The Five Horses We Meet in Life

I adopted this from Fugly's blog:


The Five Horses We Meet in Life

1. The Intro Horse.
We each came into horses in our own way, but it was always with a horse leading us. This might have been a friend’s first pony, or perhaps it was a draft horse on a farm you once visited. It might have been a real-life meeting, or an imaginary one. I was escorted to the party by The Black, Walter Farley’s star horse in The Black Stallion series…

I don't think I have just one intro horse. It is a mix of books movies and real life horses. My riding life started over 20 years ago at Widmare stables (now defunct - Jake Weigel retired.). There was Beaver, Pitty Patty, Breeze, Sugar, Scotty, George, Hank (the forelockless wonder), Rusty and my favorite, Lady. Run free friends. You are all missed.



2. The Experimental Horse
Once you had crossed the line between “Darn, they’re big!” and “Wow! Can I try that?” you found yourself face-to-face with the horse that would suffer through your early attempts at figuring out the whole horse experience … wherever this horse came from, he probably didn’t benefit from the encounter as much as you did…

This would have to be my little Appaloosa gelding, Hart. I bought him when I was 14. He was a yearling. I could never ever repay this little horse for all the things he taught me. He was the first horse I trained all by myself, and he turned out pretty damn well, if I do say so myself. He not only taught me, but he also taught my best friend in high school how to ride. Last I heard, he was teaching more little girls to ride and giving them a taste of the local show circuit.

3. The Connected Horse
The first horses we meet don’t really connect with us, nor do we with them. Those are experiences in survival and tests of endurance. The Connected Horse is the first horse you truly bond with. This is the horse that sounds a chord that lives so deep in you that you might never have heard it otherwise…

My connected horse would be Alexander. Al, was a 18.2 hand Percheron stallion. I met him when I worked for Spice Creek Percherons. He was 10 when I met him. Over the 2 years I worked with him, I became so connected to him that I could almost ride with my thoughts alone. Al was bought at auction without papers by a guy named Zane. He owed my boss money, so she got Al. Remember the huge controversy in the Percheron Horse Association about selling a horse as grade unless you paid more for the papers? That who fiasco was over my Al. We did eventually get his registration papers without having to pay any more money.
When we got Al, he was the laziest beast I had ever met. He was broke single and double, but had a nasty habit of bucking in harness if you touched him with a whip to encourage him to pull his share. The easiest way to get him over this was to get on his back. I'm not sure if I was the only on gutsy enough to get on him, or if I was the stupid one. Within 2 weeks the bucking stopped and he was moving forward. Within 4 months we were at our first dressage show, scoring 68% on our first training level test.
When I left Spice Creek, I left part of my heart with Al. One day I got a call that he was bitten by a bear tick and was going downhill fast. I made the 2.5 hour drive in a little under an hour and a half. I only got to spend 15 minutes with him before he was put down, but I'm very grateful for those last 15 minutes with the horse that will remain forever in my heart.

4. The Challenger
Into each horseperson’s life, a little challenge must fall. You’ll have read that one final training book, bought yourself a clicker and heading rope, and there you’ll stand, arms crossed, assessing the situation as if you actually knew what the situation was. It might be difficult to believe, as you are flying down the aisleway on the losing end of a braided cotton line, but you actually need this horse in your life…

^That whole paragraph is Turbo, to a T! He makes the hard things easy and the easy things hard. He is a challenge everyday, although he is getting better as time goes on. When I got him at 10 months of age, he was very...erm...sheltered. There are still a lot of scary things, but he is getting more and more desensitized. He is the horse that I can teach something and the next day, I get the deer in the headlights look when I ask him to do it. I can leave it alone for a week, and in a stroke of brilliance, it all comes back and he does it perfectly. Although he is the most challenging horse I have ever dealt with, he is also the horse I have achieved the greatest sense of accomplishment with.


5. Your Deepest Heart
There will come a time when you will look at yourself with a cold, appraising eye, and you’ll have to be honest about your continued ability to deal with The Challenger and other difficult horses. At that point, you’ll seek out the horse that will be your soul mate forever… You’ll have bought him the most comfortable, best fitting equipment… Maybe you’ll still go to shows and ride – brilliantly or barely – in the Alzheimer’s class. Maybe you’ll just stay home. Whatever you do, one day you’ll realize that after all the money you spent on animal communicators and trainers, you only had to stop and listen and you would have clearly heard your horse’s thoughts and desires…

Turbo. I love him as much as I love my own flesh and blood daughter. He is my heart and soul.


And Kim's answers:

1. The Intro Horse.
My intro horse or horses I should say were the drafts at the state fair when I was younger. I was impressed by their size. I have to say if my parents would have let me have a pet when I was younger I might not have liked the big drafts so much.



2. The Experimental Horse
That would be Sky. My first time riding or should I say sitting on him while my (now ex) boyfriends mom and sister explained to me how to ride. Sky had other plans such as food. He took off into the barn with me on his back clinging to his side since it was not high enough for me to clear. Into the barn and into his stall and back out when he realized there was no food in there for him yet. Thanks to horse ladies being able to run fast and catch him before we made it past the second stall on the way out. I learned how to stop a horse shortly after.



3. The Connected Horse
I have not had the pleasure as of yet to spend much time around horses. If I had to pick one as of yet it would have to be Princess. Princess is usually happy to see me and will follow me around the pasture all day if you let her. She doesn't like to work, however, and going on trail rides is a bother with her complaining the first mile out. It isn't always enjoyable.


4. The Challenger
This would have to be Vegas. Although a very sweet horse she needed to learn ground manners. She never cared that you were 3 paces behind, she was like I am going and you better keep up. It didn't help that all she knew before was beauty treatments.


5. Your Deepest Heart
Have yet to come by.

Vegas at 30 days under saddle

I was able to get out to the barn (with my camera!) to watch Vegas work. At 30 days, she is doing pretty well at the walk and trot, and the canter is coming. She is progressing though, so I can't complain. :) These pics are from her first time in a dressage saddle. I think she looks pretty good, yes?














And the video:


I'll be back later with more updates!