This message is from: Julia Webb <jemw...@hotmail.com>
> That was me and my Andalusian all over. Except that I didn't have a > professional trainer. I tried to make do at home. It was so sad. Well, poor Ares... He got started by a professional at 4, and then I got pregnant. No money for trainers. It wasn't until fall of last year that I was able to get him back into training. He'd spent 6 years just rotting in the pasture, and the sad thing is that he LOVED working. I did as much as I could from the ground, but I didn't dare work him from the saddle - he gets all his confidence and joy from the rider. I knew that with my nerves, I'd ruin him (and likely myself). I'd have sold him except that the market tanked, and after one inconsiderate rider rough-housed him in the roundpen, I sat down and cried. I couldn't take it, especially since he was like a first son to me. The next day, I took him off the market and decided that he'd just have to wait until my human son was old enough to divert daycare funding to training. >I'd go > on the Andalusian list and ask for help, and no one else would admit that > their horses ever had an issue. I cynically decided that was because they > were all in the breeding or training business and couldn't let on that all > was not sunshine and rainbows. And Unicorns! Sorry...I couldn't resist. ;-) That is sad. I love how this list is so helpful and very open. There's a lot less of the fluffer-nutter selling practices. I think the problem with the Andalusian world, especially until just recently (I've noticed more people coming out of the closet), is that many of the noob owners -- even the ones who aren't breeders -- bought into the myth and didn't want to be the one to notice the emperor had no clothes. The real issue is (IMHO) is that while Andies are phenomenal intuitive horses who can be kept as studs, you practically live with your horses spending 12 hours a day as the Spanish do. That just doesn't work for most of us here in the States. Besides...horses are horses. Any breed trait can be on shaky ground when novices expect them to be as consistent and unchanging as a four-wheeler. Take Fjords for example. Novices come to the breed because they're calm, good tempered, "bjorn broke" etc. But, without good horsemanship and consistent handling, calm can turn to stubborn or lazy, and good tempered can turn into a spoiled treat monster. But the Fjord community is nothing if not practical. Many of the breeders take care to take care of the newbies, and it makes a difference. > Oden, on the other hand, never goes through the barn without either > squeezing a shoulder, a butt cheek, or his face up against a wall. Eeyore > tells me all the time that the barn is not big enough for the two of them! OMG... that MUST be a draft trait. My husband's Percheron used to scare the crap out of me because she just didn't seem to "get" where her feet were in relation to her surroundings. I rarely saw that with the hotter breeds or the mules (who ARE smarter than horses, but that's not always a better thing) I've had. Unless they were having a nervous breakdown. Then all bets were off. -Julia Ares (Andalusian), Eva (Morgan), Isabella (Fjord Tough!) Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw FH_L Shirts: http://tinyurl.com/8yky94l
