This kind of plays off the last post of Yellow Brick Road.

People who trail ride often are pretty aware of their surroundings, footing, and horses sense and sensibility.

For some this will enlighten them, for some this will call to mind things they do, and don’t even think about, or perhaps they do.

When I saw my friend approach the vine I went to yell out Stop!, but I was too late.  She let the horse (who has never been a hunt horse) walk right into the vine and got it caught between her front legs, placing it up against the horses neck.  It was a teaching moment, but with all that was going on I didn’t stop to explain what she did wrong.  We also didn’t discuss it when we got back to the barn.  There were horses to take care of and nerves that needed calming before instruction could reach the brain and be retained.

So two days later, when we knew that everyone was alright, we discussed what could have been done differently.  I asked her if she noticed that whenever I came to an overgrown area I stopped.  I would say to Zoey, okay let’s think about this.  I would find the best way to travers the area and then proceed.  Zoey is used to us doing this, because we were always going through some tough territory when we Fox Hunted.  She just stands and waits until I give her the okay and then she proceeds with caution, but no hesitation.  She trusts me.  What a wonderful thing.  My friend said she had noticed, but didn’t think a whole lot about it.  She will now.

I explained that when you get to thick brush, vines, holes, or other foreign objects, it’s best to just stop and reason the safest way through.  Never go towards the hanging part of the vine,  look for where it is either attached to the ground or laying on the ground.  There is always the chance that the horse will kick it up with its hoof, but usually they will just step over it.  Some vines will break with the push of the horses strength, but the Tarzan type will just pull you off.

Now holes can be a different story, especially here in Florida.  We have Turtle holes that have tunnels.  They do not leave a big pile of dirt like the ground hogs up north, so you really don’t see them coming up as you approach with any speed.  Now when you’re galloping and you come upon one, it’s a good idea to see which way the front door is facing, because if you step on the wrong side you may collapse the tunnel and break your horses leg.  Desert and I missed the hole, but he stepped in the tunnel and we flipped.  No one was hurt, but it was scary and we learned which side of the hole to go on next time.

Thick brush can be a problem, because you don’t always know what’s underneath.  There may be buried wire fencing that will entangle you, or a downed tree to fall over.  Or possibly a hole.  Or something sleeping there hiding from the noon day sun.  It’s quite a surprise when a turkey flies up or hog runs out in front of you.  Or for that matter, a cow that was sleeping and you suddenly appeared.  When they jump up from hiding, I guarantee your horse will notice and respond.

Make sure the person and the horse in the lead always has a good brain.  If the leader spooks or gets caught, the other horses will react, so will the people.

Being a trail blazer is fun and challenging, but it can also be dangerous.  Be alert, cautious, and also be prepared for the worse.  If it doesn’t happen, great! it was a successful day of fun and adventure.  But if it does, you were a good leader and you won’t be taking a trip to the ER.

Happy Trails!

Dorothy was told to follow the Yellow Brick Road, but do our horses know about that?

We went trail riding last Saturday and that question came up very quickly when my friend, and my horse that she was leasing, parted company after getting tangled up in a vine. (To be discussed in another post.)  She, in slow motion, hit the ground and the mare decided that the boogeyman who grabbed her was not done with her yet, and that she should “get out of dodge.”  For those of you who were born after the age of Westerns on TV, it meant it was a good idea to get out of town before the bullets started flying.  Well I wasn’t sure she knew her way home so Zoey and I stood there calling her, waiting for her to turn around and come back to us.  Zoey and Friday are usually inseparable.  Well according to Friday,  the boogeyman can have you both for dinner, I’m not getting involved.

Well at that point all these things come flooding through your mind.  Has she been out here enough times to know where the turn is for home, or is she going to run straight to the main road?  We were about three miles from home and there was only a small path that would lead her to where she needed to go.  Then there were gaps in fence lines that she needed to find also.  Would she find those paths?  What vines, stickers, and other trappy situations would she get herself involved in.  She was running way too fast to really consider her footing.  So we started the long walk home, praying that she would be safe.

Once we got to the first narrow path turn, we started playing the old Western tracking practices.  She’s barefoot, but has a good size hoof.  There were tracks, now, which way were they going.  Yes we saw our hoof prints coming out, and we thought we saw some going back.  She must have slowed down because they weren’t deep cut.  Now a stretch of lime rock road with grass on both sides.  Couldn’t tell anything because she’d stay on the grass being barefoot.  There were two choices of roads to choose from.  I sent my friend up one and I went to the furthest one, the same one that we came down. The next narrow path through the fence came up, too turned up to tell.  Since I was on my horse I could cover more ground quickly.  So I cantered over the grassy stretch of the private road until I came to the hill where it turned to sand, and that’s where I found my answers.  Yup she came this way, and according to the depth of the hoof prints, she was flying.  She had found the turns and her way home.  Yay!!!

She was waiting in the shade by the gate at home and gave us look like “What took you so long?”  The bridle was broke, but other than a tiny scratch, she looked fine.  Off to find my girlfriend.

Do you know if your horse can find the Yellow Brick Road home or back to your trailer?  I’ve seen many people looking for their horses in the parks and forests in the area.  Once again I advocate leather instead of nylon.  Leather will break.  Many horses who were lost were found with their nylon reins caught on trees, wire fences, and such.  If they weren’t found, how long could they have stayed there, trapped.

It’s the flight instinct that makes them run.  Some will come back to the group, but some will keep running in fear.  Do you know what your horse will do?  Next time you go out, give your horse his head on the way home and see if he/she really knows where home is.  It may surprise you, but it’s a good thing to know in case the question ever comes up.

They are amazing creatures, but just like people, some have a better sense of direction than others.  My husband on the other hand…. we won’t go there.

We can take all the precautions in the world with our horses, but there are just some things that we will not be aware of.

We give them shots.  Actually, mine see the vet more than I see my doctor.  We have the farrier on a regular schedule.  We take care to make sure our tack is in good, safe, condition before riding.  We watch our footing as best we can.  But things can still go very wrong.

In one of the races at Pimlico, before the Preakness was run, a 9 yr. old gelding won his race then collapsed on his way back to the barn and died of a suspected heart attack.  My husband and I were at the Meadowlands in New Jersey watching some Standardbred Races, and as the horse my husband bet on crossed the finish line, won the race, he then tried to climb over the rail with the sulky, he dropped dead right there on the track in front of us.  In the last couple of weeks a 12 yr. old girl was killed while running for home after the third barrel.  Her horse reportedly had a heart attack.  When I was hunting up north we had horses drop dead while galloping on the hunt field.  I had a lesson horse who, was at a walk in the middle of a drill team exercise.  The rider thought he was slipping out in his hind end and called to me.  He was actually kicking at his belly, I yelled to the young lady to “get off!!” and as she was doing so, the horse collapsed and was dead in 90 seconds.  An apparent aneurism burst.  This was a 17 yr old retired hunt horse.  To look at him, you would never imagine it.  He was a beautiful Thoroughbred, good weight, shiny coat, and healthy.  He had a little arthritis from years of doing what he did best.  Otherwise, no clues were ever detected.

These are things we can’t predict, and most times, aren’t even aware of.  How do we ever know what is going on inside of their bodies.  Most of the time we don’t even know what’s going on in our own.

When I was hunting, after knowing that horses do just drop dead while galloping on the hunt field, I started to make sure that my horses had a physical exam before the season began, and then a recheck after the season ended.  I would have their heart and lungs checked, and run bloods.  Then bloods again at the end of the season, to look for any changes.  I wanted to rule out any chance of them just dropping dead.  When a horse is galloping, and you are on their back, if he has a heart attack, he will probably flip over onto you.  That was the problem with the young girl.  They couldn’t get him off of her.  You’ve got 1000 lbs of dead weight to deal with, laying on, less than 100 lb., body.  That just doesn’t work.

What suggestion can I make?  If you are going to be using your horse for cardiovascular competition, have him vet checked.  It may cost you a barn call, but what is you life worth?  There may be something that is undetectable, but you can always eliminate as much as possible.  Of course if you have unlimited funds you can always bring him to an Equine University or Clinic that has all the bells and whistles, and really have things checked out.  Will they find everything?  I doubt it.

We see this with High School and College athletes dying often with undiagnosed problems.  Even though they are required to have a physical before practice begins.  Remember, your horse is an athlete too, but it’s not only his life that is at stake, it’s yours too.

My heart and prayers go out to the family and friends that lost that young lady.  Both she and her horse crossed the finish line, on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge, together.

I guess this can be said about any given thing.  I think it is more prevalent in sports of any kind.  You were a great football player in college, but what have you done lately.  You were great in your last play, movie, whatever, but what have you done lately?  Your last novel, six years ago, was great, but what have you done lately?  You get the picture.

It pretty much goes the same way with horses.  You were a great barrel racer in the 70’s.  You were a great rider or jumper in the 80’s……. but what have you done lately?  Fame is fleeting, ask any actor or actress.  You’ve got to keep getting roles in order to stay in the minds of the producers, directors, investors.  You’ve got to stay in the ring and keep winning in order to stay on top of things.  You have to know what the judges are looking for.  You have to know what the new trends are in tack and clothing.

This to me is ridiculous.  Either you can ride or you can’t.  I don’t care if you come naked on a moose (love that line from our old Huntsman John Clendenin speaking of a landowner who wanted to hunt in a Western saddle), if you can do the course the best out of everyone, you’re the winner.  Not how much you paid for you breeches.

So what’s the answer?  Well let’s look at it from both angles.

Yes it does matter what you have done lately.  You need to know what is going on out there in order to compete at the top levels.  You go to shows and see who’s winning.  Those are the trainers you want to work with.  Just make sure their philosophies match yours.  Beating a horse to win, or pushing a sore horse is not how you want to succeed.

But don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.  If you have great knowledge about the basics and solid foundations of horses and riding, you are very valuable.  It doesn’t matter what the new trends are, or the new fashions.  Safe solid riding never changes.  Sometimes the older Horse Master has a lot more knowledge than the new kid on the block.

I’ve heard of so many people lately, who have been totally ripped off by, those they perceive to be top trainers, it makes me sick.  I’ve already forgotten stuff that these young “want to be’s” haven’t even learned yet.

People who have been in the business for years know more than they can even believe.  Just may take a little jog in their memory to be reminded.  Sometimes I’ll say, Oh Yeah, I dealt with that back in the 60’s.  Many people look at you like “you were alive back then?”  I had that happen the other day.  I was having some clipper blades sharpened and some body clippers checked.  When the man handed them to me, I lovingly looked at my clippers and said I had bought them in the late 60’s.  He just stopped and looked at me.  He couldn’t believe they were that old.  I would have liked it better if he said that he couldn’t believe that I was that old, but, oh well.  They still work and so do I.  the clippers are fine, some days I work better than others.

So my bottom line is yes, what have you done lately, but also, what have you done in the past that brought you to where you are today.  Experiences are like notches in a gun handle (is anybody out there old enough to remember the old westerns?  Notches?  Gun handle?)  Anyway they are like scars, each one comes with a story and are badges of honor from days gone by.  We remember them, and treasure them.  And hopefully pass them on.

We don’t forget, just sometimes we don’t remember right away.

I’m not getting older.  I’m like fine wine, just getting better all the time.  Now if I could just remember what I was going to do next I’d be in great shape.

Have a week that was better than last, and not as good as it’s going to be next week!

Was that a commercial?  AT&T maybe?  Or a song?  I hate being stupid (old).

Well this weekend I felt absolutely horrible.  I’m usually pretty good at sensing people’s needs, or interests, but I blew it.

One of the beautiful young ladies in our youth group, who is graduating High School this year, is a horse enthusiast.  This I knew.  I also knew she had several horses.  She is extremely shy and a very private individual.  Usually if you meet someone who loves horses you can engage them, or they engage you in a conversation.  Just mention horses and even a shy person will tell you all about theirs, but I didn’t find that with this young girl.  I’ve known her for about 6 years.  She would answer questions I asked with a simple yes or no and a smile, but the conversations never went anywhere so I backed off.  But at the graduation celebration at our church yesterday, I was surprised to learn of the depth of her interest.  She wants to further her education in equine studies, and then pursue a carrier with horses.

I was truly blown away when I realized how much I could have shared with her over the last six years or more.  I guess I should have pushed more, but with some people it just scares them away, and I didn’t want to do that.

But yesterday we found that connection.  Her smile grew bigger and prettier than I had ever seen it.  Maybe she’s moving out of her innocent child like shyness into adulthood, or maybe she just opened herself up to trusting me.  It doesn’t matter, because we can move forward from here.

My first reaction was that I was too late because she’s going off to college, but it’s never too late.  I guess that’s the point of this post.  It’s never too late to help someone, not only with horse issues, but life issues.  I guess it all goes back to my original philosophy.  “Teach what you’ve learned and one less horse will suffer from ignorance, and never stop learning.”

After this I would also like to say, “Never stop reaching out.”  The one that gets away may just be the most important one of your life.

Reflecting on this while I write, I realize what I would have done was not what God had in mind.  His timing is always perfect, and right now, I’m right on time.

Don’t hesitate to reach out and touch someone, but wait on God’s perfect timing.  After all, Father knows best.  Now I know that was a TV show in the 50’s.

Losing my computer for a few days, so I’m posting this early.

I read this a while back, don’t know where, but it caught my attention so I wrote it down.  Every once in a while I look at it again.  It hit me odd then, and it still does.  I don’t know why, or what it is about it that leaves me with a strange feeling.

This is how it read – “You don’t “train” a half ton flight animal who could kill you in the blink of an eye; you prove to him that he can trust you more than his instincts.  That is true horsemanship.”  And basically I agree, but there is so much more to it.

In the old days you just jumped on their backs and rode out the bucks.  (The safest way was in the water, it stifles their movement.  The landing was better, if you can swim.)  You dominated them.  Now we have “Horse Whisperers”.  Most don’t even whisper, they just use common sense and a kinder approach.

So why did that comment bother me?

I don’t think it’s one or the other.  I think it’s a combination of both.  I see it as the horse needs to trust you first.  Only after he has determined that you are not evil, or inviting him to dinner, with him served at the main course, can you reach his brain past the instinct.

In some horses, the flight or fight instinct is stronger than others.  Having human contact at birth really does help, especially if the mare (mom) lets them know that people are okay.  I’ve had two foals who were both worriers from the start.  They were both handled from day one.  I’m just not sure how they were handled.  One I got at 13 months and the other at 17 months.  The hands on time I spent with the younger one overrode all his natural instincts.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have the same amount of time to spend with the second one, and it shows to this day.  Although recently I’m finding that she looks to me for security and guidance in all situations, when others are riding her.  Then I knew another baby from the day she was born who was in charge right from the start.  She bossed her mom around and everyone else.  She was the hardest one to work with.  Alfa mare with a definite opinion on how things were to be done.  You know that all the really smart horses are in Alpo cans because no one wants to use their time or brains to deal with them.  Unfortunately she died before her fifth birthday.  She was the most interesting and challenging one to break.  She was a shooting star,  she burned the brightest while she was here, but burned out too quickly.

Yes you can “train” any horse, but the fact still remains that they are a half ton – to a ton, flight animal who could kill you in the blink of an eye, if they wanted to.  So the main point to consider is if they want to.  Respect only goes so far.  There has to be more to it.  That I think is where not only trust, but something else comes into it.  It moves beyond respect, fear, or trust to, shall I use the word, love, or a form there of?

I don’t think the word “love” as we know it is what it really is.  In their world they have “connections”.  They protect and care for their “herd.”  Just like a dog will protect his owner, so too, do I feel a horse will learn to trust and “love” their special friend.  Do they see us as owners?  They don’t know what owning anything is.  They claim things as their own.  Do they see us as special humans in their life?  I believe they do.

Having a boarding facility I watch horses interact with each other and the different humans that they come in contact with.  There are some they dominate, and some that dominate them.  They care very deeply about the ones they choose to be their pasture buddies.  They will watch over them as they sleep.  Protect them from perceived dangers.  Groom each other, and stand head to tail to help with fly protection.  There is nothing like a protective mom over her foal if a predator tries to attack.  With people, they know who their owners are, and know who feeds them.  They react differently with everyone, according to the rules, boundaries, limitations, and kindness, that each person shows them.

So I think the bottom line is that you must gain their trust, before you can actually train them.  Then throw in a pinch of communication and understanding.  Stir until you get a connection between human and animal that is beyond explanation.

Training vs Trusting?  Nope, both, with a pinch of sugar, and love.