DEANSTON SINGLE MALT | 7 YEAR OLD QUARTER HORSE GELDING | SPRINGFIELD,MO

Dean, Deanston Single Malt, is a Quarter Horse Gelding, his AQHA registered oame is Kat on Stiltz. Dean was bred by Dr. Sarah Phillips, DVM. He is out of Kat man Zip and Go Silver Smooth.

Dean is a one of a kind boy. He barely has any chrome and looks very different than your typical full blooded quarter horse. People rarely guess that he is a quarter horse. Dean will take anything out of his owner, Norell’s, back pocket if she bends over or turns around. In true Dean fashion he is very gentle. He also loves to people and will follow you around the pasture. I can attest to this fact as Dean currently gets turned out with my horses at Katalyst Sporthorses, and every time I go out into the pasture he is right in my pocket following me around.

Norell has shown Dean in the hunters and jumpers, both unrated and USEF rated shows. The pair is hoping to do some eventing in the near future. Noreen’s favorite thing about riding him is once you get going and he is comfortable, he gives it his all and bares with Norell through everything. Norell loves that she feels like they can try new things and mix it up.

Norell first found Dean when his trainer, Karissa of Katalyst Sport Horses, asked her during a lesson if she would be interested in a training project. Norell wasn’t in the market for a horse, had just started taking lessons again, and didn’t think she was in the right time of her life to own a horse.

“About a year before, our vet Dr. Sarah Phillips (she has since moved) who bred Quarter Horses, had sold a yearling and his dam to a woman in the area. After catching wind of these horses, and others on the property being in poor health and care, she went over there. The horses she had sold and several others were out in a bare pasture, paw marks where they had been digging for forage. She basically repossessed them and took them home. But, with a busy vet business and a baby on the way, she would not have time to train a two year old, and tend to a now pregnant mare. So, she called around trying to give them away to a good home.

I figured, why not, surely a young training project was a good idea, right!? I didn’t have any real intention of taking this horse, but had to go look, maybe I could at least help find him a home. So me and Karissa drove over to Dr. Sarah’s farm. I saw this little chestnut, who looked more like a yearling than a two year old, mostly bones. It was worse than I had imagined. I looked him over and took some photos (so I could help find him a home of course). I got several feet away and took a look back at him and said to Karissa, “Well, how could I not take him?” I felt I was being a little hasty, so I mulled it over on the short drive back to the barn, but I was sure, and I have not been that sure many times in my life, I would make it work.

He spent the next month in Dr. Sarah’s field with a herd of brood mares to get a little healthier. He was wormed and brought up to date on his shots. I went out as much as I could and spent time with him in that month. After a few visits, he would see me and come prancing from the other side of the pasture. I brought brushes out and groomed him, watched him graze, played “catch-me”. On October 1, 2012 we brought him to Katalyst. I planned to keep him long enough to back him and until he knew a little under saddle. However, he just kept surprising me and we continue to grow together, so he’s a keeper!”

This smart horse loves mints.

Dean has taught Norell to appreciate quarter horses again.

Norell started riding horses as an infant with her dad. Her grandmother was a horsewoman and filled their lives with horses anytime they were with her. Norell’s dad always rode, and her family has a cattle ranch, so much of her family are cowboys. Norell started taking english riding lessons at 7, and although she couldn’t always consistently take lessons due to her family moving around a lot with the Army, Norell managed to never lose the horse bug.

Norell shares her favorite memory with Dean, “We attended a cross-country clinic last year, and I hadn’t asked Deano to jump anything too big (below 3′). There is a wide jump made of a long curved log, so its only about 2’6″ in the middle, but around 3’9” on the end (make a big, wide “U” shape). He thought about bailing a couple strides out, but I refused to let that happen, so we swerved to the right and a stride later, We took a flying leap over the tall side, and cleared it by quite a bit! It was at that point I finally accepted I had a little athlete of a Quarter Horse under me, the hopes I had for us where possible after all. I had also spent the year building trust in his stability after a bad trip and fall (over his own feet) that ended in me having a broken pelvis. It was a big step in me trusting not only Him, but myself.”

Norell shares that it is so important when training a horse to listen to your horse and not be afraid to take a step back and wait for the good to come out. “But when the time comes, don’t be afraid to go for it and take the next step. Ground work, does wonders. If they don’t respond, they don’t know what you are asking for.” She also shares that it is so important to always get a good curry and brush in even if you are in a hurry because it readies their muscles to carry a saddle and us, and it is part of the connection you want to achieve in the saddle.