Pack. Your. Bags. (and try to make them a carryon)

I could type this post, but I think it's another good candidate for EMOJI POST (so kawaii!!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are going to Germany.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Hamburg Germany to be specific, if you didn't pick up on that)

 

 

 

 

 

 

and we are looking at HORSES.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...Hey Brad.  (winky face)

 

 

Window Shopping

The shopping has begun.

The Boy is (mostly) on board, and I feel really good about Prair so I've been let off the leash a bit with respect to seriously perusing a potential new Hunter. 

In general, I think I do a pretty decent job of posting the highs and lows of my horsey adventure on this blog (extended absences not withstanding), and I try to be honest and straight forward with my opinions without being a total ass on the internet and disrespectful or intrusive to those around me. 

Which is why I have found it a tad strange that I've struggled with regard to posting "potential" horses on the blog. 

I think some of my reluctance is that this current shopping process is unlike how I've ever shopped for horses before. 

In the past, I've either known the horse personally, or done a fairly straightforward and direct search on my favorite sites (both ad lists and barns I like), then just gone to see the ones that jump out at me.
This time however, I am relying more on my Trainer's contacts and working with riders, brokers and other trainers that she has spent the last few decades networking with.  The result is that she is able to forward a lot of horses that aren't necessarily "listed" for sale, or the pricing, or situation is somewhat sensitive and because of that - I'm not sure I have the "right" to post pics/videos/etc publically.

Also, on a more personal level - it sort of feels like when you just start dating a new guy and you send your friends cute pics and all the fun details and are all obsessed like, "OOOOOOH, Brad, look how tall and cute he is! and he's so polite! look how great with kids he is! and he's got this great job.. he's perfect" 

But then you go on a couple dates and all your texts morph into something closer to, "UGH BRAD, what a jerk, can you believe he slapped a server's ass in front of me!? I don't care how pretty you are, BYE BRAD."

I can give myself whiplash over how quickly my mind changes, and it's not the most flattering trait to necessarily highlight in a public format.

The other thing that's tricky about posting some of the "potential ponies" is that while in theory the search should be directed by a budget and some well defined goals... both the goals and the budget have been varying widely depending on the horse.  (I'll stop the dating metaphor here, though I'm sure my friends and family could probably make some apropos comments...).

As such, I don't have a good apples-to-apples list to show you.  I've got some hideously expensive imports.  A few less hideously expensive prospects still in Europe, and then some really lovely, but in-a-totally-different-price-category options that are considerably more local.

It doesn't really seem fair to post two videos of horses when horse A is literally 10% the cost of horse B, but that is an accurate portrayal of the range of options we're considering.  (oops). 

If all of this sounds a tad disjointed and dizzying - then good.  I am accurately paralleling my mental state :)

Anyway, when I distill all that jumbly-brain-thought down a bit, I decided that I also don't want to miss out on everyone's thoughts and opinions, or deprive you of some of the serious eye candy that I've gotten a chance to look over, so I'll share the horses that I think are appropriate and won't step on toes by posting...

(also, I should mention a word of thanks to my poor friends who are on my "shortlist" and have been inundated with all the "BRAD IS HOT" and "BYE BRAD" mood swings of every potential horse.  They are patient, patient people and I appreciate that they tolerate my slight insanity)

So, with that I proudly present one of the early contenders, who is no longer being pursued. 

Ultimately, I think this horse is gorgeous, and lovely, and very athletic, but probably not meant to shine in the hunter ring.  Great jump, but I think he looks more like a jumper - and realistically has the talent to succeed at a higher level in that ring.

The Pretty Gray Horse:

5yo, bought at auction in 2014 in Belgium and imported to North America, currently competing in the Jumpers. 17h, and lovely. 

ooohhhh ahhhhh

And here is his auction video (so about a year old) from 2014:


Lovely, right? 

So after a few weeks of waiting on details and building this one up as potentially being "the one," I literally sent out a text saying:

"Gray's out- Bay's In."

But I'll have to wait a moment longer to see if I get to the point where I can share a bit about that lovely gentleman... still waiting on some video...

Vet Updates (again in plural)

You know it's suboptimal when you've had more visits with the vet(s) in the last month, than lessons...

While not unheard of in the horsey world - it's certainly not my favorite balance...

Anyway, when last we spoke (about Prair), she had a disappointing 3 month checkup and had her turnout totally pulled. 

Last week we had a 4 (jesus..) month checkup, and finally got a glimmer of good news. 

Prair was a 1.5 or 2/5 on the lunge (tight circle) and a 3/5 on the flexion.  It's a tad depressing that a 3/5 felt like a good result, but it's the first time we've seen significant improvement (from a 5/5) in this process, so I'm letting my expectations think that maybe, just maybe this is one of those super slow healing strains and we still have a shot of a solid recovery to flat work.

So, we've got a couple more months of hanging out again before we re-check, because at this point... clearly we need to go extremely slow and we don't have an agenda in terms of showing or seasons, or anything.

With regard to the poop doctor, the combo of antibiotic and high quality pro-biotic seems to have been a great 1-2 punch and for the last few weeks, all signs of diarrhea have been absent.  I've even been able to comb through her tail since it is no long in a constant state of manure-dreadlock.  So, while I'm sure Prair feels better, my grooming routine is also much more gratifying. 

I strongly prefer combing out a nice tail over pressure washing manure streaks off her poor tushy.  So that's a win all the way around (literally).

On the life front, there is a new nanny, so I am inching back toward the semblance of a schedule I was carving out that allows for some regularly scheduled days, both for the office and barn.  Very eager for that normalcy to be back. 

Beyond the regular life front, a casual perusal of potential new horsey options is still underway.  I'm trying to be more patient than I usually am, since a) I'm not wanting to move Prairier along any time soon (even as a brood mare) and b) with a kiddo the cash and time is severely restricted so there's no need to rush into a new pony commitment.

But that doesn't mean I can entertain suitors, and potential good matches.  There might be a gray that I'm flirting with, along with a couple other matches.  though I'm learning that shopping in a (good), structured program feels more like entering into an arranged marriage than my usual approach of going to the bar and trying to find a decent option that looks good, dances decently and doesn't have any obvious issues....

Deadhead Hunters - an impossible standard

There has been a lot of chatter around our barn this week about the USEF announcement that uber-hunter Inclusive tested positive for GABA, or Carolina Gold at last year's Derby Finals.

I am no expert on GABA, but it's a substance I associate more with the racing industry than the Hunters, but apparently it gets plenty of press in the H/J world too.

the buffet is open...

While I have plenty of commentary surrounding any sort of "prep" for horses in any discipline, that's not where my frustration immediately went with this announcement. 

Of course my concern for a horse's wellbeing trumps all - but I'm legitimately intrigued by the thought that Inclusive, who is arguably a standard bearer for what it means to be a top hunter, lays down his top trips with the additional support of a calming agent.

I'm certain that even totally sober, a horse like Inclusive would still sweep most competition aside - but as an Ammy who is still a tad baffled by the Hunters, I find it disappointing and discouraging to see our celebrated leaders in the sport brought down by a positive drug test.

It's an unfortunate blemish on the (amazingly impressive) record for the horse, especially with his prodigious rider Ms. Tori Colvin - but that just frustrates me all the more. 

I'd like to think that they don't rely on such substances and this positive test isn't indicative of the hard work and flawless rounds they have earned together.  If that's the case, I do feel badly for Inclusive, and also Tori - who is clearly an effective and remarkable rider.

Of course, there are other explanations, and I'm not sure it's any better...

Did they always need a little extra something in order to get their top finishes?

If so, how tragic.

How upsetting that our top junior rider and a top mount still need something extra.  How unbelievably crappy that our judging standard has encouraged such behavior.

Tori's mom, Brigid Colvin is one of the trainers listed for Inclusive and received a hefty fine and suspension in association with the positive test.  COTH has her on the record with a very predictable comment essentially saying that she had no idea and nothing to do with it. 

This is where my circle of horsey people are divided.  If she *truly* didn't know (or if the owner didn't know, or the rider didn't know, or whoever...) should they still be punished?

I feel INCREDIBLY strongly that yes, yes you should.  It's your team, your barn, your staff.  You are responsible for making sure your horses are ready and safe for competition within the rules. Ultimately I think owners are responsible, but in a competition setting where the Trainers are captains of the proverbial ship and in charge of running the barn-away-from-home, you better believe they get held responsible even if there was some sketchy dude in the shadows who was out there injecting horses with god knows what without permission.

It reminds me a bit of high school sports practice.  If you want mutual accountability you don't make the one kid who's late run extra sprints, you make the team run sprints and make sure they help each other stay on time.  (or for the ultimate impact, the late kid sits out and watches their team run sprints.  guilt is a fairly effective motivator...)

I don't know what the answer is for improving the culture of "prepping" horses for the show ring.  But I know it requires the Top Horses who are laying down trips in the 90's (and the rare 100), being TOTALLY SOBER when they do it. 

Right now we have a culture of "prepping" mediocre horses in order to get a performance out of them that resembles something closer to what a horse like Inclusive might be capable of. 

But when the Inclusives of our sport are testing positive, not only are we chasing impossible standards, we are setting a dangerous bar if those perfect trips aren't possible with a clean and sober horse.

I have my moments where I doubt the current sport I've chosen, and this is certainly one of them.  When I'm loving the Hunters, I see it as something more akin to Dressage with jumps thrown in.  I find my riding is similar, managing balance, softness, connection, impulsion and elasticity... all the same building blocks of a good dressage test are what it takes for the 'effortless' look over fences. 

However, on my bad days it feels like the sport just encourages our poor trainers to do whatever they have to so that they can strap a crappy ammy or kid to the back of the horse and they can stay on for 8 jumps in a predictable enough pattern that they need not even steer. (face palm).

In theory the standard of judging for a show Hunter is based on what would have been safe and pleasant ride for a traditional field hunter.  But I can tell you right now I'd take a seasoned Event horse on a foxhunt about a million times before I grabbed a "seasoned" show Hunter for the same job. 

We've dumbed down the Hunter discipline so much that not only does it fail to reflect the actual job it's supposed to aspire to - horses in their right mind won't succeed.  I'd wager that wild eyed OTTB who started stamping the moment you pulled out her XC tack is a hell of a lot safer in an open field, with uneven ground and solid obstacles than the over-lunged fat, warmblood with earplugs in who can't feel it's feet and has a hard time balancing on the "downhill" side of the barely graded arena. 

UGH.  so disappointing all the way around.

Turns out four months of stall rest doesn't just make for a grumpy horse, it also makes a rider somewhat testy....  oops.