If you’re lucky enough to own a standardbred you may be able to relate to some of these things…..
- Nearly having your feet trampled flat when your super-friendly standardbred comes belting over for a good cuddle session in the paddock. Toes are overrated!
- Overtaking friends during a hoon – them galloping, your standardbred whizzing by at the trot (lol!)
- Going straight from the trail, to the dressage arena, over some jumps, out on the endurance circuit, for a splash in the dam and then into the show ring all in a week. Standardbreds are so versatile!
- The first time someone gives your horse an outward compliment and doesn’t follow it up with “for a standardbred” (i.e. “your horse is so beautiful… for a standardbred”, or “wow your horse is an amazing jumper….for a standardbred.”) Oh yes, we standardbred people are fluent in ‘backhander compliments’ – you’ve gotta laugh!
- That indescribable feeling when, after much hard work retraining your standardbred, your horse rolls from a slow trot into a balanced, rhythmic canter. Cue some serious fist-pumping!
*If you’re looking for some help teaching a standardbred to canter, check out our Standardbred Canter Mini Training by clicking here
- Being able to look up a standardbred’s freeze brand for free, via a quick glance at their neck and performing a quick and easy brand search.
*Click here if you’d like to look up your standardbred’s freeze brand!
- Watching horses baulk at the water jump, whilst your ‘dolphin’ barrels in, paws and tries to roll (complete with saddle, rider and all!)
-
- Seeing mates lugging piles of extra gear (martingales, special bits/bridles and various other contraptions) out to ride, whilst you carry your plain snaffle and saddle. Standardbreds keep it simple!
- Breaking all the OH&S rules by not taking a halter when you head out to rug your horse in the middle of the paddock.
- When you’re wearing your standardbred clothing at the supermarket/horse competition/swanky 5 star restaurant and you notice a passerby glance at your top and then shoot you a raised eyebrow and look of approval. Standardbred fans are everywhere! #ChampStampRepresent
- That giggle that comes when you’re having a riding lesson with a general standardbred coach and they tell you to “slow the trot”, when, in fact, you’ve been fanging your fresh off-the-tracker around the arena at a pace. *Grin*
- Seeing scary horse feed bills and realising how lucky you are you own a ‘good doer’.
- That moment someone walks up to your horse from the near side and asks: “wow, what a beautiful horse. Is he a warmblood?” Bonus points if they look utterly horrified when you break the news that they’ve actually been admiring a standardbred (beautiful horses without the price tag – winning!)
- The sense of satisfaction when you receive your dressage test and there is a solid 8 /9/10 score next to your canter movement and an equally impressive score + glowing review in the ‘overall horse marks’ section.
- Understanding that a standardbred backing up to you in the paddock is not always a kick warning, but sometimes a cheeky request for a good butt-scratch!
- Realising that your standardbred may just be part-gazelle after flying over your first jump together.
- Having a non-horsey guest come to visit and deciding on a whim to throw them aboard your standardbred…. because your horse is totally awesome like that!
- Hearing your horse friends talk about ‘working down’ their horses before rides and thinking: “pffft, who could be bothered with all that?!”
- Finding your standardbred snoozing in the paddock and deciding to delay your ride to take some time to lie down, lean up against your mate and spend some time chilling together.
- Running your fingers through 4 inches of hardy standardbred winter coat, whilst others spend small fortunes on extra rug layers.
- That moment when you dig up an old photo or video and realise that all your hard work and commitment to your standardbred has paid off.
You know that every single glorious moment is because of all of your hard work, dedication and those many hours spent fine-tuning skills in the back paddock.
*If you’re looking for a beautiful place to document your standardbred retraining journey and milestones, check out our Standardbred Journals by clicking here
The realisation of how far you and your standradbred have come as a team is more satisfying than any ribbon or trophy.
Learn more about standardbreds….
