Horse Tales from the LOPE Ranch

Silver Red Bird

Silver Red Bird (aka “Red Bird”) is a beautiful, six-year-old grey mare at LOPE. She came directly into our Training Initiative Program straight from Retama racetrack in early January. Red Bird had come in second and third a few times, but had never won a race. As a six-year-old maiden, her racing options were limited — and her trainer donated her to LOPE.

For the past three weeks, Red Bird has been with Laura Whitfield of Poseidon Sport Horses as part of a 30-day assessment. Laura has been helping Red Bird begin her let down and transition from the track — and also has been using the time to observe Red Bird and get to know her personality.

Initially, Red Bird was very uncertain and anxious in her new surroundings. She had trouble relaxing and trusting new people — so Laura went very slowly with her. Much time was spent with simple things such as being caught in the field, proper haltering (Red Bird was pretty sure she could just turn her head away while Laura put the halter on) and leading. That is all very basic — but you would be surprised how many seasoned, well-trained show horses also have trouble with haltering, being caught and leading quietly!

In the round pen, Red Bird didn’t want to look at Laura — especially from her right side — and she would canter around the pen, looking out over the panels to the pastures beyond. As Laura often says, “Fast doesn’t necessarily mean forward or confident.” In Red Bird’s case, her quickness meant that she was eager to leave any unknown situation — due to a lack of confidence, rather than a dominant attitude.

On the plus side, Red Bird clearly was very intelligent and wanted to bond with Laura — she just wasn’t sure how to go about that. Laura helped her by taking very small steps each day to improve each task they did together. There was no pressure and no rush — just clear boundaries (like for how to be haltered or how to walk through a gate with Laura) that were quietly and calmly reinforced.

Red Bird has excellent feet and is going barefoot during her 30-day assessment. Laura’s farrier was impressed with her hooves and felt that shoes simply weren’t necessary for her at this time.

Red Bird also is a lovely mare — very feminine, with an elegant head and the longest eyelashes we have ever seen on a horse! Her anxious demeanor was oddly appealing too — we could tell there was a plea for assistance (rather than an aggressive refusal) in each of her nervous moments.

I watched Laura work with Red Bird in the round pen — and several elements in her movement immediately stood out. She was very much on the forehand (which can be typical of racehorses) — so much so, that her muscles were much more clearly developed on her chest and shoulders than on her hindquarters. Red Bird also had some strongly marked muscle patterns on her flanks and back — we could literally see the outline of where a jockey’s knees and upper legs would be. Whether that was due to her running style or to exercising with lots of tension in her body was hard to say. But it was definitely an interesting element to note.

Red Bird liked to trot and canter with her head up during the round pen sessions. While we have seen that pattern before with racehorses right off the track, Red Bird added her own special flair to the move. She would also stick her nose up and curl her lip — as if she was making faces at the clouds. The maneuver seemed to be emotionally expressive — as if it was her way of saying, “I’m ignoring you,” with extra emphasis.

During the round pen session, Laura encouraged Red Bird to try dropping her head a little — so that her back could lift and her shoulders could move more freely. When Red Bird did take this invitation, she would drop her head for a stride or two — and then abruptly put her head right back up again (as if to say, “What was that cool feeling?”). It was very cute to watch her feel these new (and more pleasant) ways of moving her body.

As I watched Laura lead Red Bird back to her pasture (past scary things like peacocks and suspicious tractors), I noticed that Red Bird was trying to stay “with” Laura even when she was nervous. Sometimes it was only a small try — but other times it was a much bigger effort. Laura rewarded each of Red Bird’s tries — no matter how small — and in this way helped Red Bird begin to build confidence in her as a leader.

Red Bird is up for adoption now and would be a wonderful project for an experienced, patient person who can help Red Bird become more relaxed and comfortable with new experiences. She is one of those sensitive horses who will give 100% once she knows she can trust her person. Red Bird is up-to-date on coggins, shots and dental work — and is ready for her special person to come along and give her the loving home she deserves. See the LOPE adoption page for more info.

UPDATE: Laura recently reported that Red Bird is now nickering at her when she comes to catch her in the pasture — and even trotted up to Laura and met her at the gate! Very nice sign that Red Bird is beginning to trust people and enjoy her work sessions. Based on Laura’s assessment so far, it looks like Red Bird would greatly benefit from having some extended time in pasture turnout — so she can relax, just be a horse and take a little vacation after her racing career.

The LOPE Training Horses: Mystery Blessing

LOPE is excited to announce that we have two horses in our new training initiative. One is a lovely four-year-old filly named Mystery Blessing (aka “Blessing”). She was donated to LOPE by Betty Knox and Carrol Key of Southwestern Racing, LLC — and she has had exceptional care and handling for her entire life.

Blessing is a Texas-bred TB — she is by Uncle Abbie and out of Mysterious Light by Mystery Storm. She was home raised and personally handled by her race breeder/owners — and carefully prepared for the track. Mr. Key and Ms. Knox are fond of the horses they breed and race — for them, racing is very personal and they care about each of their horses deeply.

Blessing raced eight times at the track and even won a longer distance race — while she showed some promise, it was not quite enough for a truly competitive racing career. She was retired sound and given time off to relax in the pasture. When she was ready, Southwestern Racing began the process of preparing her for a post-track career. They paid for Blessing to receive 90-days training (for w-t-c and some light jumping) — their hope was that Blessing would go on to a successful career in eventing or another show discipline.

When they heard about LOPE’s new training program, Ms. Knox and Mr. Key quickly came to the decision to donate Blessing to LOPE. She is a calm, sound and very talented filly — and they were excited at the possibilities for Blessing at LOPE.

They personally delivered Blessing to the LOPE Ranch — and we were impressed with Blessing from the moment we saw her. She unloaded calmly and stood quietly outside the trailer while we all chatted. Even though it was a new place, Blessing behaved as if she had just stepped out to her usual home pasture.

Blessing is a beautiful bay mare with an athletic build, feminine head and soft, quiet eye. She is @16.1H and carries herself with dignity and poise. Although she is only four-years-old, Blessing behaves like a more seasoned, older horse. Her ground manners are impeccable and she loves people. It is clear that she thinks the world is a good place — and that all of her experiences in it have been positive (thanks to her race owners).

Blessing is a great example of the type of Texas bred we have often seen here at LOPE — well bred, carefully handled and owned by people who cared about her while she was racing. Kudos to Southwestern Racing for donating her to LOPE — and for caring about their racehorses after their track careers are over.

We will be assessing and working with Blessing over the next week or so — to figure out what she might enjoy as a second career and to select the right trainer for her. Our guess is that Blessing will want to be an eventer — she certainly has the looks and temperament for the job!

Stay tuned for more updates on Mystery Blessing…including her training progress, her upcoming appearances at LOPE events and more!

The Right Match

At LOPE, we’ve been involved with nearly 200 horse adoptions here at the ranch. We’ve seen many amazing matches between horse and human, and it’s one of the most rewarding parts of our work. The surprises are what make the adoptions extra fun to watch — like the difficult, complicated horse who falls in love with a gentle intermediate rider or the nervous, shy horse who blossoms into a show champion because his rider believes in him.

But we’ve also seen mismatches. Typically we spot these at the first adoption visit, when the prospective adopter comes to meet the horse and ride. It can be delicate situation to find a way to politely tell someone that they aren’t quite the right partner for that particular horse. Fortunately, we usually don’t have to do that — the rider knows that the horse isn’t the right match and is happy to keep shopping elsewhere.

Then there is the case of the stubborn mismatch — where the rider refuses to see that the horse isn’t a suitable choice. Most of us who work with horses see this particular situation occasionally here and there (whether it’s an over-mounted rider at a clinic or a tall cowboy loping a pony-sized steed during a trail ride). The most classic example is often a less experienced equestrian teamed with a gorgeous, but fiery, horse. The rider just can’t seem to accept that the horse isn’t the dream steed they hoped for, in spite of gentle hints from friends and instructors (as well as spectators to their latest near-disaster in the arena).

My original goal with this post was to come up with an entertaining list of “you might need a different horse” quips — as a way to get people talking about this topic and thinking about their own horses. The goal was to provoke thought and maybe help a few people (and horses) out there who need new riding partners.

As I typed along cheerily, my fingers paused, and I realized how well suited I am to write this post. I am in this situation myself — and it’s very hard to accept.

Those of you who have read my book about the LOPE horses know that Sally, the little bay mare, has been a huge part of my work at LOPE. Sally has plenty of pep as well as a lively, sweet disposition — alert and sensible all at the same time. Short and stocky with a round build, Sally is especially fun to ride in western tack.

Sally has taught me more than any other horse at LOPE — she was there with me at several key moments in my development as an aspiring horseman. For example, at a Ray Hunt clinic, Sally demonstrated to me the importance of adapting to fit the situation. During a demonstration ride at a horse expo, Sally showed me everything in myself that was lacking (and that was good) when it came to horsemanship. She means the world to me.

And I’m no longer the right rider for her.

About 20 months ago, I noticed that Sally seemed less rounded in her hindquarters. Sally is one of those short (15H) mares who seems to be curvy everywhere (belly, topline, even her ears). I assumed it was that she needed more exercise, a different diet (like more hay or alfalfa) and maybe a change in her worming program. But even after all those things, Sally’s booty remained leaner and it seemed, if anything, to be getting worse.

Sally still rode mostly the same — she was perky, sweet and easy (without ever being boring). But I felt something was wrong — and I began making excuses to not ride her as much. Finally, one day, I approached her from behind in the pasture and saw that one hindquarter was now much flatter than the other one. And it hit home to me that something more unusual was happening.

So I took her to Austin Equine Associates, and the diagnosis was that she had had an impact injury in the pelvic area at some point in her life (maybe a starting gate injury). Sally now had muscle atrophy in her hindquarters and the chances weren’t high that it would rebound back to normal. But there was also good news: she was very much serviceably sound and showed little sign of obvious lameness. She was weak on that hindquarter, of course, and high-powered sports weren’t going to in her future, but with steady riding, she might well tone up the surrounding muscles and become stronger.

So I kept riding Sally — taking her to clinics, doing trail riding at the ranch and generally thinking of her as my fun, “go to” horse. It didn’t matter to me that she wasn’t the perfect sport horse or a high-powered athlete — we were good friends and I loved our rides together. Sure, we often were more likely to ride jagged ovals than elegant circles and rarely attempted any kind of more advanced work (such as collection) — but we were just there to have pleasant rides and nothing more. And that’s just what happened for both Sally and me — nothing more.

Then, over the past few months, friends and colleagues began trying to help me see that Sally needs someone different. I didn’t recognize that at the time — I just wondered why people seemed to always talk enthusiastically about how I should ride Lightening Ball (my other favorite LOPE horse to ride) whenever I brought Sally to an event or clinic. Finally, a trusted friend was blunt with me: at 5’8” and 145 lbs, I am too big for Sally in her current condition. She has to put in tons of effort to pack me around. Plus she tries too hard to please me and give me the bigger, longer rides we used to do all the time.

Neither of us can progress further when we are riding together. The work we used to do is simply too hard for Sally — her needs have changed. Yet at the same time, she still enjoys light riding, long grooming sessions, ground work and hanging out with her pasture buddies. Sally has a great deal to offer to a good home — as long that home isn’t me.

Needless to say, I was quite resistant to these facts. It felt disloyal; as if I was tossing Sally aside for not being good enough anymore. But the reality is that I am holding Sally back by not letting her go to the ideal rider, job and home for her. When I realized this, I was very sad, because I knew that the best thing I could do for Sally was find her the right home.

For all of my experience with the LOPE horses, you would think I would have figured this out much sooner. But many of us horse owners have such a strong emotional bond with our horses that we forget to be objective. Another horse friend told me the story of a beautiful buckskin horse that she had worked with — they had a strong connection on the ground and made much progress with his trust issues. But he had been abused and was very fearful of being ridden. And my friend came to the conclusion (reluctantly, like me) that she was not the right person to take him to his full potential.

She rehomed Dakota to a trainer who specialized in working with horses like him. Many months later, she saw them riding together — a deeply emotional moment for her. She writes: “I think the biggest mistake people make in this situation is putting themselves and their own desires before that of the horse. If I had been selfish, I would have kept Dakota and he would have been a pasture ornament for the rest of his life. Now, he has a purpose and is probably much happier being able to trust humans again.”

So Sally is now officially up for adoption. She is a wonderful little mare and a terrific teacher. If you think you might be the perfect home for her, please contact us for more information. I have lots of great stories about Sally to share, and I promise to smile when the right home comes along and be happy for Sally (instead of sad for myself).

And for those readers who are wondering what my original idea for this post would have looked like, below is my quiz about horse and rider matches.

Quiz: Are You and Your Horse a Good Match?

Here are some questions that I have found useful to consider:

• Do you frequently postpone riding sessions with your horse because he is having physical problems? Is your horse ever sore (legs, back, withers, etc) after riding? Is this a consistent pattern?
• Have friends or family ever suggested to you that you might need a different type of horse? Has a trainer/instructor ever told you that your horse wasn’t a good match? Have multiple trainers/instructors suggested that you might want to reconsider your horse choice? Note: Multiple professionals giving you this type of feedback is a very serious signal to think about.
• Has anyone ever told you that they were worried that you were going to get hurt with your horse?
• When you ride your horse, do you both progress steadily over time? Do you work on new things or always do the same routine? Are either of you bored?
• Do you have fun when you ride your horse? Note: If your stomach is churning and you only exhale every 15 minutes while in the saddle, you are not having fun.
• Do you put off learning more advanced riding techniques because you aren’t sure you and your horse can do those together? Note: Not everyone is interested in learning how to piaffe, but this question did help me realize what was going on with Sally and me.
• Do you spend more time on the ground with your horse (round pen work, hand walking, grooming, etc) than you do riding your horse? Note: This question is not directed at folks who have pasture pals they adore but don’t ride for a good reason (the horse is retired or in rehab, for example). The question is for people who have a horse they acquired for riding. I often groomed or round penned Sally, but didn’t ride her as much — even though I considered her one of my primary riding horses.
• How often have you ridden your horse without supervision (i.e., not in a lesson) in the past 6 months? In the past year? A low number (i.e., one that you can actually remember) is food for thought.
• Pretend for a minute that you HAVE to rehome your horse for a good reason (such as you just got offered a dream job in New Zealand and can’t take your horse there). How does that make you feel? Sad, excited, relieved?
• If you use a trainer for your horse, how long has your horse been in training with that person? Have you switched trainers since you’ve had your horse? If so, how many trainers has your horse been with in the last year? In the last two years?
• Pretend for a minute that the horse person you trust or admire more than anyone (your current instructor, your most revered horsemanship master, your barn BFF, or Ray Hunt himself speaking from the grave) just sat you down and told you that your horse needs someone different. How do you react — are you angry (“What do they know?”), defiant (“I’ll show them and ride my horse in the Olympics one day”), concerned (“Oh no, what if they are right”) or sad (“I know they are right”)?

There are no official “scores” for this questionnaire. If you are noticing a pattern in your answers, please consider the quiz as a gentle catalyst for provoking new thought and insight into your view of your horse.

Who Makes the Best Adopters?

I’m often asked what it takes to become an approved adopter of LOPE horses. There are a couple of answers to that question.

The first answer is practical: we have folks fill out our approval form, check their references and watch how they interact with the horse they are interested in. We like to see experienced horse people (although we’ve occasionally placed gentle horses with novice riders) who understand the commitment involved in owning a horse.

That commitment comes in many forms that all horse owners recognize: financial, physical, emotional, veterinary and so on. But there is another, less obvious type of commitment -- and it’s the one we think is most important.

And that leads me to the second answer.

We only want to adopt the LOPE horses to people who truly value, respect and admire them. If you want to adopt a horse here because you feel sorry for it, we’ll very politely direct you elsewhere. Because the LOPE horses deserve so much better than pity.

We think they are the best, coolest horses ever. Whether they’ve raced until age 9 (like Double Again, pictured) or had a short career due to injury (like Quick Chris), we love their heart, their courage, their loyalty and their tremendously unique personalities.

And so should their adopters. ☺