I haven’t ever really fit “the mold” in the horse world, and
to this day people are stumped when they ask what it is that I do, and I answer
that “I work with horses and their owners.”
“But what discipline?” they ask. “All of them,” I say. Of course this answer usually gets a “so you
don’t really specialize in anything or know much about anything” sort of facial
response. Which is fine with me, because
it allows me to see someone’s perspective on the “horse world.”
Opening a horse facility in remote northern Idaho was not
exactly a way to attract “big” clientele, but it definitely sorted out those
who were “committed” and those that wanted it “easy.” There is no judgment at the facility, no “keeping
up with the Jones’” mentality, just humble horse owners looking to further
their horse experience in a positive and safe place. Last week I had three new students all
driving two hours or more just for an hour lesson!
Yesterday I had a gaited horse learning to jump, a young
colt being started, an ex-rope horse learning how to just “be” a horse, and an
endurance horse learning that he had really did have brakes and felt better
about life if he wasn’t going either 0 or 90mph.
My human students range from youngsters who ride better than
they walk to older folks, who now also their bodies are slowing down, also ride
better than they can walk! Students
range from those who have never ridden to those with 30+ years in the
saddle. The variation keeps it fresh and
exciting for me and I never know what to expect; there is no routine or normal
here at my facility, in my lessons or my training. And I’ve worked very hard to keep stimulating
curiosity, commitment, dedication and persistence in both humans and horses.
This brings me to the topic of today’s impromptu blog. Most adult riders are happy these days just
to “keep a leg on either side,” but with kids it can be a very different
mentality. With kids even though most of
today’s children don’t know who Annie Oakley was, she seems to have “inspired”
their imaginations creating a zeal for horse adventures at high rates of speed,
with the child envisioning their horse is loving it as they gallop through the
fields. Of course reality offers a very
different version of “going for a ride” for many kids.
Over the past 22 years of teaching I’ve probably taught
close to 300+ children. That is a lot of
kids. What inspires me most about kids
is their “black and white-ness” in what information they accept, how they
respond to it, and how in turn they communicate it to their horses.
I cannot begin to tell you how many starry eyed pigtailed
horse obsessed children I have watched groom, bathe, brush, hug, braid and
snuggle with their horses who stand quietly tolerating what the kid thinks the
horse “likes.”
Then not fifteen minutes later, to watch that same docile
horse, go from a “dead” walk into a jaw jarring, teeth rattling, wind-up-toy
trot dragging their rider in the opposite direction from which the rider was
attempting to turn. No matter how hard
the rider tries to pull, that horse (or pony) pushes their nose down, pops
their shoulder, and “leans” until ending up in the horse’s desired spot. Then, the horse stops and looks around with
an innocent expression as if saying, “What’s the problem?” (Think Thelwell pony!)
Then there is the happily trotting steed who decides to “randomly”
slam on the brakes to watch their tiny rider flip right off and down their neck
as if doing a summersault towards the horse’s ears.
Or the “I didn’t know your leg was there” moments when the
horse “accidentally” rubs the rider’s barely foot long leg against the gate or
fence.
The blistered tiny palms, the raw legs, the sore backsides
and the bruised egos, and yet these kids come back for more, and through it
all, they still LOVE their horse.
I am always proud to recognize my students in a crowd; they
are the ones who are circling, serpentining, leading if necessary, stopping and
letting their horse look at the scary things, but mostly you can recognize them
from how often they pat their horses. I
joke and tell them I want to see raw spots on their horse’s necks from patting.
I can’t tell you how many circles some of these children
have “put up with” me asking them to do with their horse, I’m sure the whole
time they were thinking that they’d never get off a circle or a turn. Obviously the circle or turn is not the “fix
it” but rather a tool to get the horse’s brain back with it’s rider. I’ve never taught or spoken to kids as if
they were any less capable than an adult; and often I find they are MORE
capable because they don’t carry a lot of the psychological “what ifs” around
in their head as they work with their horse.
Often kids wind up on less than “broke” horses, and have to
learn the “hard way;” my theory in teaching is that I teach a person how to
work with ALL horses, not just the one they happen to be riding.
So after who knows how many lessons, practice sessions,
practice shows, group gatherings, etc. to watch students who at the beginning had
to turn or circle literally every five to 10 feet just to get down the long side of an arena to
winning every competition they enter, is awesome. Of course I could care less about the ribbon
or placing, but rather, that the child feels the fulfillment of the hard work,
dedication and honest relationship they had to build WITH their horse is
awesome.
The other morning I was teaching two students, both of whom
have very young and inexperienced horses.
Their horses still come up with moments of “excitement” but the girls
actually gain confidence from helping their horses through those moments,
rather than just trying to survive them.
And every once in a while, I am more than pleasantly surprised when the
students ask to do something they hadn’t done before. Below is a picture of what they came up with
today:
So the next time you head out to work with your horse and are feeling a little frustrated, take a moment and try to find that "inner child" whose perspective may allow you and your horse to achieve more than you could have imagined.
Sam
