Howard County Chopper

So considering that the whole point of this blog is to tell you all about how I've been able to ride on the cheap in college, I figured it was high time to tell you the story of a 14hh Haflinger named Howard County Chopper. Affectionately known as Chopper, Chops, or the Chopster, she is my favorite pony of all time, and a rescue project horse that I trained for a winter.

She earned her name on Dec 28, 2010, when I attended my first auction ever at New Holland. From what I had heard, it was one of the worst kill auctions on the East Coast, although it had cleaned up its act in recent years. We Gentle Giants volunteers were on the lookout for drafts at risk of the meat man. It wasn't as dismal as I thought it would be--the horses were tied up in two rows facing the walls where they had water and hay available, but it was definitely not a happy environment.  Some of the horses were in bad shape, especially hard keepers like the OTTBs, who were underweight and nervous with all the commotion and unfamiliar horses. I knew this was the last stop before Mexico or Canada for the horses who were not lucky enough to be purchased by private owners or rescues, and it broke my heart that we couldn't help them all.

Chopper caught the Gentle Giants riding instructor's eye when another person at the auction tried to pet her. The appeal was undeniable--she was a ball of winter pony fluff, except for her ears which someone had shaved bald to show that she clipped (not exactly humane in freezing weather...). Chopper lashed out at her would-be admirer, practically taking a chunk out of her arm.

When the instructor went up to check her out, Chops was all lovey dovey. She knew a good home when she saw it. I promised Christine, the owner of Gentle Giants, that I would put some miles on her over my winter break from school. She was ours for $350.

 "My" first pony! photo via GG/Wayback Machine

She was once used to pull firewood, but someone must have hopped on her a couple times, since she knew the cues for forward and whoa. Her steering was seeeerrriously rusty though.  Here's a video of her second ride. She looks so strung out and small. I remember she would just rocket around at a supertrot until you "ran out of quarters."

I worked with her all that winter, and she soon settled into life at the rescue. When Spring Break rolled around, she had transformed into the Barbie pony I spent my childhood dreaming of.

Even I, as a HJ girl, was not going to pull that gorgeous blonde mane so I braided her up most days.

 I knew that I was too tall and that I looked rather silly on her. But I adored her. She had a wonderful temperament, loved attention, and was very willing but also smart enough to make you work for it. Though she improved tremendously with steering, sometimes those issues mysteriously resurfaced when she decided to be done for the day...

Right now Chops is either in a foster home or back at Gentle Giants (can't remember)--she was adopted out on trial, but developed lameness issues during the trial period so it was a no go. I hope she does find a little girl to love her, to kiss her sweet little nose, and to get her prettied up for occasional leadline classes. She is such a special horse, and so easy to love. Even if she isn't as sound as she once was, I think she proves that rescued horses have just as much to give as others.

And funnily enough, she hasn't bitten anyone since the day we rescued her.

Go Chops Go!

EDIT 6/7/2012: Chops is at Gentle Giants with persistent lameness...so although leadline classes are probably not in her future, she does have an early retirement and a safe home, which is just as good.

All photos from previous versions of the GG website on the Wayback Machine.

Great ride, clean boots, and now...

...sitting down to homework after a day of doing things that were much more fun. I worked at the farm twice this week, which apparently meant that I was allowed to join in a group lesson today! Score! We worked on straightness at the trot and canter, and I almost got a gallop out of lazy-pants Manly Stanley on the long sides of the ring.

I'm feeling much more confident at speed now that I'm riding three times a week--there was a period last fall where I was very nervous and unsure of myself. I think part of the problem was that I was working so much on top of school to pay for the lessons, and I was so overloaded that the stress was manifesting in my riding. Frustration and disappointment were exactly the opposite of what I hoped to get out of lessons...so I'm glad that I've found ways to ride without working myself to the point where I can't enjoy it.

Another bonus of today was that I got some zen time to clean my boots in the sunshine. They were looking rather disgusting after the rainy, muddy weather we've had over the past few months. Thankfully there was no mildew--although I hate my Ariat field boots (they don't fit right, but they were the only ones without zippers, and I have a weird aversion to zippers on my tall boots), I don't have the money to replace them.

Clean, clean, gloriously clean!
Well, not the breeches...

Is it wrong to love doing boring chores? Cleaning tack allows me to get in that same relaxed state of mind that mucking does. Maybe my attitude will change once I get a horse of my own, but for now I'll take it.