I know I’ve said this before, somewhere.  “Happiness is found along the way, not at the end of the road.”  Don’t remember who said that, but it’s something we don’t really think about when it comes to horses.  Or perhaps anything else in life.

No I’m not going to get all mushy with you all, just putting out there a conversation with one of my borders this week.

She purchased a young TB cross.  Everything, now a days, is a Warmblood, that’s what sells for the most money.  I believe this one is.  When I was a kid, (I know that’s a baby goat), we didn’t have pure bred anything.  Everything was a grade horse, or a mutt dog.  If someone had a pure TB, QH, Gaited horse, or dog, you thought they were rich.  Everything came from the sales when I grew up.  They were the best horses ever.  They lived long healthy lives.  They worked hard for a living.  Now everything is a Warmblood something.  The term is thrown around very easily, and by-the-way, you’re supposed to be impressed.

Fads in horses, are like colors of clothes or objects that come in and out of style.  When I was a “baby goat” kitchens had all red accessories.  “They’re back”.  When I was first married everything was Avocado, Harvest Gold, or Rust in color, we’ve seen that lately.  You went through the phase of Gaited horses,  Appaloosas,  Paints, and Arabs they all had their time in the lime light.  Then we went to the Thoroughbreds, you had to have one if you were going to show successfully.  Now it’s Warmbloods.  If you could afford one of each, you had it made.  You could go anywhere and win.

So my friend now has a 4-year-old, green broke, Warmblood filly.  She is so excited, and I am for her too.  Her last three horses have come with an assortment of problems.  When she came “out of retirement” as she puts it, she bought a mare.  Two colic surgeries later the mare was put down.  Then she bought a TB gelding, who kept foundering, he’s retired.  Then she bought another TB gelding, who is the one with nerve damage.  Now she has this healthy (vet said so) filly that she is just in love with.  Well actually she has a wonderful heart and loves, and supports, them all.  This filly is the hopes and dreams of the past years, in the flesh.

Now we must never forget that horses are born suicidal and she may not stay in one piece, but for this woman’s sake, I hope she does.

So now the games begin.  The filly has 60 days of training on her.  Seems to have a good brain, and is smart.  (Oops, now that could open up a can of worms.  We all know that the smart ones end up in an Alpo can because no one wants to deal with a horse that’s smarter than they are.)  This owner will handle it in the long run.  I personally love the smart ones, they really give you a run for your money, but teach you so much.  Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love the quiet ones that will go along with anything you want, but I’m always up for a challenge for my brain.  They tell me that helps to keep Alzheimer’s at bay.

So where does she go from here?  My advice is just take one step at a time.  We all want to see the end results.  We all want to go to a show and clean-up.  We all want the perfect horse.  (That’s not happening in this life.)  One that everyone looks at and can’t believe how wonderful they are.  Hello!  They aren’t born that way, it takes hours of patient training to get them to that point.  Oh of course, some horses are born with more natural talent than others, but good training is so important to bring out the best in each of them.

It’s good to have goals, to look down that road and see what you are working so hard to accomplish.  We all dreamed about our homes being filled with trophies and ribbons.  Beautiful pictures of us and our horse at major shows being awarded the top honors.  But when you reach the top, where do you go from there?  Your job is done, you goal is met, now what.  Get another one and start again?  Or do we sit there and talk about the “glory days?”  Perhaps both.

So what wisdom can I pass on to this woman?  Simple.  Enjoy the journey.  Enjoy every moment bringing this horse to its best self.  Of course she longs for the day when she can jump her and show her off.  Don’t take it lightly.  It’s a wonderful feeling to have a perfect horse, but it’s more wonderful to realize that you were the one who helped this horse reach its peak perfection.  There will be days where you feel you are back sliding, or just not moving forward.  Embrace those days too.  Through all the difficult moments you are both learning.  These are the trials that will make you a better team.  In learning to trust each other, you will form a bond that can’t be broken.  An understanding between the two of you that you can’t explain to a normal person.

Happiness truly is found along the way, not at the end of the road.  Enjoy the trip.  Bon Voyage!