On Cue

The first formal photos of On Cue, or as she will be called in every day life (and on this blog)  Q!  (Thanks to my mom for coming up with On Cue, Andrea for suggesting Q, and Funder for teaching me the differences of "cue" and "queue" to help contribute to the name of my new girl.)

And here's a rough video from my phone of Chris trotting her in hand for me.

She's got some weight to lose.  Most definitely.  But with the riding I plan on doing it shouldn't be too impossible to accomplish ;-).

Things about her that attributed to me deciding to buy her (writing this more for myself so I can see how she changes):

• she's very forward on the trail - eager to move up a hill and not a wuss about getting down one either
• she collects over jump obstacles in the woods in a way that few horses I've ever ridden have done
• she's very, very alert and notices everything (even little butterflies) but doesn't spook like a complete maniac, she notes her surroundings and moves on
• she's a quick learner - figured out within only a few tries what she had to do (give me two eyes) to get to stop moving her feet in the round pen
• she's a lover
• she's responsive - side pass you ask?  No problem.
• she backs up under saddle like a reining horse
• her floaty trot is a joy to ride
• her canter is ground-eating
• she's in heat and isn't a complete and total witch!  We even introduced her to the herd last night (let her out with them finally) and she only threw one kick (when Little Bit charged her) and then she was aloof the rest of the time.  She'll arch her neck and pin her ears, but isn't all snarly.  Win.
• stop means stop 

What we need to work on:

• ground manners; ain't her fault (yes, I just used "ain't"), she just hasn't had someone as "her" person in a long time for her to have to focus on these things (leading, standing tied, etc.)
• standing 100% of the time while mounting; she'll stand about 50% of the time right now, and when she does stand she's usually lurching forward as you're plopping your butt down
• immediately after being haltered and brought in to be tied and prepped for whatever, she's super zesty and snorty and prancy - this. must end.  I do recognize she's an Arab and will do these things though.
• overall she just doesn't seem to trust you immediately.  I think she's been hucked around between different folks for awhile and is so cautious that someone is going to be quick and rough with her just to get stuff done (feet, tacking up, brushing, etc.).  When you move slow and talk to her and comfort her through each step she chills out quick; I'm hope to gain her trust and prove to her that I'm not going to haul off and hit her for some tiny indiscretion that is merely a part of horse nature.

Acting innocent about the fact that she was whirling in a circle and
screaming for attention while crashing her butt into the wall in  her
failed attempts to turn around.

• she screams for you when you leave her tied and you walk out of sight.  In part with the above statement, I think she's been left a lot and just isn't sure if someone is going to come back for her.  I'm sure this will stop with time.  She shows that she has potential to be good (will stand quietly and not dig a trench/hole to China) when someone is around.  Definitely plan on leaving her tied up semi-alone (where I'm out of her sight but she isn't out of mine) for a few good stretches of time though!  

Her feet: She came to me with two front shoes on.  I'd intended to just continue with those as long as she kept them on, even though I really prefer booting.  Well, the question about when she'd be transferring to boots was decided rather quickly by her.  I went out Tuesday and she'd tossed a shoe already.  Trimmer is (hopefully) coming next week to do her and Griffin and she'll get sized for Renegades!  Bright orange =)  I like my obnoxiously bright orange saddle pad, so I'm adding to the orange theme.  To prove she's a lady her lead and halter are purple though.  (The temptation to do obnoxiously neon pink was pretty strong though...)

So there you have it.  The current ins and outs of the new Arabian mare that so suddenly entered my life (I really just couldn't bear the thought of her going to auction when I had no great excuse to not accept her into my life).  I'm really excited to see how things go.  (I hope they go well.)  Griffin is the master of ground work, so I hope she can learn from his example as he can hopefully learn from her [hopeful] LD/endurance pursuits.  Maybe they'll whisper secrets deep into the night?  ;-)

Coming to you soon - updated photo timelapse of G-man's growth!

Thanks for reading!