Soooooooo... I have been hesitant to say anything about this... but I got a new little pony mare on the last day of March. I'm not sure why I'm so hesitant to talk about it. I do have the obvious semi-guilt over being able to have horses at all, especially in this economy... and I have my generous, understanding husband to thank for that! But beyond that... for me, getting another horse is a BIG DEAL. We're a "keep 'em forever" kind of family, and so for me it's almost-- but not quite-- like having another kid. Okay okay, that might sound like a bit of an exaggeration for you non-horse-owning folks out there, but horse people, am I right or what? It's a big deal. And I want to do right by her. Right now I'm pretty much in the "oh crap, what was I thinking" phase, where I feel like a blithering idiot who can't do anything right. It's easy to get set in your ways with your horses that you've had for years. Having a new horse, especially a young one (she's just 5) is a huge adjustment. It keeps you on your toes and opens your eyes. I'm seeing more and more all the ways that I've been sloppy in my horsemanship and how Poco has been filling in for me. Apologies to those for whom this is Greek... But WOW. I'm learning a lot, and that's so humbling and often really frustrating... but just often enough it's SO satisfying.
After much deliberation, we came up with "Kaiyah" for her name (it rhymes with "eye"). She came with the name Nicki but we didn't think it really fit her, and our good friend Nicki and her mom Denise come up every week or so to tutor me in horsemanship and we thought that might get really confusing. As I mentioned, she's just 5... and SO SWEET. She's not pushy at all, but will often just lift her head and lay it ever so softly on your shoulder and just almost give you a hug... it's really cute. She especially seems to do that when she is needing a little reassurance. Bless her heart, she's just a little thing, only 14.1 hands (that's kind of like between a horse and pony, height-wise) and very petite... and definitely bottom of the pecking order. But we put her in with just my boys Poco and Roanie when we first brought her home to Jen's barn, and now that they're all out in the big herd together they sort of look after her. The three of them definitely hang out, and Poco will often send other horses away so that they don't chase Kaiyah off. Awwww...
Poco (the bay on the left) and Roanie (the old man --27!!) meeting Kaiyah for the first time.
The idea is to put some quality time and work in on her, and in a couple of years she'll be Kizi's horse. If she's going to be packing my baby girl around (and the boys too of course), I've got to get it RIGHT. Especially build in the feel and the trust that are so essential... Right now that prospect seems daunting, but I know we'll get there. I bought her from my friend Laura, who bought her from a trainer who works for a couple... I don't know the whole story, I think there was a divorce or something... but they go around and buy up cute hunter-jumper ponies to train and then sell on the east coast for BIG money. We're not sure what her breeding is (we're almost thinking maybe Connemara?), but I can see why they were attracted to Kaiyah. She's conformationally very correct and put together nicely, and she's got a nice mind and attitude-- AND it's almost impossible to find good ponies! And, as I am reminded almost daily by the ladies at the barn, she's SO stinking CUTE!!!
The story I heard was that she was started by a couple of teenage girls. I get the picture that they pretty much threw the saddle on and started hauling butt over jumps. She'll do whatever you ask her to do... but with her head up and her body tight--very scared. We're working on getting her *r e l a x e d* and moving off calmly instead of darting away. She's just very unsure. And her first inclination (it's getting so much better already) was to RUN. Now she's getting to where she can walk off on a loose rein, or move off at a walk when I send her away in the round pen when we're doing groundwork. (again, apologies for the Greek) When I first rode her at Laura's I noticed that she just wanted to go really fast-- not running away, but thinking that the answer was to just go FAST. There wasn't much feel there... especially not at the lope-- she went so fast my eyes literally started to water. But she's so comfortable to ride that it wasn't like I was ever nervous going that fast on her. I did realize when I got her to Jen's barn, though, that maybe loping her in the outdoor dressage arena (which is bordered by a short, white vinyl fence) was not such a good idea-- there's not much connection to her feet yet, and the girl was facing up on the fence like she was gonna jump it. We really don't have any business loping her right now anyway. Gotta get things going well in the groundwork, at the walk, and at the trot before we go on to the canter. Denise and Nicki have been WONDERFUL. They mentor me and remind me EVERY time just how important the "little" things are, and just how big they really are. FEEL. I learn so much from them every time they come up.
(Nicki on the left and Denise on the right with the flag)
And THIS is my barn buddy, Gracie. She LOVES to go to the barn! She knows when I'm going, even when I haven't said a thing or reached for my boots...
:)
1 comment:
Your horse is so cute. I totally know what you mean about feeling like you added another child to your family. As a child we lived with my grandparents who had Arabians and they were a lot of work. Congrats on the new addition! :)
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