That is my Spyder horse in the picture, the dark mare. How the hell does that happen, having no pics of horses you had for years. I loved this mare. I realized I don't have any pictures of Leggs. Also an amazing mare.
Spyder and Leggs weren't really wanted by the majority of the horse world. Spyder because she didn't want to jump after an injury. Leggs...okay I have no clue why Leggs wasn't wanted. Spyder was a Swedish Warmblood mare. Whoever trained her did a lovely job. She was one of those horses that was quietly companionable. Just really nice to be around and hang out with. Things could be going to hell and I could just go sit in the field and Spyder would be this lovely quiet presence right next to me. All 16.2 or so hands of her. She loved water. She would bury her face to her eyeballs in the trough and blow bubbles or splash massive quantities of water out. She taught that to her daughter.
She was tough to keep weight on. I had to keep three different kinds of hay on hand. She apparently liked variety. She never seemed to have a great appetite. If you sat with her, and kept her company she'd eat more. In her later years I she ended up on hay and this mush mixture. The mush mixture was the bomb according to her. As I was mixing it up she would bang on the gate in an attempt to speed up the process. It was a mixture of rice bran, beet pulp, alf pellets, a cup of soy oil with joint supplements and just a tad of cob for flavor. OMG...she loved it, and actually got a little tubby.
She passed from colic a few years ago. Horrid way for a horse to go.
Leggs I got for the cost of her last vet bill. She was a TB mare. Black bay and exquisite. I mean take your breath away beautiful. Wonderfully trained. Had been an 3Day horse before I got her. I guess she went Intermediate in eventing. I rode her dressage. She was marvelous. I think some riders in the past may have run into trouble by being 'too much on the aids'. She could get a little claustrophobic (and that was a little scary). When she went there, pitch her and push her forward...then go back to picking her up.
Leggs could make you feel like a genius when you rode her. I took her through a jump course the first time I rode her. AMAZING! I swear that mare counted her strides. She'd jump an obstacle, she'd land, collect herself, look for the next jump and calmly canter toward it. Easy peasy. I might consider getting off the flat again if I had something that went like her. lol Nahhhh...this fat old woman likes it on the flat. I lost her to EPM a few years ago. Just awful.
Now there is a new 'Disposable Mare' in my pen. Canyon Kate. Kate is beautiful. Kate is a really good mover. Kate is a pyscho! She is unpleasant with people. She is unpleasant with other horses. Hence the 'in the pen' part. (Okay you all, it's not like she locked in some 32' x 16' she's in a 110' x 130' foot pen, with Divi the Wonder Horse keeping her company. Poor Divi, she's such a good girl she always get the crap detail. (Oh, you can't ride for sh.... let me get Divi. Oh, your confidence is shot....let me get Divi). You get the picture. Divi has earned a cush retirement. Although she LOVES children. She'll either retire with me and eat well and kick it, or I'll find a good home with a little kid. Or she'll go back to original owner who still loves her and would take care of her. (Divi is the red mare with the child on her)
So, yesterday I'm talking to my ex about Kate and her issues. She belongs to our niece. When her mother died a few months ago she inherited the mare. He says, "Well, sometimes those horses that are bred so much to run loose other attributes." I say, "Yeah, she looks like a running Qtr. He looks at me like I'm pretty vacant. So I ask, "How is she bred?" He gives me a little lopsided smile, "She's Julia's daughter, you know the mare that took your cousin to the NFR in barrels." Well hell. She was pretty skinny when she arrived. Draggin her hind legs around all lethargic. So, I fed her up. She's now fat and sassy and BORED. Apparently good food and a sedentary life style make Kate nasty.
