Do You Hear What I Hear?

The rich fragrance of molasses and hay assaulted my nose as I entered the dimly lighted barn. The horses whinnied and shuffled in their stalls as I walked down the center isle, the clicking of my boots echoing off the high rafters of the loft above. At the end stall one horse in particular was making a big fuss, kicking up dirt and hay. There was grit in my teeth and an earthy taste from the dust I inhaled with every breath. The horse's panicked voice was muffled by a metal restraint he had about his nose. While keeping my eyes on the horse I undid the cool metal latch of the stall door and let myself into the small space. My fingers quickly wrapped around the rough nylon of his halter and pulled his head towards me. With one hand still holding the halter, I used my other to undo the too-tight straps of the muzzle and let the contraption fall to the ground with a thud. First thing he did was wrench away from me and go out the back door and start grazing. Obviously, some horses just can't be trained to wear a muzzle.

Take a Hike!

Training a horse is quite a hike. The long and widing path leads towards the sumit of a very tall mountain of achievement. You cannot just pick up a backpack and a water bottle and take off into the woods, expecting everything to work according to plan. You need experience. You need a partner. Your horse is your partner in this hike. Together the two of you desensitize yourselves to the wilds of nature, and train yourselves for the physical challenge of taking on this rocky road. As the days go on, both you and the horse find the hike is becoming easier as you both start to bond with one another more and more. Each twist and turn in the path presents a new obstical, and each new obstacle brings you closer together. Before you know it, you ride out of the forest upon your new best friend into the clearing at the top of this large mountain, and all thats left is to do is enjoy the view. The work is now behind you, and you and your horse can now enjoy the rest of the journey.

My Fault?

After my horse came back from the trainers, it was my job to continue her training and ride her often to further desensitize her to the riding process. One of the days we were out it was very windy and the trees in the paddock we were riding in were rustling about. Gracie, my mare, didn't seem to notice the chaotic disturbance though, and simply plodded along as I made her go in circles around the fenceline. Suddenly, as we passed a large tree and the wind picked up again, Gracie spooked and began bucking wildly. Unable to regain my seat, it didn't take long for me to hit the ground as the horse continued to thrash wildly above me. Her hooves landed on either side of my head and body. One of her hind hooves kicked my leg as she galloped off, flipping me over and ripping my jeans. Thankfully she slowed to a stop once she got to the other side of the paddock, and I was able to capture her before the pain in my leg overwhelmed me. The horse seemed to be as calm as ever after the ordeal, but the shock and pain of my injury has kept me from riding her ever since. I may never know if it was the wind, tree, or simply my lack of balance that set her off on a bucking spree, but whatever the influence, I ended up on the ground, with a nasty kick mark to my thigh, and a nervousness of riding this particular horse.

Yea or Neigh?

Everone responds to gentleness, humans and animals alike. No one wants to be treated harshly or witness agression towards others, do they? Gentleness creates that warm fuzzy feeling that you get when you feel important, like you're worth something. Natural Horsemanship teaches gentleness to both horse and rider. Instead of forcing the animal to submit to your will, natural horsemanship teaches you how to ecourage the horse to achieve a goal not because they must obey, but because they want to do as you ask. There is a strong relationship, a bond, formed between horse and trainer that evokes feelings of pride and understanding. The horse learns from your kindness, and it is because of you that the horse knows how to preform certain tasks. When you're astride that horse after its training is complete, you can feel accomplished and be proud to know you were the one to train that horse.

Horse Sense

I realized just how many people have failed at training their own horses. I couldn'

t believe that people thought training such a large animal would be a simple task, expecially when using natural horsemanship. The thought of these inexperienced people attempting to train their own horses made me laugh. Even as a novice horse person I know enough to realize that training takes a lot of hard work and you really have to know what you're doing if you want to train the horse well. Websites from trainers all over the world give tips and tricks on how to train a horse, and some professionals even offer classes that teach you how to train you horse. I watched a few videos on training your own horse and it's a lot of work, but if you pay attention to the lesson you can avoid mistakes that these inexperienced people seem to be making. It's amusing that the impatientice and lack of common sense displayed by these individuals leads them to nothing but failure.