Thank you for providing a content-generation machine on a monthly basis, L.

Does your horse need shoes?
Unquestionably.

What do you think of the barefoot vs shoes debate?
Debate away, debaters. My jumping horses will never not be shod.

Favorite season for riding?
Not winter.

How many shows do you think you’ve gone to?
I showed multiple times a year between the ages of 10 and 29, and have started showing again these past couple years. Enjoy that math because I’m not doing it.

Do you consider yourself a good rider?
I am competent on most days, and usually ride much better on horses I don’t own.

How experienced do you think someone needs to be to own a horse?
I don’t think experience is as important as being willing to learn and willing to allow a professional to help throughout ownership, including the buying process. How else do you get experience?

Have you ever gotten into a fight with your trainer?
Sure, with many of the trainers I have ridden with, although not often. You work closely with someone long enough in a difficult sport you might run into a snag here and there about something.

Describe your dream horse.
A healthy, sound one with a go button and good form over fences, Thoroughbred athleticism, and and a bomb-proof brain. Let me just go find $675,000 right quick …

Does anyone in your family ride?
Currently just me, although my mom is also horse crazy. My aunt rode as a child, too. My Dad worked around horses as a teen but I am not sure how much he rode. My younger brother took lessons for a while, but it wasn’t for him.

If you could ride any horse in the world, which one would it be? why?
I may have a slight obsession with Kent Farrington’s Creedence right now. This answer changes almost monthly.

Last week, Emma posted about notorious stallions and how a few of them show up in her horse’s pedigree. I have grown more and more curious with Thoroughbred pedigrees over the years … considering I have owned a few off-track characters this shouldn’t be surprising.

But then, I am not really looking at racing pedigrees for racing talent. I am more curious to find what results in jumping talent! No doubt any Thoroughbred can clear a 3′ fence and all have the athleticism to perform in a variety of horse sports, but what do Thoroughbred pedigrees show as far as athleticism to excel at jumping, in scope, form, carefulness, and willingness?

I DON’T EFFING KNOW.

There’s not really an answer, other than possibly to notice patterns in the pedigrees of ex-racehorses you have had your own experiences with. Based on my personal experience, I tend to lean toward both Danzig and Alydar progeny as showing jumping talent. Even so, it’s a guessing game, as both stallions were prolific, especially Alydar. These are pedigrees cultivated out of a desire to breed top talent on the racetrack. These are not the pedigrees of top showjumping mounts, curated for scope, although Thoroughbred blood heavily influences many of those pedigrees. (You’ll want to click on the pedigree to make it bigger.)

I knew Eli had jumping talent before I set eyes on his pedigree, and only after the fact did his pedigree confirm any inklings I might still have toward a preference for Danzig and Alydar progeny. But I can also see that’s all on his sire’s side. I am less familiar with his dam’s lines, although his dam earned about what Eli did racing in fewer starts.

For former racehorses in new careers, we can really only work backwards, take educated guesses and possibly start to recognize patterns over time if we are looking for clues in the pedigrees about jumping talent.

I know Emma’s post related more to temperament than talent, but we all know I have a little, let’s say, flexibility when it comes to temperament as long as the talent is there. When I look back at the pictures of the sires in Eli’s pedigree I am most struck by, of course, Danzig and the look not only of arrogance, but utter contempt for everything coloring the horse’s countenance. Secondly, however, I am completely captivated by the conformation, fine head, and air of magnanimity and composure of his dam’s sire, Irish Tower.  No idea how I got all that out of one picture, but after taking another long look at Eli’s pedigree thanks to Emma, I might be curious to follow Irish Tower progeny in the future, too.

If Thoroughbred pedigrees have you overwhelmed, stoke that confusion fire by reading this gem on Danzig and his far-reaching influence! You can also click through all the way back to foundation stallions on your horse’s pedigree on the Thoroughbred Database. You will probably get to the Darley Arabian and recognize a few names on your way back. I know most of y’all probably already know all this, but for first-time TB owners or people who have never searched for their Thoroughbred online, I hope this helps!

And if you’re interested in finding video or photos of your own Thoroughbred ex-racehorse but don’t know how, look up your horse’s Jockey Club name on Equibase. If your fur kid raced like mine did, check the Results tab for racetracks. From there, you can watch replay video from the tracks’ websites if your fur kid is young enough (Eli is, just barely)! To watch the video directly from Equibase, you’d need a membership. After watching a few races with Eli in them, I have a little idea about where his fear of/angst about crops may have originated. Coady Photography also allows you to search by Jockey Club names, which reminds me–I need to go buy that one winner’s circle picture of Eli that I found!

Thank you, L, for asking the fun questions, as always!

What do you consider “jumping high” for yourself? 1.15m & up. I honestly don’t jump higher than 1.15m anymore and compete much lower right now.

What are your short term goals for riding? Do you think you’ll reach them? I primarily ride for fun now, so I don’t actively make goals very much, other than have fun at a show, try not to die, don’t look like an idiot too much, etc.

Long term goals for riding? Do you think you’ll reach them? More dressage. Maybe even compete at dressage again? Eli is not likely the right horse for that, so it’s not on the immediate horizon.

How many barns have you been at in your riding career? 4 or 5.

How many different trainers have you been with in your riding career? Same as above, I guess?

Ever worked at a barn? What did you do? Yes. Teach. & odds & ends. Also fed on the weekends as a teenager and was a working student around the same time.

Scariest thing that has happened at your barn? The threat of fire in dry conditions terrifies me. I am also always scared/afraid/worried/stressed when a horse either colicks or gets cast. And one time a random stranger jogged onto the barn property and tried to ride a boarder’s horse while she was grazing the mare … just hearing that freaked me out. The boarder stayed super calm and the barn owner intervened; nothing terrible came of it or anything, it was just one of those weird, random things.  The guy was maybe a little not right in the head, apparently had no clue what he was doing was wrong/threatening/unsafe.

Have you ever given a lesson? What level was the rider? Yes. Mostly beginners, some intermediate … then, I don’t know, what’s the line of demarcation for going from intermediate to advanced?

What is your opinion on the accuracy of critiquing riders online? There are people who offer constructive criticism and then there are assholes. And everyone is one of those things to someone.

What is the ideal height of a horse for you? 16hh-16.3hh.

1. What is your biggest source of caffeine that gets you through the day? (drink, not just brand)

COFFEE. Many coffees.

2. Do you honestly think your trainer is the best trainer for you?

Right now for me and my current horse, absolutely. For all time, I had that trainer for 15 years, and my current trainer is his sister. I would still be riding with him, I’d imagine, if he were here today.

3. One token of advice a fellow rider/trainer/horse person told you that you still remember to this day.

WHO JUMPS FIRST. (Hear that enough, and it kind of stands out over everything else.)

4. If riding meant costing your family so much money that they’d be basically on poverty line, or making your family terribly unhappy (if they were not supportive or understanding, etc.) would you still do it?

Fuck yeah I would.

5. (Girls) would you ride while pregnant?

Never going to be pregnant, but if I were I would still ride until I was too big to haul myself into the tack.

6. How do you tell when a horse likes someone/has bonded with you or someone else?

I kind of just go by what people tell me. About Eli, some people say, “oh, that horse loves you,” and I’m like, okay, but not enough to stop trying to bite me, so …

7. Are horses capable of loving, in your opinion?

I believe they are.

8. If you could have one horse from your past come back for 5 minutes, who would it be, why, and what would you do with them in those 5 minutes?

Gah. This is an agonizingly difficult question to answer, because I am a forward-looking individual. There is more than one horse I would like 5 more minutes with, but at what cost to my psyche at the prospect of saying goodbye twice? Apparently, even 21 years was not enough with Anchor. I’d take 5 more minutes of his snuggles/maulings for treats in a heartbeat. And maybe some blood for DNA so I can clone him. I thought I wouldn’t want to clone him, but now I’m like, eh, that might be pretty sweet. And then I wonder, well could I handle him as a stallion? Populate my world with pink Anchor babies? And then I stop myself, because there is no way on earth to recreate my experiences with Anchor. Not everything is a result of DNA. Back to the no cloning policy.

9. Should a trainer also be a friend, or should it be a student/teacher relationship?

I have been friends with most of my trainers. I really think it depends on the individuals involved and how mature they are, and how good they are at keeping a business relationship separate from a friendship. Honestly, I would be very suspicious of a trainer who tried to befriend me right away and started acting all chummy, but I am suspicious of anyone who does that generally (like beyond just being cordial). But developing a friendship over time outside of a working relationship seems pretty normal to me.

10. One piece of advice/training you were given by a trainer or mentor that you look back on now and view it as incorrect?

Hmmmm, there is more than one thing … some of them are just old wives’ tales that have since been demonstrated to be absolutely wrong, some of them are training methods or pieces of equipment that I want no part of now but may not be all that bad. Some of them are treatments that were accepted or even recommended by veterinarians that I just wouldn’t do now. So I am trying to think of a piece of advice that is basically an opinion that I agreed with a while ago but don’t now. The best I can come up with is that years ago, I accepted the approach to horse training as a way of dominating a horse into subservience and that horses were not allowed opinions and would be reprimanded for anything out of line regardless of why. I completely disagree with this now, and I am more interested in forming a partnership with a horse, allowing a horse to think for himself, building trust, and staying calm, persistent, empathetic, and emotionless when a horse is being “difficult.” I want to know why now, instead of just assuming it doesn’t matter. It does matter.

Thanks to L. at Viva Carlos for bringing back this fun activity!

1. Do you actually always pick the horse’s feet? Always? Really?

Yes. No hoof, no horse.

2. What is the biggest obstacle/reason preventing you from becoming a professional or competing full time with ease?

With ease, money. At all, hmm … good question.

3. Do you think it will ever not be about the money?

It may always be about the money, but it is also about a lot of other things, too. Ambition, talent, discipline, work ethic, willingness to work for any client and ride any horse and do it well and rely on a very unsteady stream of income, have the knowledge it takes to run a farm, ship horses all over the map, have people who believe in what you do … ugh, I guess a lot of that does boil down to money. But then couldn’t you say that about many career paths?

4. Was there ever a horse that you loved and really wanted to have a connection with, but it just never panned out? Details.

I have fallen in love with well over half of the horses I have ever ridden and if I had some how been able to buy them all I would need many, many more hours and dollars. Many. I would hoard horses.

5. What is one weakness in your riding that even your trainer doesn’t pick up on, only you?

I have so many weaknesses and surely most of them are fairly obvious. I am not likely to second-guess a trainer that I have chosen to ride with.

6. What is the biggest doubt/insecurity you ask or tell yourself in your head?

That I will do something stupid enough to flip my horse.

7. There is a barn fire. You are the first person to discover it and see that the roof is collapsing in slowly, and you can tell it’s going to come down any time. Do you call people first or head straight in to save the horses?

Call and save at the same time because smartphones. This question is a nightmare. I am having anxiety over this question.

8. What is one event in your riding career/horse/anything that you’re still not over, even tho you might tell others you are?

Sports amnesia is good … there was this one time I was showing a really cute little chestnut QH in the Adult Jumpers that I did not own, and he had been fun all weekend and we were there for two weekends. On Sunday, I woke up with food poisoning and spent like ten hours in the ER or something like that. I managed to feel mostly well enough to ride by Thursday or Friday, I think, but then the chestnut slipped badly in the warm-up ring, and was kind of balky at the jumps after that, like maybe he hurt himself, but he still felt sound and looked sound, was just a little less tractable. The course rode a bit tougher than what we had been able to accomplish the weekend before, and there was an option of a skinny or a liverpool. The horse had jumped the liverpool the previous weekend, and I hated skinnies, but he stopped at the liverpool. Twice. The second time I fell off, into a muddy tarp because that’s liverpools in Texas. I mean I guess I am kind of over all that but that was not a fun way to end at Pin Oak and I felt really bad for the owner, like I had let her down.

9. If you could tell off one person you just don’t like, what would you say?

But there are so many people I don’t like … I’d lose my voice. Mild examples would be: “You are an idiot.” “You need to quit.” and “Go away.”

10. Have you ever seen questionable riding or training practices, but let it go/ignored it?

Like witnessed in person? Yes and mostly. I never say nothing, but sometimes I redact and edit a lot of what would otherwise come out of my mouth. Pissing off an asshole probably won’t help the horses.

Last September, you might remember that No Hour Wasted posted a blog hop challenge contest thing about setting and meeting goals. And I dutifully set a goal that was well within reach for me & Eli.

And then we got sidelined by snot! Ah, horses.

Well, Eli is fully recovered from the tooth extraction & two sinus surgeries, and we have been merrily trucking along, going about our business with grids and courses, usually topping out at 3’6″ and we’ve been perfectly happy with that. Even the other day, we were cruising through a grid, building up to what I had thought was 3’6″.

He was so easy through the grid, and I just kept telling my trainer, “yeah, let’s just go up another hole.” I thought we had got to 3’6″ the last time through, because I had thought the top hole on the short standards holding up the back rail was 4′. Well, it’s 4’3″. So the back rail of the oxer was actually 3’9″, not 3’6″. My trainer even said to me later that she didn’t say anything so that my head would stay in the game and not questioning the height. Even so, I did not think too much of it until I remembered back before Eli’s veterinary expedition into blood, snot, and heavy sedation that I had set this goal for us, and had never revisited it.

So here, I’m revisiting it. I am also revisiting Eli’s personality prior to the surgeries and after. In many ways, he is still the same horse: bites, kicks, spooks, bucks, does that capriole spook/leap thing … but he is also changed. His brain is there, and is very often accessible, when before it was a crapshoot. He accepts contact in the leg, and seat, and even the hand as long as I allow him to find it instead of insisting on it first. He is, as always, game for jumping anything, understands the leg without shooting out from underneath me when I close it, now is much steadier and easier to control in the turns, and he has learned to adjust his stride himself (therefore making up for my eye’s shortcomings all the time). Many other factors come into play related to Eli’s rideability, such as tack choices, feed, turnout, consistency of riding (only me since May 2014), quality of flatwork, variation in activities (he does get bored easily now), and keeping up with maintenance. But truly the horse was performing with what must have been a raging toothache and headache, so it’s no surprise he was brain-addled daily (and with no clinical symptoms until the snotty nose, I simply didn’t question his personality because it had been steadily improving the longer I worked with him, and such a personality was not unusual in an ottb with some wacky training in his past). Everything about him now communicates to me he is so much more comfortable and so much more confident about his job.

I did not think when I set that goal of 3’9″ on film last September that we would have gone through quite so much to get to it. We had a brief setback, but now with that goal not only within reach but firmly in our grasp there is no doubt in my mind that Eli is unquestionably the right horse for me and anything I want to do, he wants to do, too.

Excluding all the essentials I know I need at a show, like, you know, a saddle, I’m liberally interpreting “need.” Amanda wants to know everyone’s top 5 horse show essentials. I ride at an h/j barn that brings along pretty much everything for the clients, so my list may look deceptively frivolous to many of you, but I take my brut rose seriously.

Brut Rose

Nerves building up over the course of a long day on the show grounds? Stop taking it so seriously! This is your fun thing to do, so have fun. If you are of age, pour yourself a flute of something pink and fizzy. But don’t overdo it, of course. You still have a course walk and you don’t want to weave while walking the lines. And don’t forget to eat.

Checkbook

Not everyone in h/j land takes plastic yet, so don’t forget your checkbook. I’m not sure how much longer handwritten personal checks will exist, but for now I keep having to write them. You can’t pay the braider with promises, Starbucks, and doughnuts, even if it seems like it.

Diaper Pins

Jumper ring necessity. Bonus points for Disney characters. You can’t glue your number to your saddle pad. No, you really can’t. Please don’t.

Towels

The number of towels I can go through at even a one-day schooling show … towel the horse, towel my tack, my tall boots, use a towel to hold my horse’s hoof while cleaning it, towel the horse’s muzzle specifically, all these things require their own towels… Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is not wrong on this one.

Spray Bottle of Rubbing Alcohol

Lifts stains, dries quick. Can’t live without it if you have a horse that likes to lounge in his own poop. Especially if that horse is a gray.

I’m sure I missed a few things that should have made a top 5 list, but I definitely use every single one of these things at shows a lot. Well, not too much of the brut rose–that’s more fun if you share.