My sister Naomi chose "Pippin" as her first OTTB project. We've had him a year and a half. He just turned 5 this January, so I don't think he had an impressive career on the track and was "recycled out" pretty young. He is such a laid back, easy going, unconcerned, friendly guy! He seriously has one of the best personalities of any horse I have ever known. He was raced as "Bold Commet", but Naomi called him "Pippin" because he reminded us so much of the happy-go-lucky Hobbits Merry and Pippin in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy; and obviously if we'd called him "Merry" people would think he was a girl. Which he is not, of course.
He is extremely curious, and not afraid of much of anything. (Can you tell? He had so thoroughly sniff that tractor all over.)
We started riding him the week after he arrived at our barn from PA; with no issues ever. He's a little fidgety; so one of his nicknames is "Fidgety Feet" after the 1920s song. The first time I took him on a trail, he hesitated at every hill; going down. He wasn't too sure about those; and I almost figure he'd never been ridden anywhere besides the track - which is flat - and certainly never on trails and in the woods. He wasn't scared of the hills; he just wasn't sure what it was or if he could go down safely, carrying a rider. Keep in mind, too, that he is just turning five; so he was only 4 at that point. He went down the hills, slowly, one careful step at a time. It was so cute.
Naomi is doing a great job with him, and we thoroughly enjoy having him in the herd!
No comments:
Post a Comment