The Thoroughbred is an amazing horse. They truly are the most intelligent and hard-working horses out there. There is just something about sitting on the back of an animal bred for speed and witnessing them trying to figure out this new life and being a willing participant in all the stuff we ask them to do.

My last update on my lovely 2024 Makeover hopeful, Mr Nobility, was a frustrating mess consisting of everything that could go wrong, went wrong.

This month, I have far less to update, which is actually an amazing feat considering what we have gone through already! In this case, no news is great news!

Our pre-ride lunges have become few and far between (saved only for the super windy days that blow goblins through the arena windows). I was so worried about getting on him with zero lunging; after all he’s huge and I’ve seen his athletic moves… but as it turns out, all the ground work has paid off and he’s basically the same horse. I am definitely the one who needs lunging before a ride…

Mr Nobility absolutely loves napping! (Courtesy of Lauren Millet-Simpson)

Learning to trust in the foundation that we have spent months building is really starting to pay off. Despite Mr Nobility’s size, he has never done a mean thing under saddle. Sure, he spooks, and he’s quicker than he should be at times, but he really seems to enjoy working most of the time. I just need to keep telling myself that he enjoys this, and we spent months building a bond, so I can lean on that bond to step out of the training comfort zone!

We are riding at least four days a week right now, which a month ago was not even close to a thing! Some rides are prettier than others, and some rides my 17-plus hand “giraffe” goes around like he’s a 19-hand giraffe. But then there are “the moments” – all riders of young horses know that feeling. THE MOMENT. Those two strides where he drops his head and lifts his back. Or actually takes the bit and bends around a circle in BOTH directions. These are the moments we live for. They make us forget about all the bad rides and the moments spent counting your horse’s nose hairs while sitting on their back.

The other day in a lesson, we did not have great trot moments. It was a “giraffe day.” It didn’t matter how much outside leg I used or how early I started a circle, we trotted eggs and squares instead of circles. However, we cantered circles in both directions, none of which was going sideways or haunches in. We relaxed into the canter (which is massive by the way and it actually feels like we are galloping out of control most of the time).

Which brings me to a piece of advice: Have a friend, or fellow horse person, video your rides once in a while. I cannot tell you how different the video looks to how the ride feels. Most of the time, especially with my big mover, each gait feels like we are ready to launch forward. It could not look more different in the video. He is actually moving forward at an appropriate speed to be able to power from his hind end (which he does not do yet, but baby steps!) and does not look out of control whatsoever. In fact, in the video I can see myself working against him, instead of letting him use his full stride. It is so helpful to see what you are doing wrong and how the horse is reacting to you.

The video also lets you capture those “moments” and remember them. So when you have a terrible ride, or a particularly tall zoo animal day, you can look back to the ride before and remember that he CAN do it. He is just a young, inexperienced horse that is learning all this new stuff and trying really hard.

All we can do at this point is hope that the good moments become more frequent, and our horse begins to figure out that however hard working over your back is, trotting around like a giraffe is in fact MUCH harder.

Fingers crossed though, we are ready to start trying some new things! This upcoming weekend, LongRun is having our Annual Spring Open House, where the public is invited to come and tour the farm, see the horses, take photos with our stable stars, etc. Provided this week continues to go as planned, I would like to ride the big boy during the open house. I figure it’s a good place to start, see how he deals with crowds and a different atmosphere. Even though I feel as though not much actual riding progress has been made to show off, it’s a good situation to test his 5-year-old brain. Worst case scenario, we walk around and look pretty!

I definitely would like to thank John Dewberry of Dewberry Thoroughbreds LLC, for donating this amazing horse to LongRun. He truly is one of a kind, and I feel quite lucky that I get to be the one to bring him on this journey to his second career. Many thanks to Mr. Dewberry for supporting us on this adventure, and I hope I can do you proud!