Nadal - The Powerhouse

For those who want something different than an Arabian… a big horse maybe, a warmblood type maybe - or a Thoroughbred type maybe… well here he is. He does stand out in a herd of Arabians and I didn’t expect him to grow this tall… a 16.2 hands solid giant amongst the little Arabians. And he doesn’t just look it, he’s a bulldozer too. But a friendly one.

In 2009 with my 7 Kerewong horses (6 Arabs and 1 big mixed breed) all working well, I decided to get a young big horse to eventually become the successor of my weight carrying Quarterhorse-type Copper. 
I love Andalusian (PRE) horses but their stride is very short compared to Arabians so I thought a cross with Thoroughbred may suit well. So off I went in search of an Australian Andalusian Horse Stud.

Nadal was born and spent the first 2.5 years of his life on a big and quiet property west of the Blue Mountains, NSW, together with his sister and surrounded by 100+ Andalusian horses at Australia's largest Andalusian Horse Stud.

Nadal came to Kerewong as a 2.5 year old big baby and took a long time to grow up. He was chosen for his strong bone structure and quiet nature. He has a lot of character and personality, matured late but learns quick.

On arrival at Kerewong Nadal made his mark right from the start. Like Copper he had the challenge to blend in with a herd of feisty Arabian horses. Nadal is a team player and confused the spirited energetic Arabian horses with his friendly, bold, but pushy attitude. Arabians like to run around and show off a lot, but Nadal was not impressed and stood his ground. He is solid boy with a thick skin and didn't mind the fine framed Arabians running into him, he just took the beating and even seemed to think it was fun and ran along with them, instead of away from them.

Although very willing and quick to learn and easy to train, Nadal matured slowly and despite his big-horse-appearance stayed young and full of childish character for a long time. He was only 15.1 hands when he arrived and grew and grew and grew into a 16.2 hands giant amongst the little Arabians. He became quite clumsy during his growth spurt and it took time for him to feel his body and big feet, stumbling along for the first years on the trails. 

Over the years Nadal has gained in strength and stamina and is a very forward going horse to ride. He is always trying to give his best but struggles to keep up with the "little fast ones" in the longest gallops up the steep hills. Nadal is fast due to his massive stride, but it took him a lot of years to build up the endurance that comes naturally to the Arabians. He prefers to walk up the steepest mountains and powers uphill in a steady walk. 

Yet even Nadal has successfully completed 40 km endurance rides and shows that he now also is a little bit Arabian in his spirit too.

In the paddock Nadal is well loved by his Kerewong horse family (except Aliya) and as he grew older he eventually became one of the top horses in the herd.

When I still had all the horses together in one herd (I now have 2 herds: 1 working herd and 1 retired herd) the other horses were stunned by Nadal's determination to have mean lead mare Ness as his girlfriend. He copped quite a few kicks from her but eventually she let him share her hay with her. This attitude of just pushing and stubbornly barging his way through everything with his strong body and not taking no for an answer, not being stopped by kicks and bites, earned Nadal a special status in the herd hierarchy. Because eventually the other horses just gave up and let him be and do whatever he wants to be and do: playing, eating, sleeping. 

Starting Nadal under saddle when he was 3 was easy, but I always felt I didn’t spend enough time on his schooling, the curse of having too many animals and a business to run. He started working on the trails with guests when he was 5.5 years old, in 2012. But it took many years for him to grow into the fit, strong horse he is today.

Nadal was called Baby Nadal for many years, even when he eventually outgrew all the other horses. It was just funny to see the look on the guests faces when they looked up at him and say: this is the baby? 
In one way you'd think he doesn’t know his size when he almost gives you a concussion swerving his head around to look at something. 
On the other hand he must be well aware of his strength and size and his attitude to which he owes his nick name “the bulldozer”. Some fallen trees or branches blocking the trail?, bulldozer will push the way through. Jimmy being annoying blocking things with his hind end?, bulldozer will push his way through (Nadal is the only horse who is not scared of Jimmy). You want to stop him going through the gate….Good luck..Guaranteed you will get bull dozered… 
He doesn’t care to be on the receiving end of a few bites and kicks. I remember Baby Nadal being chased by the Arabs on his introduction into the herd. He thought they were all having a jolly fun time running along, latching onto his neck and holding on for their dear life as Nadal just cheerfully dragged them along with him. He thought it was a fun game. 
And being charged front on by the Arabs expecting him to turn and run like they all do? Nadal just stood there and took the full brunt front on. If they were unfortunate he would even rear up and land full onto their agile bodies with his powerhouse body. 
I’ve seen him getting double barrel kicked many time but he doesn’t even flinch or kick back, he usually even takes a step closer. So the other horses just gave up and let baby Nadal bull dozer his way through. 
Nadal has special high status, earned by size. It was easy for Nadal to become one of the top horses in the herd and BFF little Kuta always has his protection.

But over the years Nadal has gained in strength and stamina and is a calm but very forward going horse to ride. He struggled to keep up with the "little fast ones" in the long gallops for many years. It took time to build up the endurance that comes naturally to the Arabians. His massive stride does not match the Arabians gaits very well though and with his heavy stepping, the riders (and horses!) who have Nadal behind them always feels like he is coming to bull dozer you over.
I don’t need Nadal a lot on my rides and I have a lot of guest riders who come especially to ride the Arabians. So actually, I ride Nadal quite often myself and he’s a nice size for a tall person like myself. But of course he is here to carry heavier riders, often men and tall woman, and with that he is an invaluable part of the Kerewong Team and sometimes the one horse I count on the most. 
He is loved and appreciated by riders who like his type of horse. It’s always nice to have a person in the group of riders who puts their hand up when I ask who likes a big powerful horse. 
He is a bit of a man’s horse, strong and in need of a strong rider, and yet, I’m amazed how many countless tiny woman ask to ride him, pull themselves up in the saddle, climb on board and ride him like it's a breeze, no trouble at all controlling him. It is quite a sight on the beach rides, where he is now one of the fastest, it’s where the racehorse in him is coming out. I guess Baby Nadal did grow up and mature eventually. But he will always be a special character to me -the calm horse who carried me out of the forest when I had my accident- and one of the best beach horses in the water. And he can jump too - in a different life he would have chosen to be a Cross Country Eventer.

Unfortunately Nadal developed insect allergy and rubbed his beautiful mane and wears his Knight in Armour insect repellent blanket in summer.