demi wrote:Exvet, I think Brandon is going to be a really neat dressage horse for you. I recently read an article by Angela Bean about training a Morgan to FEI. While there are training challenges (which I have no doubt you’ll handle well!), the breed seems quite capable of getting some very good dressage scores. I hope we get lots more pictures of Brandon!
Thanks demi! I hope so; but, he's going to be first and foremost a trail horse. I descend from a long, long line of Morgan breeders; so, I'm very familiar with the breed despite having been 'stolen' by the Welsh Cob breed. It's also kind of deja vu in a sense because I've ridden with Angie Bean in the distant past LOL. I remember her [first] Morgan rather well. Brandon has become my SO's favorite; and for that reason alone I foresee more pictures though they aren't likely going to have the 'finished' look like the ones my daughter takes
Today is kind of bittersweet. I found a home to lease Morgan to and I just dropped him off after my lesson today. It's a colleague who's retired riding horse died recently leaving her rescued Clydesdale without an equine buddy. Morgan got the true test though when I took him off the trailer and let him out in their small 'pasture - one with real grass'. We let the two greet each other through a common fence - all uneventful since Morgan was mesmerized by the grass.....LOL a true welsh cob. My colleague then decides to let Clyde the Clydesdale into the pasture along with 4 mini donkeys and 9 llamas. Morgan was born on a dairy farm so he's been exposed to a ton of critters and he's seen llamas and alpacas from a far; but, this was a whole different experience. He held it together as they all checked him out and then he and Clyde went to the back on their own and just went to eating side by side like they've always known each other, a true Mutt and Jeff. My colleague is the vet for the zoo; so, I know she'll take good care of him plus he's on my way to my lesson
As for my lesson, Junior also got a maturing opportunity. He was all out of sorts because Morgan was left tied to the trailer. Morgan is his 'uncle' and though he's never really cared being taken away from Morgan when we've left the house, this was different. I had for the first time a tense and distracted Junior to ride. We really worked hard on getting him into the right rein and letting me control the right shoulder. An exercise that really worked whenever i lost it (he's really committed to muscling through and resisting me from controlling both shoulders equally) was turn on the haunches with a counter bend. It was really a test for me and clearly showed me I need to develop some new muscle memory; but, this is where it starts. I know if I can master this aspect the rest of what we hope to achieve will be much easier.
Hope everyone else is getting to enjoy the beautiful weather as we've been today.