Happy Friday! Here is your Friday Flashback, which is actually a recently written piece about a beloved stallion who was foaled at Mary Rein’s Madrona Farm in 1992. Deb Harper of British Columbia, CAN wrote this piece for a Facebook 10 day Equestrian Challenge, and has graciously given us permission to republish it here:
“Madrona Sealect Lad” f. 1992
(Equinox Beaubrook x Meredith Lass)
Madrona Sealect Lad….Just typing his name out conjures up the memories….Although its been 8 years since his death, Lad’s loss affects me every day. Anyone that knows me realizes this subject will turn me into a blithering idiot.
This horse was an once-in-a-lifetime special horse. Lad came to me for training as a feisty 5 yr stallion. Impeccable bloodlines and conformation to die for…a fairly rare full Lippitt Morgan stallion. He stood 14 hands and was a brilliant mahogany bay. Drop dead gorgeous. His owner brought him to a clinic of mine that I was teaching in Grand Forks, in the Kootenays. She’d called me ahead of time and introduced herself, saying she needed help with this horse and could she bring a stallion? Given my love and affinity for stallions of course I said yes…so at great expense, for vet papers, and inspection at the border and necessary paperwork and red tape, she brought him up from Republic, WA. He was silly beyond words back then. She was at her wit’s end. I was scheduled to return for another clinic in the area, and because of his difficult nature, his owner made arrangements then and there, to come back in a couple of months. The plan was for me to work with him over the winter. So she travelled up from Republic a second time. I flew up to teach and we drove back together with Lad in the trailer to the Coast when the clinic was over.
He was extremely testy in the beginning. Almost like he had to prove himself superior. At the time I had no idea that he would become my greatest teacher. I just wanted to help. Both of them. Simply put: “ No” didn’t mean no to him. I was amazed at his resilience….Hmmm….. I often joked that anything I ever thought I knew about horse training, I threw out the window when Lad entered my life.
He was frustrating to say the least. He hadn’t read the same books I had on horse training! I soon learned to think on my feet, and to look beneath the surface to the cause of his reactions and non-reactions. To start with-He was highly sexed and very oral. Felt like I had to learn kung fu to deflect his attempts at biting in the beginning. But I had one very simple rule….No whips/ No chains. And one day after his arrival, when everyone here was still deflecting his teeth, someone came to speak to my husband and brought their little 4 yr old girl. I was busy with another horse in the barn and unbeknownst to me the child found a small step stool and carried it over and plopped it in front of Lad’s stall. At first I was horrified that the father wasn’t paying attention, but I watched in awe as this child cradled this stallion’s head in her arms chattering softly about the ‘pretty pony’. She was clearly in no danger. His eyes were closed as he absorbed the love this tiny child offered him. OMG -A light bulb moment occurred. I knew I had to change my behaviour and instead of expecting trouble I needed to nurture the horse I wanted Lad to become. I needed to show him that I would lavish positive reinforcement and sometimes ignore small infractions because he would test me. Within weeks, I had a changed horse. I think he found it funny to provoke anger in humans…he was THAT smart. But he loved me.
I could write a book about this horse and how much he taught me. Aw…Who am I kidding…there are no words for this kind of harmony. This condensed version for Facebook will never do him justice for what he meant to me. And I need you to know this…
A well thought out/researched breeding by Mary Rein (last foal by AI out of one of her favorite mares) for her Madrona Farm, Lad was bred for a special destiny, one of the few to represent a direct line in the Morgan breed that dated back to the original Justin Morgan from 1798….in other words; he was unique from the day he was born. He represented his lineage well. Rarely beaten in halter, he lived up to his bloodlines. I just I hope he lived up to her dreams for him.
But his real value was in his soul. He was a subtle teacher and sometimes he screamed out what he needed. It was up to me to figure out which was which. We forged a bond like no other. Judy, his owner had him for sale because she was moving to Michigan and at the last moment, she gifted him to me. I was overwhelmed. I was prepared to lose him forever…..He was worth $20,000 and she saw that he needed me and me, him. To this day I am still amazed at the generosity.
There are many show accolades to our credit but that did not define us nor did it matter in the grand scheme of things. Countless Halter Championships, Carriage Championships in the Morgan show world, both provincial AND National awards. (all BAREFOOT I might add, in a breed known for high heels and weighted shoes/pads) In the Open world, he won provincial High Points in Driven Dressage, and Combined Driving. He was honored with a Justin Morgan Award for his breed point accumulation. He was the first Morgan Stallion accepted into the American Sport Pony Registry in North America and for that he had to undergo an inspection by 3 judges and learn ’to jump at liberty’. We practiced 4-5 times…he was a CARRIAGE horse after all and I spent YEARS teaching him to keep all four feet on the ground. On Inspection day he popped over the cross rails several times in the jumping chute at their command…he thought it was great fun…and after the 2nd trip the judge from Germany called out…”Can you yump heem vune more time and can we make zit an Oxer?” “Sure!” I shouted…thinking “Oh crap…what’s an oxer?” They raised the last jump to about 3 foot with a 3’6 spread and off my little stallion went down the chute and SAILED OVER the jump….Wow! No one was more surprised than me! The judge gushed “Theze is whatt we ziz looking for!” He received perfect marks that day for his jump and his natural ability!
Lad’s biggest gift to me was the need for tolerance, understanding of his needs, and patience and allowing the horse to have an opinion on what he needed. He taught me to have faith in my innate ability to do the best for him, even though I would doubt myself. Giving up wasn’t an option. Lad demanded that of me. I needed to speak his language. I spent a lot of time agonizing on the best course of action and prayed for divine intervention. Somehow, we worked together and the journey together was like no other. And he was mine.
His heart gave me everything I wanted, but the relationship and respect came first. We went slow to go fast. We had all the time in the world. He always came on the gallop to be worked. He loved being busy. He loved playing with toys – it was legendary! And Lad often attracted cars/people parked on the side of the road to watch him play. He loved his purple wading pools and he trashed many with his antics over the years. He had a high play drive. Can you say “extrovert”?? His field looked like a mine field with all the toys and if you picked up the broken pieces, he would follow behind the wheelbarrow and pick them back out! “Hey! I wasn’t finished with that!!” In fact, just this morning, I was putting hay out in the field (for Tilly and Lyric) that used to be Lad’s field, and in the mud, churned up after all these years was a small round of purple plastic. It was as though Lad was sending me a sign to tell me to keep sharing his story. A wave of emotion came over me yet again. He was clever and brilliant in so many ways and I loved him so.
Lad was a difficult horse. Let’s not mince words. He was ADHD. He wasn’t easy to show so every win (heck…every PLACING!) felt like a lottery because we worked so hard to obtain it. Why did I even try? It was like he always ‘felt’ inferior and had to work harder to prove himself. Everything he did was fast. I think it took a year before he could do a flat footed walk. I remember one training session when I put him to the carriage and came into the arena where I asked for a halt and we spent the lesson just standing quietly. That was a breakthrough. He thought his name was “No-damnit!” for the first year. LOL. He was a lovely mover than got better with training. Bigger energy (from me) or bigger bits were never the answer. His contentment had to come from within.
Needless to say- He came to me originally as a problem horse, but I uncovered this most extraordinary stallion that filled my life with love and devotion, and took a big piece of me when he died. I often said that people might fail to remember who I was or what my name was, but if you saw Lad just once, he made an impression that was impossible to forget. He had presence oozing out of every pore and for all his masculinity there was a trustworthy horse that needed love and affection and trust because he gave it back in spades. And yes….he was ALL stallion but I could ride him in public, ride him bareback in a halter, my young grand-niece Taila learned ‘how to clean a horse’s sheath’ using him…I could show him anywhere, and could even pony my miniature horse gelding River off his back. He gave the occasional lesson. He did driving demos. He gave a lunge line lesson to a 5 year old. He gave people carriage rides. Well-known small pony driver on an International scale Muffy Seaton drove him once in a clinic she was teaching and declared “Wow…he’s like driving a Cadillac!”
To sum up Lad… well…It was a perfect example of trust and harmony and the importance of a bond. To quote Pat Parelli…”Love, Language and Leadership in equal doses”. I’m not sure who brought more into the relationship but I know he was my heart horse. 10 years together was clearly not enough… In a way, he died so others could live. Amanda Kroeker-Friesen will know exactly what I mean…. And this little glimpse into our relationship is not valid to the depth of how I feel. He needs a book. Oh damn….my eyes are leaking again.
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Note from Heather Jackson, a page admin: Thank you to Deb Harper for this moving piece. In my e-mail exchange with Deb, she also shared the following additional information:
Just to fill in some of the information….Lad died of metabolic acidosis. He died in my arms, 25 minutes after the vet left saying ‘he’d turned a corner and would be alright’….he missed the diagnosis completely and years later, missed it a second time with a client’s horse…After this SAME vet gave up on her horse, she brought him to me and I was the one that saved his
life, because of Lad…I knew what to do. Ginger was 28 at the time…I took photos to that vet clinic 2 weeks after he was with me and threw them down on the counter….The receptionist gasped…”We thought he’d be dead by now”…so he learned NOTHING with Lad’s death. I am still bitter. However….Lad’s death had me seek the services of an equine nutritionist and she was greatly surprised that my diet was good before and that he shouldn’t have had the acidosis issues with a forage diet that was 87%…however, with her help, it is now 98% forage. All my horses, from 16 hands (Lad’s warmblood son Trak x Morgan) to 28 inches are all on her program. Lad died so I could learn and help others. I have saved many horses, and do rehab work here on the farm. A mini horse rescue sends me her hardest cases for rehab. If you wish, you can make my knowledge available to others through you ….Morgans are prone to metabolic issues and maybe I can help someone else. No one should know the anguish of losing a horse …Lad wants me to help others….I know he does.
Deb can be contacted via this e-address: 2minis@telus.net
