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Blackie
Born: April, 2000 Heigth: 16h Weight: Approx 1150lbs Breed: ½ QH – ½ TW Price: $12,000 |
| Before you look at the pictures of this horse, you have to realize that I’m a very tall woman. I’m 5’14" with a very long leg. I tend make all my horses look like ponies.
Blackie really is 16h, which can be verified at the vet check. Also, I’m a western trainer, with very little background in dressage. I’ve had no training at all since I was 18 yrs old, and I’m feeling my way thru on pictures and books. The fact that this horse is scoring high 60s in his tests is absolutely amazing, considering who is riding him. |
That is me, in the orange, next to my brother and son (6’4 and 6’3") and my daughter, sister-in-law and sister (5’9", 5’4" and 5’10").
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Quick overview:
This horse is an amazing athlete.
He is aware of each part of his body and what it needs to do to get any job done. He’s got the fluid grace of a professional athlete, with the coordination and flexibility of a ballet dancer thrown in just for good measure.
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He truly likes dressage. And he should. He’s good at it and he knows it. There is nothing like asking him to do a tuff sequence of maneuvers, having him handle it with ease and then watching that grin on his face when you tell him he’s a good boy. But he’s also been to work cattle on ranches, which included cutting cattle in the alley, been on trail rides, and ridden thru our small town on a regular basis. He’s a lot of horse, sure-footed, smart with the kind of staying power that outlasts all others when the going gets tuff. Blackie rides a very correct 2nd Level and is training a promising 3rd. We got him in training as a 4 yr old and stayed with mostly transitions, straights and circles waiting for his 5 yr old muscle development to come in. Then I started riding some extension and laterals. Now he’s six, and things are falling into place so fast that I’m basically left in the dust. |
History
| I got Blackie as a 4 yr old. He came from a ranch where he was in the habit of bucking his owners off.
When we first got him, he was not happy with the world. His eye was mean and weary of anything people did, and true to history, he did buck whenever he could. I changed the saddle pads to accommodate his slightly unusual back, and started him on dressage. All of his 4yr old year, we did nothing but straight lines, circles and transitions, working on obedience and relaxation. Most horses don’t develop their full muscle mass till they are about 5, so I saw no need to get in a hurry about teaching a lot of high impact dressage stuff. I never even put a dressage saddle on him till the summer of his 5 yr old year. |
My daughter Hannah riding him last year. |
What is he good at?
- Laterals. His laterals are effortless, forward and clean. He really extends his shoulder to reach, giving him the look of a ballet dancer as he travels across the arena. Matter of fact, I’ve used the sidepass to explain the step sequence for the extensions to him.
- Anything Canter. His canter is to die for. Counter Canter, extensions, circles, none of it is any problem. One time I was turning a sharp 60* corner around a pattern I like to ride, and I swear he was doing a canter piroutte for a few steps each time we came around the marker. Sure… It’s a lateral at the canter. Both his strengths in one.
- Forwardness. Thanks to my Ranch background, forwardness is something all my horses have. That doesn’t mean I allow them to be hot. But when I say "Go", I expect Go at the speed I asked for… nothing more and nothing less.
- Stretchy Circles. He loves to stretch down and relax.
What is he learning right now?
- Extended Trot. Due to my lack in training, I am fumbling my way thru making sure the extensions are good. He does awesome when we are out on the trail, goofing around and just gawking. But in the arena, he still speeds up his steps sometimes.
I am happy with his progress, tho. He does get it, and starts really letting that front end loose. Now, I’m in the process of making him power the whole thing with his hind.
What still needs work?
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How are his manners?
He is easy to shoe, clip and load. We trailer to different places about 2 or 3 times a week. He is used to spending all day outside, but has been in a stall for a little while too. He is respectful and kind. He likes people and enjoys his job. But… If I don’t ride him for about 10 days or so, he gets a little cold backed. I handle it by lunging him for about 10 minutes or so, and when I get on he is just fine. |
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Here are some vid clips
Trot work Trot work going the other way Canter Turn on the Haunches My server limits the file size I can upload to 5MB, so I had to keep the clips small. But I will send out a full CD to any serious inquirers. Also, if there is a lot of traffic to those files, they may not load for you. If you'll give it 5-10 min, they'll work just fine. |
 Picture Gallery |
