Most of my life I have ridden green horses or OTTB's. Lately, I have had the privilige of riding two 25 year old "made" horses. One is a Lipizzaner gelding who used to be a tour horse and the other is a Westphalen gelding who does up to PSG. I want to tell you a little bit about both of them because my experiences with them have brought great joy.

The Lippizzan gelding (Sebastian) is a very stoic guy. I have the feeling he has been subjected to all different levels of abuse during his time as a tour horse, this makes him guarded, aloof, and also extravagant in his nature. From what I understand he was very shut down when he left the tour, and his tranformation over the last few years with his new owner has been nothing short of amazing. The transformation he has made just since I have known him is astounding. When I first saw him all I saw was this old horse with bad conformation. Now that I have gotten to know him, and especially since I began riding him; I have a totally different opinion. If you want to really ride Sebastian, not just sit on him; you have to be prepared to listen. He only responds well to a thinking rider and he has lots of fight left in him for someone who would like to. I decline the fight every time. Either I stand firm in my request of him or I give in to him; and it gets me somewhere good everytime. I love this horse. He has taught me about true classical dressage. I am so grateful to learn from this horse each day.

The Westphalen gelding (Essex) has had a long list of riders who have earned points towards their medals on him. He has a reputation for being heavy in the bridle and not really "rideable" in a snaffle. Typically, he is ridden in a double. I spent last winter getting to know him and about 6 weeks ago I began to ride him in a snaffle. It has been interesting to make him light in the snaffle again and I have had some success. I can now ride him in stretching frame, the bend in my lateral work is better, and his lengthenings and shortenings are very good. I may not be "getting my medals" on him like everyone else, because he is not strong enough to work in complete self carriage for very long, and I am too weak to "hold" him together the way he is accustomed to...but I am learning so much about the true art of collection on this very willing school horse.

I am so blessed to have met these two souls, and between the two of them a half a century of experiences and knowledge.

What Willie Told Me.

I want to tell you about humility and patience.I want to tell you how I let the universe help me  The horse in this story is a halfinger gelding named Willie. Willie was a strange horse; confident but not brave, trustworthy but too smart for his own good, perfect when you rode well and awful when you rode like shit. He was amazing.

Willie had a great work ethic all winter but one day in spring he bucked me off. It was weird. I don’t normally fall off and he doesn’t ever try to get rid of me. Right before be bucked someone at the other end of the arena made some extravagant gestures and exclaimed loudly, but I didn’t expect that to jostle the halfinger brain. After he bucked me of he ran to the other end of the ring where my employer’s Rhodesian ridgeback proceeded to chase him in circles around a frightened horse and rider. By the time I caught Willie he was hot and scared so I took him back to the barn and put him away. It was a fluke, truly; this horse whinnies and runs to the gate when I fetch him for our morning work.

I waited a few days to ride him again, to let myself sort of forget what happened. It works well for me. I rode him about a week later and rode him for a few more weeks before he started to develop a lameness in his left hind. He had had surgery on his back, right where the saddle sits, over the winter. I wondered if I had rushed into riding him post-surgery because he seemed into it. I continued to ride him and before long he developed a move that included a violent head tossing with climbing into the air, into a nice, light, balanced canter. For just one stride. Over and over. Then he added ducking his head at the end of the maneuver and I started to wonder if my “golden child” had turned sour. If he had, what was to blame?

Skeptical but optimistic as always I asked a local animal communicator for help. She spoke to him and told me that he sent her pictures of green grass, galloping through the woods, and that he had pain in his hind end. I believed her but was without awe. I thought to myself, “Of course he wants grass and to gallop in the field, now let’s call the vet”. I called the vet.

Dr. Williams did flexion tests and had my longe the horse on a circle. The lameness I felt as left hind and Willie identified as left hind to the animal communicator was seen by the vet as a possible right hind lameness. I was informed that he could not diagnose it any more until the horse became lamer. We guessed and said stifle, so I began trotting uphill; bareback; and ended our ring work for a while.

Willie and I resided ourselves to groundwork, learning to be patient when doing Spanish walk, and bareback rides up the hill for about three months. I did not ride him in the ring but a few times and each time he would climb in to the air.

I don’t know how it hit me…but one day I realized that Willie was trying to tell me something. The green grass; he wanted me to stop riding him in the morning during his turnout time, he wanted me to ride him later in the day when he was stuck in his stall. The galloping through the woods; he was bored with ring work. The pain in his left hind; he has pain in his body, whether it’s from the surgery on his back or a stifle injury; he was feeling pain.

I wanted to tell you this story because I want you to know that there is a way to be with horses that is special. That “way” of being with them can be thought of as a living creature, and that creature’s wellbeing is not fostered by the horse industry and common modern “training” techniques.  All too often we as humans are trying to impose our agenda on the horse in the name of “communication”. Communication is a two way exchange of ideas and training techniques that use force, pain, or threats of pain have no right to be acknowledged as communication. You might think you are innocent of this barbarism but I challenge you to take one day to truly look at your horses and let them teach you how to have a conversation. I have been with horses since I was 4 years old and the day I did this my life changed completely for the better.  That connection I have always wanted with horses was always there, I just had to receive it.