are born that way. You can take the most beautifully bred horse with near perfect confirmation and put them in a show ring, but if they don't want to be a show horse, they won't. Conversely, a horse that falls a little short of perfection can be an unusually good show horse. It is a state of mind. Saying that, the trainer must be able to recognize the horse's potential and predisposition and then work to polish it.

Whitmorr Topaz is an excellent example. The dam of my finest show horses: The Major General, Don Pecos du Cheval and Chevals Topp Mentor [Ace], she was a very reluctant beauty queen. She did the job I prepared her to do, she did it well. But she didn't like it. She liked working with little kids, especially working on their self esteem. She didn't care to demonstrate her own in a show ring.

Major and Don Pecos are true examples of horses that were born to show. They thrive on it. They work hard at home to prepare. They never say, "Not Today." Their coats shed off all extra hair and they shine like burnished ebony and bronze. They walk with an air of superiority. The minute they get off the trailer, they are 'on'.

Ace is the created show horse. Like his half brothers, he works very hard. Unlike them, he doesn't believe it's all about him. He is a team player. As a horse trainer and not a soccer coach, this is a challenge for me. I have to make him believe it is all about him. I have to help him discover the superiority complex of the show horse.

"How do I do that?" Hard work. The accidental sagacity answer is: I tell him. Everything I do to train and condition him must revolve around convincing him he is a show horse, that he was born for this, too. When I start to see the elasticity show in his gait, I cheer. When he begins to float, I stand in awe and make sure he knows: "That's my Boy!"

Ace needs to know that he can be a 'good boy' in lessons and 'that's my boy' in the show ring. It is a different attitude, and not every horse can do both. Don Pecos struggles with this: But I am a Show Horse, not a Lesson Horse, he pouts at me, with the exception of his therapy role. Ace is looking at me saying: I am a lesson horse, do you really think I can be a show horse, too? All my skills as a trainer must respond, "Yes, Precious."

That is how I create a show horse.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

www.hossbiz.com

Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation company.

Bob Nervig and Chevals Topp Mentor prepare for Villa Louis Carriage Classic

Not much time for blogging this week as preparations escalate for Villa Louis Carriage Classic. The Serendipity team will be leaving on Thursday to get Ace settled in and Bob and his lovely wife Kathy will arrive Friday for course walks, exhibitors meeting and the always superlative Cat Fish Fry. I love the food at Villa Louis as much as the show.

Saturday morning Bob and Ace have Turnout and then Cross Country. Reinsmanship is in the afternoon, followed by the Villa Louis Wine and Cheese Reception and then the Prime Rib Dinner. Honestly, we work very hard at this show, we deserve a little pampering. Sunday morning, bright and early Bob and Ace will see if all the cones course preparation has paid off, if Ace will trot, rack or canter through the course [heavy sigh] and then on to Working Pleasure and Gambler's Choice in the afternoon. Followed by the always lively awards ceremony with more yummy food.

Keep Bob and Ace in your thoughts and wish them well. They are a super pair and have worked double time in preparation for this special show.