Well, there is always a story to tell right? Here is the story of Half of That the Cleveland Bay Thoroughbred cross that came to live with us on Tuesday.
Amanda found him on line and the fact that he was 17 hands tall was an immediate red flag that required further investigation. Amanda got in contact with the owner and set up a time and place for us to go meet this wonderful sounding horse. We packed up and headed done to Magnolia to check him out.
When he got off the trailer we could already tell this guy was special. He had one of the most interesting personalities and face I had ever seen! He let me feel all over him, check him out in his legs and picked up all four feet. After we looked him over a bit he got to do a little work out to show off how well he knows how to move! I was excited... The horse was not. There was arm waving and lunge line swinging but nothing more than a speedy walk was attained... So the ante was upped and he got tacked up! Now we have a show! He walks, he trots beautifully but.... You guessed it, sooooo lazy, no canter. Well, the seller had had about enough so he got the spur treatment. Suddenly, he remembered how to canter without any issues. :)
After showing off under saddle for the seller it was time for my test drive. Now mind you, I am still a green rider myself and am still learning to sit a canter effectively. However, my faithful girlfriend told me I needed to walk trot canter this guy so I knew what he could do. Who am I to tell her no? So, up I go on a 17 hh strange horse in a strange arena to him and me on a gorgeous day with barrel races flying around at 150 MPH. Now, everyone is expecting the worst, green rider, new horse, crazy arena, nerves everywhere about a sale... But the horse and ride did fine. We walked a bit, we trotted a lot and we even cantered!
As I got more comfortable I started pushing the envelope.. We were having fun, cantering around and suddenly we had a miscommunication. The horse went left, Robert went right and the ground came up and bit me in the butt. I did fine thanks to years of aikido teaching me how to fall down but, the horse was more than a champ! When I bailed off of him he took two steps back and stood there looking at me... Kind of saying " what are you down there for? We were riding!".
My story is that Amanda told me to try him out thoroughly... I thought I would see how he did when someone fell off! I think he did great. Test passed horse! (that's my story and I am sticking to it)
Long story much shorter...
We loved him, he liked us, we bought him. He came to College Station yesterday and needed a very noble name to go with his noble carriage. There is nothing wrong with his registry name of Half of That, or his barn name of Yoohoo but, I like Shakespeare and Oberon just seemed to fit. So, welcome Oberon to the family! And follow him on twitter @oberonthehorse.
No comments:
Post a Comment