Training Progress, Have To Brag!

[dakoda]

Indy on his 4th ride !!!!

[dakoda]

Indy is my soon to be 4yr old (June 24th) Friesian Sport Horse (Friesian/TB). My trainer has worked with him 5 times now. The first day was a brief re-introduction to lunging, we had briefly lunged prior to this, but nothing consistant. Suprisingly, he remembered it all and picked up the canter command after 2 tries. The second day was 20 minutes of lunging and then she got on, I thought she was nuts, but she said he was ready, he was bored with the lunging and luckily very quiet. The 3rd,4th and 5th days were repeats of the second day. We're all blown away by how willing and quiet he is. They are now walking and trotting and in 4 rides Indy's responding to feather light aids in the reins and legs. WOW I'm such a proud mom   :blush:
Here are some pics from his 4th ride. He's 16.3 1/2hh. Going to be a big boy  

[dakoda]

here's my favorite picture  :P He's got Grand Prix written all over him. Probably not with me, but I'll be in the stands :blush: He already does canter piroettes, piaffe and passage in the field.  

[dakoda]

He looks and moves just like his daddy, Ljibbe's Valour. All 17.1 hands of him :P

[winnie]

He is GORGEOUS!!!!! i so wish i was in the market for a new neddy!!! im definatly a fresian convert!!!     Lucky lady and to have such presence at such a young age!!! Please keep us posted on your success in years to come!!!

sarah
   

[shoveltrash]

wonderful news!!!  

We're all blown away by how willing and quiet he is.

Indy must've inherited that wonderful Friesian temperment
he looks great!  you must be very pleased
i have now ridden my youngster a couple of times (just at walk), and experienced the same anti-climactic feeling - willing/quiet, taking everything in *stride*.....i am a TOTAL convert of the breed.
(i hope my Iverzon grows up to be as pretty as Indy's dad! )
Trish

[pintopiaffe]

Very handsome--how wonderful for you!  You certainly SHOULD brag!!

I am breeding Kat to a 1/2 Friesian dutch stallion ( www.nicopintostallion.com ) this year, she's leased and the foal is spoken for.  I toyed with breeding Danny to him as well, but he's HUGE.  

I'm thinking my Iberian filly (SpanishNorman x pinto) might be a candidtate for that cross in a few years.  

I am glad to see there is more crossing allowed.  There's much to be said for Hybrid Vigour (take a look at the stallion I posted the link above!)  OTOH, the reason it IS such a great cross is the absolute strict purity and excellence demanded of the breed/registry.  Both are good.    

[dakoda]

Thanks for the wonderful comments about Indy, I too think he's gorgeous and I'm excited about our future. He's being free leased to a dressage trainer who wants a project horse for the summer. Works great for me, free training!    She's going to spend time trail riding him, taking him to loads of clinics, small shows and introductory dressage shows. I can't wait to be a groopie! He'll get so much exposure to the world and not at the expense of my body, HA! I'm 5 months pregnant now, so he would have spent the summer roaming the pastures.

He's going to have a great time, he really loves to please and work, anything really. He reminds me of my rottie. Indy really wants to be a dog, so he acts like one. He just doesn't get why the dogs won't play with him! He goes as far as to pick up their toys and run with them hoping to entice them, then he holds the toy over their heads and tants them, hum Indy, I wonder why they won't play with you, HA! When they say Friesians have puppy dog temperments they aren't kidding  

Shoveltrash, I think Iverzon is gorgeous, he definately is a WOW Friesian, he's still a stud, right? I might call you next year as I'm hoping to breed my Trakehner/QH mare. I may breed her to Valour as I know he throws height and neck, two things my mare needs  :unsure:

Pintopiaffe, I've also looked at Nico for breeding, he's gorgeous. It's funny the more I look, the harder it is to pick a stud, I thought I knew what I was looking for, but AI makes life very complicated. Here's one of the studs I've picked out
http://www.rideauwoodfarm.com/rheirattack.html
Here's his pic

Too many choices!!!!!!!

[Heather]

Hi Dakoda,

What  a lovely younsgter!! But then like Trish, I am totally biased, having always adored Friesians and still horribly tempted to get one a bit later!! I have been privileged to work with several and love their gentle temperaments and natural nobility- wonderful breed!


Heather

[dakoda]

Well I guess it had to happen, but now I remember why I pay someone else to train my horses. I took Indy for his 6th ride over to the saddle club, he's been there before, but not ridden there and definately not with all the excitement going on and there were 3 other horses being ridden in the arena at the same time. Well, he lunged well and of course he showed off his Friesian moves, the more people oggled, the more he showed off, HA! Anyways, my trainer got up on him, I was still attached by a lunge line. All of a sudden the lungeline flew threw my hands and Indy was off at a buck, not a mean buck, but a fun look at me buck. My trainer lost her stirrup and after the sideways motion and huge trot she fell off backwards, owwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!! Luckily she's young and still bounces off the ground, she then long-lined him for the first time , about 20 minutes, and after about 5 min you could see the sad face, "please don't make me work this hard!" When she got on again, I noticed just how shaken Indy was about the whole thing, he was affraid to go to the mounting platform, "Are you going to fall off again because that was scary!" She rode him for 30 minutes and he was a perfect gentleman, I think he figured out that having her on his back is easier for him in the longrun, HA!  

[dakoda]

I'm so excited, Indy and his leasee have been picked to be part of a Walter Zettl clinic!, I can't wait to watch, I'm so proud  :P  Indy's been doing so great and his canter, WOW!! I'll keep you posted and hopefully I'll have a pic or two. The clinic's on 13 and 14th of August  

[dakoda]

So the clinic was a huge success, Indy was definately a star   He was so well behaved, I couldn't have been more proud. First I was amazed at how he dealt with being in a stall 24 hours a day from his normal 24 hr turnout. Then there was his sweet, baby, puppy dog demeanor, it showed through the whole weekend, actually we found out that Indy has a vain side to him. He couldn't stop staring at himself in the mirror, totally puffed himself up each time, hilarious. I'm now thinking of putting one in his stall, who says that mirrors are just for budgies, HA!  :P  His movement was great and he took it all in stride, his canter was very unbalanced, but his natural reach under himself was beautiful to watch, and WOW when he finally learns to balance! Walter loved him, and I think Indy loved him in return. Walter has a great way of allowing the horse to develop itself, really neat to see in person. The clinic was all about allowing the horse to find it's own balance and to reach for the bit without being asked. The next day was more challenging, he pushed them slightly out of their comfort zone, but never too far. They started shoulder-ins, and worked further on walk, trot, canter, and halts. What a great weekend, I'm such a proud mamma. I can't wait for the next clinic with Bert Rutten. My little boy is growing up  

[dakoda]

Indy's only cantered a half a dozen times before this    

[dakoda]

Indy

[Heather]

Congrats Dakoda- he's looking absolutely great!!

Heather