Speaking with a teenage friend of mine this past weekend, she told me she went to a show.  I think it was her first.  It was just a backyard fun show, but to her it could have been the Olympics.  The smile on her face was beyond description.

Also this weekend one of my students mothers posted a picture of her daughter on one of my lesson horses, at one of her earliest shows.  I also saw a picture of her this past summer jumping her new horse over a three-foot spread with no bridle.  She moved away several years ago, but we still keep in touch and I am so proud of her progress.  It’s a little sad to see them growing up, but so wonderful to see and hear of their progress. The feeling of satisfaction knowing that I gave them their start is the best feeling in the world.

Do you remember your first ride?  Your first show?  Your first hunt? First time jumping or turning a barrel?  Think back and grab hold of that feeling of excitement.  It was such a high.  It totally sucked you into that black hole of total bliss.

I’m sorry, but making contact with a golf ball just can’t give you the same feeling.  Yes it’s nice when you hit that “sweet spot”, that’s what keeps you coming back again and again, but the endorphin release you get on the back of a horse just can’t compare.

Sometimes life gets in the way, or we just change and we no longer do those wonderful things we did when we were younger, or first started riding.  When things we used to love to do become a chore, we let them slide.  We get burned out, just like with everything else.  It’s such a shame.

My girlfriend who had several horses when we were young got out of it when she started having children, and her horses got old and crossed the “Rainbow Bridge”.  Going through 20 years of raising her family, she missed it but not enough to fit it in her life. She just closed that chapter and moved on.  Her children have grown and have families of their own and her husband just lost his battle with cancer.  Now she was dropped kicked into an empty life.  So what does a horse person do?  Pick up where she left off. She went and got back on a horse.  She was one of the “Blood and Thunder Riders”  you know, one of the kids I grew up with that did many stupid things that could have got us killed, but didn’t.

So that wow factor that got us hooked in the first place still exists in us somewhere.  I guess I’m just too comfortable to be wowed anymore.  It’s just too much work to get up early and go somewhere.  How sad is that.  I guess I’ll just settle for giving others the chance to experience the joy of it all.  I just loved seeing that smile that I saw this weekend.  It means I’m passing on a legacy that was passed to me many years ago.  But then, I could very easily be wowed again.

How about you?  Have you been wowed lately?

It’s just a block of wood.  It’s just a lump of clay.  It’s just a chunk of granite.  But to a wood-carver, a potter, a sculpture, it’s so much more.  They look at a block of wood and see things in it you and I could never imagine.  I’ve seen people with chain saws attack a block of wood and make beautiful creations out of it.  A lump of clay can become a beautiful piece of pottery.  And a piece of granite can become a beautiful statue.  They say that the creation was always in there just waiting to come out.

According to the Bible man was formed from the dirt (clay) of the earth and on most days horse people still look like that.  Many years ago I heard some one say “Ashes to ashes dust to dust, well there’s someone either coming or going under my bed”  or at least a few dust bunnies rolling around under there.  But really, they don’t eat much and they don’t make any noise.

Now as potters, sculptures, or wood carvers, that’s what I feel like when I look at a foal, green horse or even an older horse.  You have raw material and you look to see what lies beneath the surface as to what you can possibly bring out of this amazing creature.

With the new horse trainers of today it’s starting to look like an assembly line at a factory.  I don’t see the horses being treated as individuals.  It seems to be a one size fits all sort of training.  Follow these steps and you will have the perfect horse.  Well I’ve met a few horses over the years that haven’t read the brochures.  To me each one is different, will react differently, and needs his own special program done in his own time frame.  You can get yourself in a lot of trouble trying to put a square peg in a round hole, or push him through in your time frame not his

I’ve been reading a book titled “Jingle In The Horses” by Jeff Gore.  It’s a wonderful tale about a young boys journey into manhood with an old cowboy as his mentor.  He’s taught to break colts for a cattle drive, among many life lessons along the way.  Many of us horse people have had someone like Buster in our lives, but what amazed me is Buster’s way of breaking these colts and fillies and their typical reactions to the handling and beyond.  He gentle breaks them.  This was so uncommon in the old western ways, even in the 60’s.  You did have trainers like John Lyons emerging and showing that there is a difference.  The book takes place in West Texas in 1968.

The back cover reads – Buster Hogan has spent his whole life around horses, preferring them over most people (we can relate).  After his own childhood was wrought with pain and loss, he finds in a young preacher’s son a friend and a chance to pass on a wealth of knowledge about horses to an eager student.  The journey it takes them on changes their lives and the lives of those around them.  The remuda of horses, life at the wagon for spring branding, and the front porch of the small West Texas Baptist Church parsonage serve as classrooms for the education that is in store for young Charlie Baker. Through it all, it becomes obvious that some friendships last a lifetime, but some last forever.

I know in previous posts I’ve spoken on many of these things.  Gentle breaking,  passing on our knowledge to others, but mostly the friendships that come from our love of horses.

This book is a fast read that holds your attention.  Touches you on many levels.  Bullying, abuse, poverty, unusual friendships, mentors, dreams, and horses.

When you look at your horse, what is really hidden under what you know to be true?  Do you leave it hidden, or like the chainsaw person, do you free it from within and let its true beauty surface?

One last question.  How many of you know about the Jingle in of horses?  I didn’t, but I do now.  Such a simple but smart thing.  One of the many horsey things that have been lost over the years.

So many of the old ways have disappeared, or  are simply forgotten.  I know I’ve misplaced many of the things I was taught or shown.  Did you know that bells were used on horse-drawn sleighs to keep collisions from happening at intersections. (Horse drawn sleighs travel without a sound and are not heard in the snow).  And the Jingling in of horses – a bell was placed on the lead mare in a remuda so you could locate them in the dark. When she was found and led back to camp the other horses would hear it and follow the sound.

Just a little romantic nostalgia.

There’s a saying in the Boating World – The two happiest days of a boaters life is the day he buys it and the day he sells it.

I think that can go for a lot of things in this life if you really think about it.

Sometimes it even applies to acquiring horses.  I’ve had horses that have come off the truck and the anticipation of what’s to come is so exciting.  That is until the horse drop kicks you into the next county.  Then the day comes when you hand over the lead line to someone else and breathe a sigh of relief.

I’ve talked in previous posts about when it is time to let go, but it’s not always that easy, especially with big expensive show horses.  When you drop $60,000.00 on a horse you really don’t want to sell him for a dollar three eighty.  (Just an expression left over from the 60’s.)  But seriously no one wants to lose that kind of money on a horse.

The expression of “Let the buyer beware” had to come from the horse trading industry.

When you have a pre-purchase exam done by your vet, he is supposed to tell you what his findings are.  It is not his job to tell you to buy the horse or not.  Of course you must tell him in advanced what you are planning to use the horse for.  There are a lot of issues that will cause problems with certain disciplines but not others.  If you have a horse with side bones you wouldn’t want to barrel race him, but trail riding or going in a straight line in flat work won’t bother him a bit.  That being said not all vets disclose the whole truth. Then it becomes an oops, it should have been in my report.  However, it never fails to show up in the next vets report when you are trying to sell him.  Funny how that works.

Sometimes you need to drop your price just to send him on his way.  If you hold on to him trying to get your money back, you must remember that you are going to continue putting money into him until he is sold.

The only way for someone to make money on a horse is to find it for a person and sell it before it even hits your property.  Once that horse touches down on you land, you’ve already lost money.

Remember, a horse is only worth what someone is willing to pay for him.

“The Only Horse You Can Trust, Is The One That Trusts You”

I had started a post on that quote when I first heard it, but I dumped it.  It became a very big teaching lesson on how to get a horse to trust you.  In trying to explain how I do it, I thought that this is a law suit waiting to happen, but I do want to talk about how important trust is.  I know I’ve spoken on this before, but it is so important I’m going to do it again.

Trust has to be a mutual thing.  It’s elusive with some horses.  Why should they trust you?  Have you given them reason to believe that you are trustworthy?  Oh sure you feed them, groom them, ride them, but seriously, why should they trust you?  Their natural instinct is fight or flight.  We all know that.  We probably experienced it several times. How do you override something that is hardwired into their brain.

It’s not easy, and it doesn’t happen overnight.  It takes work and patience.

First you must be confident in yourself.  They will sense if you are truly confident or trying to fake it.  You can’t fool them.

Then you must show them that you will take care of them.  Once again if you are hesitant they will feel that.

You must keep their focus on you, and not the scary situation or object.

If you make a big deal about it, they will make a big deal about it.

Never rush things.  If you only have a short amount of time, either don’t start something or make it a short lesson and always reward progress.

Don’t ask for the world, just one step at a time.

If they falter go back to something that was successful and praise them.

Always quit on a positive note.

A lot of times we don’t know what happened in their previous life, but we can usually overcome whatever it was, if they believe that we will take care of them, and keep them safe.

The only thing we must remember is to make sure there is no underlying health issue involved.  If they have bad sight, it can create a problem.  With this said; I’ve seen blind horses, who in trusting their riders, do amazing things.

If that trust and bond is there, there is nothing the two of you can’t do.

If you believe in yourself, he will follow.

I read a quote a couple of weeks ago.  It instantly grabbed me.  Sometimes they do, and sometimes I think “What are they thinking!!?.”  So I thought I’d list some of my favorites. Before I started this I decided I’d Google “Famous Quotes”.  Needless to say, I was amazed.  They had a quote by Abraham Lincoln about the Internet.  Seriously!!!!  So I’m back to using my own brain, what’s left of it.

There are some old quotes by famous people like Abraham Lincoln, “America will never be destroyed from the outside.  If we falter and lose our freedom, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” Winston Church Hill, “You have enemies?  Good.  That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”   Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”  General Douglas MacArthur, “I shall return.” but sometimes instead we quote Arnold Schwarzenegger, “I’ll be bock.”  Oh and one of my all time favorites is Scarlett O’Hara’s “After all tomorrow is another day.”  I tell myself that in the evening when I look at my list of things to do and find that I haven’t done most of them.  Mostly I quote the Bible. But horse quotes are really something I connect with.  I know I’ve posted some of my favorites in the past.  Here’s my new favorite.  “The only horse you can trust, is the one that trusts you.”  That is ever so true.  Think about it before you move on.

I’m going to give you a list of some I found.  There were a couple that really made me laugh, but I tried to keep this short and a little bit in the teaching sense.  Enjoy and ponder what they say.

Every time you ride, your either teaching or un-teaching your horse.  Gordon Wright  (I know I’ve written on this before.)

There are only two emotions that belong in the saddle; one is a sense of humor and the other is patience.  John Lyons

A stubborn horse walks behind you, an impatient horse walks in front of you, but a noble companion walks beside you.

Horse – If God made anything more beautiful, He kept it for Himself.

A horse doesn’t care how much you know until he knows how much you care.  Pat Parelli

A good rider can hear his horse speak to him.  A great rider can hear his horse whisper. But a bad rider won’t hear his horse even if it screams at him.

The Breath of Paradise is that which blows between the ears of a horse.  Arabic Quotation

The hardest thing about learning to ride is the ground.

The Art of Riding is to keep the horse between you and the ground.

Be wary of the horse with a sense of humor.  Pam Brown

Don’t look at a horse like an animal, look as if the horse is a real person.  Because a horse can tell the difference.

If you have seen nothing but the beauty of their markings and limbs, their true beauty is hidden from you.

Love is……Paying a $500.00 vet bill for a horse worth $50.00

And in closing –

Bread may feed my body, but my horse feeds my soul. – Arabian Poet

I recently had a lesson that was a “Sometimes Rider.”  The mother had so much on her plate that she just couldn’t get the child here on a regular basis.  She would schedule a lesson and then cancel at the last moment, or she would be an hour late.  This plays havoc with you daily schedule, but I loved the child and just rolled with it.

So what do you do?  The child loved coming but was at a standstill with her riding because of the weeks between lessons.  It’s very frustrating to the instructor.  The child just loved being on a horse and really didn’t care if she progressed.  After taking lessons for 3 months, it was actually like she had just ridden three times.  Learning to post and control her horse was a major challenge.  She really hadn’t ridden more than six times in those three months.  She wasn’t one of those natural riders, she was the type that would struggle, but I’ve had them before, and they stuck to it, and became wonderful riders.

So what is an instructor to do?  You really have two choices.  You either go with it, or tell them to find another instructor.  In going with it you need to set rules, and stick with them, as best you can.  Or you can walk away and never know what could have been.

There is another type of “Sometimes Rider.”  Us, yes us.  I’m finding myself to be one of them.  Everyday I look at my horse and say, I’ll ride you tomorrow, I promise.  Zoey used to believe me, now she just goes back to eating and I can see that she doesn’t believe me at all.  My neighbor asked me yesterday if I get to ride much, and I had to be honest and say no.  I now spend more time taking care of the horses and the property and less time riding.  But actually that’s been the story between Zoey and me her whole life.  When she was young, I was breaking and training other people’s horses.  they were paying me and there was a time frame that it had to be done in, so they got first attention.  Zoey makes me pay now by being obnoxious.  She knows her stuff and knows what I want but she makes me work to get it.  It’s a game, and I don’t blame her.  I blame me.  She can be good as gold, or a total brat.

But once again I’ll tell her, we’re going to ride tomorrow, and truthfully, I do believe it.  That is until tomorrow comes and all hell breaks loose.  Why does everything else take preference in my life now?  Possibly because I allow it.  When we were hunting, they had to be fit.  Heat or no heat I was out there early in the morning getting her ready for the season and keeping her fit through out.

We cheat our horses by not being consistent.  It’s like going to the gym, working out, overdoing it, and paying for it for the next three days.  They can’t tell you the next day that they need Advil, although their bodies may show it, if you look.

The fall is here and the beautiful weather is either with you.  Don’t be a “Sometimes Rider.”

Now if I can just listen to my own advice.

We’ll ride tomorrow Zoey, I promise.