Meet Ron the National Show Horse with Personality+

As I explained in my last blog post (read it here: What’s going on with my horses), I’ve been without a horse to condition for a few weeks. Fantazia is pregnant, River is laid up till December (out of an abundance of caution), and Dillon lost a fight with his fly sheet. Fortunately, Dillon’s owner has a client with a horse that she wants ridden. Enter Ron the National Show Horse. At the moment, I’ve agreed to ride him till December, when I will begin to bring River back into commission. That’s long enough to feature him in several blog posts!

Jump to:

Meet Ron the National Saddle Horse
Ron’s introduction to his new life
Day 2: introducing Ron to his new discipline
My plans for Ron

Meet Ron the National Show Horse

Ron is a five-year-old chestnut gelding with chrome. (Chrome means he is flashy, with three white socks and a white face–in this case a stripe.) everal weeks ago, when we realized Dillon was going to need some time off, Dillon’s owner asked me if I would be interested in putting some miles on a young horse who had a bit more spook and energy than his owner liked. Anne described Ron: he was a nice horse that needed some wet saddle blankets to help transition his brain from show to easy rides and trail. I would be welcome to take him to a few endurance rides to do LDs.

I asked about his current fitness. Ron had been ridden in the arena extensively in the past, and was currently getting worked in the round pen several days a week. He had lots of energy, Anne said, and it shouldn’t be difficult to get him ready for 25-mile ride. HIs only issue was a club foot, and that shouldn’t pose a problem in short distances. She told me Ron was half Arabian, half Saddlebred (therefore a National Show Horse). I’ve ridden lots of Arabians and a few Saddlbreds, and have heard nothing but good about NSHs.

I said I’d love to meet him.

Seeing Ron trot decided me.

Of course, I wanted to try the horse before committing. We waited for it to cool down a bit (we’ve had a hot September), and then I drove out between meetings on Thursday. Fortunately Ron was stabled not far from Bakersfield College.

Above: Ron in the bridle I tried him in. It was nice with a gentle bit. The saddle did not fit me well at all, but it was enough to get an idea of the horse!

We tacked Ron up in the saddle and bridle he’d been wearing (dressage). Then I put him in the round pen. The most important thing was his trot. If I was going to put time into a horse, I wanted to be able to complete a few limited distance endurance rides at least! I’d know from his trot if that was going to happen.

Ron could really trot. No, he wasn’t a park horse (apparently that had been the hopes of prior owners). His front legs are set too far back. But he had a ground-covering energetic stride, and lots of energy. Unless he was really terrible to ride, I knew I’d take him.

Ron from the saddle

Ron was not as nice to ride as he was to look at. I mounted in the round pen with the intention of heading straight to the big arena. Ron also wanted to head straight out the gate, so we had to do some training about who gets to decide when we go out the gate. Then we went to the big arena, where he immediately showed me he was more interested in looking for monsters than moving out. He did not want to move forward into the bridle, trying to stay behind the bit. I made him walk, trot, and canter, but it was like riding an elastic eel.

I figured that was the result of his recent experiences under saddle and overall greenness and decided I would take him home and fix it there. Anne and I arranged for me to pick him up the next Friday.

Above: Ron’s first day at home. In the first picture, you can tell he’s a bit nervous in thenew place. He stood quietly to be tacked up though (second picture). Third picture is in the arena at first.

Ron’s introduction to his new life

That was yesterday. I picked Ron up mid-morning, took him home, unloaded him, and took him straight to the training barn. I tacked him up in my Western saddle and a simple D-ringed copper-mouthed snaffle. Then I stuck him in the round pen to better assess his movement and attitude. It took about three minutes for me to confirm I loved his trot. I then put the bridle on and led him to the big arena.

Above: Ron moved so nicely in the round pen I took him to the big arena immediately. I had to move that saddle back! The girth was loose, or maybe I put it too far forward to start with!

Despite it being a new place, Ron was very well-behaved under saddle. Yes, he was a bit of a rubber pony, looking everywhere and never straight, but once he got the idea of the clover-leaf pattern, he started to relax. Slowly, his head came down and his back rounded. We trotted and loped each direction, and then moved to an outdoor arena with nice deep sand. (Watch this video of Ron loping the clover leaf for the first time.)

In the great wide open

That was harder for Ron–focusing with new scary things everywhere was a challenge! But he did fine. After that we rode out via the scary side of the training barn, then up the driveway and around the property. We went up hill, downhill, near the neighbor’s barking dog who ran at us. Ron behaved very well indeed. Rocks were scary at first, but we’ve got so many Ron immediately gave up. By the time we headed back to the barn, Ron’s head was down and he was walking on a loose rein.

After a bath and 15 minutes to dry, I turned Ron into his temporary home. He will live in a 2-acre pasture between my mares and my partner’s geldings. They all ignore Ron, but he seems delightfully unbothered by their unfirendliness. Ron, in fact, is a people horse. When I went down to the corrals a few hours after riding him, he came rushing to the gate, ready for more.

Day 2: Introducing Ron to his new discipline

Today I spent a full hour and a half in the saddle. First we did about 20 minutes in the arena, just walk and trot. I had forgotten to water the arena, so when my partner came down with his horses, I took Ron out so the sprinkler could be turned on. We headed up the driveway, and I thought, why not take him out on the adjoining cattle ranch? There are no cattle at the moment, and I could do a short loop with a few steep hills.

(Read my post on Why I don’t give horses “time to settle in.” Hint: I believe they settle in faster when they know their job and routine.)

Above: Ron’s first trail ride. He was a really good boy out in the wild. He willingly walked up steep hills and picked his way carefully down them. Despite it all being new, he only spooked a few times.

After the trail ride, I went back to the arena and completed our routine of trotting and loping the clover leaf pattern. Finally, I rode out into our cow pasture with my boyfriend and his horse. It’s always best to introduce horses to cattle with an experienced buddy! Again, Ron was a very good boy. He was interested in the cattle, and once he got over his alarm, showed signs of wanting to approach them. (I didn’t let him. He’s the kind of horse that might want to be chasing cattle and that’s bad.) He went through water without alarm, ate grass, and even peed! All excellent signs.

Above: Ron tackles his first steep hill!

My plans for Ron

Because the last two days have gone so well, I will indeed keep Ron until December. He will be very easy to condition for a 25-mile LD. He’s already reasonably fit, and he trots around his pasture every time he sees something interesting. He’ll keep himself moving during the week when I have to teach.

My main goal is to get him physically and mentally fit for trail riding and endurance. This will mean lots of riding. Tomorrow we will do a slightly longer trail ride and more arena work. Next weekend I’ll try for a 5 mile ride with 1500′ total elevation gain. I’ll lead him downhill and go slowly up the steep slopes. If he does that as easily as I expect, we’ll repeat it the next weekend. After that we’ll increase the distance and elevation gain.

I don’t plan to do much flat trotting, because I believe Ron is already fit enough to do a slow 25-mile ride on the flat. Hillwork is the best thing for him now. It’ll build muscle and lungs without stressing his hard or soft tissue. Once we get up to 8-10 mile rides, we’ll have plenty of good trotting roads anyway. (It’s all steep hills out our back gate.)

What about endurance rides?

Absolutely going to happen if all goes well! That will give Ron the exposure his owner wants for him. At the moment, I intend to take him to the Sesenta Anos ride in November. We’ll do the fun ride the first day, and the LD the second. He could probably do the Bill Thornburgh Friends and Family in October, but I am worried it will give him an unrealistic idea of endurance. It’s flat and easy! I want Ron to work on hills, not speed, his first ride. I want him calm and steady, not fired up and rarin’ to go.

If Sesenta Anos goes well, we’ll do the new Fossil Falls ride on November 30th. I had entered River to do it in Febuary, but it was postponed due to flooding. Ron should be able to do the LD easily by then.

But it doesn’t matter that much, because Ron has a great personality!

I’m hoping to do a few 25-mile rides with Ron, but even if we don’t get there, it’s going to be fun to work with him. He loves to get out and do things. He is a real people horse and comes trotting up whener he spots a human. It’ll also be good for me to work on getting him to stretch his neck down and move out, long and steady. He does a lot of worrying with his head in my lap. We’ll work on that! I bet he’ll be a changed horse in just a few months.

Above: Ron relaxed tremendously his first day on the place. In the first picture, he is stretching his neck down in the outdoor arena. In the next picture, you can see he is entirely calm after our ride.