 |
'Part Time
Angel'
 |
‘Part Time Angel’ was born in 1986.
Angel came into my life as a gangly 2-1/2 year old.
From the beginning, Angel was a
nervous horse. Even in the company of other horses in
pasture, she would pace. Kept in a stall, she would pace
so badly that she would twist her shoes off. |
|
The first 6 months of Angel’s
training consisted of familiarization and long lining.
As I started her under saddle at the age of 3, I was
astonished that she was actually calmed by the presence
of a rider on her back. At 3½ years old she was
introduced to trail riding, walk/jog Western Pleasure
classes and Poker rides.
From there we dabbled a bit with
reining. We developed a 10’ slide and fast correct spins
but we gave that up after learning from veterinarians
and my farrier just how hard reining was on horses. |
 |
 |
My first priority has always been
to keep my horses sound. With that in mind, we embark on
a journey into dressage.
In spite of her limitations as a
dressage competition horse, Angel was eventually able to
perform all of the Grand Prix movements with the
vigilant guidance of Charles de Kunffy. |
| Over the years Angel
competed successfully in Hunter Under Saddle, Western
Pleasure, Showmanship at Halter, Trail, Cattle Sorting
and Team Penning. Despite her
nervous temperament, Angel went on to become a
magnificent lesson horse for students of all skill
levels in various disciplines. As a precautionary
measure, at the age of 15, Angel was thoroughly examined
and x-rayed by a veterinarian. The veterinarian said that, in spite
of some very early stages
of ringbone, Angel was
sounder than most of the horses he had seen that were half
her age. The beginning of ringbone was due to Angel's
predisposition to pace and never developed into a
problem.
 |
 |
| Later, Angel and I began studying with
Erik Herbermann who helped me refine my aids and improve
Angel’s balance to a degree I never thought possible.
Sadly, while my husband and I were out of town, Angel had a fluke accident
that left her with a condition called
Fibrotic Myopothy. She is no longer up for clinics but
she still benefits from light trail riding and enjoys a
little arena work now and then. |
|
 |
|
|
