Introducing the Dancing Hippo ...

Its gotten to the point that I should properly introduce my partner in crime, the Dancing Hippo.  As I said recently, she's gorgeous, solid and athletic; with the bonus that she makes my T-Rex tail look smaller.   I mean, look at that face!  Its adorable!

Soft eyes & flappy ears get me every time.

The Dancing Hippo is my dressage prospect. When I got her, I intended to train and sell fairly quickly.  Turns out she requires a lot more time in the finishing process.  Not so much like clay sculpture, a lot more like marble.  Going to be beautiful but takes a little (lot) more time.

The hippo doesn't respond so well to rushing things...

Hang on, you say?  Thought you were the T-Rex EVENTER?  What's with this prissy, dancing, dressage bullshit?

Well, back in the stone ages, I used to event and jump. (See what I did there? har dee har har) Blah blah blah, hit the ground a few too many times, horse that wouldn't jump consistently, horse without brakes, bills to pay, getting old, stupid knees, and don't forget gravity (that unforgiving bitch)

So, I converted to dressage.  Its an endless puzzle, the methods go back to the dawn of time and NO obstacles. Awesome, its elegant, and perfect for the mildly obsessive.  (Note to friends of the T-Rex, stop laughing at 'mildly'.  Let me have my delusions)

Buy the hippo. Train the hippo. Find out that the hippo is utterly steady about obstacles.  Not so much about open doors, weird sounds or ponies in zebra fly sheets ... again I digress.  Six months in, slowly add in poles, then raised poles then low crosses etc.   Some call it 'desensitizing', I call it the 'boiling a frog' method.

Evidently the hippo enjoys cross training ... and now we're scheduled to drop a toe into the eventing world.  I get my dressage, she gets her obstacles and hopefully the T-Rex doesn't fall into a tar pit ...

Someday soon ...