I love people, they entertain me, and give me so much to write about.  But sometime they leave me speechless.

When we look at cars, we always (or should) take it for a test drive.  (By the way, I love the commercials for Subaru with the dogs.  “Dog Tested, Dog Approved.”)  So why do so many horse people buy horses that they haven’t taken for a test ride?

A friend told me that she was leasing a horse the 1st of the month (it was the last week of the month when she told me).  Really?  Have you ridden him?  “No.”  Seriously?  As the dialog continues -“Actually the horse hasn’t been ridden in quite a few years.”  Really?  What are you thinking?  “I’m going to go real slow, and do a little at a time.”  Seriously?  I was so shocked that my vocabulary became two words, Really and Seriously.  I don’t like to rain on anyones parade, so back to my original thought.  I really think you should ride him first.  “Oh, I can get out of the deal at anytime.”  Really?  I was starting to annoy myself with the really and seriously, but I was so totally amazed that I was in a state of shock.

Time after time I have dealt with people who haven’t tried a horse before acquiring it.  I can understand if the horse is injured (and you know it), a skin and bones rescue, in foal, or too young to be ridden, but before you seal the deal, please do try it.  A second opinion is always a good idea (but only if you listen).  Don’t commit until you know that you, and the horse are going to get along.  I have several horses on my property that are just wonderful to be around, get on their back and they are going to change your mind in a heart beat.

Do you know where Used Car Salesmen came from, Horse Traders.  People may have the best intention when trying to find a horse a new home, but I have seen disasters from that thought process.  Sometimes they just want to get the horse off their property, and they will tell you what you want to hear.

The sellers need to have some compassion on the person they are unloading their horse on.  They must be up front and honest about the horse.  People who are accepting the horse, either for free or a sum, must be aware of what they might be getting themselves into.  So many people I know get horses with the great expectation of working through the various problems, only to find that they bit off more than they can chew.

It’s not fair to the horse or the person involved.  (If you’ve read my other posts you’ve heard this before.)

A name might also give you an idea of what the horse is about.  A friend bought a horse by the name of Luna.  My question was, is it short for lunatic?  I was told, no luna, the moon.  As it turned out the horse was more of a Looney Tune, than a Luna Moon.

When someone questionable would come up to me and my old dog, I would grab her collar and say “easy Killer.”  She was a sweet thing, and her name was SuSu, but no one would respect a dog named SuSu, but everyone stood back from a dog named Killer.  What’s in a name?  It can be a lot.

Horses can be dangerous, don’t be naive.

Let the buyer beware, but more than that, let the buyer be smart.

This has been the type of winter that made Bob and I decided to “get out of Dodge!”  That, for those of you who aren’t old enough to remember the old Western’s in the movies and on TV, is a quote from one of them.  In our case it was “get out of New Jersey.”  I feel so bad for all of you who are trying to take care of your animals in the conditions you’ve all faced this winter.  I won’t mention that we are between 70’s and 80’s here on March 1st.

What I feel most sad for are all the wild animals that have, or will, die this winter because of all the snow and ice, and lack of food.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  Spring is coming!  Soon, I promise, really.  Your horses should be starting to shed.  The days are getting longer, even though the temps are still pretty cold.  You need to stop thinking about all you’ve been through, and start planning how to get your horse back in shape for riding.  They’ve had a longer than usual lay-up, and once the weather breaks, you’re going to be itching to get on and ride.  But please, remember the couch potatoes are not fit.  You can run into a lot of injuries, and other health issues if you start them back too fast.

Check your tack also.  Leather usually doesn’t like freezing conditions.

Start grooming, it will not only get some of that hair out, but it will massage those muscles. Think about the shows you are going to want to go to, or the trails that need to be ridden over.  Also keep in mind that the trees have suffered from this winter and some of those trails might be blocked or dangerous.  Maybe take your dogs for a walk and check them out.  Remember you are going from the season of snow and ice, into the season of mud.  Mud pulls on those weakened tendons and ligaments.  Don’t over do it.

Stop looking back at the last few months, and start preparing for the good times ahead.  And whatever you do, don’t by-pass spring in you mind, and let it run onto the season of flies and heat.  That will come soon enough.

Spring forward, but take your time getting there.

I love teaching beginners.  I love passing on my love and understanding of horses.

Teaching more advanced riders, who have learned somewhere else, can be a challenge.  You don’t know what they have already learned (other than what you see) and how well they understand the principle of the teaching.

The first thing I say to them is – “Since I don’t know what you were taught, I may repeat things you have already heard or learned.  Or I may say it in a different way that you might understand it better.”  When I was working with a student recently, I was just doing my “Thing.”  Things I teach the beginner/intermediate riders automatically.  Things we do just for the fun of it, to take their mind off the fact that I’m drilling them on something new.  Something so simple I don’t give much thought to.  All of a sudden there was an Aha! moment.  Happening right before my eyes.  It was as simple as using more leg and weight than hands to turn your horse.

I had set up cones like we were going to run a set of poles.  Now remember we are riding English.  She was using too much hand, and not enough (if any) leg, and was over turning.  When you over turn going in one direction, you have to really over turn to compensate in the other direction.  I asked if she had ever driven a boat?  She said no, so I had to explain how the water has to work past the rudder in order for the boat to turn.  People always over turn the wheel on a boat because they are not getting an immediate response, and then they over turn in the other direction to compensate.  It’s not like a car that responds immediately.  When I showed her she didn’t have to use her hands to turn (they were just support), and she should just use her legs to push the horse sideways through the cones, that’s when it became an Aha! moment.  This is a girl who has been riding for years.  She did some Eventing in college and no one ever explained this to her?  Hello, what was her Dressage trainer thinking.  I explained how when her body turns, her weight shifts and so does the pressure of her seat bone into her horses back.  She was amazed and tickled to have learned something so simple but valuable.  I explained how this would relate to approaching a jump.  You don’t have to turn your horse’s head to move your horse over as you approach the jump.  This will sometimes cause your horse to do a flying change and mess you, and the horse up for your take off.  Just put your leg on her, move her whole body over at once, and keep going.

We talked about how so much of Western riding can not only be fun, but beneficial to training your English horse.  It’s refreshing to work around cones, and barrels when trying to execute simple maneuvers, the same ones you would use in Dressage.  It just shakes things up, and gives you a new perspective and approach to the same old, same old.

I know this is something I have mentioned in previous posts, but it was all new to her.

Yes you may have to use 20 Questions to find out where you start from, but the true answers come when you actually watch someone performing a movement or task.

Questions anyone?

Ah, grade school, back in the 50’s.  I’d forgotten all about learning to stop, look, and listen until I was trying to come up with a title for this post.  It popped into my head, and then I had to think about where I had heard that before.  When we were young we were told to do that when we went to cross a street.  Now children are taught to stop, drop, and roll when in a fire situation.  This saying will stay with them for the rest of their lives, as well it should.

I went to a schooling show the other day, hoping to meet up with some friends I hadn’t seen in a while.  I took one of my new students along.  She’s not from this state so she gladly went to see what was going on.  It became more of a lesson, than her actual lesson was that day.  We stood there and discussed the way things were done when she rode in college competitions, as opposed to what they were doing at this show.  I told her how I was taught to judge a class, and we compared notes on people’s good points in their riding ability, and what wasn’t so pleasant.  With some I just couldn’t watch, and kept turning away.  It’s like watching an accident or a fire.  You don’t want to watch it, but you are drawn to it.  I told her things I would like to see done different, and why.

It became a very interesting conversation.  I learned more about her learning process, things other instructors had disliked about her riding, and her previous experiences.  When someone comes for a lesson you usually don’t get to spend that much relaxed time just chatting.  She told me that she needed to do it herself in order to learn.  We talked about breathing and relaxing your spine when riding.  There were so many people who were there that were holding their breath and just pounding on the horses back.

Most of the horses were very forgiving to their riders.  They kept a pleasant attitude even though their mouths were getting yanked on and their backs abused.  Where are their trainers when this is all happening.  Or maybe the better question is – do they even have a trainer?  Everyone needs to be watched.  We all pick up bad habits that we are not aware of.  I’m sure these people had no idea that they were holding their breath.

It was obvious that some of these people were afraid of their horses.  There was really no basis for the pulling going on.  It was just a tug of war.  None of the horses were looking to run away.  It was just the rider was nervous, felt out of control, and pulled, so the horse pulled back, and so it continued.  I so badly wanted to rush up and say “wait, try this,” but they weren’t my students, and it wasn’t my place.  Just drives me nuts.

However, when I see a beautiful horse, with a young rider who is trying her best, I just have to go up and complement them.  It’s a really nice thing to do for someone.  Yes people you know can say nice things, and you accept their comments gratefully, but when a stranger takes the time and comes up to you, it means even more.  The horse was an Andalusian Stallion.  (I didn’t even know he was a stallion until her mother mentioned it.)  He was beautiful, relaxed, knew his job well, executed every move smoothly.  (This was a Dressage Class) just the picture of grace.  The mother was calling out the movements and got way ahead of what was to be performed next.  The girl told her mother to wait up and the judge (being very kind, I think she was impressed too) asked them both to go back to the movement before and start again from there.  The judge could have written them off as having blown the test (even though it was a schooling show) but she gave them another chance.  The judge was kind and instead of being impressed with her position, chose to help teach this pair, let them learn, and present the best performance they were capable of doing.  Way to go judge!

Speaking with them after the class I learned that he was a stallion, and he was looking for girlfriends.  I asked what his breeding was since I did not see a tattoo, although she said something about he had one.  I told her that he was absolutely beautiful.  The girl said he was her mothers horse.  Her mother said that he was the family horse.  Humility, beautiful horse, beautiful people.  The owner had a kind, gentle attitude and the horse reflected it.

So the next time you see (Look) something that takes your breath away, or someone who is trying very hard, Stop and take the time to complement them, Listen to their story,  and give them encouragement to continue what they are doing.  It will not only bless them, but you will be blessed too.

I had two new horses move in the other day.  Very interesting.

They are both wild mustangs, which the woman has had since they were weaned, rather abruptly from their mothers may I add.  They are now 23 and 27 years old.

She told me how she calmed them, gained their trust, broke them, used them, and loved them through the years.  So to me, with the age and mileage they had on them, I just treated them like any other horse that would come in.  I introduced myself slowly, honoring them when I approached.  Let them sniff me, and feel my energy.  We were good, I was accepted.  Later that day I went down to see them, and they looked at me like I had four heads. Okay,  where are we, who are you, and what did you do with my mother?  I could appreciate their questions, but just reassured them with a couple of carrots and left them.  That evening I fed them dinner, they were a little cautious, but accepting.  I figured in a few days they would settle in.  It’s a new state, a new place, new surroundings, new horses in the next pastures, but they had each other, and life would be good.  Or maybe not.

Well the next afternoon there were flies bothering the gelding’s eyes (this is Florida, we still have flies on some days even in winter) so I went down with a bucket of cold water to rinse his eyes and to take some of the puffiness out.  I thought I’d put a fly mask on.  Well we had to discuss the possibility of me getting that personal with him, but he decided to trust me, and felt much better afterwards.  He let me put the fly mask on, and life was good.  The mare however, decided that I could not put fly spray on her belly.  Each morning now we go through the asking permission to put the fly masks on, and possibly spraying the bellies.  Remember these horses are turned out in pastures, so it’s a matter of playing “Mother, May I.”  I could put halters on, tie them to a post and just go and do my thing, but to me, and to them, that would be rude and pushy.  They will, in time, accept this like all the others, but for now, we have to learn to trust each other, and we will.

Trust has to be earned, not demanded of.  You may get them to submit when you have them tied down, but being able to walk up to any horse in the pasture, have them willingly come to you, and let you do anything to them, is a much better way.  Oh sure some day’s they are just going to give you a hard time, but for the most part, if you come and approach them calm and relaxed, they are going to go along with it.  The only time they are going to give you a rough time is when you approach them with the “I really don’t have time for this, let’s get it done so I can move on” attitude, they are going to make you work for it.  Then it becomes “Tag, your it.”

This is a good time to look at yourself, adjust your energy and way of thinking.  There’s the old – them as a teacher, and us as the student reality.

Trust comes a little easier to the horses that were born in captivity.  They’ve watched you (or someone) handle their mothers.  There have been people around them since birth.  People have always been in their lives, or around for some reason.  Now you have wild horses that have never had human contact until they were rounded up, in a scary way, abruptly taken away from their mothers, put in very scary places, and put in a new environment, a pen or a stall (solitary confinement).  Why should they trust humans?  I now believe wild will always proceed with caution, and so should we.  Remember to use respect, and they will respond with appreciation.  Not just wild horses, all horses, but especially wild horses.

They use their instincts, so should you.  We have a habit of tuning things out.  We go on auto pilot a lot of the time.  Maybe they have the better idea, maybe we should too.  When I went to self-defence training (that was in the height of car jacking times) the instructor told us to be very aware of our surroundings, especially in parking lots.  Look in the backseat of the car before you get in.  If someone is sitting in the passenger seat next to your car, perhaps walk back to the store for a couple of minutes.  We need heightened awareness, just like our wild friends.  Oh, the other thing he taught us was when we walk through a parking lot, walk with our pocketbooks on the side up against the back of a car.  If you walk with it on your shoulder to the middle of the road, someone can just drive by, slip their arm through you bag and keep going.

So take a walk on the wild side, horses are aware of everything going on around them, we should be too.

Of course our horses teach us how to ride.  They teach us what it feels like to pick our bodies up off the ground, and start again (I think that’s called humility).  They teach us more than you can ever imagine.

They teach us the Fruits Of The Spirit – Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Goodness, Kindness, Gentleness, Faithfulness and Self-Control.

They teach us responsibility.  They teach us everything we have to learn about riding, and being a horseman/woman.  Actually, they teach us about how to be better human beings.  They are usually good listeners.  They share the joy of God’s creation.  There are no people more in touch with life, and the outdoors, than horse people.  Most horse people are very spiritual.  Why?  Because we are in touch with something greater than we are.

We are taught about a herd mentality.  We are taught about a survival instinct because of their prey status, and fight or flight instinct.  As we watch them gallop across a field we are taught to celebrate life everyday.  The only thing they worry about is where, and when the next meal is coming from, and if they are in a safe place.  Boy, with all the stress in our lives wouldn’t we be better off with that attitude.  Yes we have to make plans, but we don’t have to stress over them.

But here’s a news flash.  They are sent as teachers to teach us about ourselves.

Our dogs, being predators, are in tune to our energy and body language.  Our horses being prey animals, are looking at the same thing only more so.  Our animals are mirrors of us.  Think about what you don’t like about your horse, or other people for that matter.   What would you like to change if you could.  Now think about yourself.  Do you, perhaps, have the same problems or qualities.  Do they withhold the last inch of themselves?  Do you?  Do they stress and worry?  Do you?  Are they sometimes grouchy?  Are you?  Do they sometimes not want to be caught when you are late?  What kind of energy did you walk in with?  What are they trying to show you?

But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you.  Job 12:7

Just take the time to seek and learn what they are trying to teach you.  About yourself.  You may be surprised at what they want to show you.  Honestly, you really may not like what you see, but take heart, you can make changes, and corrections.  After all, that’s what teachers are for.

There are twenty-two horses who were poisoned here in Florida, and I know this has happened in other states before, and occurring now north of here.  The feed mill that supplied their grain was not careful enough and included an additive for cows that a horse cannot tolerate.  It has killed several and the others are dying slowly.

I saw a picture on Facebook of these young girls giving their dying horses a spa day.  I know that there are people out there that are saying, “Oh they’re only horses.”  Seriously.  I know I am preaching to the choir, because if people aren’t interested in horses, they are not viewing this post.  But they just don’t get it.  They don’t get what our horses mean to us.  They are way beyond a pet.

Truly, think about it, what does your horse mean to you?  He/she is your best friend.  Someone you can go to after a hard day, and they will make it all better.  They are your therapist, your comforter, a shoulder to cry on.

How many times when I was a teenage girl, did I just walk up to my horse, throw my arms around her neck, just cry, and tell her all my problems.  Problems about school, boy friends, girl friends, how the world wasn’t fair.  Horses don’t care if we have the “In” designer clothes, or if we are having problems with Acne.  Children and young adults are very cruel, but horses love us for who we are, pimples and all.

When parents would stand with me, while I was teaching their children, they would say that their child loved taking lesson, but it was so expensive.  I would look at them and run down the list of how cheap it really was.  Where would you prefer having your child, hanging around a street corner, or at a barn.  When we were kids, by the time we all left the barn, we were so dirty and tired, all we wanted to do was go home, go to bed, and get up the next day and do it again.  Children who are into horses don’t usually get in trouble with the law.  They are too busy and exhausted.  They are focused on the horse, not themselves.  They learn responsibility, and concern for another’s well-being.  They are spending time with those that feel the same way.

These horses that are dying have given unconditional love, and encouragement.  They have given someone the confidence to do things, they never thought they could do.  They have cared for their person, and shown them the time of their lives.

Oh they are so much more than just a horse, especially to a teenage girl.

*****

I wrote this post in the beginning of December when this all first happened.  Since then the company has made good and is picking up all the expenses of the affected horses.  The company has also promised to pay for horses to replace the horses that are dying.  They have also said they will no longer produce horse feed.  They are making right for the wrong that was committed, even though it was not intentional.  The new horses will never replace, in the hearts of these kids, the horses that have passed, but it will help the families with the expense incurred.  At least they stepped up to the plate and did what they could.

In the January /February copy of America’s Horse on the “Sage Remarks” page I noticed two remarks that caught my attention, one that speak to this article.  There is also a remark that mirrors comments I have made in previous posts.

Sometimes I feel like people look at me as if I’m crazy, with some of the things I come up with.  Then there are others that agree with me totally.  I do not know these people on this remarks page, and probably have never heard of them before, but we are sisters by heart in the horse.

The first one is Author Holly Davis, who in the introduction to “From Their Heart to Yours:  Inspirational horses and the people who love them:  she writes, “But it’s just a horse…”  “If I had a pound for each time I have heard this phrase, I would be a very rich woman.  Actually, the truth is that I am rich due to horses.  Not in the monetary sense that most people would think in terms of wealth. Rather, in terms of knowledge, love, compassion, life lessons and experiences that I have been gifted by numerous horses.”

And the next one is something I firmly believe.  This is written by Theresa “Tess” Andreozzi  of Spring Creek, Nevada, telling the Elko Daily News about her plans to show in ranch horse pleasure at the AQHA World Championship Show.  “Training horses is like doing math.  You can’t skip doing steps.”  This I totally agree with.  If you skip steps it will come back to bite you.

Now these two women know what it’s all about.  They are women after my own heart.

******

Hang in there y’all, winter will end.

There are always programs about the Titanic.  What a magnificent ship.  The money, the opulence.  A life style no longer in existence.  Even sitting on the bottom of the ocean, she is still a regal lady, a class act.

Oh of course we know that an Iceberg gouged out the side of her hull, but amazingly what really sunk her was “Ego.”  The ego of the men who built her into the ship that couldn’t be sunk.  Life boats, nah we don’t need them, she’s not going to sink.  Let’s run her full-out so we break a record getting to New York.  Icebergs, don’t worry about them, we have a strong hull, and water tight bulkheads (that never went to the ceiling, duh.)  Well how did that work out for you?  All those male egos went down with the ship, along with a bunch of innocent people who just wanted to start a new life.

What???, you say.  Surely you must be thinking that I’ve lost my mind, and what does this have to do with horses.  Everything.

I will admit that men have more of a problem with the “Old Male Ego” thing than woman, but not by much lately.  Yes all the wars are started by the “Male Ego.”  I want more land, more control, more power, more importance, more……  I want to rule the world.

Woman want bigger and better.  They have to out-do the neighbors.  But as opposed to war, we do lunch.

Bottom line is that it all comes back to ego.  So much involved with such a small word.

So how does this relate to our horses?  When they are the catalyst for acquiring our power, and helping to lift our ego up onto that pedestal.  When they become the means to the end, without any concern for them.

We are in a disposable society.  If it’s broke, throw it away and buy a new one.  We are not talking toasters here.  We are talking living breathing animals.  You can’t just throw them on the side, and not do the best you can for them.  You can’t just go out, and replace them with another model. Without knowing what is wrong, and fixing this one first.  Give it a chance at a healthy life, maybe in a different profession.  Just because you have a bunch of them, doesn’t mean that the one injured one doesn’t matter.

Where is the conscience, and the compassion of some people?  What has this world come to?

God gave us dominion over the animals, for care and protection.  Not abuse and neglect.

Do you know how many dogs and cats are sitting in shelters because they are unwanted?  Horses, especially young unbroken foals, that are unwanted?  Truthfully, I’m afraid to even mention the elderly that are sitting alone in nursing homes or hospitals, and the children that are sitting in orphanages, and on streets, that are unwanted.

This world is becoming a very scary place.  We should all be very afraid for the future, and of the egos of those in charge.

Be responsible, don’t breed, rescue; and call on the carpet those who don’t care for God’s creation.

Double check where your ego has been lately.  Are you really better than anyone else, or is that only in your mind.  And truly, what are the consequences of your actions?

What is the Titanic in your life?