The stallion was bar none the most incredibly well balanced Haflinger I had ever seen. He took my breath away and I think I may have literally drooled over the photo! Then I had to slap myself, I was in no need to get a stallion, ohh the fantasy was there but reality was quite the contrary. I was only 18 at the time and the closest contact I had ever been in with a stallion was cleaning stalls, which didn’t amount to much.
I tried really really hard to focus on the mares, truly I did! I asked many questions about them and blatantly turned the stallion down just because of his nuts and breeding. As lovely as it was, he wouldn’t work for all my Aristocrat mares. With having his photo on my computer I kept going back to it and awaing over his breeding. He sure had a decorated pedigree.
I remember this part very very clearly. I had had the photos for a few days as I sat back from the computer I pulled the stallions photo up filling the screen. Calling my Mom in I wanted her to see the guy. She had the same reaction I had when she seen him. She gawked over him and I continued to tell her that he was lovely but he wouldn’t work for our mares pedigree wise. She didn’t care. Thus I suddenly didn’t care either. Which was a very very dangerous thing.
Within a few months we had lined up a hauler to have him shipped from CO to WA. Mom and I had only spoken to Sara over the phone and through e-mails about him. We had also never seen him personally or even received a video of him. I can’t remember if that thought even crossed my mind to even ask for one. So with only seeing about 6 photos of him in all he was suddenly in transit to WA.
Over the internet Sara told me everything that she could about his training, which wasn’t much. He was extremely green. He tied lead and haltered and was a two year ld stallion. I knew he would be easy but he was still a stallion. She told me one important thing well, two maybe. That he didn’t like clippers that much and that he was afraid of the sound of the chain going through his halter. Now remember the second one it comes into place later….
The haulers call, we used Bob Hubbard and I would recommend them. They are great. So he arrives at there hub in Auburn somewhere and we head out to go pick him up. It was a little drive as it is a distance and traffic isn’t all that great but we make it. I leaped out of the truck to meet the guy and he leaded me down the rows of horses that are also waiting to get picked up. It was very surreal to see them all with stickers and tags on there halters. Stopping from of his stall I almost had to stand on my tip toes the way they were built. Looking in there he was.
Sara had e-mailed me a photo of him an what he looked like when she put him on the bus. Which I may add is an excellent thing to ask for if you are buying a horse sight unseen. That way you know what there wearing and what kind of condition they are in before they left. Anyway he had on a blue Big D and some how lost his tail wrap which I inquired about. The guy had no clue and it was basically my loss. Which sucked because Sara wanted it back.
Signing his papers the guy handed me his coggins and what not and left me to fetch my horse. Who was currently walking circles in his stall full of nerves. I’m sure I didn’t help one bit as I was near terrified to handle him. Sucking it up I grabbed the lead rope and unlocked his door. I can’t remember if I had t okinda get his attention or if he stopped or not but he stood still as I snapped the lead in place. This was the scary part for me taking him out and loading him. Taking Sara’s word I pulled open our trailer door.
We own a 3 horse slant goose neck that is lifted to be level with out dodge, so our step up is almost a foot to 2 feet depending on the ground. It’s much taller than the average trailer. This didn’t help my confidence but I walked straight for it and he just rambled in after me. Snapping him in place I walked away to shut the stud wall and he happily munch on the hay bag, remember that part too.
Going home Mom kept saying she could feeling him moving around back there. He was, he was pawing, I’m not sure how he does it even now he will do it form time to time. I would think he would need all four legs to balance himself. Stallions anyway *rolls eyes*. Once home I go to pull him out and he is one high rev, there are girls here! So going for the stud wall I notice that his foot in caught in the hay bag. Nice, I thought how in the heck are we going to fix that with him so freaked out?
It was a friend of mine that quite literally crawled through the window and unsnapped the bag so that I could open the door without risking injury to myself or him for that matter. Pulling him out he was how should I word this… extreme. He was all testosterone and the fact that all the mares decided to come to there gates and greet him didn’t help. With my confidence lacking and my hold on him slipping I decided to take a drastic measure. Snapping an extra lead to him I toss that one to my friend and then pulling the clip of him with my lead and drew the chain through his loops without second thought.
A wam bam doolley it happened fast! He struck out with his front foot and then it hit me in two places really first was the realization, oh yeah he doesn’t like that sound does he? Then it was the fact that he nailed me right in the stomach, thank goodness he didn’t have any shoes and I was quick. I moved just quick enough to avoid a major bruise. Being as delicate and fast as I could I snapped it in place and suddenly found my self on the other end on a semi controlled two year old stallion.
I spent a few days with him letting him settle and getting him over the chain thing. I then hauled him over to our trainer so she could see our new addition. She could have killed me for buying him. As I rode my gelding around for my lesson we tied him up in the corner of the area and he decided to catapult up into the air to only get caught by the rope that was tied to the beam of the barn. Hitting the end of it he wheeled around and did it the other way. My trainer rolled her eyes and told me she didn’t have much hope for him.
After my ride on my gelding we took the stallion out who had finely decided standing still was a good idea. Jennifer then had a good time giving him a crash course on lunging, as he had never done it before at least on a line. That was fun to watch, he dragged her here and there and finely he was going in circles. Jennifer still gives me grief for that!
Taking him home I think I had had him with me for only a month. We tried like crazy to get him to clip but he just wouldn’t do it he kept trying to kill them with his front feet. That was one of the first things I learned a bout stallions, they are quite handy with those tow front feet. Unlike a mare or gelding stallions used them. After trying to deal with him and his silliness and deciding to take him to inspections the next month I brought him back to Jennifer and left him there. Asking her to get him in shape and clip able.
During his month there I spent every other day either brushing him and playing with his mane which he hates and still does or working o his halter. He really had not concept of setting up or presenting let alone showmanship. So when the end of the month came around I was getting more and more comfortable around him and he was also learning. In the evening of his last day I tossed him in the trailer and we were off to Modesto California for inspections.
Arriving down there I was given the opportunity to clip him for the first time. Sadly our slippers are quite loud and he gave them the evil eye but he didn’t strike. I was impressed and made a mental note to tell Jennifer. Inspection went very very well except for the fact that he wouldn’t stand still. He just kept wanting to move is feet it was nerves I knew that but it still frustrated me.
He was awarded the Silver ribbon and I was ecstatic! Not many stallions pass these days and he made the cut. With such a great honor we celebrated by buying him a mare that he could breed. This only created yet another dilemma. When we hauled down we had taken a mare with us to get inspected as well and was able to separate them with an empty space now that we had another mare there was not going to be that space. Calling Jennifer, who wasn’t all that pleased that we bought yet another horse. She just knows that we had to many and kept telling me to down size. She told us about a little trick, putting Vics in the nose. It worked like a charm and Wyn didn’t even notice his girlfriend was in the slot next to him.
Once we brought him back from inspections he just sat around and grew a little. He was probably ready to get started then but I wanted to wait till he was a little older. We worked a lot on showmanship and ground work. He also learned to focus on work even with mares!
Wynter was able to cover his first mare, Forba. He was so excited! He kept giving us this look like are you sure I’m not gonna get in trouble? We cover Forba 2 times and when she teased out we figured we would try it again next year. As disappointed as I was we hoped it was a mare problem and not Wynters.
When winter came around we finely decided to send him off to Jennifer to get broke. I have since learned to use a hay net with him as he always gets stuck in a hay bag Although he isn’t pawing as much as he used to. Since last Sept they had moved to another barn about an hour’s drive so from our place. I wasn’t going to be able to go and see him as much as I wanted to with him being so far. Dropping him off I was kept up to date every week over the phone. After his first month we went out to see how he was going.
I was so impressed and Jennifer told me that he will be an unbeatable western horse when he is finished. He was a natural. Dropping his head he had a natural frame he used his hindquarter and picked up his back, it was amazing to watch. He had no idea what he was doing but you could totally see the western god in there.
I wrote this on Jan 30th 2009 for another blog that I was doing, ahhh seems like yesterday. Speaking of Wynter. He has spent the past few months at the trainers getting broke. I have ridden the big guy 3 times now! He is AMAZING under saddle!!! He has also grown he has to be at least 15 or 15.1 now I have to lift the saddle up to get it on him. We will be brining him home on the 31st (tomorrow). I then get to ride him everyday! I'm so excited he will be a blast. I have even thought about trail riding him. He will be very good at it. His under saddle show career will start right away as I will be hauling him down to EMR for his first show Feb 1st. I then have a few others lined up for him. I'm very anxious about showing him!!!
Again for the other blog I wrote this about his show day…. The show went very well. I took him down and rode him around during the English classes just to get him used to the whole idea of it. At first he was a little silly yelling and not standing still. He parked really well during a few English classes, standing next to Arlo quietly. He pawed a bit and wiggled some but was really good. I put him in the trailer until halter. He was actually quiet in the trailer after that! No pawing or yelling. Halter was good. He can never really stand still in halter but he was able to stand still long enough for the judge to walk around him. He got second and then it was on to showmanship. I haven't done much of that with him so we were a little rusty but he remembered it quite well. His trot offs and stop are great he just kinda forgot his pivot. We received a 3rd but the judge came up to me after class and said I was supposed to get second she had messed up on the score card. In the trailer he went so I could eat lunch, again very quiet. I had signed up for the walk only class but ended up missing it I couldn't get him tacked up fast enough. He does not stand still when he is tied to the trailer!! I was having to act like a football player to make him stand still. It doesn't help that his back is so round that the saddle will just slip right off him! You can't throw the pad on a walk away to get the saddle you gotta do it all at once or it falls off or gets out of place. He was a little tense when I got back on him. I was a little bold and decided not to lunge him before I got on him this time. I will next time just because I think it will relax him. He was good in his first class. Having all the horses in there was tough for him. He was fine if a horse passed but when we had to pass he would slow way down so he could get a good look and maybe just maybe I would let him say hi. I never did but he never gave up hope! On a few of our turns he forgot about his shoulder and we had to do bumper pony off of the rail. Steering still a little new. He could not hack the line ups though. He would not stand still or shut up for those. Overall he did great I stayed on, he wasn't to much of a stupid stallion and we got 4th in Eq and reserve in pleasure. The judge told me he would be a better English horses that this point. LOL. He was a little fast but it was all new for him. He did keep his head in frame most of the time.
I rode him on Tuesday. It sorta felt like we were at the show still. He was a little tense just because he hasn't been in that arena in along time and there were 3 other horses in the pen with us. Two mares and Arlo. We walked a trotted around and then I posted him around the arena 3 times both ways just because he was so forward. He is easy to post of kinda like Arlo that way! I didn't canter just because he was still tense and I wanted it to be an easy introduction. After this was written I bruised a rib while riding my mare. So he actually sat around for a while. When we went back to work he got right into it and excelled. I was riding him daily and he just kept getting better.
We took him out on a few trail rides, I think he has a total of 4 under his belt. All just walking and he has been out with mares and geldings. He is a rock star! It very hard to explain how he feel while riding out on the trails. Most horses when you ride they feel like they will spook at something if it really came down to it so you are always ready for that spook. On him it’s the opposite, an elephant with flames coming out his trunk and laser coming out of his eyes could leap out in front of us screaming like a banshee and Wynter would attack it. He is very very bold when he is trial riding. So completely solid.
I noticed this the most when it was an object I can’t remember if it was a bunny or a leaf falling but something made noise in the bushes and instead up jumping our flinching he back up toward it. He took two steps back and I had to nudge him forward. It was the weirdest thing.
The greatest news came on Feb 23 2009. Forba the mare that we had bred to Wynter and thought she hadn’t taken foaled a stunning colt. It was a surprise to all of us although we had her in a foaling stall for the past month. Wynter first foal we named Won Chance and he is a looker. He has such presence!
In May we started getting him ready for the Haflinger Horse show in Eugene Or. I was riding him daily and was taking him to a different trainer for showmanship lessons. Boy did we ever suck! I mean it has been years since I have worked on my showmanship and so many things change. Wynter also learned a LOT, like focus. That’s my favorite thing to say to him “Focus! Focus buddy”. He learned that he could not talk while I had the chain on and he must get off the chain. I thought I had him pretty light and he was but the trainer called him dull, he wasn’t as sharp as he should be.
With a LOT and I mean a lot of work we hauled him down to Or. We arrived a good 4 days before the show just so I could introduce him to the place. He is the polar opposite of Marquisse, she is a get into get out and he get better like wine. With taking him and Marquise he had to stable next to her and he did very very well. I rode him twice before show day and I was very nervous about it. He had developed a thing with his give and canter. He didn’t like to hold his canter and he would only back one step before he got grumpy.
So our first ride there was horrible and did not give me a good feeling about show day at all. The next day was considerably better as I changed it up and did an excessive amount of posting trot with him. About then he was happy to work because if he wasn’t working he was getting a bath and he was growing to not like those. Getting him shiny and white takes elbow grease!
When show day came around we had to juggle Marz and him the entire day. It started right off, we took both out to the back of the barn and I had my little brother who has never handled him let alone any stallion hold on to him. Mom and I went over Marz with the whole show glitz routine (she was standing about 2 feet from Wyn). He could have cared less about her being there he was just looking around, I couldn’t believe him he was being awesome! After she was done we went over him. Our class was the stallion halter class, It was a big class about 7 horses. Two were imports and the rest were American bred, only Wynter and one other were bred on the east coast.
Doing our triangle he stopped and presented to the judge like a perfect gentleman In the line up surrounded by other stallions, which was a first for him and I he stood pretty still. I think he fidget a few times but all in all he was impeccable. The judge then made her first cut and mixed them around and he placed second to one of the imports. I believe that was pretty good for him! I was very very proud.
The next class was a riding class and I really can’t remember much of any of it except that my classes were back to back. So I had to ride Marz and then leap off of her and jump on Wynter. My brother was fabulous and held on to each of them every time I switched. On top of that Wynter was a perfect gentleman for him. In class he went straight to work and collected himself and did his walk jog like a professional. He would get a little tense when some one passed him but he would relax after they had passed. I couldn’t have asked more from him he was unbelievable and he stood reality still in the line up! He won all of his riding classes and even won Haflinger Horse High point!
I called a bragged to Jennifer about that. Since that show I have ridden him a handful of times here and there lunging him when I couldn’t. Mostly just because during this summer we didn’t go to too many shows just because we went to the one in OR. So we spent most of the summer realizing and going trail riding occasionally.
Hopefully I succeeded on getting you up t date on how far he has came. I may end up going through this and adding some details here and there. I rushed through it a little bit. Now that I have you some what up to speed we can continue on with his training.
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