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Description
Life had been rather simple for the seven year old stallion since his retirement. His stud career had held mixed results; the majority were unshowed, one filly had a halfhearted attempt at a racing career before being sent off to get retrained for Dressage, and one colt was burning up the track, setting records and coming in first everywhere he ran. When the colt had encountered such success, Cat had hoped that his stud career would pick up again, but that had yet to happen. Blade had never been one for the quiet life, not even when he was a foal. He lived for adventure, and since his life had been short on travel and adventure, Blade had began throwing tantrums, breaking fences, chewing on stalls, and harassing other horses. It wasn't as if he had just been left out as a pasture ornament- he went out on the trails often, he was even occasionally breezed on the track or brought in during the younger horses's training. It just wasn't enough.

Cat had decided enough was enough. It was time to look into getting him into a second career. The only question was what would he be good at? His dam was a champion Dressage horse and one of his foals showed promise, but it was difficult to imagine the feisty stallion in such a controlled environment. For the same reason, show and hunter jumping was ruled out. Competitive trail racing was considered, but the opportunities that provided were limited. That left endurance. Blade was put on a regular training schedule, and with all the extra attention he was getting, his bad manners decreased. He was still a handful- that was sure to never change- but the path of destruction he left in his wake was minimal. He seemed passionate about the long rides, especially when others were around. Finally he was entered in a small local show, meant more for experience than prestige. There were a few hiccups, but for his first experience, he did wonderfully. He was ready to once again show in the world.

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Training picture for Synyster Blade, my first ever HARPG foal, in Endurance.

Description
Life had been rather simple for the seven year old stallion since his retirement. His stud career had held mixed results; the majority were unshowed, one filly had a halfhearted attempt at a racing career before being sent off to get retrained for Dressage, and one colt was burning up the track, setting records and coming in first everywhere he ran. When the colt had encountered such success, Cat had hoped that his stud career would pick up again, but that had yet to happen. Blade had never been one for the quiet life, not even when he was a foal. He lived for adventure, and since his life had been short on travel and adventure, Blade had began throwing tantrums, breaking fences, chewing on stalls, and harassing other horses. It wasn't as if he had just been left out as a pasture ornament- he went out on the trails often, he was even occasionally breezed on the track or brought in during the younger horses's training. It just wasn't enough.

Cat had decided enough was enough. It was time to look into getting him into a second career. The only question was what would he be good at? His dam was a champion Dressage horse and one of his foals showed promise, but it was difficult to imagine the feisty stallion in such a controlled environment. For the same reason, show and hunter jumping was ruled out. Competitive trail racing was considered, but the opportunities that provided were limited. That left endurance. Blade was put on a regular training schedule, and with all the extra attention he was getting, his bad manners decreased. He was still a handful- that was sure to never change- but the path of destruction he left in his wake was minimal. He seemed passionate about the long rides, especially when others were around. Finally he was entered in a small local show, meant more for experience than prestige. There were a few hiccups, but for his first experience, he did wonderfully. He was ready to once again show in the world.

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Training picture for Synyster Blade, my first ever HARPG foal, in Endurance.