Nils

Just like people are all unique, so are horses. This morning's New York Times has an interesting Op Ed piece by Sean Clancy, a horse racing journalist, about racing. Today is the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown. Mr. Clancy says:

"Horses are just like people; there are smart ones, dumb ones, miserable ones, honest ones, simple ones, cheats, freaks, leaders and laggards. They have good days, bad days and plenty of average days. They can be brilliant one minute, horrible the next. They can remember something that happened a year ago and forget what they learned yesterday. They’ll walk placidly into a metal starting gate that clangs and rings when the doors open, and then be scared of a bucket that wasn’t there yesterday."

I just think this is really interesting, and true! It describes us as all the contradictions you can think of - strong but fragile, brave but flighty. We are all unique! Today I start a series of posts profiling the horses of Fish Bowl Farm.

Nils
Nils is my half brother; we have the same sire (dad). Nils was foaled in 1989 in Stehekin, Washington. He is a brown dun Norwegian Fjord, so he looks like me. Nils is fun. He is one of those horses who adjusts well to his rider, but if the rider doesn't ask for things just right he ignores them. Some riders think he's stubborn, but really, would you know what someone wanted to do if they pushed you and pulled you? He is just waiting for the aids to be clear, and then he is light and forward and happy. Nils lived with his previous family for fifteen years! He came to Fish Bowl in 2007 when he was 18 years young. Nils is about 14.1 and weighs about 1000 lbs or more. He is really sturdy, but his body shape is more like a regular horse than a Fjord. His legs are short and very stout - he is a wonderfully heavy boned fellow. When Emily went to Wenatchee to meet him, she rode Nils for only about 10 minutes in a round pen and said "ok, I think I've seen enough." The nice owner who was sadly selling him was worried that she didn't like him, but Emily quickly explained that he was just perfect! The owner asked if she wanted to take him on a trail ride to see what he was like outside an arena, and they went for a short walk off the property and Nils was very happy and fun. He loves trail rides. He is a great longe horse - he goes steadily around and around for riders to learn balance and feel in the saddle. His canter is fun and his lateral (sideways) movement is really good. In the paddocks and the fields Nils is the boss of his group. I try to boss him a little, but he's older than I am and takes great pride in managing other horses. He knows he's not the biggest horse, but he is still the boss of the smaller horses. He is a fiend for carrots! Nils doesn't get treats very much because he gets so excited to have food that he is not very polite. Can you imagine? I don't know any other horses that are like that ...except maybe for me! Nils loves to go places - to shows, parades, other places to ride, and he gets really happy and energetic, but always keeps his wits about him. The only time he spooks is when he is concentrating hard for a student and something startles him, but he always calms right down. Nothing really bothers him too much. He is my neighbor and my "brother of another mother" and I love Nils.