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| " Nate" |
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| On the longe line (Outside) |
My daughter’s horse Nate has always had a problem with
working in the indoor arena. There seems to be something that he just
doesn’t feel comfortable with and he will let you know by rearing, spooking, or
discovering some escapade to get you off and get himself out of there.
Longeing him is also tricky, as he likes to become airborne and can become an
out of control freight train. So she decided not to ride him in there
anymore until he was calmer about the arena.
The doors and windows are still all open because the
weather has been unseasonably warm. The double doors at the end have had
gates installed instead of the longe line we had strung across them. No
one has ever tried to get out of the indoor through the longe line except
Nate. One time while turned out inside he thought it would be a good
idea to gallop the length of the arena and jump out over the line.
Beautiful form, too, I might add as I was standing outside the door watching
him bear down on me. I dove to the right just in time or I’m sure he would have
jumped over me, too. The gates were added basically for Nate and to keep
Gunnar the dog from coming in and trying to play with the horses’ tails while
we were riding.
Recently, my daughter took Nate down there and started
working with him on the longe. After walking him around and letting him
investigate anything that caught his fancy, she decided to let him loose to
walk around quietly on his own to get used to the indoor on his own. Everything
was secured shut. I’m sure you’ve guessed already that Nate jumped out
again. No, not over the gates at the ends. We have what we call a
"man-door"--about the size of a standard stall door--that we use to
come in and out of the arena and there is a wooden half-door about 4' high that
goes across the bottom of it. He jumped out over THAT. Because he's
an equine genius (just saying.) He galloped straight for the big open end
doors, which are also 4', made a sharp left turn in front of those, and he
just barely squeezed himself through the tiny opening at the top of the
man-door like a circus horse through a hoop. No easy feat for a 17.3 hand
Dutch Warmblood who is very well built, wide and muscular. And did I mention
smart? His withers just about scraped the top of the doorframe. But his
form was damn near perfect. There’s a small hill right outside the door,
which he landed gracefully on, cantered up, and began to graze.
The moral of today’s story is:
Always expect the unexpected when dealing with horses (especially
Nate)! Nate is our very "special" horse in the barn. I’m
sure you all know a Nate. If there’s trouble to be had, he’s the first
one to find it.
Quote
for Today
A
horse is poetry in motion.
Wow. That would have been something to see. He needs to head to the Olympics. I forgot you have an indoor arena. I guess there are good aspects and bad aspects to it, depending on the horse. LOL.
ReplyDeleteIt was definitely something to see! He's very talented in a jaw dropping kind of way. Once you get over what you just can't believe you saw you really have to laugh.
DeleteReminds me of my husband's mare, Shasta. She's jumped out of her stall, knows how to open latches, will go under stall guards, knows how to unscrew feed tubs. If there's something to get out of or get into, she will be the one to do it.
ReplyDeleteShasta sounds like a very talented mare with a great sense of humor!
DeleteThat had to be something! Guess you'll have to keep that door closed from now on!
ReplyDeleteThen he'd probably jump out of a window! ;) or maybe just not take him in there anymore?
DeleteOh Nate! What a spectacular jump! That he is so huge and yet so controlled in his body to do these things is really amazing. :) I have to laugh - that gorgeous indoor arena and he just doesn't like it!! I'm sure J will have him going in there at some point though.
ReplyDeleteOne can only hope so! He seems to have some phobia about this indoor. He's been in plenty of others without a problem so it's a mystery that needs to be solved.
DeleteWhat a big gorgeous guy! Glad Nate cleared everything, whew!! What a picture/video that would have been. I wonder what he doesn't like about your indoor arena?? He probably offers some kinda clue, or maybe not. As you know, some horses just don't like indoors, and others it's the outdoor arenas - or anything for that matter. There has to be a reason tho, especially behind just one. Is he in there alone? Sometimes I wish horses could speak, sure would make things a lot easier - and likely noisier lol. What do you/your daughter think it is???
ReplyDeleteWell we think he doesn't like being in there alone for one thing. He seems to be a little calmer if the dog is in there with him or another horse. His girl Dusty was a calming force for him but she's gone now so we need to try another steady horse to keep him company I think. Maybe Blue would help. We'll see this weekend.
DeleteOh Nate!!! Wow!! That must have been something to see!! Though I'd have probably had my hands over my eyes, peeking through ;) Such control for such a big horse. And so gorgeous. There should be a special equestrian event just for him :)
ReplyDeleteWell, if there were a "special" Olympics for horses he would definitely qualify!
DeleteAnother amazing adventure in horse ownership. At least you saw it happen. Too often those ingenious escapes happen when we don't see the "how." Then you find the loose horse and have no idea how he got there.
ReplyDeleteNate definitely has superior athletic ability and a superior brain to go along with it. Too bad he doesn't use either one to cooperate with his humans. *G*
He's a real character for sure. Nate is smart but he also has a great sense of humor and pulls a lot of funny stunts on his human. Probably the only horse I've ever seen give a wedgie to his human.
ReplyDeleteNate sounds very special! He's trying to tell everyone that he wants to be a bigtime showjumper :p
ReplyDeleteNate is now 18 years old and doesn't show anymore. He was a very talented jumper when he was younger. Guess he hasn't lost his touch!
DeleteI would have loved to have seen that spectacular jump, though I probably would have had a heart attack for fear he would injure himself, though it sounds like Nate knew exactly what he was doing!
ReplyDelete