Dino

2000 Warmblood X Paint Gelding 16 H

Old Bubba wasn’t getting any younger and a decade ago or so, I decided it was time to start looking for his replacement. It seemed simple enough, but Bubba was pretty versatile - competing in various disciplines and then heading out on a 3 day overnight trail ride.
At age 29 and minus most of his teeth, he had no intention of slowing down one little bit. Mind you, he wasn’t perfect but on the other hand, when you are mounted on a semi-retired and highly opinionated thoroughbred the rides are never dull. I hoped that Bubba would last forever . . .

So there I was, one splendid September day, standing in a tree lined Almonte pasture attempting to size up a bay colt who was for all purposes invisible as he hid behind his mother from all angles. Surely, with a warmblood sire and a paint mother this young colt could be molded into a fine english/western mount and maybe someday he’d be able to fill all four of old Bubba’s shoes. We all know that wishful thinking is the mainstay of the horse industry so with a hope springs eternal mindset I made plans for my newest addition to SkyLine Farm.

Sweet Marie and her colt arrived a few days after the deal was settled and were immediately turned loose in the pasture. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time but in the days that followed I could not get anywhere near this colt who was growing like a weed and getting larger every day. Big and rangy with an outline that some described as pre-historic in proportion - this colt had more than enough capacity his huge chest and barrel to conceal an aircraft carrier or two. Or so it seemed. Thus, in no time at all, this colt named himself - Dino it was.

Mom was wiley and unco-operative so that when it came to trying to get hand on Dino she would vigorously shove him away and hoard for herself any treats on offer. Plan B wasn’t much more successful since the mare clearly preferred the open range to the stable. Our attempts to bring them both inside for further education - quickly degraded into a fast moving rodeo sound effects and all. So, with the help of a burly neighbour we finally managed to corner and halter the colt while a third person briefly anchored the mare. Luckily in Dino’s case, simple pleasures prevailed and we discovered that there was a direct line to his heart through his stomach. It took exactly one bite of grain to convince him to dump mom and take all future guidance from a plastic pail.

As a yearling Dino hit the road in order to broaden his education and he attended his first Sport Horse Breeders show by the shores of the Ottawa river. He was certainly no match for his gleaming and beautifully conformed competition but since the whole point of the exercise was to fine tune his manners, we worried not about how we would fair against the rest. A hot and buggy day came to a close and to our astonishment - we heard Dino being called back to the ring. As it turned out that Dino had been named the Best Male at Show. As the presentation came to its completion, two people carried a massive trophy over to where we stood dumbfounded in the ring. The judge too was literally speechless and we all stood silently as the trophy was handed over to its new owner. Dino, on the other hand, oblivious to all of this ceremony, continued to do his best to evade the clouds of bugs by making repeated attempts to head back to the safety of the trailer with or without me. Who knew - that when you are the only male horse in a show filled with fillies anything can happen. We slithered our way back to the trailer trophy in tow.

And so Dino’s education continued. We soon learned that as big as Dino’s chest was - it could hardly contain the throbbing of an even bigger heart. In reality he was just a big furry bay Care Bear - friendly, affectionate and goofy. And despite his short comings he always tried so hard to understand what we wanted of him. With practice he became a safe and reliable mount and even learned to pull a home made sleigh. Its entirely true that he has just about captured every heart of anyone who has known him and no more so than Emma.

Dino and Emma met at Kemptville College where Emma was pursuing the Equine Studies Program and she arranged to lease Dino for her second year of study . Dino carried Emma successfully to her EC Level 1 Coach certification and in the most innocent of ways completely stole her heart in the process. It was easy for all to see that the feeling was mutual - Dino never took his eyes off Emma if she was anywhere near or in the barn. They were an awesome team over fences as tiny Emma propelled his huge bulk toward the fences and together they left the ground behind as they soared over the rail. Then, as they awaited their next turn, Emma would let Dino watch the other horses do their rounds. He would watch each horse ride the course with all the intensity of a sports commentator - clearly he enjoyed also jumping as a spectator sport. At the end of the spring semester, Emma graduated and the two tearfully parted but she’s surely never forgotten as Dino and I still think of Emma fondly to this day.

Dino has taught us that life happens while you make other plans and its best to enjoy the ride along the way. It has been a full and wonderful partnership but as Dino’s warmblood genes asserted themselves, he slowly outgrew his opportunity to suit my western plans. Once again though, Dino’s friends have come to his aid and on his stablemates’ web pages you can read all about how they fill in when it time to saddle up western stye.