Not Cleveland Bays, but SO cute!

Hello to two of Loxley's Rancho neighbors, little Oreo, the adorable mini, and our old friend Tjarda the Friesian, who had a little fun in the turnout recently. I'm waiting for the moment when Oreo runs under the patient Tjarda's tummy! Thanks for being our guest video! Video photo credit to Monica, Tjarda's Mom, with voiceover by Ami, Oreo's Mom!

Marina's Manicure!

This morning our friend and natural hoof trimmer Marina Bredda came out for her second work session with the unshod Loxley of the lovely durable big hooves! Thanks in no small part to Marina's fantastic demeanor and patience with him during their first session five weeks ago, Loxley's behavior came much closer to that which is expected of him as a growing up horse.

Marina is shown cheerfully holding Loxley's most difficult hoof, a leg which has a recovering injury and some tendon tightness, yet (contrary to last time) he was willing to let her work with it as much as she needed.

I'm completely sold on the concept that Loxley will stay barefoot and thrilled to have Marina's skills and know-how behind that decision. Plus Loxley is pretty excited about the carrots at the end of her session. And now on to the dance floor!

Neighborhood Models

The previous post about Uncle Tjarda led me to introduce Tjarda as a national horse apparel model, here are some wonderful examples of his recent work!

Thanks to Tjarda's art director Mom Monica and photographer Dad Steve Horn, a few humans were asked to do some modeling for the same website, which gave our good friend Ali a chance to be the perfect Arabian model! Pictured is Ali with one of our neighborhood young riders and also a link to Ali with yours truly getting to wear a lovely red jacket in which art imitates life!

Hanging Out With Uncle Tjarda

There's an odd phenomenon where on most days, when I take out Loxley, tie him up for grooming, walk him down the street, take him somewhere to do some ground work, it truly looks as though he has grown 1" - 2" from the previous day. Now, if this were really happening, Loxley would be about 25 hands by now, and I think he's really about 16.2+. But he is growing up, getting taller, thicker, showing a somewhat more mature face, even his voice is a little deeper when he whinnies hello upon my arrival at the gate.

That is, until we meet up once every few days with one of our great Rancho friends, Uncle Tjarda. Tjarda is an eight year old Friesian owned and loved by our good friends and neighbors Monica and Steve. These pictures don't fully show what a spectacular horse Tjarda is, but believe me, he takes your breath away every single time you see him. He's well over seventeen hands and very sturdy, as is typical and appropriate for his light draft breeding. Seeing Loxley next to Tjarda is always a good reminder that Lox has a long way to go to grow up!

These two have become good buddies and Tjarda's sweet, kind social nature serves as a wonderful role model for young Lox. They are both enthusiastic about getting together for walks and turnouts, and even get to groom each other like real horses (as much as their respective Moms can stand it!). The other day they got to graze together on Aunt Claudia's front lawn, and they were happy as clams. Especially for horses who live alone, these social outings are just as important as the training ones.

"In Training" at Aunt Claudia's School for Horses

Loxley has had an excellent week including three "actual" training sessions, courtesy of Claudia and Ali's training area! It's the ideal size for free longing and even setting up a tiny crossbar to give our young man a good reason to pay attention to where his feet are.

This also marks Loxley's first wearing of a bridle since he arrived in Burbank - took that big ol' eggbutt snaffle like he's done it every day of his life, and side reins with a surcingle. Could dressage be far behind? It's getting tempting to get on!

Thanks as always to Claudia for sharing her space, energy and really excellent training ideas.

Griffith Park Drive News

Photo credit Martin Frankel.

What's a three year old gelding to do when Southern California Gas Co. has to, in a nine hour exercise involving four busy men and several incredibly loud machines, replace the main gas line at his house? Why, in the Rancho, wander down the street and graze on somebody's lawn, of course! On Friday our neighbor Marty Frankel kindly offered his beautifully manicured yard and the company of Rosebud the German Shepherd (in background) to settle down Loxley after some close encounters with a jackhammer and dug-up driveway!

Marty says he's been meaning to take a picture of a horse in front of his recently remodeled house (we especially like the front door), and Loxley was happy to oblige in exchange for a few minutes of peace and quiet. Thanks Marty!

Hanging Out in Uncle Ali's Paddock

Loxley had a wonderful time the other day hanging out in Uncle Ali's paddock, which dear Ali was very generous and gracious to allow! It was a great chance to roll, wander around, and of course eat! Ali was a complete gentleman and we were also treated to a visit from Uncle Tjarda! Galloping boots are on loan from Uncle Django as Loxley learns more about how to use all four legs in unison.

Maybe he Likes to Read?

For most horses a blowing newspaper is a great excuse to spook. But not young Loxley! He actually chased this one down himself on the perimeter, taking it in his mouth then stamping on it on the ground! Maybe there's an article he didn't want to miss?

Garbage cans with plastic liners carry similar fascination, all the better to get it in his mouth and throw it around!

Cross county courses, here we come one day!

Some Big "Firsts" This Week!

Sorry no accompanying pics, but several outstanding developments to report about Loxley's activities within this past week, which was short on time but long on progress!

- Loxley had his first two longeing sessions, and he did extremely well! He was very respectful of the longe line and whip, maintained a good distance and for the most part kept moving forward at a walk and trot. Like most horses, he strongly prefers tracking left. He's a bit on the lazy side and doesn't seem to be affected much by a cracking whip, but we'll get there!

- So far I've avoided doubling up with Loxley and his canine brother Blue since, as energetic youngsters in training, they are both full-time handling tasks and require my full attention. Each of them has had such a strong couple of recent weeks that one hurried morning I asked them both to step up their performance for a walk around the neighborhood. They were both champions! We'll keep working on this little by little, but we'll all get out more if we can all go out together!

- As the days inevitably grow shorter, we've brushed up against dusk here and there, but one evening, significantly emboldened by the company of Claudia and Ali, and Tika and Joe, we actually crossed the bridge and had a (huge racing running bucking) turnout at Martinez Arena, followed by a walk through the short loop in the near-dark! Our brave young man was just that! He is much more courageous than his fair-weather mother!

- Finally, late this afternoon Loxley and I had a wonderful experience I wouldn't have even thought possible a couple of months ago! After a lovely long relaxed walk through the fields and neighborhood, we returned to Loxley's waiting dinner and clean stall. I stood with him in his stall (halter on) while he ate, grabbed a few brushes and actually groomed him in his stall! He was cheerful, back end away and ears up the entire time!

Some Positive Feedback from the Arabian World!

Photo of our favorite Arabian, Ali, and favorite half-Arabian, Loxley.

I happened to mention Loxley and his sire, Fiero Gato, to a lawyer colleague whom I recalled was quite involved in Arabians. Well! That would be a huge understatement. Paul Husband, who has brilliantly blended horses and a successful law practice specializing in equine, tax and entertainment law, has apparently studied Arabian horse lineage intently since birth, and he kindly offered these extemporaneous comments about Loxley. Thanks, Paul!!

"Your horse is very well bred indeed. He is bred to be very athletic. Fiero Gato is by a son of the great El Gato. El Gato was sired by leading sire of the 50’s and early 60’s, Ferseyn (who is Khemo’s grandsire on the sire line). El Gato was out of the great mare, El Sikada. I never saw “Elsie”, I knew one of her owners, and saw some her outstanding sons, including not only El Gato but the Witez II son El Tio, who was a flashy Formal driving horse, and Ibn Awad, a terrific horse against whom I competed. Ibn Awad was a champion in halter and English pleasure and western pleasure. Ibn Awad was really one of the best. He was trained by Don Hansen and owned by the Dodge heiress. There were other champions out of El Sikada as well. The September 2008 Arabian Horse World Magazine has an article about “All Time Aristocrats” which is a list of mares with four or more outstanding offspring, and Elsie is in there – I think she has at least 6 champions. El Sikada was a legendary mare.

"Ferseyn was known as a sire of excellent performance horses as well as halter champions. Your boy has at least three lines to Ferseyn – his sire is double Ferseyn, I remember seeing Ferna, Fiero Gato’s sire’s dam, in the show ring. She was a lovely, very elegant grey. Ferna’s dam was Joana, a full sister to the outstanding sire, and main progenitor of the Gulastra sire line, Abu Farwa. Abu Farwa is Crabbet (as is Ferseyn) and his line is known for athletic ability. There is also a cross to Abu Farwa on Fiero Gato’s dam’s side, so your horse has two lines to their sire Rabiyas, a son of the Hearst Ranch sire, Rahas, and more importantly in my judgment, the dam of both Joana and Abu Farwa was the mare Rissletta. Rissletta was sired by Naseem, probably the best son of Skowronek, who was sold to the Russian Government (by Lady Wentworth at Crabbet) in the 1930’s for $2,000,000 – a lot of money to pay for a horse, especially back then. Rissletta’s dam, Risla produced many notable Arabian horses, who were important in Russian breeding, Polish breeding and of course here in the U.S. Finally (sorry about rattling on) Fiero Gato’s tail female is Feluka, the same as Ferseyn’s. Feluka is considered Crabbet, since she was owned and used by Crabbet, but she also qualifies as Straight Egyptian. She was bred by Lord and Lady Blunt using horses that they purchased in Egypt .

"I would think that a Cleveland Bay – Arabian cross should produce a very good sporthorse. Size and scope from the Cleveland Bay and handiness and toughness from the Arab. Congratulations. He is very well bred and linebred on the sire’s side."

Starting to fill out a bit....

Two months of adaptation, work and hay seem to have worked nature's magic for our young man to show some new maturity. Sometimes I catch a glimpse of him and he looks practically like a grown-up horse! Then I see him next to an actual grown-up horse, or the light changes, and he is back to being 3 and working hard to grow up again. We're having more good moments than not-so-good these days and starting to enjoy each others' company quite a bit.

R.I.P., Django 1982 - 2008

You've seen this picture before, it's one of our favorites as it was Lox with our dear friend Django on one of Django's last trips into Griffith Park. In another great loss this year, we all had to bid farewell to beloved Django on September 5. He is deeply and greatly missed.

Selfishly I wish Lox had more time with him to soak up his experience and wisdom. Hopefully this water trough exchange will last Lox a lifetime.

Shoo, Fly!

As summer draws to a close, flies near the end of their life cycle and get particularly slow, stupid and annoying! But no fear for Lox, who is now not only accustomed to his fly mask but also to fly wraps on his legs! This is a great foundation for galloping boots, trailering wraps, and all the other gizmos that over time I'll end up wrapping around his legs. He's not really pigeon-toed as it appears in these pics, he was pretty glued to the ground by not being sure whether he could move in these! Some goose-stepping later, I'm please to report he has adjusted nicely.

Look who's got Lox

Rubén and Lox have walked together the past few nights, and they're doing great! Rubén has an immovably strong right arm which has helped to show Lox he can walk along faster and keep up. And of course they're working on all the Chris Cox stuff....

A Visit With Our Favorite Uncle, Django

We break from Lox coverage to celebrate a visit with one of our favorite horses ever, Django (named after European jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt). Django is without doubt the best friend that our dear departed Rose had, notwithstanding her odd way of showing her affection with near-total indifference and the occasional kick in the chest! Undeterred, the ever loyal Django continued his devotion, his hopes bolstered seasonally by Rose' hormonal swings which caused her to flirt with him despite herself.

For many years Django's Mom Claudia and I rode together nightly. We were both in-house lawyers and would chat about the day, and used to say that Django and Rose had learned enough about practicing law to open a pretty darn good law firm.

Django has been feeling poorly lately and all the local horse girls have been hanging around a lot bringing treats and telling him how handsome he is. Here are a few pics of some special "bran-face" moments in the cool breezeway.

A Blue Moment

Yes, we know it's a horse blog, but this pic of Lox' brother Blue (below, red leash) watching squirrels on the perimeter trail was just too cute to pass up! Longtime Rottweiler watchers may note a slight resemblance to their big sister Britany, RIP (above, patterned leash)!

He's Officially 3 Years Old!

Yesterday was Lox' official #3 birthday, making him, well, about 9 years old in people years. We celebrated with a turnout at Martinez Arena, where he has quickly discovered that the shady corner with the dried willow leaves on the ground is a nice spot to hang out during these dog days of summer, followed of course by a deep muzzle dip in the trough and a little game with the spigot.

Lox is sporting our new Chris Cox training halter and lead, which arrived this week and is a great invention for safety and communication! Kudos to horse trainer Ron Hutchison for the suggestion. Thanks to friends and neighbors Monica and Steve, we're getting a lot of benefit from the Chris Cox training DVD's as well.

Next year, carrot cake!

More Lox Pics

This young man seems to be growing up before our eyes! A few days shy of his third birthday, at some moments he looks like a small grown-up horse, then with another look he is a young horse again! He's adapted really well to the fly mask and we're working on fly spray and other ground handling. Regular turnouts in the big arena allow lots of rolling and running opportunities, long walks in the neighborhood give him a chance to take in everything from bicycles to helicopters, and a session with Chris Cox student horse trainer Ron Hutchison was a big help for all of us!

Who is exercising whom?

Mindful of Jean's need to occasionally kick up her heels, Lox patiently walked with her as she took a run around the arena.

Photo and copy credit to Claudia!

Hanging Out in Griffith Park with the Big Boys

Above: Having a cool drink with Django; Ali and Lox getting acquainted at Martinez Arena.

Thanks to the generous nature of Claudia and her horses Ali (a 32 year old Arabian gelding who is an excellent babysitter) and Django (a 25 year old Trakehner gelding with a heart of gold), Lox has had a great time going for walks and turnouts in Griffith Park. Plus there's a stop at a water trough! Below, finding our footing on a walk down a steepish hill.

One Week Report

For the most part Loxley (as in Robin Hood's birthplace) had a great first week, and we're delighted! He has been extremely calm and level-headed in our daily outings, so far long walks and turnouts in a large arena.

He has adapted quickly and with incredibly rapid "processing" time to painted words and lines on the streets, manhole covers, stepping up and down curbs, tractors, garbage trucks, street cleaners, kids on big wheels, cyclists, joggers, motorcycles, wheelchairs, freeway sounds, car and house door slams, overhead air traffic, walking on a swinging bridge over a river, walking through tunnels under the freeway, trails, etc. With each potentially scary thing we encounter that does NOT send him sidewards or over backwards I look forward to what a wonderful riding horse he will be!

He's still a little wiggly about stepping through or over water on the street, and couldn't quite come to terms with seeing a Saddlebred being worked with a cart (shades of Rose - the first time she saw that she screamed for 10 minutes "RUN! Faster! You're not making any progress, it's right behind you!"), but overall he is incredibly adaptable to a wide variety of stimuli. He is always happy to see the many horses as the big barns nearby, and does a short little baby whinny.

Several days he's enjoyed the company of a friend's 32 year old rock solid Arabian gelding Ali, and several days we've gone out alone. We're starting over a bit on his ground manners, for example he wants to walk behind not next to me, and is a bit mouthy, though these are already showing signs of progress in the past couple of days. He is very engaged and relaxing somewhat around me, I think.

The first time we turned him out he ran and ran like a racehorse - I think he was quite pent up from the stress of move. The second turnout (see clips above) was a more typical relaxed roll-fest with some trotting and galloping here and there.

We did have a bit of a hiccup in that he put on his Cranky Pants in his stall one night during a later-than-usual meal (my fault). We made some immediate changes to the feeding plan - including feeding him at exactly the same time as the neighboring horses so he doesn't feel left out that their feeding times are different.

Out in the paddock he has been a cheerful complete gentleman and seeks the halter, is very responsive. Once he trusts us more we will start asking to be in his personal stall space more.

His ground manners are so-so; he tolerates but isn't excited about grooming or hoof cleaning, and fly spray is a big turn-off unless sprayed onto a brush first. He's been very cooperative about using a fly mask during the day. He will let me touch him all over (out of his stall) and has a good back-up and side movements.

He is less interested in carrots or apples than any horse I've ever seen. He came from being on only alfalfa/bermuda pellets, I'm keeping him on some pellets and transitioning into bermuda and timothy hay with a few handfuls of alfalfa and a tiny scoop of Integrity Growth. For a week I had him on psyllium since he used to eat on sandy ground.

It's amazing that virtually no one (except the natural horseshoeing trimmer who is from the UK) here knows what a Cleveland Bay is, even the longtime horse people and trainers! The folks around the LA Equestrian Center pride themselves on their warmblood knowledge and even they have to ask. It's fun having someone so unique!

Landed in the Burbank Rancho!

He's here! After an uneventful trailer ride, and his agent Sabrina's dubious "can you really have horses in this neighborhood?" delivery, Mulgrave has arrived and is getting settled in his new home in the Burbank Rancho. He was warmly greeted by us, Emily, Kristi, Lauren, Marko and his canine brother Blue.

As hoped, he was very excited to see Bermuda hay and has already also done an excellent job of trimming the overgrowth on the paddock perimeter. He seems quite comfortable with the stall/paddock in and out, figured out immediately where the feed room is, and gave everything a good solid look and smell before settling down for a quiet night.

His calm, generous nature is really showing through in how adaptable he seems to be. We sure are glad to have him here!

Mulgrave Fire's Sire, Fiero Gato

Attention, Arabian fans! Mulgrave's sire (father) is this handsome stallion, Fiero Gato.

Mulgrave Fire's Dam, Bey Breze Robyn

Here is Mulgrave's dam (mother), a lovely registered Cleveland Bay mare, and some of his half-siblings.

More Test Drive Video, Loose in Round Ring

Back for another look and ride

Videos courtesy of Claudia Schmitt!

Our first meeting

This was our first impression of you, that you were a gentleman! You were very kind, cooperative, and for a little guy had a nice build and were pretty good about your feet. You were interested and confident, that star on your forehead looks like a diamond, and your little white sock is a fun little bonus (we won't tell your relatives). Hmmm.... horses that make you go hmmmm......