Meet ‘Al’

… because everyone needs an easy keeper. Morgane Schmidt Gabriel’s twisted sense of humor combined with an early display of Halloween decor and a perfect storm of hilarity was born.

Recently my clients and I acquired a new “project horse” and because we’re all horse crazy and love to share, I posted about him on Facebook.

And the Interwebz apparently approved. Here’s my original post recreated below (and no worries, Al is of the Decorative Halloween breeding; no actual remains were desecrated for my amusement).

All photos by Morgane Schmidt Gabriel.

Diane Killeen, Jessica Paul, Seana Adamson, and I are super excited to introduce you all to our newest prospect, Al (yes, short for “Alpo”). He’s of medium height with lots of bone. Age is still a question, he’s likely older than we think, but he’s pretty much guaranteed not to be able to kill himself. Here are some pictures from his first day at Star Street.

Look at his lovely, and unique ear bones….

Super stoic guy. Stands really well on cross ties. Could use some more weight on him…

Saddle fitting’s is a bit tricky. Will need to call in Stacy Berger of Custom Saddlery to help with that.

AL is a really cheerful dude. Look at him smile for the camera!

Loves cookies…but they go right through him.

We did some lunge work today. He isn’t very forward…will need to work on that.

Turn out after lunging. The horses next door don’t seem to want to be his friend. Poor AL.

Look at his eyes light up for attention!

Stay tuned to watch AL’s progress! Maybe we can even get him jumping!

The original Facebook post can be seen here. Feel free to follow along as Al’s training progresses and he learns fun things like showmanship, standing tied, trailering, and lurking in the barn bathroom in the dark!

If you’d like your very own Al, his breeder, Home Depot, has some siblings creeping about.

Go Riding!

Morgane Schmidt Gabriel is a 32-year-old teacher/artist/dressage trainer/show announcer/ who still hasn’t quite decided what she wants to be when she grows up. A native Floridian, she now lives in Reno, NV, where she’s been able to confirm her suspicion that snow is utterly worthless. Though she has run the gamut of equestrian disciplines, her favorite is dressage. She was recently able to complete her USDF bronze and silver medals and is currently working on her gold. Generally speaking her life is largely ruled by Woody, a 14.2 hand beastly quarter horse, Willie, a now beastly 5-year-old Dutch gelding, and Stormy, her friend’s nearly all white paint gelding with a penchant for finding every mud hole and pee spot in existence. Visit her website at www.theideaoforder.com.