IN MEMORY OF A GREAT HORSE - LUDO

Yesterday, December 4, I lost a great horse and friend – Ludo. He lost his battle against the “strangulating lipoma” as his body just couldn't get the small intestine working again. It was an incredibly hard decision for me to make, but I wanted to do the most humane thing for Ludo and end a losing battle before it got too hard on him.

(Ludo in his first Prix St. George test with Anke Boersma)

I've been sad for days, and feel totally drained right now. I've got a headache, my face feels swollen, and my eyes are puffy. But I didn't want to continue to be sad when there were so many good things to remember about Ludo. So I'm drinking a glass of champagne to what a wonderful horse he was.....and to all the good things we did together (and if I get a little drunk, maybe it won't hurt so much).

Ludo was born on 5/23/1993. His sire was Zortin and his dam was Iris, both Dutch Warmbloods. Zortin was more famous as a jumper, and Anke Boersma imported many Zortin offspring, as they had talent and good minds. Never saw a Zortin baby who wasn't level headed and tried hard. And that is exactly the characteristics that Ludo had – always tried his hardest to do the job, and was never mean, stubborn or nasty. And he looked just like Zortin.

Ludo's life was made good and full by my friend and trainer, Anke Boersma. She imported Ludo from Holland. She had tried to buy him once from the owner of the mare, but they had plans to make him a jumper. A year later on her next visit, they had not had time to work with Ludo and sold him to Anke. When he arrived at Veritas Farm at the age of 4, of course we all had to look at the new “youngsters”. I thought he looked nice, but wasn't that impressed. I do remember his tail had been eaten by another horse – but it grew into the most beautiful, full tail.

At this time, I owned Going Places, my event horse. Her days as a show horse were numbered because of a degenerative lung problem which made it hard for her to breath. So I watched Ludo as Anke trained him, and he looked nicer and nicer (shows you what I know about young horses). So I decided I should buy this horse before anyone else saw him – and I did. I rode him once with Anke, who felt that this would be a good horse for me.....and was she ever right. With Anke's training, he was just the perfect horse for me.

For years, my thought was to get a lot of training on Ludo (of course, with Anke) and then sell him when he was 9 or 10 for twice what I paid for him. But as that time came, I knew that I was having too much fun with Ludo to sell him then. And that feeling continued until I realized he was my horse for life. He was not for sale to anyone.

(Ludo and myself doing a Third Level dressage test)

Ludo had a personality!! He did so many funny little things that friend, Meredith Wilson, said that we should write a children's book about Ludo. She thought he was like a large “Thewell”.....a cartoon, very fat pony, who always gets into trouble. I used to ask Anke if he was really a Dutch “Quarter Horse” because of the size of his rump. But he was just a stocky boy, very easy keeper.

("Thewell")

Ludo used to do what I called “the Ludo shuffle”......when unhooked from the cross ties, he would take one little baby step after another like he thought I wouldn't notice that he was leaving. And he still did that. He loved to put things in his mouth, so when you put on the bridle, you had to make sure that the reins or chin strap didn't end up in his mouth. And when putting on his halter, he liked to play the little game “see if you can get the nose band past my open mouth”.

He also loved the plastic apples. At Veritas Farm (where he spent all but 5 ½ years of his life) the stall doors had a metal pole in the middle of the door, and I attached a chain to this pole with the apple on the end. Ludo would wrap the chain around this post so the apple was up against the pole, and then balance the apple on his nose – sometimes for as long as a half hour (where was the camera when you needed it). He always tried to amuse himself. When he was bored, he would “spring” up and down on his front legs shaking his head up and down. He also liked it when you held your hand up, and he would run his upper lip up and down your hand really fast, flapping it (but be careful – if not watching, he might try to take a nip).

Ludo was a talented horse. At the 1999 NA/WPN (American department of the Dutch Warmblood/KWPN studbook), Ludo was the eight highest scoring gelding in the country for confirmation and movement. I was a very proud owner.

Ludo was shown in dressage from Training Level to Prix St. George (all under the training of Anke Boersma). About 4 years ago Ludo had some lameness problems when Anke was ready to move him up to Intermediare I, and I was going to try Fourth Level, Test 1. While he had problems with Passage and Piaffe, he was lead change machine. They were easy for him (not so easy for me).

And he was really a good jumper, although he was never shown as a jumper. Free jumping was a part of all the horses' education (as a break from dressage – for both the horses and us), and Ludo had fabulous form over fences. On the trails, trees would fall across the trail and we would use that as a little jump for fun.

In June of 2010, Ludo and I moved to Montana, with Ludo living at “Heart of Sky Ranch” with my friends Jane and Jack Clapp. I think he really enjoyed his time in the “Big Sky” country. He was retired, but I still rode him several times a week. His tendon injuries had healed with time off, and for a while he was sound enough to think about showing again.

But I decided he had done that job for a long time, and now he should enjoy himself. We hacked in the HUGE fields on their cattle ranch, and would throw in some lead changes or half passes when it felt right, while viewing the fabulous scenery of the Mission Mountains.

So here is to you, Ludo. You always made my day brighter, and I loved getting on you even if we only walked. You made me laugh as you tried to untie the lead rope knot while I tacked you up, or you would slyly move your head to try to grab the corner of my coat. I love you dear friend, and I know you are now in horse heaven with your pals Cody and Tommy, who both went to heaven before you but I know they will once again make you welcome.

(Ludo with Cody and Tommy)