Da Vinci

#279 Gray Arabian Gelding. Appx. 15 hands. Appx. 7 years. It is thought that this horse has recently been used in the Charro rodeos. He has marks along both sides, face, rear. Surprisingly, he is quite personable. A really nice gray that could use some kindness and care. appears to be sound.

Update 12/12/01 - David is doing well at his new home with Michelle. He is settling in and putting on weight.

DA VINCI - UPDATE DECEMBER 2001/JANUARY 2002

Who wrote that stupid song, about 'that it never rains in California'? It is the last day of 2001. The skies are grey and it has been raining on and off all day. Mud is everywhere. A new shower starts - the few people in the stables are running for cover. I'm in the arena, a tall woman on top of a small grey horse. We are both dripping with rain and mud. I ask him to trot, and he does. Only a few steps, still not in balance, but it is a trot. We come to a stop, I pet the horse like crazy, and there we stand: Davy looking very smug, and me beaming like a lighthouse.

HOW NOT TO BUY A HORSE
A bit over a month ago I surprised myself, my husband, and maybe also Gail, by calling her and asking about 'the little grey Arab on the feedlot'. After that things went very fast. The ransom was paid, a stable found and the transport arranged (thanks again, Jerry!).
Now I sheepishly have to admit that this was exactly the kind of transaction I always warn my students against - namely, buying a horse without even trying him… or, in our case, even seeing him (except for on the TIER website)! But I find Gail's descriptions of horses very accurate, so I trusted her on this one and just kept my fingers crossed.
It was also raining the day Jerry's enormous trailer (by European standards at least) swung into Davy's new home. Inside stood the little grey horse, looking even smaller than I expected. Jerry told me he had loaded and traveled without any problems. The main problem was to get him out of there; he stood shivering in the shavings in the front of the trailer and was very wary of the shiny black rubber mats in the back. After we kicked some of the shavings over the rubber he decided that it was safe footing, after all, and was persuaded to follow us to his new stall.

AND HIS NAME WILL BE….
Jerry drove off, and there we were: one excited human, one fairly overwhelmed horse. The first week he had to be in quarantine (luckily together with another new horse). This gave us the time to get to know each other. The first thing was to find a name. In my mind his name was to be David, but everybody we told this to gave us a very strange look. Calling an Arab horse David is maybe a bit optimistic, or is it just a strange name for a horse in the USA? Anyway. After a few days of this my husband, Hermod, and I spent a morning discussing alternatives and came up with Da Vinci. The reason behind this is a story in itself, but let's just hope he will be as much of a genius as the original. For daily use: Davy.

FIRST STEPS FIRST
The problem with getting a horse you don't know anything about is that - well, you don't know anything about him! In Davy's case this meant gently trying to find out what he was familiar with. The answer was, as Gail (accurate again) had already mentioned: not much. At the time of his arrival he seemed to know almost nothing and was afraid of almost everything. It took him a few days to at least stop jumping a foot in the air everytime something moved. The good thing, however: even if he gets startled he will jump but not run. And even if he jumps he jumps in place, not on top of you. (Very, very helpful in keeping medical bills down.)
Haltering was no problem. Catching him… let's just say it is very easy to catch a horse that does not go away from you. Gail said he was 'very personable' and he certainly is. Being turned out seemed to be something new and scary, so Davy preferred to stick to us. Even in the (really big) big arena it took some days before he seemed to understand that he could run around. As far as you could call it running - head in the air, tail curled over on his back, he just raced to the other side of the arena in some mad bunny-hop and then straight back to us. Look ma, no strides!

RODEO HORSE?
It was mentioned in his description on the website that he might have been used in Mexican rodeo's. After Gail explained what that could mean I was worried that he would be extremely scared of humans or maybe even aggressive. But whatever happened to him in the past, it has not made him dislike people. In the weeks he has been here now we have never seem him lift a foot as a threat or even flatten his ears. (If they tried him as a tripping horse I can imagine they didn't want him - it's no fun if they don't run….?)
It has been very helpful that he is such an easy horse in this respect. Especially so in the first week, when we had to give him a crash course in EVERYTHING: being tied, being led, being lunged, being groomed, giving feet and so on. He didn't know apples (now of course he chomps them like an old pro) but luckily he did know what carrots are. The fridge and our pockets promptly got filled and we have been using them as bribery/award ever since. At least something to make up for having your feet trimmed, your teeth floated, and vaccinations and worm paste administered.

Besides giving him his shots and floating his teeth, the vet confirmed his estimated age (around seven) and gave him a clean bill of health. The only remark was a slight irregularity in the left hindleg when he trots. Maybe a result from a fall or 'trip'? It is still noticeable when he is trotting, and he also does not really want to lift his right hind leg (and take the weight on the left). The vet will come back next week to check it again and maybe do some chiropractic work on it.

BAREFOOT
The farrier was the next step. He was a bit nervous about all the noises so we stood there for some time while another horse was shod, just to get him used to the surroundings. The trimming itself went OK. Even when one of the farrier's dogs thought it was his duty to 'help' by trying to nip him in the heels in the middle of the trimming! Davy tried to hop off but was easily restrained. He almost shivered with nerves after that but still stood like a pro. A lot of other horses would not have been so forgiving!
His hooves were in not too bad a state. This week a new farrier is coming out; I would like to keep him barefoot, in accordance with the principles of dr. Strasser (whoever is interested in this can find more information on this at www.thehorseshoof.com). Her main idea is that you should keep your horse in ways that are as much as possible in keeping with the natural ways of horses. This includes living in 'herds', having room to move around etcetera. (Sounds logical? Maybe, but how often do we see it in practice?) Back in Europe I already got acquainted with some of these ideas, and the barefoot existence seems a logical next step.
His stall (12 x 24) could of course be bigger, but I don't have a solution for that at this moment. He has a corner lot with two miniature horses next to him. The nice thing is that there are lots of things for him to see: playing children, passing cars, other horses being ridden and so on. He has found a nice girlfriend and I try to turn them out together as much as possible. Davy is a bit funny with other horses. He goes straight up to them to check them out, but then will just turn away and act uninterested. He is neither aggressive nor very submissive. It almost gives me the feeling that he is looking for one particular horse. His girlfriend also acts uninterested, but in the meantime they will follow each other every step of the way, still looking uninterested!

BACK TO THE TACK STORE…
Since I did not expect to own a horse over here I have put most of my tack in storage in Norway. This meant driving around a lot and checking out all the local tack stores. Luckily I had shipped two of my saddles, one of which fits him reasonably well. We'll have to see how he develops and maybe adjust it accordingly in a few months. I also brought a normal and 'double' lunge line, my lungeing whip and some other small stuff. All of this is starting to come in very handy! But of course, you still need brushes, a halter and lead rope, worm past, maybe some boots…. Since he is still a bit unbalanced he slightly interferes behind. Christmas brought another trip to the tack store and a pair of hindleg boots for under the tree.

CHRISTMAS BONUS
Another Christmas bonus was that Hermod had some days off - which we spent mostly at the stable. Especially for the first times mounting a green horse it's nice to have some assistance.
Davy came up trumps here again. When he arrived just the sight of a whip or a lunge line could send him trembling to the far end of his stable. Putting the saddle on made him shrink an inch…. Because of the rain only one small arena was open, so we opted for lots of walks. To get him used to a bridle, saddle, boots etc. gradually gear was added. Going for long walks in full riding outfit but not riding him yet definitely has earned us some surprised looks. But who cares? It's the end result that counts.

THE NEXT STEP UP
Davy got very nervous as soon as he saw me stepping on anything which brought me higher than he was used to, so that was the next step: lots of brushing, petting, hanging over him, all while standing on a small step. The white plastic step itself was frightening, too, but we left it standing around all the time and he got used to it after a few days.
From hanging over him I graduated to sitting on top of him, at first without a saddle. Then to being led around, then to trying to steer around the arena myself. Since he was very sensitive to the bit in the beginning we started with the reins attached to the halter. No problem with this horse, all the stopping power you need is a long, low, 'Whoooo…'. As long as the stops are properly rewarded, of course (more carrots).
After this came the saddle, then the reins attached to the bit, and now we are working on mounting from the ground and leaving the step behind. So far, so good.

FREEZE
His fear of the rubber mats in the trailer when he arrived was not an isolated incident. Davy definitely is what in the Netherlands is called 'ground shy' (I don't know the English expression for this). He is reluctant to put his feet on anything else than regular sand or grass. Any small puddle, twig, bit of asfalt or other change of footing will cause him to freeze on the spot. This is one thing we have been working on during our walks and it has definitely improved. He even stands on the concrete of the washrack now, but the ripples of the water on the concrete are still eyed very suspiciously. The hose and the water itself are no problem at all. However, this week he scraped some skin of one of his hindlegs (probably got cast when rolling), so we have done another intensive course on overcoming his fear of 'walking on water'.

The stable is next to a national park with nice trails, so all the things there are now also being included in his widening view of the world. He walks behind you like a dog, only stopping now and then when he hears another horse or some mountain bikers or sees an especially tempting bit of grass. The hilly trails are a nice change of pace and good training, both for him and for us!
If anything startles him during these walks it's the same thing: he just jumps on the spot and freezes. Last week I was walking a Thoroughbred mare, took a small hop myself and suddenly saw this big horse flying past me and landing fifteen feet further. Davy is a real gentleman and does not do such things.. or maybe he just has not found out about it yet? Even if something frightens him when I am sitting on top he tends to freeze instead of taking off. Again, helpful for reducing medical bills.

GROOMING NEWS
Hermod is putting the new brushes to good use. He is 'not really' (or to be accurate, 'really not') a horse person. But even for him this horse has a manageable size and enjoyable character. Davy loves to be brushed and will stand there without moving , no halter or anything, his eyes closed and thoroughly enjoying the procedure. You can touch and brush him everywhere. In the beginning he was a bit wary of having his tail handled, but also that is no problem now. Last week I washed it for the first time, which definitely improved it. (Now I also remember exactly why I never wanted a grey horse - namely, the yellow spots.)
Talking of hair… at his arrival Davy had a real punky hairdo: most of his mane chewed off, with just a few long dreadlocks remaining. I don't like irritating young and/or new horses by pulling enormous amount of hair out of them. Therefore the scissors came out and he was left with an even two inch bit of mane.

During my time as an assistant manager at an Arab stud in the Netherlands some years ago I learned a bit more about the different types of Arabs. The horses there were mostly from Russian breeding lines. A number of them had been raced, and they were maybe a bit less 'typical Arabian' but more long-lined riding horse types. Davy shows the same long lines and good riding horse characteristics. Somebody suggested he looked more like an Anglo-Arab. He could almost pass for a little warmblood of the more modern type, especially with his crew cut, until he starts trotting with his head in the air and his tail on his back!

He has a good walk, a nice trot (could still be a bit more relaxed and less showy) and even a quite acceptable canter when he relaxes a bit and starts using himself properly. The bit of walking and trotting I felt while sitting on top so far felt not bad at all! But of course his back end has to be OK before I can start doing more, and even then it will take a long time to build up the muscles. That is fine, we have time. This horse does not have to go to any show or competition. I just enjoy training him for the fun of seeing how he develops.
His smaller size (around 15 hands) and my taller size (around five foot nine) are another reason to build him up without riding him too much in the beginning. Here people don't seem to care about height so much, but in the Netherlands he would definitely be considered too small for me. One of the reasons might be that competition horses in the Netherlands (for jumping, dressage and eventing) have to be at least around 15.3 hands.
He does not seem to need much food to keep a good weight for his size. He ate fairly slow before his teeth were floated, but now he is really chewing it down. We have added a good amount of grass hay to the twice daily alfalfa, and now a bit of grain when he has been worked.

BACK TO (HORSE) BUSINESS
On a more general note I have to admit that I enjoy life in California a lot more since meeting Davy. When we moved here from Norway it was frustrating to leave my job as a riding instructor and two nice Dutch warmbloods behind. Of course I have been looking around for places to ride and maybe train again, but that turned out to be even more frustrating. Many of the ideas about horse training (and especially about dressage) over here are very different from what I have grown up with…. Many of the training methods are very unrefined to say the least. Or to give you my honest opinion: downright stupid and brutal. I am also shocked by the number of people I meet who have been totally ripped off by unscrupulous horse dealers or even their own trainers.

Horses are a very important part of my life, and I was getting desperate by the thought that that part for the next two or three years would be limited to occasional expensive and bad 'lessons' on badly trained and unsound horses. Instead I find myself now getting established as a horse trainer again! Currently I am working with a thoroughbred mare, too, and have been offered to ride some other horses also. We will just take it slowly and see how it develops.
Again, when going to TIER and meeting Gail I did not expect to end up owning a horse again, especially not a small grey Arab. But getting Davy has really been an extremely positive event in my life. (Now we just have to hope he thinks the same about getting me as his new partner!)
A lot of people comment on his good looks and how cute he is. I tell everybody he is a rescue horse and try to advertise the work that TIER and Pegasus do. The reactions are very positive. There are quite a few more rescue horses at this stable, so it is not a new thing. On the other hand: it is very sad that this work is still necessary. For every horse saved, lots of others are not…. A very humbling thought. But at least Davy got out, and everyday we are grateful for that.

I will keep you updated on how he's doing. Many greetings from us, and a hoof shake from Da Vinci.

9/17/06 - Update from Norway!

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Update 10/11/06 - New Photos

Feb 06 - arriving home in a snowstorm