...is not about me. It's about a beautiful 6 year old mare named Kiki. She is proudly owned by my riding instructor who bred and raised her from a foal. Her father is Magyar Dare Me Not:
A Hungarian Warmblood who typically throws great confirmation horses suited to Dressage, Eventing and Hunters. He was bred with a thoroughbred mare named Quick grant. She is a small (15.1h) chesnut with very dainty features (pictures to come soon). She is smart and incredibly athletic.
Kiki is now 6 years old and acts like a filly. She's been broken twice...well, started twice, and has three solid gaits and has jumped small crossrails and fences without a care in the world.
I started working with Beth two months ago, and I simply adore her as an instructor. She decided that Kiki and I would make a great pair and we could teach each other a thing or two. So now she is my project horse. I won't be riding her until April, so for now I am getting to know her on the ground...we are starting from scratch...with grooming, ground work and lunging. She has been able to do her own thing for so long, she needs some manners taught to her and some boundaries set.
Today was my first day actually working with her and of course there was a wicked storm complete with crazy wind, rain and thunder and lightning. I knew the circumstances weren't perfect...but hey, they're not going to be every time I see her. We spent some time playing catch in the field -- she has a very fussy face and like to headbutt (thank god she's not a biter)...and we had a battle of wills on our walk back to the barn. B showed me how she ties her in the stall and where to begin with grooming. She has developed some bad behaviors that will improve in time (ie. kicking and pawing) and she's incredibly jumpy...so you can be rubbing her with a towel and then when you grab a fresh one, she acts like she's never seen a towel before and when it hits her she practically jumps out of her skin. It made for some very silly grooming. Then the two yearling fillies that were in the barn started loosing their minds and so Kiki followed suit. We decided to leave her tied in the stall to work things out while I worked with another green horse named Charlie (He's almost 17h and a gentle giant) and B wanted to teach me her lunging technique (and hell, I can always use a refresher). He was very kind with me and didn't mess around too much, I feel like Kiki will have much more to give me!!! So after leaving her alone to figure out what she wanted to do tied in the stall, L (B's husband) decided to long line Kiki. It was really awesome to watch, and Kiki was soooo excited to have something to do, she practically jumped into her tack and pranced over to the ring! She's quite full of herself that little one, but boy is she going to be fun!
This is a wonderful opportunity for me to work with a horse several times a week and start a real connection, as close to owning a horse as I will ever get, I think.
Keep your fingers crossed that we make a good pair!
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