Entry No. 4 in Five Star Tack's "What's Your Best Accomplishment This Year?" Contest

This entry is from Jessica and it shows her undying love for her horse.

                  My biggest accomplishment for this year actually began in September of 2012.

I stumbled upon a 9 year old Holsteiner x TB who had not been dealt the best hand early in his life and therefore was passed over by many capable riders who wanted a more “made” horse. He had gone out on three trials (clearly none ending with a pleased rider who wanted to buy him) prior to me coming to try him, the moment I sat on him I felt this raw talent to jump and the desire to please but it had to be with the right person.

                  I slowly started riding him on the flat and he was perfect. One of my best friends who had him at the time (the barn where I was trying him at) also mentioned he was awful at picking up his right lead. Not only did he pick it up right away but coming off a fence he got his right lead as well. After I finished I deiced to lease him till December when I was graduating it and it would give me a couple of months to work with him. Graduation came and the horse was doing better, but not great. He had stayed at the same level the entire time I was leasing him. I moved home, still thinking of the horse and convinced my dad to buy half of him with me so that I could finally own him myself and have him just minutes from my house.

                  He came to New Orleans in January of 2013, along with all of the problems others had seen in him before. He came from having 24 hour turn out to having three hours of turn out and living in a stall. We would ride in a grass field in Alabama but at the new barn there was only a covered arena with super hybrid footing and a fence that shadowed an obnoxious dog whose only purpose in life was the scare the horses because the person who lived in the house clearly hated the barn. His food intake was also significantly downsized. All of this brought out what I like to call “the sasquatch” side of him. He was always pinning his ears back, rushing at his stall door for food, was very sour on the ground, and was spooking at his own shadow in the arena. I would literally go home to drink if we had a good ride just to celebrate me not dying that day. I still promised myself I would not give up on this horse because I knew deep down he was capable of being a great horse.

                  Around February of 2013 I finally decided to have a chiropractor come out to look at him. He was sound and healthy otherwise so I could only conclude that it was something else bothering him in his muscle and joints. The chiropractor came out and boy, did that open the flood gates. His entire body was that of a horse who never was given a good start in life; every single area of his body was out of alignment and clearly was causing him a great deal of pain. Looking at him from the front when he stood still even yielded that he was so unaligned his belly curved more into one side. The chiropractor spent 90 minutes just trying to get the big issues loosened up so we could at least do light work. At the end of the session, we concluded that going forth he would clearly need more chiropractic work with the goal to get him only seen once a quarter. I bought a saddle that fit him perfectly to avoid any discomfort that was caused by ill-fitting saddles too. He owns basically every Back on Track product that I can fit on him to prevent future discomfort in his legs and hocks, and to manage his cold back.

                  I have already spent more on maintenance and preventative equipment for him than I did on him. He is even on supplements for his joints, hind/ fore gut, hooves, and an omega to make up for the pasture he wasn’t getting anymore. But to me, this is all worth it because deep down I still knew what he could do if given the right situation. He was doing well for a little while during the summer because the heat seemed to help keep his back loose.  I even started buying extra hay so that I knew he would be grazing most of the day even while in his stall to keep his back stretched down (clearly not getting the same amount of time outside was also hurting his body).  I had gone above and beyond to make sure every side of his discomfort was covered and to prevent any more issues popping up.  He was getting chiropractic treatments once a month as well. I was at the barn every day, even on days he wasn’t being ridden just to work with him on ground manners and to bond. I was even fighting to make sure he got more than normal turn out to get him out of his stall most of the day.

                  Everything came to a head one night at the end of July when something clearly pissed him off and he took off at full gallop around our arena for 12 laps before finally running out of steam. All while I am on his back with no brakes what so ever. Three times was I actually concerned that he was going to jump a 3’6 fence at a full gallop and a couple of times I actually thought about jumping off but wasn’t sure how worth getting a broken bone was or even more, breaking my neck. Never in my life had I been so afraid of a horse. I have been on my fair share of runaway horses but you have three methods to get them to slow down and stop: the pulley rein, steer them in a circle, or run them into the fence if none of those are an option. I had NONE of those options. He had gone well past the bit and I couldn’t even steer him around; he just ran the same route he worked on in the arena, thankfully the outside circle. As he finally came to a stop I jumped off and cried so hard. I cried for various reasons- one being fear, second actually surviving the ordeal with no bones broken, but lastly because I was so far at the end of my rope that I didn’t know what else to do to help this horse get better. He had just taken off with me at a full gallop with no concern that I was up there trying to speak calmly to him to slow down and whoa (he always has ear puffs in so why I thought he was going to hear that was beyond me). Looking at him huffing and puffing like a fat dragon I didn’t recognize that horse. That wasn’t my horse, that wasn’t the horse I had made so much progress on recently. I cried so hard that night because I actually had to ask myself if this was the right situation for him, if he could actually be a stalled horse. My usual method of thinking involves listening to music to help me reflect. As I lay in my bed looking at pictures of us together the song Green Eyes by Coldplay came on. I listened to this song when I first started riding him and the lyrics just sum up everything I feel for this horse, it is our song as a partnership. The song is very short so I want to make sure the reader of this can actually read what is said:

Honey you are a rock
Upon which I stand
And I came here to talk
I hope you understand 
The green eyes, yeah the spotlight, shines upon you
And how could, anybody, deny you
I came here with a load
And it feels so much lighter now I met you
And honey you should know
That I could never go on without you
Green eyes

Honey you are the sea
Upon which I float
And I came here to talk
I think you should know

The green eyes, you're the one that I wanted to find
And anyone who tried to deny you, must be out of their mind
Because I came here with a load
And it feels so much lighter since I met you
Honey you should know
That I could never go on without you
Green eyes, green eyes
Oh oh oh oh [x4]

Honey you are a rock
Upon which I stand

As I listened to this song I realized that I couldn’t just send him away forever to be sold to god knows who, probably slaughter, and have to live with that the rest of my life. I called up one of my best friends (the one who I got him from) and asked for her help. He needed some sort of boot camp and I wasn’t the bad cop to give it to him. I have never really been a bad cop anyways. She agreed and picked up him when she came in town for my birthday two weeks later. That is only the 2^nd time I have cried so hard over that horse when sending him away for two months, this made me realize I can never get rid of him to another person. I was happy that he would be going out in pasture for 12+ hours a day and would be ridden by someone who would kick his butt if needed; he had been way too spoiled while with me. A while before this had all happened we decided we would be going up to show at the Kentucky National so I would be seeing him in September then he would be home in October.

            Going to Kentucky was now, looking back, not the best place to get back together with him. It was like a kid visiting Toys-r-Us for the first time. He was too excitable, not listening, and basically failed at every class we entered him in (open classes- clear round = blue ribbon). He had 16 faults the first day and 12 the second day of showing. After that I decided to just let him be and figure out another game plan for him. For this horse, it isn’t about jumping high, trust me he can do that, it’s about using his body properly. He can jump with 2 feet to spare but when he gets to the oxer he will come back down on that back rail every time. Clearly the horse was showing potential but being 10 years old and still not knowing how to jump an oxer properly was proving to be worrisome.

            In October he came on and seemed to be doing much better. Yet, a week back and he took off with me again. Determined to not put up with that anymore, I sat down so hard and pulled the rein so far out that it forced him to circle or he would have a huge cut on his cheek. While I am not happy with myself for having to behave like that with him, he had to stop. I decided to let that be the end of our ride and quite frankly that was a good note in my book considering the prior time where he went for 12 laps. I went home that night asking for some kind of miracle. The chiropractor had come out and said he was actually doing really well and would not need to see him as often, so clearly this was beginning to be behavioral.

Two weeks later another boarder had found this trainer who had just moved down from New York. Watching her ride and teach twice I was convinced that this was who I needed to be with. She started slowly working with my horse and realizing that this animal had no idea which way his body was going. He was running sideways and jumping so high because he didn’t know where to put his body sometimes. She also decided to play around with bits on him (he had gone in a D ring most of his life). Things just started falling into place when she came into the picture. She rides him twice a week and we lesson twice a week then I just ride by myself one day a week. Figuring out what schedule works for him and made a world of a difference. We also deducted that he would benefit greatly from monthly depo injections. While he is a gelding, he has what I would like to call “bitchy gelding syndrome”. If he didn’t want to do something, he wasn’t going to do it one way or another and if you forced him to then be prepared to fight. This has totally leveled his mood and he doesn’t argue anymore when asked to work. Here is the horse that I remember when we first started out- willing, smart, and athletic. He has just become so phenomenal that after every lesson I am just left smiling because of how great he is doing. He is jumping super and listening now and is using his body so much better. Even on rides by ourselves he does great, which a few months ago I would have been a nervous wreck just to get on him.

            I am finally learning how to ride my horse and understand him better. I have finally figured out a schedule that works great for him and he is getting better and better by the day. It’s been a little over a year since I have had him but most of this has happened in 2013. Throughout the year, so many people (my parents included) asked why I still have him, why don’t I just send him back, he is too much to handle, and he has a bad attitude, and so on. Every time I just had to remind myself what really mattered- he mattered. This is my accomplishment for 2013, finally getting him happy and healthy and working with a trainer who understands us both. It hasn’t been an easy road by any means but it has been an educational one, trying at times, but every educational. Made horses don’t make riders. It’s the horses that you build from the ground up to be your own that make riders. Your true horsemanship comes out when you actually have to think about what you are doing with this animal, how everything you do will affect his progress. I know the inside and outside of that horse better than anyone else ever will and that is something that drives me to keep going with him. I am sure no one else would know to use the soft brush on his face and he will come down to you like a puppy and just rest his head on you and exhale peacefully, even after he has almost taken a limb off you while you brush his body (be extra careful around his belly!). It’s the little things like that which I only discovered spending so much time with him. People always ask why I put so much time and effort into him and when he does things like that, I remember why again. So, this is my biggest accomplishment for 2013. Starting at the bottom of the barrel, working my way up, going through the good and the worst times, and finally getting to where I am today with him. All of this why having to ignore what everyone else had to say and only trusting myself. Because at the end of the day, only you know your horse better than anyone else and that is what matters the most.