Dakota Illness Update 4/10/09

[Bo B Bunny]

Ummm...... no, he beat all the saddle seat type horses (gaited) arabians and such... None of them did showmanship as well as he did, andLuke and Dakotadid the pattern correctly, and believe it or not..... Dakota saw the way they were stretched out when they set up and did that...... he's a QH so he would square (and does) when he sets up for inspection... (he's been trained to stop and square himself up... and he does about 50% of the time on his own.. sometimes we have to help him move his feet which is done with movement of the lead).. He also had just won the Western showmanship class.

Showmanship is done on the ground with the horse only in a showmanship halter and lead..... no riding. It's a patterned class where the judge looks at each horse individually...... So, Luke went in and did his pattern, Dakota turned perfect and had the right *attitude* - perky and fast in his movements...... and then setup both for the judge and then in line to wait. Some horses don't even know how to stand.....

ARABIAN: Neck stretched, body stretched, tail up....

Quarter Horse: Relaxed neck, tail down and body squared.

 

[DeniseJP]

Thanks for the photos... sometimes the handler doesn't know how to stand - Benn and Mercy were in a showmanship class when he was six...he stood well for a while then got bored waiting for the judge to finish the class of 20+ kids and horses. He started yawning, leaning, standing like the Marlboro Man and Mercy got mad and shoved him to tell him to pay attention. He gave her line a little snap but the damage was done...:biggrin2: they didn'tplace but I have one of the funnies videos in my collection to embarrass Benn with!

Denise

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Oh yeah! It's hilarious when they "tell" the handler.

Lexi was showing an old mare the first year she did 4H. She had worked and worked on showmanship with this mare. Each time she backed her 3 steps. Only 3 and then set her up.

During her class, she did everything PERFECT.... then the ring announcers said "Back your horse 5 steps"....... This mare, Pokey (yes we've had 2), heard the "back" and backed 3 steps..... and wouldn't budge! She stood firm against Lexi and actually got mad because she "knew" Lexi was wrong! LOL!

Lexi finally smacked her in the chest (and you aren't allowed to touch them) and she still wouldn't budge. She knew she was DQ'd, but she didn't care at that point she was so mad at the horse and herself LOL!

(I explained everything so that people who don't know horse shows would understand... I know you understand Denise )

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Dakota should come home on Thursday evening. We'll miss the barn where we have him - the horses/colts there are special to us now! And the dogs are always so excited to see us (maybe those treats we give them and all the attention they get?)....

We got a wonderful compliment on Kota today. I felt really proud and it just solidified my feelings about some people who didn't think he was worth our time and money.....

When someone who has champion/world champion horses tells you how much they like your horse.... it just makes your day!

 

[DeniseJP]

Yup, I understand totally!

Have to admit, I am still learning - my horses and rabbits are great teachers!

Denise

 

[Bo B Bunny]

We are still learning too!

We know Dakota isn't going to win the world show or anything like it, but I had very little knowledge when I bought him and I didn't even have him vetted. We don't want the World..... we want a nice, sweet pleasure and gaming horse! It was a neighbor and it took me about 2 mos to decide. My final decision was that he loved Lexi and we loved how he was so playful and gentle with the dogs and stuff. He was six when I paid for him....... when I got his papers back, he was only like 3 years old --- they had told us the wrong age.... I'd have never bought such a young horse.

Now, I would never buy a green horse..... it's taken 4 years to get him to where he will be in the arena with a rider!! LOL! Good thing I was stupid when I got him! He's been a great purchase tho, and I got him really for a fair price at the time. A relative that supposedly is horse savvy told me he was a piece of Sh** horse later on ........ Funny how everyone BUT that person really loves Kota!

He's made such a difference in my son's self esteem, he made him *known* in the county 4H program and he gave me a lesson in patience. My son has ADHD and was treated poorly at their private school because he was a country boy and not a richie... He's also reminded me that I am not stupid and the people who treat me as such can kiss my patootie! LOL!