Saturday, June 9, 2012

It's official... we have a new horse!!!

Hubby finally decided today, we're keeping Justin! And as of now, his name is Oberon. He just isn't much of a Justin, it seems.

He's really been a star for the last few rides. It doesn't seem that jousting will be any problem for him, although we are still working him up to the full-blown joust. He's got a ton of lovely dressage buttons - leg yield, shoulder in, haunches in, half-pass, as well as turn on the forehand and haunches. He's got a lovely medium trot, and his previous owner even told me she was working flying changes. He can be a little hard to get going, but we're both used to riding horses that are very forward, so this is a change. He can be a little inattentive both on the ground and under saddle, but even in two weeks, he's much more respectful and easier to work with. He loads great, and my trimmer loves him and his feet.

Big honkin' drafty-feets.

Decent conformation - uphill, short back, decent shoulder, good bone.

  
Did I mention that he's kinda cute?

One of the main things we were concerned about - his tendency to stop and look at things - is apparently easily overcome. We've been riding with small spurs and a bat that makes a good "smack" sound, which he is very impressed by. He now stomps on manhole covers - literally, he slams his foot down on them so I know he's stepped on it. He's also miraculously lost his fear of the front gate after just one session:



We had a fantastic jumping lesson this morning which I'll fill in on tomorrow - we're going to a jousting practice in the morning, and I need to get to bed!


20 comments:

  1. YAYYYY!!!!! I SO hoped you would keep him. Gorgeous boy, GREAT name (really suits him)and I am so SO excited to see how he settles into your lives!
    (Just so you know, if you didn't take him- I totally would have flown over the sea just to snap him up!)

    Maest does that with gates as well. Actually a big help, except when you're trying to CLOSE the gate and he keeps nudging it with his nose.

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    1. I'm sure that you could have shipped him over... maybe he'd fit in the overhead bin? ;)

      And yes, the gate-opening trick is great, but I also want him to learn to stand parallel to the gate and sidepass while the RIDER opens it. I know, I'm picky!

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  2. Cool!

    Oberon sounds like a very well-rounded fellow. And now he can open gates himself!

    He is very cute. Love the ears.

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    1. He is, erm, quite round actually. Maybe a bit too round? And yeah, those are some cute earz. He loves having them scratched too. :)

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  3. Yay - so glad you kept him! He's really cute - and Oberon sounds very joust-y to me. ;)

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    1. We did try to pick a jousty-sounding name. We tried a couple of others but they just didn't fit. Oberon seems to work, though!

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  4. He is sooo handsome! I agree, Oberon def sounds jousty! Looking forward to hearing how well he does!

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    1. He won't be doing any jousts soon, so we have time to work up. However, hunt season is approaching, so he'll have lots of other skills to work on!

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  5. Congrats on buying him! He is really adorable. Funny how he opened the gate lol.

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    1. The gate-opening is pretty cute, but I'm really hoping he doesn't start walking around to EVERY gate and see if he can shove it open with is nose. That would be BAD!

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  6. Congratulations on the new horse! He looks and sounds like a good one.

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    1. Thanks! I sure hope he continues to be a good guy... my hubby sure is enamored with him!

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  7. Congrats! He's definitely a handsome guy, I like the name Oberon!

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  8. He looks like a lot of fun :-) Many congratulations and hope you have a lovely time getting to know each other!

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  9. Love this! I have an Oberon, too! (He is a buckskin and guess what his original name was? Yup, "Buck". Nice job on the name and on the horse.

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    1. Thanks Margaret! I figured that you might agree that Oberon is a cool name for a horse... ;)

      Why is that buckskins are always named Buck and chestnuts are always named Red? I mean, can't we be any more creative than that???

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  10. hmmm...oberon eh? Is he named after A midsummer Night's dream, king of fairies, or from the Kevin Hearne books, The Druid Chronicles? :) he looks great! Congrats on the new horse!

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    1. Neither, really... it just seemed to fit him!

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  11. Congratulations on buying your new horse. I actually tried him back in the beginning of May. He's a sweetheart. Have fun with him!

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