i'm gonna be a super model.

George that is. Not me. Last night he was a SUPER model. Such a good patient fellow. I've come to the decision that he looks like a hillbilly in his mismatched tack. A brown bridle and a black dressage saddle...ish. I know I live in North Dakota which isn't really the land of English riding...and no one ever sees me riding...but come on. We can at least try to be presentable! So I am currently barn cleaning and finding things I can live with out. I've got stuff I didn't even know I had! For example I found a Courbette standing martingale. I no doubt picked it up at a horsey garage sale for a dollar or two with the intentions that I MIGHT need it some day. It needed some conditioner so I slapped some on and now it looks like a million bucks...well maybe fifteen or twenty bucks. Chatting with SprinklerBandit last night she explained what they are used for. And well, I've never had a horse that I would need to use a standing martingale on since I don't have any horses that flip their heads. I've used tie downs on horses before and this is just the English equivalent. And come to think of it...the only reason I've ever used a tie down on a horse before was because a friend told me my horse needed one. I don't think he ever tried to flip his head before using one...so....ummm yeah...I have about 6 different western tie downs in the barn. But Duke does sometimes need them. He sometimes does these little half assed rears when he gets in one of his moods. But he hasn't needed one in quite some time.

Upon digging though some of my hoards I uncovered a shadow roll.

Someone had this and gave it to me to try with Piney since he was scared to leave the barn because of the shadows by the doors. He would leap over them or sometimes not leave the barn at all and be in his stall for days because the am feeders didn't want to deal with him. I never used and it ended up at the bottom of a tack trunk. I decided to throw it on George because he was a race horse and obviously blue is his color. I grabbed Pistol's old bridle and it almost color matched the leather. As I fumbled with the shadow roll to adjust it...and I'm sure it's on wrong. George just stood there like a perfect gentleman. Question is there any reason to keep one of these around? I mean I can't foresee using one unless I decide to buy a bunch of racehorses. I think I saw somewhere that some show jumpers use them. HA I doubt I will be a show jumper. I guess I could keep it around incase we ever do a costume class...
Next on the list to try on, was earnets. I have NEVER used them. I think they look adorable and yes I know they do serve a purpose. I think I tried to put one on my horse years ago when riding with a bunch of western riders, and was laughed at so again. I stashed them in the bottom of my tack trunk.
Poor George. I fumbled big time with the ear net. He was totally fine with it too. Pistol HATES having his ears touched for longer than about .5 seconds so I never thought to use them on him. Duke would have trampled me to death for the thought of even putting something like that on him.  George just stood there as I put them on him and hen adjusted it.

At this point, as I was fumbling, the other two yahoos came into the lean and started sniffing George's face and ears. It's like they were there to laugh at him, and then they were there to sympathize with him. It's like they said "oh man, what is that crazy lady up to now? YIKES sorry buddy!" They just kept nuzzling him and telling him it was gonna be okay. But George just continued to stand like a statue. When tacking up he plants his feet and stands completely still. He takes the bit with out any problems and even lets you mess with his ears. Ever since he bit me he hasn't even tried to do anything remotely naughty, even when touching his girth area.

He is just such a good dude. I mean look at these pictures. Have you ever seen a wilder thoroughbred? He is half asleep most of the time. He's a lot like Piney in that respect. I hate horses that jig around when tacking up. My old palomino Yellow would spook at the saddle every other time. I mean come on man, it's not like it's the first time you've been saddled! George KNOWS what's up. I wish I could go to the barn that trained him and hug them for putting such a nice horse together. Dr. Bowman was spot on when he thought that George would be a good horse for me. Each ride I put on George I find myself falling for him more. I am figuring him out, and he is figuring me out. I put a quick jaunt on him Saturday morning. And after about 5 minutes he tried to throw a temper tantrum. He will pin his ears, make AWFUL faces, chomp the bit, refuse to go forward and then stomp his feet. It lasts a few minutes. He is simply stating that he doesn't want to work. So I simply remind him that maybe it would be fun to keep working a bit longer, and then he can be done. And then he complies and we continue our ride. After he gets over his hissy fit, he is better than before he threw the tantrum. Listens, and relaxes and goes forward. I'd like to think he is testing me, but by the sounds of it, that is George being George. He is quirky and has always been like that. I really believe that if I was a bit more of an aggressive rider, we would have major problems. He really likes quiet hands, and someone that gives him some time to figure his shi..ummm "crap" out. He is just really fun. I am so mad at myself for not getting on him sooner. But he did scare me and totally intimidate me. When I was lunging him months ago, he was going fine and then all of a sudden he came right at me, out of the blue. Like he was saying "EFF you woman! I ran in circles my whole life! This is BULL!" He even looked like he wanted to hurt me. I got him going a few more circles and then I put him away. I worried that if he tried to kill me on the ground, what would he do when I was on his back! He just gets in these weird moods and you have to watch him sometimes. 98% of the time though, he's as gentle as a lamb. He's not an overly affectionate TB though and doesn't like kisses and he does prefer male humans to female humans. BUT at the end of the day I am 100% happy with my decision to adopt him. He is awesome. I love him. He keeps me on my toes and thinking.

I also began to wonder a little bit. I have had friends with Thoroughbreds that once you leave them for a couple days without riding, they are firecrackers. Full of energy and about ready to explode. In fact my palomino quarter horse was awful if you left him for a while. Especially if you left him for a few months through the winter. George had a whole year off, and other than his excitement to get home from trail riding, I haven't had any issues with him. Piney was the same. You could leave him for 6 months at a time, and when you came back he was right back where you left him, but slower and lazier. Pistol and Duke are the same way. I fully expected George to be a nut when I first got on him. I was pleasantly surprised. What a good horse. I like to think it's me and that I'm just such an awesome rider now that horses just totally mellow out when I ride them...HAHAHA! That's a good one.