Yesterday I began to get my books in order (reading ones that is not financial ones) and amongst the horse tomes I found that I had secreted away some ancient pics of previous horses.
These shots are of Eite, my Friesian horse that I bought in 1998 as a barely touched 5 year old.
The advert in Horse and Hound had stated suitable for dressage and the guy on the 'phone failed to mention this was just a hope and not in any way reality! So off we went to see my first ever Friesian. Eite was what one could describe as an 'eyeful' of a beast. The guy selling him had never ridden him only long reined him but assured me he had been ridden out in the field by someone at some point! I have always had a rule that I never get on a horse until I've seen it ridden, well this wasn't going to happen in this instance so it was rule break or go home. Of course rules are made to be broken and I rode Eite who was greener than green but very kind and very reactive to seat and weight. The rest, as they say, is history and the big man was duly delivered to us.
Anyone that has worked with a friesian will understand that canter had it's problems that we did conquer in the end but lateral work and collected work was a joy to teach him. During this period I was competing and also had a huge moving Gelderlander and an lighter framed WB but Eite had a lightness that was more like my current Spanish boys and a desire to work with me that was so different to anything I had experienced before. The photos were taken not long before I sold him, I was 6 months pregnant with Lydia and had to downsize the herd. He is the one horse I really wish I hadn't sold, especially now with all the bitless and liberty work I've learned but I think Patrick may notice if I tried to sneak a big black beasty onto the premises :)
3 comments:
I've said it once, I know but he's beautiful. I regret selling Tia too, I wish I had her now, things could have been so different., anyway, needs must, as they say.....
fantastic...
interesting you saying about the canter, bearing in mind the struggle vicki's had with Antsje's ...is it a conformation thing with that breed?
The Friesian canter is well known, you can't (imho) train it at the start from a trot and use an outside leg aid, you need a roll of the i/s seatbone from walk and you're there...this was a loooong way from the method I'd been taught up to that point and really challenged me!!!
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