Compostulating With The Times

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Older Memory



My "mind" reminded me of another horse I'd (mostly) forgotten about. Tried to forget anyway, obviously it didn't work. Remember Black Snake? That memory just happened right out of the blue.

The oldest horses seem to want remembered, more so than than the more recent, right now. My GoLightly memories are quietly hiding from me. Or, I mused hopefully, my horse memory is keeping itself lined up properly, while my older busier mind keeps doing the paying work.

Horses
Like a tall solid-red arab/walker chestnut risling. Some called them ridglings. Now they are just called cryptorchids. His name is lost to my memory, but his violence was unforgettable. This horse was angry. He would self-mutilate, anywhere. He would attack his own chest with his teeth, while being ridden, squealing like a pig as he savaged at himself. Weird, indeed.


Tangent, with correlations to relevance, MayBe.
As I gently try to remind the youth of this planet that horses have been ridden for a very long time, I'm struck, again, by how easily one can assume the worst of two variables. The horse, his wind impeded, will slow down, unless he's learned a way around it. Anyone else ever notice that? Maybe it's just me.
If you scare them, when they're in that position of less oxygen availability, you can seriously damage them. In many different ways. They have simple channels of energy, beautiful, explosive. Break that channel, and you can break them forever. Whoah, cue the metaphor monster mash..

Horses
Like a tall, fiery liver chestnut mare, first horse I jumped a six foot jump with. I was eleven. Mare was 16.3, with a high head and a wild white-rimmed eye. She had a peculiar "pinch" below her eyes, her nasal bones crimped by who knows what. Of course she was at F/W barn, where horses were often found to have stickers on their behinds. I didn't know what those stickers were, for quite a while.

Horses
Like a schoolie I taught with, at my first mare's barn, called Birchmount, 15 hands tall and wide, wise old whitely dappled-gray/merry-legged brat. He truly was built like a brick. He loved to wipe riders legs against the (mercifully smooth) arena walls, just to see what would happen.

Like SirLancelot, a coool old-schoolie horse, such an unusual colour of light bronze, with blonde mane and curly tail. One of those straight as a string, balanced all the way to his toes, but stiffened with age, gems. Lancelot moved like a pronghorn antelope, with the most symmetrical canter I've ever seen or felt. He was another schoolie with that disdainful stretch to his nostrils, reserved for the beginners. I started teaching while owning my first mare. I was 14.

Yeah, I know. I'd had three years experience! I was GeniuS. (I didn't have a clue what I was doing.) Heels down, that was about it, as far as I knew.

Those early school horses are mostly gone from my memory. They jumble up with the more memorable of the "OP" (other people's) horses.

Dakota Joe, another tall dark-bay appendix Polo Pony, so high-headed that a standing martingale was on guard at all times. Joe was snorty and blowy, and earnest. He showed me the stupidity behind forcing a horse's head into position, bless his kind soul.

"Why??" Joe turned suddenly inward, half-reared, and "clapped" his front hooves together three times, startling/shocking/shaming me, as I'd feigned to school him on the longe. His expression broke my heart, and I stopped, removed the side reins, and rubbed him hard all up and down his sweet neck and crest and back. Gah, Joe. I'm so sorry, but thank you for stopping me early. Many don't stop their ignorance/brutality, because the horses themselves are too kind to rebel. Some people can't seem to see expressions, at all.

Like that Linda Parelli video I posted on JR's blog. The expression of the horse never seemed to change. "HUH? WTF? WHY? OH!! OMG..."

No-one seemed to see that. Weird, and chilling that people will watch and mimic this.

A BirD has expressions, for goodness sakes. Widened eyes are prettY universal as a symptom/synonym for surprise/fear. The horse was blind in one eye, but his expression was still THERE.

sigh.

Oh, the horse that re-surfaced in my pool of old horse, was the psycho-albino "Exhibit A" (F/W barn, where else??). "A" had a penchant for careening into other horses, if he felt like running away, which was every time he was ridden. The girls weren't allowed to ride him, but the polo player guy that DiD ride him was pretty frickin' scary to watch. Horse could jump, but why would you want to? He was another tall/rangy type, long and bony, he wasn't skinny, but still seemed to look skeletal, almost transparent, with his ghostly lack of colour. I'm afraid that's where my "prejudice" against cremellos comes from.

Hey, I learned a new word this week. Myectomy. The things I learn, and wish I hadn't.

OH, and I keep forgetting. I have a BUNCH of "prizes". I haven't figured out how to do the ??? Contest, yet, but remind me. Prizes are jumper/dressage/eventer watch with eyes related, if you MusT have a hint;)

Hmmm, a point? Still working on one:)

Sleep Deprivation and Chocolate, maybe.

19 comments:

Sherry Sikstrom said...

Our memories are funny , and share with our current consciousness ,only what we need at any given time I think. The variety of horses you have known and the lessons learned are always there ,but the ability to share them is the tough part.Thank you for sharing what you do when you do.
The comment about "people will watch and mimic the behavior is so sad but true.I try never to do anything with a horse based solely one "because so and so said it was right" I always want to know what it does and why it works that way ,to see if it is truly something I will or want to do.

Sherry Sikstrom said...

Oh right and FIRST!!!!

nccatnip said...

Good post. And again, watch the expression. It tells you all you need to know.
Good point there, GL.


To The Horses.

GoLightly said...

I know you miss me typing that, NCC.
That schtick seems to have been reserved for the old fubbly comments.

To All The Horses in my Head:)

OH, forgot to tell ya, Dad's home, clean-ish bill of health. Now to try to keepgently reminding him he cannot party like he used to...

AND a direct fightin' quote from PF, get this:)

"Is this a Canadian thing? Get over yourself already. "

Well, soRRRRRRRyyyYYYYYYYYY.

Of Course Canadians apologize too much.
I am born/bred Canadian, apologies are ALWAYS included.

If you do send pics, make sure the girth is tightened.
I've never understood checking saddle fit withOUT tightening the girth. Things change, when the girth is tightened. Not very much, but they do.

Opinions?
Quit laughing at my english saddles have two points comment! I was completely spinny by then.
They do not have AS many points of contact as western, was my pathetic point.

kestrel said...

So glad your dad is better! Remembering the crowd is almost like visiting a herd for me, each one comes to the forefront of my mind asking to be recognized...usually wen I need them.

PrairieFarmer said...

GL said -
"Well, soRRRRRRRyyyYYYYYYYYY."
Now THAT'S better! LOL!
Glad your Dad is back home. It's so hard when the parent's are ailing.
I'll try and get my act together on the camera/photo thing and send you a picture.

GoLightly said...

Here's someone who could be posting, for PF. Doesn't take long to find them:)
Post The Trot, Pleeeez?

Sweet, sweet horse.
Beautifully cared for.

(I can hear pins dropping, all OveR the place.)
(slaps blogger awake.)

One of the advantages of being a literalist is that losing an hours sleep phases me not.

The time is the time. Why question it?
(yawns..)

PrairieFarmer said...

There ya go GL, take no prisoners!
That video is good example as to why I'm much happier riding with a nice loose rein rather than constant contact. Because in my painful "rerider" state (do we ever get back to just "rider" once we've been relegated to "re-rider?"), I'm afraid this is what I would look like. God, I'm scared to video myself. Poor nice horsey (the one in the video and mine!).

nccatnip said...

^ Loves that horse in the video. Loves, loves, loves.

bhm said...

I'm just here to tell everyone "I'm soooorrrryyyy". I'm so very, very soooorrrrrry.

Good to hear that your dad is doing well.

CharlesCityCat said...

I haz been a bery bad gurl and not commented in awhile.

Putting on my Canadian cap, I am sorry, very, very sorry for my oversight.

Love the horse in the video, what a patient, sweet guy he is. Gorgeous too!

Cut-N-Jump said...

GL- glad to hear dad is back home. Let's hope he gives you some time to breathe for a while. No more stress like that.

I tightened the girth on the saddles. Snugged them up, walked the horse around and snugged them up again. Not only does it affect the way the saddle fits, but like the girl in the GC class- it keeps the saddle on!

Blogger Amy wasn't exactly suprised it was the girls Mom who told her from the gate- "Just keep going!" Around here- no matter who tacks the horse, before you get on, you always check the girth.

From the sounds of things, the pictures I sent might keep ya busy for a little while. At least long enough to get the pictures of the other horse and a rider...

horspoor said...

Hmmm...looking back pretty every cryptorchid I've ever known was nuts and/or mean.

Scared horses. See them all the time. And the geniuses 'working' with them usually think the horse is naughty or hot. Huge difference between a hot horse and a scared flighty one.

Strider was hot, but fearless. Just a tad intimidating at times. lol He was one of those that didn't suffer fools. If you picked at him, he went to war, he just skipped fight entirely.

Great horse though. More like a mare than a gelding (had that keenness you get with a mare or stallion). Steady, smart with an instant turbo boost if you asked. You could heat him up and he just worked harder...drop the reins and he'd just settle quiet. Big difference between hot and scared. I like hot, scared hurts my heart.

horspoor said...

OH, 14th. And I own a couple scared horses. Top being one of them. Cat the other. The others are far too confident of their places in the world to worry about much. lol Cat and Top were rescues. Both pretty amazing horses, it's a damn shame people mistook sensitive for naughty. Those people created scared semi dangerous horses, that don't feel secure in their worlds, and live waiting for the other shoe to drop. They work well, are good horses, and both are incredibly sweet beings. Funny, it seems like it is often the sweet ones that get fried.

nccatnip said...

HP said- "Funny, it seems like it is often the sweet ones that get fried."

How true is that???

Cut-N-Jump said...

HP- Funny, it seems like it is often the sweet ones that get fried.

How true, how true...

Same with people- kindness is often mistaken for foolishness or weaknesses and the scum of the earth run wild with that.

horspoor said...

Yeah, always cracks me up when people mistake nice for weak. lol

Cut-N-Jump said...

Cracks me up even more when they realize their mistake.

horspoor said...

HAH! CNJ...too true.