Lensman - March 2008, Just Purchased
Lensman is very dark in the winter, a consequence of his father's genes - his mother was a palomino, but his father was a black stallion...
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He's a beautiful horse, fuzzy from his winter in New Hampshire, a little soft from five months off. Based on information from research on conditioning horses, he's going to take about three months to build optimum muscle, cardio and respiratory condition from this baseline, and the pace will have to be built carefully so as not to overstress any single component. His birthday is tomorrow. |
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He's a friendly horse, here introducing himself to his neighbor Sneakers. Somehow he always manages to carry around a strand of hay in the corner of his mouth, which makes him look a little like a tough guy with a cigarette. |
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I came across him sleeping one morning in the warm sun of his pen. He let me sit right down with him but woke up a little. Horses only lie down for an hour or so a day, and it shows a lot of trust when they are willing to let you sit next to them while they lay down because of how vulnerable they are. Lensman is a reining horse, so his back shoes are special sliding plates that enable the exciting reining slide-stop. |
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He has fine features and a warm disposition. I'm going to get to know every nuance of this face over the next six months. |
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We take one of our first rides in the indoor arena. Lensman is just as incredibly responsive to my aids as he was in his former home, which is one of the two things that made him "my special telepathic horse". |
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The other thing is what happened after our first ride together, when I decided to purchase him. It was that he follows me around, without a hand on his head rope or rein, even when I change direction - I'm already adopted as his herd superior, and he likes me in some special way that began that first day. His owner told me later "I sold him to you because he picked you." I've always tried to live up to that. |