Monthly Archives: October 2019

Sometimes I Just Can’t Believe It

So the Warmblood that’s been here is about to go back to his real life. His rehab is done on my part. Now he needs to move closer to their home for continued flat work before he, hopefully, goes back to being an Open Jumper.

The mom has been bringing him along to strengthen his hind quarters and now that he is feeling better, he’s getting to be too much horse for her.

He was green to start with. Since his injuries, for the last several years the daughter has been riding finished horses in shows both here and in Europe. She got back on him and expected to ride off into the sunset on a finished horse. NOT!! I had to remind her that he is still green, even though he is nine.

It was a rude awakening for both of us. “He’s drifting. He’s bulging.” Me -“He’s Green!!! you need to ride him with your legs, keep him between both your hands and your legs!” Her heels weren’t down, her legs were moving way too much and he was getting frustrated, tossing his head and swishing his tail. Okay, lets go back to square one. I got her legs stretched, and still. He quieted down, dropped onto the bit and relaxed. A week ago she kept smacking him with a bat on his shoulder because he wouldn’t relax. Okay, this makes sense How??? Made her drop the bat. He settled right down. Got her still, and by the time we finished with the lesson, he was doing a beautiful working trot on the buckle (dropped rein). This horse insists on a quiet rider, and if you’re not, he’s going to tell you all about it.

I like horses that tell on a rider. My Desert was like that. If I taught a lesson on him, and the rider wasn’t giving him the proper cue, he’d stop and say “She’s not doing it right.” I’d laugh and the rider would just be so confused as to how I knew.

My point is this – students these days are not taught the basic riding skills. They are put on top of finished horses that carry them around a course. They win and the instructor/trainer looks good. Bottom line is that the student doesn’t really know how to ride. Instead of teaching them how to work with the horse, when that horse breaks down they just sell them and get a more expensive, finished horse. The trainer will reschool the other one and sell it for more money to someone else. That’s really sick.

So the young girl came to me and asked if I would give her lessons in order to ride her horse, how I trained it.

It’s so sad that these kids are not being taught how to ride. In one lesson I showed her how to be still, and how to move the horse off her leg. This is basic Horsemanship 101, well maybe 201.

We spoke about how in a show you are allowed to sit lightly on a horses back. I watch these kids going around the ring smacking a horses in his back with every stride. I told her that her horse will not allow this. I asked her when she rode bareback did she sit and ride with the horse or bounce on his back. The answer was sit and move with the horse. So why do they “post” to the canter? Because people do not want to take the time to learn how to move with their horses. They just want to get on, ride, and win. We have fast food restaurants, now we have fast food riding. That’s why we see so many horses with bad backs and tons of shock absorbent pads under the saddle.

The barn she is going to, to finish off his rehab, has a Dressage Instructor. Now this girl is an Open Jumper rider and most of them look down their noses at Dressage. I told her to go and learn her basics in Dressage (which is what we all do whether we know it or not) and it will help her to be a better Jumper rider. Instead of moving his front end over (and hoping his back end will follow) to go straight into a jump she will learn to use her legs to gently move his whole body in alignment to go straight into her fence. We practiced that and she understood what I was saying, and she had a good time doing it.

My way may not be in fashion any more, but my way makes a happy horsey.

The Dance

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It is one of my favorite Garth Brooks songs. I heard him speaking about it the other day, and he agrees that the song is special to him too. The music behind it just adds to the alluring thoughts and feelings that touch your whole body and soul.

Several years ago a friend lost her daughter in a car accident. The girl left behind a four year old son, and two older children. My friend was devastated. At the wake a friend of her daughters played “The Dance” on a guitar and sang the words. It was very touching and everyone cried.

Before the funeral, I would hear the words of that song and think of all the beloved animals I had lost. Horses, cats, and especially my dogs. The pain of losing our animals is real. Really real. I guess it’s more so when they are taken suddenly at a young age.

I think I cry more for my animals, who have crossed the Rainbow Bridge, than for some of my family. They touch our hearts and almost become a part of our own self. The pain runs deep. More so if you’ve raised them from babies. They are your babies. They are your heart, and going on without them seems impossible.

That’s where “The Dance” comes into play. “Our lives are better left to chance, I could have missed the pain, but I’d of had to miss The Dance.” Yes we could all do without the horrible pain that even takes the breath out of our bodies, but I’d have missed all the laughs, companionship, learning experiences, and mostly the love and connection they gave us. Not to mention that we gave them.

Thinking back over the time spent with each animal, I would never trade it for anything. If you don’t feel pain, you have never felt the love. The more love you felt for each one, the more pain you will go through. It’s just how it works.

So enjoy the love and good times while they are with you. The pain will come, but the “Dance” is so worth it.

The Black Hole

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I’ve had to of written on this before, but I can’t find it. So I’ll do it again.

Okay, now let’s review how a horses mind works. “Fight or Flight?” It’s born into every horse. Did you know that people are born with this instinct too? I never thought about it until it was called to my attention by my Pastor just recently. When we are scared, just like our horses, our body sends out adrenaline too. It’s automatic. To get us out of bad situations. God is so thoughtful.

Now in order for a horse to run from danger they need to have an escape route. Therefore, when a horse is contained there is no way out. This leads to a lot of trouble. It is dangerous for the horse, but can also be dangerous to a person close by. I’ve seen doors torn off, walls and fences broken, and anything in a horses path destroyed. We seem to forget just how powerful a horse is.

So let’s think about loading a horse into a trailer.

In the early 1970’s my friend had a horse who would not load, period. He either had a very bad experience or was just afraid of confined spaces. Some people are too. She had to move her horse to a new barn and it was too far to ride him over, so one of my mentors said that he could load any horse. Actually he bet us that he could do it. This was way before all these new trainers were even born. We took his bet. We waited patiently at the barn for him to arrive, and to let the games begin. Other, so called old time horse trainers had tried to no avail. So what does my friend show up with??? A pick up truck with a make shift stall in the bed. Now back when I was a kid very few people had horse trailers. You wouldn’t believe what people hauled horses in. We hauled ponies in the back seat of cars. Just took the seat itself out and put the ponies in. The back of the “stall” in the pick up would become a ramp. It was steep, but it worked. Don’t you know that this dang horse loaded the first trip up this ramp. My friend closed the ramp up and declared himself the winner.

Now to us this looked really scary. To the horse, it was just fine. He was looking around, enjoying the view. Trailered to the new barn with no problem.

So what made the difference? He could see. He didn’t feel closed in.

Now my friend came to trailer one of the horses from my barn last week. She uses her horse trailer weekly and her horse has no problem getting into her trailer. The two horses she was trailering, one from her barn and one from mine, had a whole different idea about this trailer. Her trailer is set up with a tack room in front and one at the rear doors. Mine does too, but we don’t use the back tack room. Ours is slid flat against the wall. You have this one narrow door for a horse to walk into the somewhat dark unknown. They didn’t buy into it. The horse from her barn took 45 minutes to load. Now the owner felt bad because she told the woman that her horse was an easy loader. Well in another open trailer he probably was, but you were asking a big warmblood to load through a narrow door into the unknown. The horse from my barn loaded easy, but on the way home neither would get back into that trailer. They finally did, but did this woman give it any thought as to way this all happened?

When my friend, years ago, explained to us why the horse (who never loaded into anything) got onto the back of this pick up, he explained that it was light, open, airy, and that’s why the horse loaded. He said always make sure that the trailer is light inside. Open all the windows and doors that you could. Make it feel inviting, not closed in, and they will load.

Now the friend who picked up the horses last week is a knowledgeable horse woman, her horse loaded so why shouldn’t every other horse. Well they just have different ideas about what is safe and what is a tiger trap.

The darkness on the inside of a trailer can be more of a problem if you have a horse that is coming from extreme sunlight into a dark trailer, especially if the horses eyes don’t adjust to the light and dark. I have one now that won’t walk into his stall if the light isn’t on or I don’t lead him in. He’s not that old, but his owner told me, when she moved him here, that he had a sight problem.

He’s also not fond of flashlights, a lot of horses aren’t. They don’t get the light dancing around on the ground or in the air for that matter. Quickest way to spook some horses is to snap on a flashlight at night.

So no matter what you are trying to do with a horse, always make it inviting. Let whatever person the horse trusts, extend the invitation. If the owner believes the horses isn’t going to do it, it won’t. You need someone with quiet confidence to load a horse. It may take a little longer if the horse doesn’t know or trust the person, but they will follow a true leader.

Part Of The Job Description

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There are many rewarding things I like about my life’s work, and many I could do without.

I love teaching and training. I used to love breaking babies. I love the interaction with the horses, but confronting their owners about a problem falls at the bottom of the list. Well I guess if it’s a problem that brings them to a positive end, it’s a good thing. The ones that fall into the other category stink.

When you’re working with a horse and rider you come across a lot of situations that can be worked out, but then there are those that look like they’re leading to a bad ending. It is your responsibility to stand up and be honest before someone gets hurt. Speak the truth in love.

I’ve recently witness, horses that were sold, with the best of intentions, to willing innocent people. Some who will spend tons of money to straighten the problem out, and some that are left with a horse that they can’t do anything with. Sometime the seller isn’t aware of the underlying issue. Sometimes the horse is just plain dangerous, to themselves and others. Sometimes these horses cannot be fixed. After spending tons of money on the purchase price and the numerous people involved in trying to fix it, the only option is to put the animal down. If you do sell it, give a full disclosure.

It’s the owners ultimate decision, but somehow many of them turn to me for my opinion. I Hate That! You gather and list the facts, explain them to the owner and throw the ball back in their court. It’s like having a horse vetted. The vet is not there to tell the owner to buy it or not. The vet is there to list the issues they have found and tell the buyer if the horse can handle what the buyer intends to use the horse for.

But what if the person already owns the horse? What if you are the instructor/trainer? What if the horse is unsafe for that person to be riding? What if the owner really loves the horse and doesn’t want to get rid of it? AND here is the part I hate – once again you list all the facts. You tell the person that it is a wonderful horse, but just not the right horse for them. It’s tough to tell the person that their riding ability is not good enough for this particular horse. Sometimes they know it, but don’t want to admit it.

There are times that you can work with a horse and rider to bring the rider up to par, and train the horse down. Then there are times that you really have to explain to the rider that it’s not fair to the horse or the rider to continue the relationship. Sometimes the owner will go to another instructor/trainer who will tell them what they want to hear, tranquilize the horse before the owner gets there and let them have a successful ride, just to get their money. I’m not that person.

Then there is the owner who wants to stay and have you work with or around the problem.

If the horse comes to you, down in it’s weight, ulcers, poor health, needing several adjustments, you heal that horse and give it groceries, medications, adjustments, and plenty of water, all of a sudden you have a healthy, happy horse who wants to celebrate. Sometimes throwing a rodeo buck sending the rider flying through the air to hit the ground like a rock. This is not good.

So comes the time you have to say – this is not the horse for you, you are going to get really hurt. When you’re young you bounce better then when you are longer in the tooth. My job is to keep you safe and bring you and your horse along to enjoy each other, but I’ve seen two people killed on the hunt field and it’s not going to happen again on my watch.

When it comes down to them not wanting to change the situation, and me not wanting to watch, I have to ask them to move out of my barn. I hate that job. I know I haven’t failed, there are some horses that need a more experienced rider. There are some relationships, both between humans, and between humans and animals that are just not going to work.

To the trainers who just want in for the money, I hope you can live with yourselves. I have to have a clear conscious and know that I have done my best for both the person and horse.

My one friend went through several trainers who tried to help her and her horse before the last one finally pulled her off her horse and reached her. They all told her what I did, but it finally sunk in. She is safe and has a wonderful horse who takes care of her. We never discuss the situation, but we all just had her safety in mind.

Don’t ever tell the person what they want to hear. Tell the person the truth. You will sleep better, they will be safe, and hopefully someone will finally break through the illusion.

Stay strong and firm in your beliefs.

So When Is Old, Too Old?

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This subject is really getting to me lately.

I saw a picture on Facebook last week showing two women. They were both supposed to be 74 years old. Well I’m not sure about that. I’m not really good at telling a persons age, but this seemed a little far fetched. One picture showed a woman who worked out at a gym, she could have been 74. Obviously she used plenty of weights in her training. The other woman looked to be a lot older than 74. She was sitting in a rocking chair. I would guess her to be well into her 80’s or 90. But remember, they were both supposed to be 74.

Okay they got their point across. A body in motion stays in motion. A body at rest self destructs.

As horse people, there really isn’t a chance of us sitting around and falling apart. Well falling apart from our own falls maybe. Between barn chores, riding, moving grain and hay, grounds to take care of, and of course repairs, there is no chance of us sitting idle.

I know the insurance companies all figure us to be coasting to the finish line, we are not! I hate when they figure I sit and watch TV and eat Bon Bons. Just makes me crazy. (Not that I need any help.)

We are strong men and women who do more than a days work. We’re athletic, and usually very healthy. Except for the scars, arthritis, healed broken bones and such.

Have you ever seen a bunch of old horsemen or women. They may be weathered, but don’t mess with them. They are definitely strong as an ox, with an attitude to match. I always say, “If I can take on a thousand pound animal, I am certainly not afraid of you.”

So don’t buy into “You’re too old.” If you can swing a leg over the top of a horse, keep doing it. I know women who ride into their 90’s. Age is just a number and I kind of like the number 50, so I’ll keep thinking I’m 50. I certainly don’t want to be young and stupid, or old and senile.

We see so much on TV and the Internet. They tell us we should be old and falling apart. With all those drug adds they brain wash us into believing that we have all those symptoms, diseases, and we need these drugs. Hog wash. (Now where did that saying ever come from?)

Ride on horsemen and women. Fly like an eagle, don’t even mess with the turkeys. Thanksgiving is coming anyway.