Re: Warm Fuzzies

["Tamara Jane Habberley" <tamarahabberley@lineone.net>]

Dont know if it counts but my horse is a big warm fuzzy right now can not
shift that extra 80 pounds hes gained with our current warm wet UK summer.

I bought him five years ago. I had been a member of the Arab Horse Society
in the UK for years and passed their prel. trainee judges course, but did
not think I could handle a fiery Arab so looked at getting a well bred
native to school and show and then trade up.

Saw this horse advertised in the local bargain pages as a welsh cob, but no
papers, so I went to try himas a practice for the real thing, big mistake,
HUGE. When I first saw him my thoughts were 'what an ugly horse his heads
tooo big'. Then I rode him and thought ' theres something extra under neath
here'. so I bought him. I suppose I should have noted the significance in
the owner refusing to ride him for the four phase vetting ie. galloping bit
and instead getting small mad teenager to do so!

Anyway, bought him and spent a lot of time thinking oh my god what have I
done. He wouldnt be caught, knocked me out in the field, spooked and bucked
and bolted when ridden and would not be schooled. Finally rang ex owner and
ex ex owner and traced his history. He had been sold to ex owner as a green
backed five year old when he was in fact an unbroken 2 1/2 year old. His ex
ex owner had bought him as an untouched wild two and half year old stallion
running out on a welsh mountain with mares. Ex owner  said until she found
that out she kept wondering why he always bolted with her eight year old
daughter...She also said she had never dared ride him out alone , which I
thought was terrible as she knew he would be my first horse and that I had
never ridden outside a riding school before.

 After many, many dressage lessons and a few embarassing competitions ( ie.
lets impress the judge by bucking, kicking, jumping the arena markers etc)
we stumbled across endurance together which we both love. We have had some
good training rides stopping to mug picknickers and releive small children
of their sweets, and some bad ones , recently hit by a ford transit van on a
hack out. He can either be a sedate and happy chappie or a real nutter
depending on mood/weather/in season mares... one of my friends with an Arab
always laughs at us and says thinks like ' and you couldnt handle an Arab,
ha ha very quiet etc'.

He will never be a great endurance horse but we have our moments, including
winning a 40 mile speed trophy. When we have of days when I think of selling
him he always seems to choose that night for a good' lets dress the owners
hair by moving it just so with my lips, and whiffle at her and insist on
having head held under owners arm whilst going to sleep and then bow head
between front legs in really cute manner to beg for sugar moment' so clearly
he can spot a real mug at 100 meters!

  Anyway Iv included a link to a photo of me and him on one of our better
outings two years ago, alas we are both a little rounder now!

http://snaffle.users.netlink.co.uk/rogues/tamara.ipg

Tamara



----- Original Message -----
From: Donna O'Gara <donna@shady-acres.com>
To: <bkeeffe@nativeson.com>
Cc: <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Saturday, May 27, 2000 9:47 PM
Subject: RC: Warm Fuzzies


> I have been reading all the warm fuzzy stories, and remembering when I
> was that little girl.
>
> I recently added a "my first horse" section to http://ridestories.com
> and the first story was about my own horse that I received as a birthday
> present when I was 13.
>
> Jeannie, may I use this story of yours too? And if you have a picture of
> yourself with Tony I'd love to include it.
>
> Does anyone else have a story to contribute? RideStories.com is getting
> to be a good collection of stories. I'm really enjoying putting it
> together, and reading all the stories.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Donna
>
> >> Well, the summer between 6th & 7th grade while at Girl Scout Camp I
> received a card from my father.  My father!  This was big.  Inside the
> card
> was a picture of a paint horse with a note that said "Is this your
> horse?".
> WOW! You can bet I couldn't wait to get home to find out.  Finally camp
> ended.  There was no horse at home.  My heart was broken.
>   A few more days passed and the realization that no horse was going to
> appear settled in.  One Sunday a couple weeks later my mother, father
> and I
> drove to visit friends and pick berries.  I loved where we were going,
> the
> friends had horses. In fact there were a couple of horses tied at the
> barn
> all saddled and ready to go when we arrived.  Of course I had to touch,
> sniff and say hello to the big guys. My father approached and said the
> owner
> wondered if I'd like to ride the paint.  You BET!  After a nice ride
> around
> the paddock and meadow I came back so the owner could go do whatever was
> originally planned with him when my father asks "Do you like him? Do you
> want him?"
>   Was this a trick question?  Of course I want him!
> As it turned out I had saved enough money to buy ol' Tony, a halter,
> bridle
> and saddle . . . my parents bought all the other equipment needed at the
> time and soon Tony was trailered to our house where he lived happily
> ever
> after.
>   It didn't matter that ol' Tony was 19years old and retired from rodeo
> and
> cowboy work.  He was the most beautiful paint horse I'd ever seen in my
> life
> and he was all mine.
>   We'd be gone day after day riding the back roads and trails of Grass
> Valley, we even did some shows that threw spirit back into that old
> horses
> life.  That old man taught me more than words could ever tell.  And
> secrets!
> Wow, he was the best ever a keeping them.
>   I will never forget Tony, my first horse and first true love.
> That was over 40years ago and there have been a lot of horses in my life
> ever since. These days I give lessons to new riders on yet another paint
> horse who loves and cares for her riders just like Tony did me all those
> years ago.<<
>
>
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