Toby and Ollie are doing GREAT! The pasture grass has done them both a world of good. For the very first time I cannot see Ollie's ribs. He's at a perfect weight and he's super sassy. I've never been around a horse with so much energy! That sugary grass is to Ollie like a Hershey's Candy bar is to an 8 yr old boy...
I read an article in Dressage Today (one of my fav magazines) about Aragon and Guenter Seidel. Aragon sounds a whole lot like Ollie in temperment. But look at Aragon now! It seems energy management is key.
I'm devouring anything I can read on working with high energy horses. Feel free to pass along any suggested reading - hint hint.
Last weekend was the BIG weekend of racing at Keeneland. It was Bluegrass Stakes Weekend.
I went out early on Saturday morning to catch "Breakfast With The Works" which also hosted a ceremony for the retirement of Ball Four to Old Friends. Ball Four won the 2008 Fayette Stakes at Keeneland so he's a bit of a celebrity for winning a big stakes race for Keeneland. It was a rainy and cold morning but many people were out and about on the grounds. These twins were precious watching the race horses paddock schooling in the morning:
These were some of the runners from the Hall of Fame trainer, Jonathon Sheppard stables. Barry Wiseman, leading the horse, is one of the nicest people anyone could meet.
And here is Ball Four...
He already knows which pocket holds the carrots in Michael Blowen's jacket:
The weather became progressively worse as the day wore on. The winds were gusting up to 35mph and the rain was awful. But I still managed to get a fairly good shot in the cold, windy and dark conditions of the winner:
Overall we had a great weekend even if the weather didn't cooperate.
And onto my big news...
I've got my pet photography website up: www.peepsandpaws.com I'm continuing to work on my portfolio but so far I'm liking it. Just need to get the phone to ring :)
Wow, I can't tell at all from that last picture that the weather was bad. The lighting looks great.
ReplyDeleteSorry, no pointers on dealing with high energy horses. Learn to love galloping?
A tip on dealing with high energy horses: Wear velcro. ;o) I had one of my zippiest rides on the day after Christmas. It was cold and blustery and the neighbors "killer birds" (a small flock of banty chickens) were out making LOTS of noise. Not sure if the horse could smell them, but he couldn't SEE them and they were obviously hungry for horse meat.
ReplyDeleteI met someone a couple of weeks ago who could be your twin sister. She is Jack Van Berg's daughter Sheri Hastings. She was riding a Morgan gelding in a dressage clinic and mentioned she was used to breezing TBs on the track. My horse won his first race with Chris McCarron, who worked with Jack. Small world. Anyway, look her up. She's your double--same bright smile, same coloring.
Love your pet site. I will tell my East Coast friends ;o)