In which we remember the early days of the Dragon Adventure

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This photo, taken on Fiddle's first day with me, popped up on my memory app yesterday. 

Fiddle, age 4 (almost 5) in 2006 (almost 2007)

It got me thinking about how very much has changed--so Jim and I staged a re-shoot.

Fiddle, age 22 (almost 23) in 2024 (almost 2025)

It's easy to lose track of progress, especially over eighteen years. So I'm gonna look backwards a little and do some comparisons.

2006

• Fiddle was 4 years old, strong-willed and fairly certain that she could bully me into doing what she wanted.  
• She was a kicker (at people and horses).  
• She would stomp dogs given an opportunity.  
• It took (minimum) 2 people to get her into the horse trailer (3 people was better).  
• She was so clumsy that the vet and farrier both advised me not to put shoes on her right away, because she would definitely injure herself.
• She had carried a rider, sort of.  

Photo provided by Greener Pastures, probably Springtime 2005ish

• She didn't want to hurt herself, and she didn't especially want to hurt her rider HOWEVER she had limited communication skills and was pretty sure she out-ranked most humans, and she was very dubious about accepting me as a leader.
• She was still growing (hence the clumsiness), and stood about 15.1 hands high. I was about 15.2.
• She had trained in harness, but we don't know if she ever raced.  We do know that she never brought home a paycheck, hence her donation to Greener Pastures in 2005 at age 3.
• Jacqui (her original owner after GP) called her "Sassy" which I think is sort of like naming your boat "Titanic."
• She was brave-ish.  But she didn't know much, and she wasn't sure if she could trust anybody.
• She had done very little work on uneven ground, and wasn't sure how that was even possible.

The outdoor arena at the old barn, probably 2007.

• Her ovaries were probably starting to cause some pain at times, which took me YEARS to recognize.
• She didn't tolerate being touched, poked, stroked or brushed south of her shoulders.  We fixed that straightaway.
• She preferred most mares to most geldings (there were exceptions), and didn't give a rat's ass about the resident stallion.  
• Crossing water wasn't impossible, but it required another horse in front to clear the path of alligators and sea monsters.
• We kept a lot of people away from her, recognizing that inconsistent treatment made her attempts at bullying worse.  We only allowed people to handle her if we were POSITIVE that they would break her ears off and stuff them up her nose if she pinned them at humans.  This part of the training took years.

2025

• Fiddle is now 23 (racehorse birthday).  She is still strong-willed.  She no longer tries to bully me, but she does feel free to give me suggestions at times.
• Her ground manners are absolutely trustworthy.  I can hand her to a total stranger and know that she will behave.  Veterinarians love working with her because she is an accommodating good citizen.

She loves babies of any species.

• She tolerates absolutely any kind of shenanigans from a horse she considers a "baby". I can sometimes lie about a horse and convince her that an adult horse is a baby.  If she thinks a horse is being stupid and old enough to know better, she might try to kick sense into it, which is usually not what I want.
• She tolerates/ignores dogs, even when they are right up in her business.
• She is now 16 hands tall.  I am still 15.2 hands.

It's a long way to the top of this mare.

• I've tried ground driving her a few times, and she thinks I'm an unskilled amateur. This is valid.
• Those cystic ovaries are gone.  (So are my cranky hip joints)
• I can touch, poke, brush anywhere on her body, but the sarcoids inside her ears are painful now so I don't touch there unless it's important.
• She still prefers mares, but also goats.

Grandpa Goat was her favorite

• We have traversed mountain trails, swamps, roads, washouts, creeks, rivers, ocean beaches, clear cuts, heavy brush, and everything else the region could throw at us.
• Water is not an issue.

Swimming in an alpine lake, 2021

• She self-loads into any trailer I point her at.  I'm pretty convinced she would load into a soup can if I held the lid open.

My trailer isn't big, but it's big enough!

Most importantly, she takes care of both of us.  Today on the trail she wanted me to know there was a ... monster ... and I should consider a detour.  

I asked her to stand firm and (eventually) proceed further.  She trusted me to protect us both. Our communication was clear and easy.

All this in just 18 short years.  Who could've guessed?

I never did see the monster.  Maybe we scared it away.