I rode and was exposed to horses and a kid, my dad being the real deal as far as cowboy. He still is roping and riding in the hills in his mid 60's. However, lots of life, a husband in the Navy and 3 beautiful daughters later, we arrived back home to finally retire from the military life in 2004.
So anyway, taking a 20ish year break from horses, I was visiting my dad on the other side of the state in May of 2005 and asked him to help me find a horse to get started again, as I knew this was my passion that I had beat down for years! He said; "Well hon, you can have that one right there!" and he gave me my first horse again after all these years. A 20 year old Two Eyed Jack gelding that had been retired as a heeling horse, lost his top line and had some severe emotional issues (putting it mildly).
Suddenly I was the proud owner of a sway back flea bitten gray horse that had some issues and that I promptly fell in love with. What a fruit cake is was/is, but he was perfect for my fledgling foray back in to horses at the age of 38! My dad confessed later that he thought I would call him in about a month and have him come and get him as I had lost interest and could not afford him. What a mis-calculation that was!! By the end of the summer, I had taken a really pretty mare on trial that did not work out and found a kick butt little cow bred mare that I had no idea how to ride! She had been to a local trainer that some of my new horsey friends just loved, so I called him up and talked to him before I went to check her out! She had been on cows (penning and sorting), loved it but needed some refinement. Where I think I went wrong was not understanding that a professional trainer's idea of a safe horse for a middle intermediate rider and mine were not in any way shape or form the same!
A week after that my husband bought a 16 year old buttermilk buckskin appendix gelding that has turned out to be an amazing confidence builder for a guy who had ridden once when we were teenagers when my dad's heading mare mashed him into the wall and he hated horses from then on! In fact when I asked if he wanted to ride Blue Boy he laughed and said I could have horses, not his cup of tea! So I found it very funny when he bought Smokey (said buttermilk buckskin appendix) from our farm owner! He just fell in love with this huge 16hh bedraggled horse that needed his own guy in a most urgent way! What a pair they have become! I am very proud of them both!
So not only did we NOT return Blue Boy to my dad but we were up to 3 equine family members by October of that year! We consider Blue Boy as the horse who saved a very fractious family relationship, as I had to call my dad several times a week for advise and help! Up until then we had been estranged to a certain degree! Needless to say, Blue Boy is very special to our family.
So the husband is riding and has bought a very nice Crates saddle for himself and Smokey; all the accouterments that go along with the ensemble and so on. However at this point the two younger girls aged 15 and 11 at the time are interested in riding and wanting to participate in 4-H and needed horses that were safe to ride. Leanna (then 15) started riding Blue Boy and Larissa dabbled with Smokey (to much for her at that time) and then my little cow bred mare Bailey! Well she fell off of Bailey one day while on a ride with friends; one of which had brought her spare mare Lilly down for some exercise! Talk about spooking! My little Bailey was/still is a nutty little red head and went flying around the arena because a cat jumped off of the fence! The louder Larissa screamed, the faster the mare ran! Yikes what a wreck that could have been if she had not had a helmet on! Lilly became a member of our herd that day (and I say herd because I had to go and find another job that paid better to afford board for 4 horses)! What a great mare Lilly was and such an amazing confidence builder for Larissa! She showed the non-loping Lilly in w/j novice performance and had a great time that first year!
At that time, I was still riding Bailey and had been dumped pretty hard on my caboose in a sorting pen! She dodged being kicked by a stud that we were in sorting with, basically saving my leg from being kicked and shattered! However I sat on a pillow and had Vicodin in my system for weeks after that very first crash! Needless to say, I was scared to get back on! After my arse stopped hurting I set out to get my little spaz mare settled down. For the next year I trail rode her until we had a wonderful bond of trust (so to speak) and she unwound! She was 6 when I bought her and pretty arena sour! I learned to ride her better, but let me tell you, she is quick! She has been trained as a reiner/cow/4-H performance horse and she can move!!! She was just to much for me to ride, I was just not a good enough rider to stay with her quick moves and spins! I took lessons on her and chased lots of cows on her in lessons and had a great time doing it. But I fell off again while chasing a cow in a lesson. I immediately got back on, had a great mad on and finished the lesson in a blaze of glory! The next week, not so much! I was in the tank again! a 39 year old woman that was scared to ride. Again.
Meanwhile, Leanna did amazing on Blue Boy that first year! Someone had to have shown him in his crazy past, he understands exactly what the show arena is! He would pitch a fit, but then go out and rock the showmanship class she took him in! She did the w/j senior novice performance for our local county 4-H program! Lots of success was had by all! However, she had progressed far enough that her beloved old sway back retired roping horse with odd emotional issues was just not enough any more! We went looking for a black and white paint.
At the same time, Larissa was trying to ride Smokey after having a great year on the non-loping Lilly. Smokey has some special quirks of his own though, quirks that only an owner can tolerate! He is very cinchy for what ever reason we do not know. When you cinch him up, you have to do it in stages, because if he gets scared, he will throw himself on his side! He has done it 3-4 times since we have owned him and it is very dramatic when it happens (has not happened in 2 years now)! We took him to a full weekend 4-H event and he decided to get wiggy and Larissa got freaked out. He sliced his bulb open on his front foot and was bleeding all over the place! Sheesh what a mess! Dave took him home that night and brought back my little Bailey, my cute red-headed hot little cow mare! That was the day that I was relegated to Lilly the non-loping trail horse! I had lost my mare to my horse-thieving daughter and was happy to have donated to the cause! What a great match they have become! I cannot say enough about Larissa and Bailey and the bond they have forged! Larissa has become a very confident and wonderful rider with the help of our trainer (thank God for lessons and trainers)!
Leanna found Dozer (he is a blog entry all unto himself), a 4 year old greener than green broke, gelding that had been a stud way to long, little pathetic black and white paint! She fell in love with him and started to ride him (thank heavens AGAIN for trainers and lessons)! She rode green horse program and continued to do all the training on him while learning to ride at the same time! WOW that is a good trainer!! Dozer is a work in progress and he is an amazing little funky kid who is 7 this year!
So all at the same time, Blue Boy was care leased out to a boy who also needed a confidence booster for a year! He taught him to ride as he had taught Leanna and I. He is nothing short of amazing as the people that care lease him right now are learning on him as well! He is 24 this month and going to do 4-H gaming! I love the old school quarter horses! Heck, I love that old fart! IF he were younger and straight backed, he would be the horse of my dreams! I would not have been gifted with him, as he was amazing in his day, but I would have loved to have had him before the "great sway"!
Back to me (riding non-loping Lilly) and the new filly. I sold Lilly to finish the purchase of a 2 year old and I waited for her to grow up enough to send her to training and ride her. In the mean time, I rode Blue Boy, sway back retired school master, horse love of my life! I trusted him completely even when we would jig jog sideways home on the levy behind the farm! Only for me, he never acts like that with the kids!!
Brenna was 18 months old when I started messing with her. I bought her just before she was 2 years old and had never really been around unruly little baby horses! What an experience! We would walk down the ally way of the farm, jumping, leaping, snorting and wrapping herself around me! My friend and breeder/previous owner of said "monkey horse" was fabulous and helped me to understand how to get her under control, as much control as one could have in a basically untouched little horse. It was challenging, fun, scary, annoying and amazing all at the same time.
Dave also felt the pressure of having an aging gelding that may not be all that he would want him to be in the coming years so we started to look for a young horse for him as well. Dave has some interesting standards that had to be met, a new horse HAD TO BE A BUTTERMILK BUCKSKIN! Did not really matter what else it was (mare/gelding) but he was looking for color! So along came Kenya last summer! Yay! he had found her and she is the cutest color and has a little baby doll head and is smart as a whip! However, she is not broke! Here we go again! Dave is a Clinton Anderson follower so he is going to break Kennie himself (with me as the gal in the round pen keeping her moving). I have to say that this is very scary for me, but he assures me that his life insurance is up to date!! With that the history of the Buckner Equine Saga is up to date (March 1, 2009) . It has been an amazing 4 years and I would not trade my life for anyone elses! I am blessed by God to have a husband who slide into horse ownership and has taken up my passion along with me, and two out of three daughters that are becoming amazing horse women themselves. I could not be prouder of my family. My oldest daughter I just did not get moved out of California in time to get her dirty. She just does not LOVE the horses like we do, but rides occasionally and is interested if we need her to be!
Thank you for reading!
Horse LOVER
Janet
Saturday, February 28, 2009
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