Camilla
06-26-2006, 01:53 AM
You don't have to be a doofus to remind yourself of another reason you love your horse... but I find it really does help sometimes.
:lol:
I don't want to to get the old show horse-trail horse debate fired up again, this is just a purely personal expression of why I love my Fino Horse/Trail Horse. Some people think that is an oxymoron, but not for me. My Stallion may not be El Classico (though he's a son of), but he is a perfectly respectable Classic Fino Stallion... I took him to Nationals 3 times and we were lucky enough to place every time in A/O Classic Fino (with only l'il ol me training). he also got a 3rd at Nationals in Trail... which I wanted to show him in to prove that a Fino horse could also be a trail horse. I don't say all that stuff to brag on him (maybe a little :smile: ), but just to put this boy in context as I tell my doofus story.
When he is not being shown (which is all the time these days now that I have two little boys under 3 years old!), my stallion, Mercenario (aka "Mercy"), is my favourite horse to trail ride. obviously he does not just fino... he walks, finos, cortos, largos, trochas, jogs, canters and loves a flat out gallop. Today we were taking one of those lazy rides around the lake behind us, and as we were alone I was doing my usual daydreaming-zone out thing (kids - don't try this at home) while he took care of us. In the midst of the cedar woods I slowly became aware (in my fog) of this incessant buzzing sound - and lo and behold, I realized I had a bee inside the sleeve of my shirt. Pretty well forgetting I was riding at the time i began trying to shake it out of the sleeve and, failing at that, to remove my shirt altogether.
Meanwhile, Mercy had noticed my escalating hysteria and had come to a halt. This was lucky, as we were just a little bit down a steep embankment. However, at about the point that my shirt was half over my head, Mercy decided we might as well mosey along down the hill after all as the deer flies were descending. I had not been holding the reins for some time now and as he moved I began to fumble with my free hand for the reins.... which weren't there. And they weren't behind his ears, either! The hill was steep enough they had slid over his head and were trailing in a big fat nylon loop on the ground in front of him.
And then... you guessed it he stepped through them and got them tangled around his legs.
Here's your doofus picture...
Woman on horse with top half off and unable to dismount because of location and incline, Horse on steep, rocky hill with reins around legs, bee still in shirt. :shock: :lol:
Does the "fire-breathing Fino" horse panic, bust reins and bolt?
No... he stops when I croak out a "whoa", waits while I creep up his neck with only free hand (other still entangled in shirt) and onhook the rein from bit on one side, reach to other side and drag rein through his legs, put rein over neck and re-clip. And then while I finally remove shirt and shake out bee, he waits, quietly sighing.
It's only five minutes down the trail when the last remnants of buzzing are gone from my brain that I stop to think what a special horse I'm riding. :smile:
I just love him dearly...
http://www.finavistafarm.ca/Mercy-Camilla-board-sb_164x175.jpg
http://www.finavistafarm.ca/Mercy-standing-lake-sb_206x175.jpg
:lol:
I don't want to to get the old show horse-trail horse debate fired up again, this is just a purely personal expression of why I love my Fino Horse/Trail Horse. Some people think that is an oxymoron, but not for me. My Stallion may not be El Classico (though he's a son of), but he is a perfectly respectable Classic Fino Stallion... I took him to Nationals 3 times and we were lucky enough to place every time in A/O Classic Fino (with only l'il ol me training). he also got a 3rd at Nationals in Trail... which I wanted to show him in to prove that a Fino horse could also be a trail horse. I don't say all that stuff to brag on him (maybe a little :smile: ), but just to put this boy in context as I tell my doofus story.
When he is not being shown (which is all the time these days now that I have two little boys under 3 years old!), my stallion, Mercenario (aka "Mercy"), is my favourite horse to trail ride. obviously he does not just fino... he walks, finos, cortos, largos, trochas, jogs, canters and loves a flat out gallop. Today we were taking one of those lazy rides around the lake behind us, and as we were alone I was doing my usual daydreaming-zone out thing (kids - don't try this at home) while he took care of us. In the midst of the cedar woods I slowly became aware (in my fog) of this incessant buzzing sound - and lo and behold, I realized I had a bee inside the sleeve of my shirt. Pretty well forgetting I was riding at the time i began trying to shake it out of the sleeve and, failing at that, to remove my shirt altogether.
Meanwhile, Mercy had noticed my escalating hysteria and had come to a halt. This was lucky, as we were just a little bit down a steep embankment. However, at about the point that my shirt was half over my head, Mercy decided we might as well mosey along down the hill after all as the deer flies were descending. I had not been holding the reins for some time now and as he moved I began to fumble with my free hand for the reins.... which weren't there. And they weren't behind his ears, either! The hill was steep enough they had slid over his head and were trailing in a big fat nylon loop on the ground in front of him.
And then... you guessed it he stepped through them and got them tangled around his legs.
Here's your doofus picture...
Woman on horse with top half off and unable to dismount because of location and incline, Horse on steep, rocky hill with reins around legs, bee still in shirt. :shock: :lol:
Does the "fire-breathing Fino" horse panic, bust reins and bolt?
No... he stops when I croak out a "whoa", waits while I creep up his neck with only free hand (other still entangled in shirt) and onhook the rein from bit on one side, reach to other side and drag rein through his legs, put rein over neck and re-clip. And then while I finally remove shirt and shake out bee, he waits, quietly sighing.
It's only five minutes down the trail when the last remnants of buzzing are gone from my brain that I stop to think what a special horse I'm riding. :smile:
I just love him dearly...
http://www.finavistafarm.ca/Mercy-Camilla-board-sb_164x175.jpg
http://www.finavistafarm.ca/Mercy-standing-lake-sb_206x175.jpg