JR Session 38: Dorito Gordito

Monday, 6/1/09

I did a few new portraits of Mary the Morgan. As she becomes more fit, she is filling out nicely. She looks wonderful and it’s fun to chronicle her progress. Photographing black horses has become enjoyable now that I have the perfect practice model mare. There are so many nuances: every type of light makes a different color cast on her coat. The last bit of available light was reaching Mary as I snapped these frames. I particularly like the way she looks in her new Stubben Golden Wings snaffle.

I hand grazed Wizard and put his front legs in standing bandages while I was at the barn. His left front leg is still swollen. He is not lame on it, but the inflammation is still there. He also got a little massage- he seems quite pleased with the pampering. Whenever I massage the muscles near the sacroiliac joint, he does an elaborate yawning routine. Yawning can be a sign of relaxation and released tension.

Did you ever realize that Doritos means “little bits of gold”? That would make JR a gordito dorito since he needs to get his grain cut back a little- he got a little more roly poly when I went to Kentucky.

JR was longed in the indoor arena today. We had another excellent and productive session. I had the happy realization that I had not heard JR interfere at all in the past three longeing sessions! I think that the work has made him more balanced and he is more coordinated so he strikes his own feet less often.

I always start with no side reins and we work toward connection with side reins. Tonight, I experimented with tightening the inside side rein one hole tighter than the outside side rein. I did not see a big difference, but big differences are not what I want to see at this phase of training :^) When we were done with side rein work, I asked for a canter. The canter was easier for him in the indoor arena since the footing is firmer. I only ask JR to canter about 2 or 3 times around in each direction at this point in his schooling.

When we were done longeing, I turned JR loose in the arena. He walked beside me, sans halter, sans tack, and cooled off. His interaction with me has reached a new level and it was apparent when he was at liberty. We’re finally starting to understand each other a little better :^)

I did a little massage work on JR as well- he loffed it.

Spotlight: Hickory Ridge Farm Part II

I returned to Hickory Ridge Farm for another portrait session. It was three weeks since my last visit to the farm and what a huge change in the weather! Last time, we had golden leaves and a little cool air. This time, we had bare trees and an arctic blast! But our participants were game and the horses were fun as always. And Ghost the Barn Cat got in on the action and posed for a few frames.

First up was Echo, a Quarter Horse gelding. Though the winds blasted through the trees, he stood his ground and posed gamely. I love his expressive eyes.

I had a special request for a customer favorite that I take, a portrait of a horse with a black background. But this time, it was TWO horses: Shiloh, a smart and sassy Quarter Horse mare, and Lakota, a versatile and easy-going Appaloosa gelding. They were veterans of the process and stood like they were models in Horse Illustrated.

I get a lot of inquiries about this type of photo. Many photographers think that the image is manipulated and the background is replaced- that would be much more difficult than what I do! I stand the horse in a barn entrance, set the exposure, and shoot. I do remove distracting windows or beams but the photo is not very different from what comes out of my camera.

Then I met Cisco, a black and white overo Paint gelding. He’s another versatile guy. He must have had some halter training at some point in his life, because he squared up his feet and posed beautifully for every shot. He also floated around the paddock when we did our liberty shots. He was actually more animated than expected, because he heard a loose horse headed our way from the nearby state park. It was a chilly but fun day- horse people are a hardy bunch!