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“Hi and happy Friday from Charlotte, NC! Your story touched me deeply. I wanted to share a little something…hope you don’t think it’s odd of me.

I have never had the privilege of owning a horse of my own. When I was a child, I volunteered my time at the horse stable down the street from my house every day! It was a home for about 30 horses. The hard but most rewarding work was thoroughly enjoyed! I had the chance to get to know the owners of several horses and eventually they asked me if wanted to take care of them! If i did well, I could tend to them when they were not able to come into town. Well, I could not have smiled any wider!!! I learned everything I could, my brain was a sponge! They taught me how to ride as time went on too. To me this was the best! I’ve always had a great respect for horses, honestly for all animals. And I do believe that they can sense things in people. They know who to trust! As Julie said, by showing them patience and giving them love….well in doing that you get it back in abundance! And at that young age I learned that each horse is different!! Just like people! I am overjoyed even to this day at 46 years old when I get the chance to be around, ride or even see horses. I always get out if my car to look and call then over.. Sometimes they come! I wish that I could work with horses again….it’s we’re my heart is. It is my dream to learn and do what you and Julie does with horses. It’s hard work but well worth every minute. Who knows? Maybe one day I will get the chance to work and be with horses on a regular basis! Sincerely, I love and enjoy to Pay it forward….it feels wonderful… working with horses would be doing just that each day!! it’s not a give and take…..it’s a give and give for both horse and person.

Sincerely,

Jenn”

“For years my first horse, a cuttin’ quarter kinda gal, terrorized the neighbourhood. We frequently rode sans bridle, halter and saddle. It seemed like I would just about get everyone trained, then someone new would move in the area. Mom, or some other neighbour would get a call about a child being run away with on a horse who’d lost its bridle.

I took the horse to the Chicago area barn I was working in. The owner’s son/”trainer” lost $50 bucks in a bet about honest jumpers: I bet him the horse could jump a 5′ fence wearing only her halter. He set up two standards and a single rail at 5″. The mare was only 14.1 hands tall and could run right under the bar, so it was kind of a dirty trick. But it also showed his ignorance of a horse he’d supposedly “known” for 6 months. I told him we would to a figure 8 course of fences – with change of lead, then come down over the 5′ rail.

And then I dropped the halter off her head. Because the bet was all about honesty in the horse, after all.

Well, the horse did the smaller fences, in a figure 8, with flying lead changes, then came around to address the single rail. For a pony to jump over her own height is a pretty good deal. But to jump a rail she could run right under, or run around or completely avoid because she is wearing nothing was quite spectacular. It really infuriated the bettor – who actually refused to pay up!

His mother would sustain much the same fury when we decided to leave the barn. She turned out some 30 school horses with my horse, in an indoor arena. Every horse turned out had a halter on, except 1 single horse. Guess which one. Now I have learned where her son gets the “dirty trick” gene. She had tried to purchase my horse, and I wouldn’t sell; this was her way of encouraging me to change my mind!

I went outside, hitched up my trailer and opened its back door. Then I went back into the indoor arena, wherein were milling 30-odd horses. The owner was smirking as it was hard enough to catch up a school horse turned out in the arena on a day off. That was why they all had halters on – and mine did not! And she had no problem standing at the gate to the outside tossing dirt clumps to get them going.

As horses began to pick up swirling speed, I just stood there. As my horse cruised by, I called her name. She stopped and stood while I jumped up on her. Then she picked up a nice little canter down the arena, jumped over the gate to the outside – causing the owner to jump out of the way – and walked into the trailer, where I hopped off, closed the back door, and off we drove!

Thank you for this happy memory!

Cheryl”

Hope enjoyed those. I did. Please keep ’em coming.

Best

Al

Horse whisperer link here

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It was a harder time for the working horse, and Old Billy undoubtedly lived a hard life. He was a barge horse, pulling cargo along the sides of canals. A horse pulling a barge can pull 50 times as much cargo as a horse pulling a cart. It was barge horses that pulled society through the Industrial Revolution. They were used right up to the mid-20th Century.

I sometimes wonder if easy living is partly to blame for our horses’ comparatively short lives. At Peak Forest in northern England, barge horses still pull tourists on riverboat trips. Maybe they hold some of Billy’s secrets?

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Jaime Jackson observed wild horses. The way many of us look at our horses’ hooves was transformed.

Pat Parelli and Monty Roberts observed wild horses. So many dropped the whip, and saw better results for it.

And Pete Raimey, who specialises in founder rehabilitation, said this. “I’ve had the privilege of working with some of the finest horses, for the finest horse owners in the world. Understand that after two minutes with the wild ones, I knew that I had never seen a true horse.”

Why in 1919, did the American Government issue a bulletin dealing with ‘wild or worthless’ horses? And why today, are there still those who call wild horses “garbage”?

200 years ago, there were 2-5 million horses on the American Plains. Today there are fewer than 50,000. It’s a steep drop. And as wild horse numbers fall, our ignorance can only rise.

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I’ve come to think of us natural horsecare people as the hippies of the equine world. Are we not ‘fighting the man’, who insists on metal shoes and even firmer discipline? So you’ll see why I smiled at this page…

http://horses.about.com/od/grooming/tp/Decorate-Your-Horse.htm

It won’t strengthen your horse’s hooves.

It won’t improve your horse’s behaviour.

But it will show you how to deck your horse out, ready for Woodstock 1969.

If you’re a horse loving hippy, shout and scream about it. Afterall, isn’t it healthy to remember why we keep horses in the first place? We enjoy it, right? Let’s not forget to have fun.

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But I was also reminded of Xenophon’s words…

“Riders who force their horses by the use of the whip only increase their fear, for they then associate the pain with the thing that frightens them.”

That lesson is from Ancient Greece. It’s hard to believe, during a time of such brutal and blood-thirsty warfare, horses could be trained with such kindness and understanding.

Later came Genghis Kahn, whose army is said to have massacred 18 million people. But having seen the slaughter on these bloody adventures, their elderly horses would retire to fine pastures.

Far more recently was World War I, yet still a unique bond was shared among the human and equine troops. This was described in General Jack Seely’s book My Horse Warrior. The General and his horse lived and fought together, through some of the 20th Century’s most horrific battles. Both made it home, and lived to old age.

Towards the end of their lives, the General and his horse rode together with over 100 years between them. In My Horse Warrior Seely wrote…

“The soul of a horse is a great and loyal soul, quite unspoiled by the chances and changes of human kind. Above all it is a courageous soul, and an affectionate soul. But let there be one cruel blow from a grown-up man, and you may have ruined your horse’s fine soul and spirit forever. It is my dream that those who read this book may vow never to beat a willing horse. Warrior has never been so beaten, partly by good fortune, partly because it takes a brave man to beat him.”

Perhaps one day you’ll be locked in a debate, with somebody who insists a frightened horse performs better. You now have a fine argument to throw back. Tell them about the men and horses who’ve truly witnessed brutality.

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