photo by Carol Mingst
When we moved to Auberry, California we had already bred Marina to Ravens Jafar. We traded Moraddinn for Sadie who was also in foal to Smoking Hot NRG. By this time we had decided that we were going to start breeding, but stud fees are high (at least for us), so we hadn’t really figured out how we were going to be able to afford it. Unbeknownst to me, Rudy had seen an Arabian farm close to one of the places we had looked at before buying the property in Auberry. The summer was spent building fence lines and turning an old carport into four stalls. One day he came home with a video. He said he was looking for another mare for me, but this was no mare on the video. Sandy, who later became a close friend, had no mares she was willing to let go of, but she knew of a young stallion she bred who was for sale. On the video was a beautiful flaxen chestnut stallion. It was love at first sight for both of us. Also on the video was his first foal. Left with his babysitter pony mare Ibn at a little more than a year old left his mark. Trotting along this black pony mare was a half-Arabian colt. He looked more like an Arabian in miniature than a half Arabian. We knew if he could produce that kind of foal with a pony mare he would be a wonderful producing stallion.
Long story short, we went to see him, and knew he was the stallion for us. Earl had four yearlings in a pasture that were simply adorable with the disposition we were looking for. I went into the pasture, and it reminded me of the photos you see of someone being surrounded by kids wanting hugs. Four legged kids all wanting pets, and attentions, curious to see who this new human was surrounded me. Ibn himself was in pasture with a pregnant mare. He was so gentlemanly, trying to woo her (obviously she wasn’t interested) without being aggressive. I had never been around a stallion, and this, my first experience was delightful.
We had a lot to learn about this unique playful child, and child he was. Sandy warned us that the Aulrab lines developed slowly, but with Ibn that was an understatement. Earl told us that he was green broke, but when Rudy put a saddle on him he acted as though he had no clue what to do. Knowing Ibn as I do now it all could have been an act to get out of being ridden, but we’ll never really know. Rudy didn’t have a lot of time, but he tried to teach Ibn the basics. Ibn for his part had no interest at all in learning how to be a proper show horse. I call him my gentleman stallion. As far as he’s concerned his job is to look good for the girls, and get nookie. One of his other jobs was to pester me whenever I was in the stall cleaning up his messes. I constantly had bruises on my arms. He would tip toe in back of me, and grab my arm with his lips. Half the time I would even feel it except as a gentle brush. Later Rudy would ask me where I had gotten that bruise and I would reply I had been cleaning Ibn’s stall. He would put Rudy’s whole hand in his mouth and slobber all over it without ever hurting him. He was great with the babies too. We would let the two little girls roam the property and they would inevitably go visit Ibn. He loved it and would gently caress them as if they were the most precious children on earth even though they weren’t his.
His breeding was unique as well. His dam was a Hearst mare, the Pico line is well known in California. I have articles on the Hearst horses as well as a magazine that featured the horses of San Simon. How we lucked out in finding a stallion with such a prestigious heritage when we could actually afford it is beyond me. I will be forever grateful that Ibn came into our lives.
When it came to breeding we had to call Sandy. Yes we bred Marina, but that was by AI. The vet gave her a happy shot, stuck a thing up her (ultrasound) to check where she was at, and when the time was right, he put goodies inside her. Eighteen days later he gave her another happy shot and checked to see how everything was. Easy.
We had helped Dick our landlord for a while in Castroville when he bred his stallion, but Ghost was such a good boy (and older, and more practiced) that all he did was have me hold the lead with the mare, he brought Ghost around, and that was that, simple. Our mares (Marina mostly) were a little different, and we had no idea how Ibn would be when held with a lead instead of pasture breeding. Better to be safe than sorry. We talked to Sandy and built a teasing stall. The first time Rudy put Ibn in the little teasing stall, and I brought him Marina for teasing, yee gads! Marina wasn’t quite ready. Marina (as we now know) has a very small window of maybe one, or if we’re lucky two days when she’s receptive, at which time she squirts and stands perfectly still. Any other time it’s Kill! Kill! Kill! You want to know what’s funny? Watch a very fertile young stallion squirm, and to try to squeeze himself into a corner, and become invisible when Marina’s not quite ready. It’s a love hate relationship. He loves her, and she hates him, unless she primed and ready. After breeding Marina to Ibn the other mares were easy. I handled the mares, and Rudy handled Ibn. He’s a little bit of a handful the first of the season, but after that he’s very good.
Still, what to do with this gorgeous stallion who produces fantastic babies, and has no interest in doing anything else. We tried sending him to a trainer, for which we paid big bucks to have Ibn learn what to do with an extremely severe bit in his mouth. We took him to a show in Paso Robles, and Rudy of course used a normal bit. I don’t think in all the time Rudy had been showing that he was ever so embarrassed as he was at that show. Ibn did everything he could to try to get out of having to do what he was supposed to do. He even tried kicking Rudy out of the saddle. Rudy was just about ready to excuse himself from the ring when Ibn finally gave in, and started behaving himself. Ibn is the sweetest stallion in the world, he produces foals of extreme quality, and he is just plain lazy. There is no other way to say it. Actually he reminds me of my father. It’s not that he can’t do something, he would just prefer not to. I’m still trying to find something he likes to do, besides wooing the ladies that is. He’s perfectly balanced, extremely athletic, has a wonderful personality, is great with babies, but if we can’t get him out in the public for people to see him, it’s really hard to convince them that he’s a great catch.
Once he decides that he’s not going to get out of doing what he’s supposed to do, riding Ibn is sheer joy. I’m not fond of English, but posting on him is effortless. Putting him into a canter from the trot is so smooth that you can hardly feel it. I swear I could carry a glass of champagne in one hand and never spill so much as a drop he is so smooth. Even when I got him to jump (granted it was low on the ground as it was the first time I ever tried to jump with him) it was easy. Remember I can never get the timing right, so I just let him decide when he was going to jump, and I felt as though we were truly one being gliding in the air. It felt the way I always thought it should feel to jump. If I can get him to like it, I want to try to do more of it, only with the jumps as high as they are supposed to be. I don’t want to show him in jumping, I just want the thrill of flying through the air with him. I’ve often told Rudy that I think the real problem is that we’ve never ridden him consistently so he’s never found the joy in being ridden that is paramount in finding his true talent. With the cold weather I’ve been having pain issues as well as water issues so I haven’t ridden him in a couple of weeks, but we are going to start working again if it kills me. I love riding, and I want him to love it too. He is too great a stallion to not have his day in the spotlight. I just have to convince him of that. One day he will figure it out, and he will discover that there is more to life than getting nookie, and then others will discover what a great stallion he is.
No comments:
Post a Comment