Hi everyone!
I know I promised, almost a year ago now when I put an end to the chronicles, that I would keep you posted on my progress. The truth is - I didn't
! But something has happened recently that needs to be told. So I have to quickly (as much as it is possible with me ) tell you what I've been doing the past six months.
We'll start this chronicle late evening, one clear December Sunday. That was when Pimpao arrived. Alert, suspicious but still friendly and calm, he was a 6 year old Lusitano, and the school's latest arrival.
Soon my instructor (and school owner) realized that he must have had a nasty recent past because he would not stand still to be mounted, shying away, and would not allow any form of whip anywhere near him. Although he was no problem to tack up, he would shy from your hand if you tried to give him treats. When (if) the rider got on his back, Pimpao would be suspicious of him and bicker at every command - besides knowing virtually nothing! With two months of gentleness first and firm insistence later on - and quite a few despairing moments! - my instructor managed to get him somewhat "in shape".
At this point the story takes another twist. It was a Wednesday, the 30th of January, and the day before my driving exam. I was quite nervous about it, so I decided to go ride the evening before (which was not the lesson I usually took) to see if I would calm down. Pimpao was being lunged in preparation for my instructor to ride him in our lesson, to get him used to it. When time came for horses to be appointed, Francisco started looking at me with this sadistic smile (yikes!), pointed to Pimpao and said "OK, you're riding him!". You must understand that the horse's reputation was not the best by this time... I speak the truth when I say that the first thing I though was "That's fine. At least I have a fifty-fifty chance of breaking something and not having the exam tomorrow..." (I did pass the exam - in case you are wondering ).
But there was worse to come! When working new horses my instructor sometimes uses drawn reins (together with the bradoon reins, mind you!) to work as a kind of rider controlled Martingale. Mostly as a safety measure, and to keep the horse from throwing his head up or even rearing. So he told me to go get these reins. Riding a prickly horse for the first time with not one but two sets of reins! (not fifty-fifty chance anymore )
Anyway, he made sure I felt confident and minimally relaxed about it and there I went. As if riding a prickly horse for the first time, with two sets of reins, was not bad enough - I'd left my helmet at home ! This being Portugal, and me being more and more Portuguese by the day, I went with just a beret (I'm sure it would at least make it easier to clean the mess :-( ). Death wishes aside, the lesson was quite funny. Francisco kept joking saying things like "We will have a calmer lesson because Pedro there has a problem to manage" and "We have here a couple of more advanced students, two which are a little greener, and Pedro who is on the high wire". There were no problems and I rode with silken hands and woollen feet (survival of the gentlest ).
The experience was so good that since then I basically rode nothing else! Four times a week for nearly four months! He went from running in canter, totally out of balance, to beginning to have a nice calmer canter. Not wanting to leave the company of the others (I still remember those canter circles away from the line!) to going where the rider wants, no questions asked. From having to be held for mounting to waiting patiently for the rider. From not going near a whip to accepting the (judicious) use of a dressage whip. Meanwhile I spent some dozen ten minute sessions to get him to eat out of my hand. He was incredible weary and although he wanted the treats he refused to get them out of my hand. I made it my goal in life ;-) to win his thrust and in the end I did. It was about this time that he realised that people were not intended on hurting him and another curious trait came up... he started to prop his head on people's shoulders! If you stood near his head (only on his left side... weird, isn't it?) he would put it on your shoulder and really start to put weight on it! It developed to the point that now, sometimes, you have to reprimand him because he is trying to do it as you want to bridle him. He even tries to do it when you are tightening the girth, at the end of a lesson (when he is not sulking !), when changing sides of the lunge line or when you're cleaning his hands (not very helpful!).
Riding the same horse three times in a row is uncommon in my school, riding the same horse every single time is unheard of. Because of that and being one of only three or four students riding the horse (for a couple of months the only one), everyone started joking with me. "So you're riding Pimpao again? It's been a long time hasn't it?", "Who are you riding today? Wait, don't say, let me guess... Pimpao? :-D"
So, what is the point of all this story?
Two weeks ago one of the private horses got taken to another place... I brooded around for sometime before sounding my instructor about the prospect of buying Pimpao off him and keeping him at full livery at the school. Francisco was surprisingly unsurprised with my question and promptly accepted. So there! That is the point of all this "verbosity": I bought my very first horse!!
I later found out that everyday for the past two weeks someone would ask my instructor if I had "popped the question" already. Although I had kept quiet about it, no one was caught off-guard... :-D
I have some photos of my boy to show at http://fortunato.freewebspace.com/pimpao.html . They are not very recent, but it's all I have... for the time being, that is ;-).
So, several years before my most optimistic predictions, I fulfilled the dream of owning my own horse - and a pure Lusitano at that. Even if he is hardly the best exemplar of the breed... he is mine!
Now I need to buy my own saddle, bridle, halter, rope, brushes, hoof pick, combs, etc, etc, etc...
Just rode him today, first time I rode "my own" horse, and I feel like I could burst!
Pedro Fortunato
P.S.: Besides the story around Pimpao, in the past six months I happened to have ridden a Lusitano stallion with high pedigree, and also ride him with a Portuguese classical saddle (that is not a piece of furniture - that's a whole living room!). Not only that, but ride him - with the saddle - at the grounds of a horse show. And finally... falling off while riding him, with that saddle, at the horse show!
I know I promised, almost a year ago now when I put an end to the chronicles, that I would keep you posted on my progress. The truth is - I didn't
! But something has happened recently that needs to be told. So I have to quickly (as much as it is possible with me ) tell you what I've been doing the past six months.We'll start this chronicle late evening, one clear December Sunday. That was when Pimpao arrived. Alert, suspicious but still friendly and calm, he was a 6 year old Lusitano, and the school's latest arrival.
Soon my instructor (and school owner) realized that he must have had a nasty recent past because he would not stand still to be mounted, shying away, and would not allow any form of whip anywhere near him. Although he was no problem to tack up, he would shy from your hand if you tried to give him treats. When (if) the rider got on his back, Pimpao would be suspicious of him and bicker at every command - besides knowing virtually nothing! With two months of gentleness first and firm insistence later on - and quite a few despairing moments! - my instructor managed to get him somewhat "in shape".
At this point the story takes another twist. It was a Wednesday, the 30th of January, and the day before my driving exam. I was quite nervous about it, so I decided to go ride the evening before (which was not the lesson I usually took) to see if I would calm down. Pimpao was being lunged in preparation for my instructor to ride him in our lesson, to get him used to it. When time came for horses to be appointed, Francisco started looking at me with this sadistic smile (yikes!), pointed to Pimpao and said "OK, you're riding him!". You must understand that the horse's reputation was not the best by this time... I speak the truth when I say that the first thing I though was "That's fine. At least I have a fifty-fifty chance of breaking something and not having the exam tomorrow..." (I did pass the exam - in case you are wondering
).But there was worse to come! When working new horses my instructor sometimes uses drawn reins (together with the bradoon reins, mind you!) to work as a kind of rider controlled Martingale. Mostly as a safety measure, and to keep the horse from throwing his head up or even rearing. So he told me to go get these reins. Riding a prickly horse for the first time with not one but two sets of reins! (not fifty-fifty chance anymore
)Anyway, he made sure I felt confident and minimally relaxed about it and there I went. As if riding a prickly horse for the first time, with two sets of reins, was not bad enough - I'd left my helmet at home
! This being Portugal, and me being more and more Portuguese by the day, I went with just a beret (I'm sure it would at least make it easier to clean the mess :-( ). Death wishes aside, the lesson was quite funny. Francisco kept joking saying things like "We will have a calmer lesson because Pedro there has a problem to manage" and "We have here a couple of more advanced students, two which are a little greener, and Pedro who is on the high wire". There were no problems and I rode with silken hands and woollen feet (survival of the gentlest ).The experience was so good that since then I basically rode nothing else! Four times a week for nearly four months! He went from running in canter, totally out of balance, to beginning to have a nice calmer canter. Not wanting to leave the company of the others (I still remember those canter circles away from the line!) to going where the rider wants, no questions asked. From having to be held for mounting to waiting patiently for the rider. From not going near a whip to accepting the (judicious) use of a dressage whip. Meanwhile I spent some dozen ten minute sessions to get him to eat out of my hand. He was incredible weary and although he wanted the treats he refused to get them out of my hand. I made it my goal in life ;-) to win his thrust and in the end I did. It was about this time that he realised that people were not intended on hurting him and another curious trait came up... he started to prop his head on people's shoulders! If you stood near his head (only on his left side... weird, isn't it?) he would put it on your shoulder and really start to put weight on it! It developed to the point that now, sometimes, you have to reprimand him because he is trying to do it as you want to bridle him
. He even tries to do it when you are tightening the girth, at the end of a lesson (when he is not sulking !), when changing sides of the lunge line or when you're cleaning his hands (not very helpful!).Riding the same horse three times in a row is uncommon in my school, riding the same horse every single time is unheard of. Because of that and being one of only three or four students riding the horse (for a couple of months the only one), everyone started joking with me. "So you're riding Pimpao again
? It's been a long time hasn't it?", "Who are you riding today? Wait, don't say, let me guess... Pimpao? :-D"So, what is the point of all this story?
Two weeks ago one of the private horses got taken to another place... I brooded around for sometime before sounding my instructor about the prospect of buying Pimpao off him and keeping him at full livery at the school. Francisco was surprisingly unsurprised with my question and promptly accepted. So there! That is the point of all this "verbosity": I bought my very first horse!!
I later found out that everyday for the past two weeks someone would ask my instructor if I had "popped the question" already
. Although I had kept quiet about it, no one was caught off-guard... :-DI have some photos of my boy to show at http://fortunato.freewebspace.com/pimpao.html . They are not very recent, but it's all I have... for the time being, that is ;-).
So, several years before my most optimistic predictions, I fulfilled the dream of owning my own horse - and a pure Lusitano at that. Even if he is hardly the best exemplar of the breed... he is mine!
Now I need to buy my own saddle, bridle, halter, rope, brushes, hoof pick, combs, etc, etc, etc...
Just rode him today, first time I rode "my own" horse, and I feel like I could burst!
Pedro Fortunato
P.S.: Besides the story around Pimpao, in the past six months I happened to have ridden a Lusitano stallion with high pedigree, and also ride him with a Portuguese classical saddle (that is not a piece of furniture - that's a whole living room!). Not only that, but ride him - with the saddle - at the grounds of a horse show. And finally... falling off while riding him, with that saddle, at the horse show
!
