On Monday afternoon John and I got to ride out with John's pasture-mate Firzie and his lovely owner. This was a first for me: riding out with a companion at the new barn.
It happened by accident. I was there tacking up, Firzie's owner arrived and we just decided to go together.
This horse is in his early 2o's and in a sort of retirement; they have had a long happy career together of dressage, eventing, and hunter/jumper shows.
Firzie does not do more than he wants to these days, so Patty rides him to his wishes rather than hers; she said, "He gave me so much for so many years, and all that time I was telling him You Must Do this!! so now, he gets to choose what he wants to do."
Mostly I was struck by the fact that he has not been an easy horse for her. He has apparently been spooky, difficult to travel with, a refuser to drink strange water, a hot reactor to change at all times, and yet she just stuck with him and still does. His retirement is with her, with easy jobs and excellent care, in gratitude for all he gave her for so many years.
Today I saw John and Firzie actually playing, and I saw what she had described about her horse in his showing days: "an Arab who looks like a Lipizzan and has a stallion attitude". Firzie can trot without hardly touching the ground!! Amazing loft to that gait. John was just like an ant in comparison: scuttle along and gait.
I am so impressed with the way this horse and rider have decided upon each other, no matter what. This is a great horse and owner relationship. I haven't seen one quite like this in all my days of horse craziness.
10 comments:
Thank you for the lovely story - she seems like a really nice person and dedicated to her horse. Your new barn seems really good so far!
I will ride many many trails this summer, I am so looking forward to it!
What a nice owner to stick it out with him for so man years!
hi hi, emily (flyer's old owner) here again...just thought I'd chime in to let you know that Patty and Firzie (sp??) used to be at your old barn as well (although I'm sure you found that out on the ride)! They had a stall in the upper barn. We used to go to some of the same schooling shows and all us girls would be in awe of his trot - I agree it is beautiful! Good to see that they are both enjoying life :)
What a sweet story! Thanks for sharing it. He looks like a very handsome old man. :)
Kate: yes! So far so good.
Jocelyn: Yes they worked on their issues and stuck it out. I can't wait to hear your trail stories!! I'm already planning my trail bento lunches.
Emilie! hello you!! Yes we did share Amity stories on the ride. His moves are amazing, lighter than air. Are you riding? I forget whether you have a new horse or not...
Funder: Yes he is a sweet personality. I still need to talk to you about bits. I got this one called "PeeWee bit" and am not too sure about it...
How nice for you to have them..inspiring!
Kac
Consider this a vote for video of the amazing floating trot. We should all have something to aspire to, right?
I'm going to look forward to more stories about Firzie and Patty. A great pair and so nice of you to pinpoint that wonderful relationship.
One of the things I love most about Arabians - how they float. Even standing still, they seem to be just barely touching, just about to float off again. They are airy, even when walking, even carrying me around. As if they want to lift off and really fly: ) Gravity just has less effect on them.
But sometimes heavy, connected to the ground horses are safer to ride.
~Lytha
Firzie is a lucky horse to have such a loyal owner. And what a nice barn where you can find good riding companions.
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