Living up to Expectations

I am learning a new trick that fits right in line with all my superstitions and fear of jinxing myself. Any time I tell someone that a horse I have raised is a good boy--they make a liar out of me by pulling some dunderhead stunt. This happened with Genuine Appeal, and some others I have raised.

If I tell the trainer all the horse's shortcomings, such as being stubborn, hardheaded, flighty, etc...they also prove me wrong every single time. Haida Girl was a perfect example of this--I was TERRIFIED of this horse from the time she was a year old until we sent her to the Secret Weapon (the first time we used him, by the way). She intimidated me for some reason, I was buffaloed by her from day one--and she knew it. She got her shots in a drive by fashion and her farrier work was handled by the master Marvin, and not me---we had to run her from pasture to pasture or into a stall to do anything with her. I warned the Secret Weapon about all of this horrid behavior, including the fact that I was shocked we got her in a trailer to deliver her to him in the first place. She turned out to be one of the best horses I have ever owned and the only ones better than her have 15 years of trainnig and experience on her. The Weapon even tried to buy her, and he has some great horses.

So, bottom line, I am learning. My new plan is to always talk shit about them so they will make me look like a fool when they do right. I would rather look like a fool and have a good horse than BE right and have a jackass for a horse. Get my logic here? I just think I failed to implement this plan in time.

All that being said, I just talked to the Secret Weapon and asked about my baby boy Hawkeye. As you know, he has only been there since Saturday evening. I told the Secret Weapon at the time that he is stubborn like his mama, but over all a good boy, very curious and brave and very physical. Error on my part evidently--too much talking good about him.

He started laughing a little, which is always an interesting response. He said the biggest news is that Hawk has beaten himself up pretty good. I say, "how can you tell?" since he was all chewed up by the young mares he had been running with, anyway. Evidently Hawk threw the mother of all fits when he was tied and banged his fool head into something, thus causing his eyes to swell up. I bet he is super handsome now!

If that is not the reincarnation of his sister, Genuine Appeal, I do not know what is. For all I know, I am still paying off her damages to her training barn--tying was not her best thing either! For that matter, doing anything you said was not her best thing. Flinging herself on the ground and playing dead was her best thing for months.

Good news on this point is that it is all Xanadu that is instilling this in her children. Thank God---I would hate it if all Slybabies were this way--can you imagine 9 or 10 babies all banging their heads into the wall during Baby Boot Camp every fall? That would drive me to drink and bang my head right along side them. I can handle one pulling that stunt, especially since Xan's babies are so pretty and put together right, and if Genuine Appeal is any indication, full of talent...it is a small price to pay if it turns out in the end.

When Genuine Appeal was acting a fool last year, we blamed it all on her sire, Genuine Doc, as he is known for siring some obstinate babies with bad ass attitudes (Shining Spark being a prime example of the nasty attitude). Now with Hawk pulling some of the same stunts, it is evident that it was not all Genuine Doc there either, as Xanadu has thrown her two genetic cents in the mix as well. Surely to God though, Sly will temper that in her so Hawkeye won't be the menace to society that Genuine Appeal was. Let's cross our fingers on that one. Hawkeye is clearly not as mentally fragile as Genuine Appeal he was--if you made her mad for whatever reason, you might as well have written the day off---she reminds me of some people I know in that she will not back down from a fight even if she has long forgotten what it was about.

The Secret Weapon says Hawk has been stubborn about some things, but others he soaks right up. He is not done bucking yet and is giving it a better go than ol' Radar did--which evidently was only one half assed hump (makes sense since it takes work to buck and he is happily lazy).

At the end of our conversation, I told the Weapon to pretend I had not called and I will go merrily along my way and check back later!