I do enjoy the emails you send – like this one on how to bond with your horse.
Catherine’s story reminds of why I started this site.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did:
“Al,
I rescued a skinny one-eye-swollen shut mess of an ungelded three year old Morgan colt a few years ago and by some miracle of veterinary assistance and persistence, he survived.
I named him Mago, which means magician in Spanish – for his magical recovery.
When he began to feel better he became quite bubbly and active with his mouth. In order to take a different approach, I tried positive reinforcement methods and gave him the job of handing me his rubber food dish so that I could give him his treats in his dish instead of by hand, plus to keep that mouth busy.
He quickly figured out that bringing me things was a good thing and so he retrieves just about anything. When he loses confidence learning new things, he will look to bring something to me to be rewarded. Which I do, then go back to the new idea a different way.
How to bond with your horse
So far he’s retrieved his food dish (the starting point), shopping bags, balls, car tires, sticks, the manure fork….. you see what I mean. Since he took so long to recover physically, I spent lots of time working on the ground going for walks in the bush and on the road, playing with various types of tack and eventually getting on and off and just sitting on him while he grazed.
As a result, one day when he was pretty mellow, I just go on after a walk in the bush and rode him home along the road. After that we took to trail riding and he was always happy to go. Now he nickers at the saddle or halter when I take it out and comes at a flat out gallop when I call for him (he’s on 24-7 turnout with a run-in shelter and some mares for buddies).
How to bond with your horse
He pays no attention to the girls when they call for him as he leaves with me and Harley (the Wonder Dog) for rides on the adjoining trails. He’s become quite bubbly again, so this winter I am going to work with a local Parelli coach to be sure that I can keep up with him, I am beginning to think that he’s much smarter than me so I need some coaching to stay ahead of him.
He is pictured retrieving, going for a ride and dressed up as the ceremonial horse for an Ojibway wedding that we held at our place (that would be about my 10th time on him under saddle) – he adored the attention of the crowd and was fine with coming near the ceremonial fire. Perhaps he wants to be a parade horse???
I enjoy your articles and tips.
Catherine”
How to bond with your horse
Well done Catherine – there’s hope for all of us!
Please do comment below, I’d love to hear your ‘how to bond with your horse’ stories.
There are quite a few posts on this subject now, here are some of them:
How Sarah bonded with her horse.
Establishing leadership with your horse.
Best
i love your Mago too! i hope that you may have many many years together, just enjoying and respecting each other. well done you!
😀 😉 You put a smile on my face that will last all day. What a wonderful story. Horses are so much more than an animal to just ride on!!
That is great!! What a special bond and wonderful horse!!
I loved your story and it made my day as well. 🙂
Hear! Hear! to all of the above. Keep up the good work.
What a wonderful story and great pitures! It’s wonderful when you have a special bond with your horse. I wish you well and many more wonderful years together!
what a lovely story. Well done and thank you
What a fun and heartwarming story. It’s clear you have a very special bond with your boy. Way to go!
I love your story about Mago. The picture of the two of you is priceless! This is the first time I have heard of a horse that retrieves things… something I have a hard time getting my GS to do! Good luck and best wishes for the future with this amazing horse!
GREAT STRORY!!!
Would love to know how you trained him to bring you his dish…
What a lovely story and such a happy ending 😛
sorry about that, the above won’t delete!
Love your story, that’s one special horse and you have to be pretty special also to see his personality and enhance it like you did 😉
God bless you and Mango. Thanks for sharing that heart touching story.
What a great relationship. He looks lovely.How did you teach him the retrieval tricks?
😆
Most have more brain than we give credit for. My mare always picks up my whip, when we are ready to go hacking! 🙂
love love this story . thank you so much catherine for giving a down and out horse a go . :)))))
🙂 🙂 🙂 Oh how your storie made me smile. How did you teach him to bring you things? What a woderful horse you have. Lots of personallity-thanks for sharing!
I enjoyed your story. I have a Morgan gelding that
is 15 yrs. old. He was 3 when I got him. He was an abused show horse and came with alot of issues.
I met a horse whisperer and he helped me with him. If I had not found him I would have probably
gotten hurt or would have had to get rid of him.
We are now Posse members with our Sherrif’s Office. He is my very 1st horse a dream come true
for me. Because of his abuse he now has heaves pretty bad. We live in FL. and I can’t do anything with him in the summer months because he coughs a lot. I tell people he is my best theraphy and he really is. He looks a lot like your horse. I love him very much.
Donna, my pony has COPD and all the conventional treatment, ie cortisone etc left her underweight and very lethargic. I have been using a product called Global Herb Airways plus for about three years now and she has down a 180 on me. She can breath and hardly coughs anymore, her heave lines have even disappeared. I am so impressed with the product and how well my baby goes now
Your story and photo’s made me smile, it’s inspirational to see a horse turned from tragic story into magical moments. Enjoy
wonderful story … wonderful horse … wonderful person … love it!!
😛 My-my-my !!! Do I LOVE This Story!!!!I think that every person would LOVE to have such a wonderful relationship with their horse friend! I surely wish you even n deeper relationship with your horse, may you discover even more unique actions from him that will astound you. Well done Catherine.
For those who asked – he thought of the retrieving and I just rewarded him for it. I just had to wait until he did something with his mouth that I liked instead of something that I didn’t like!
What kind of dog is a wonder dog??? I had a Shaggy Dog that looked to the T just like Huch that played in the movies. I would LOVE to have another one like that. These dogs are wonderful companions. You con not find these dogs in S.A. I would like my horse to love me as much as my dog did.
Hi Catherine, Enjoyed your story about Mago, he looks like a lovely horse, and would love to teach my crew some interesting things, I have just rescued three foals, two fillies & one colt, they are all beautiful, the colt is fairly easy but the filies are a little more high maintenance and needy, something we have to work on, but we have lots of time to work on everything as they are still all under 1 year and have had a rough life, and were destined for the knackery if I had not picked them. Well done with your Mago would be intersted in updates. I am in Victoria, Australia
Hi Pam, did you get them from near Caroline Springs? I helped load three babies into a trailer last year. two fillies and a colt. was that you?
Wow! I was really feeling down today and you perked me up! So glad you shared yr story! So happy for you!
OMG i am so jealous mago is so cute the way he retrieves things for you! excellent story 😉
That’s adorable 🙂 my arab colt is also very mouthy and loves picking things up and chewing on things. How did you teach Mago to do this?
I really enjoyed your story! I wish you continued love and luck with Mago. Our TWH “Buster” was/is VERY mouthy,esp.when younger,apparently due to former owner feeding him treats by hand WAY too young & often. So, we had to stop him from pulling off the rubber around our horse trailer windows when tied to the trailer EVERY time. I decided to buy a hollow 6″ rubber dog toy with holes at both ends and tie it to the end of a 14″ rope, which was tied to his side-of-the-trailer rings. I hoped he would want to chew on IT instead of everything else not screwed onto the trailer. We tried it, it worked perfectly, and used it for years! He apparently outgrew his need to pull off the rubber from the windows, so we now have it tied IN the trailer to play with while riding somewhere in the trailer. He hasn’t chewed on anything else ON the trailer for years!
You have a beautiful horse and have done so well with him. You can see the love and trust in his eyes and body language. I hope you have many long loving years together.
What a great story and what a lucky horse
What a lovely story may your friendship continue to blossom over the years I must say I’m dead jealous of your retriever in our relationship I have to do all the fetching and carrying lol. Thank you for sharing your amazing story
What an amazing and inspiring story thank you for sharing and what great photos too!
I just love this storey about Mago & Catherine the owner (well done ) Catherine, he looks to be the type of pony i have been looking for to dressage with, I just love reading stories like this.
I have chills from this story….it made me feel so good. I am so glad there are special people like this young women…..Way to go..and thanks for being who you are! Congratulation Mago in finding your forever home.
Catherine and Mango you two are truly blessed reading about you two made my heart smile
bless you
Hi Catherine, just wanted to say thanks so much for sharing your story about Mago!!. Awesome!! Cheers!!
I don’t know who is more adorabl… you or Mago. Time patience & love go a long way.Congrats on such a success!!!
Dear Catherine, Al and others.
Catherine’s story is of the example I would like on my website, about amazing animals.
I was ill, and travelling to Radiation treatment, I picked up a book about animals, and it lifted my spirits. I could not find a website the same, so decided to start my own. This is not a discussion site about animals and training, just a site for people to read about wonderful animals, and the more heart warming and amazing, the better, and hopefully uplift your spirits.
I would love for Catherine to put her story of Mago on there, and anyone else that has a similar story.
I have only started the website, so needs work on it, but if anyone can contribute, it can be only a good thing for someone to read, and uplift them when they are feeling down.
Love and Peace – Kathy.
You have a friend for life, the trust between horse and owner is special and respect is gained with constant work and patience, well proven by you. GREAT JOB!
Beautiful story 🙂
🙂 Great Job. Sounds like my story with my first colt. He had been locked in tack shed with doors and windows closed for three years. After being taken off his Mother he was put away and never touched! After I got him – Dad’s rule “ride before you buy” – what a ride … he was the best horse ever! All I would ever have to do was point and that is where he would go – jump jumps anything. Great horses are out there … they may just need rescued to find them. Again Great Job !
sounds like he luvs u and u 2 r a great team
What a wonderful story, 😛 Have you ever thought of making a video of how you taught Mago to do the neat tricks he does? Future movie star 😀 I’ll be looking in the headlines for both of you. 😆 Sincerely, Rebecca
LOVE!!!!!!
Catherine, there is no doubt that Mago loves you Very Much…he loves the trail rides together…and Red Apples are his favorite.
Oooh I love it. Catherine I’m sending your story on to my dog trainer friends. (some w/horses) Catherine you and Mago are inspirational. Wishing you both continue success on your lives adventures. 🙂
that is sooooooooooooooo awesome 😀 😉 😆
Hooray for Catherine. I deeply admire the time she has put into bonding with her special boy.
It is too easy just to do the basic care, and then have to rush off to do “something else”. But what is more important than spending the time bonding as Catherine has done? Many congratulations.
You’ve made me rethink my schedule.
Thank you Catherine for saving Mago. I love Morgan
horses. They are very loving and very smart.
Horses know how to return their love, it’s up to us humans to realize it.
So sweet and I too have a rescue 10 year old that is a oral type. I have had such fun having him pick up things but when he picks up 50 lb bags of feed from pickup truck and lays them on the ground that’s going too far. lol Love him anyway.
What a heartwarming story, made my day. Keep up the great work
This is just the cutiest story…. the follow up pictures really made me laugh. You should make a video on youtube. It will go viral. Thanx for sharing. 😆
I love this story! And what great photos. How in the world to you teach a horse to fetch things? I’d love to learn this so I could teach my bossy mare that I have adopted from several years of neglect. She loves learning new things, and the busier I keep her, the less trouble she is apt to get into.
My friend has Morgan rescue whom she taught to fetch water bottles and hats. Was so happy to forward your story to her!
Thank you for sharing..he is absolutely beautiful and sooo cute 🙂
Mago is splendid! And, I assume “they” are smarter than I am… keeps me grounded.
I don’t know what it is about Morgans but since the day I first saw one I was smitten. My friend
has one and that is the best behaved horse ever.
I rode her one time and the cinch slipped and down I went with the saddle. The horse stopped and
waited for me to get things back together. Good
thing because my left foot was stuck in the stirrup. If she had not stopped and waited for me to untangle it could have been very bad for both
of us.
beautiful story, and full of magic
What an uplifting story !!! thank you for taking the time to share
What a wonderful story and what a beautiful horse! I love the pictures! 😆
Catherine,
Just finished reading “Horses Don’t Lie”.
You don’t need a coach. You are a coach. It’s others that need you.
Oops. Horses Never Lie. 😳
Thank you for sharing your story about Mago. You did me a great favor by writing to Saddle the Horse website. You rejuvinated hope in me that there is good in the world. I needed that tonight.
And thank younto the lady who wrote of reading your story while on her way to radiation treatment. I am going down this path and this story filled me with hope and a warm feeling, too. God bless you and all people of good will and our horses.
😀 Yep Morgans are good at that they will retreve anything if it is a good thing.And they are good at sharing. our 4 yearling studs throw the ball and tube to the stud in the next pen.
Just don’t take a pail of staples or nails out to fix anything. they will dump it the full length of the pasture and bring you the pail, if you turn your back. Believe me they are quick.
awesome 😀
He looks like my horse I had for 31 years, my gelding name was logan, I just put him down 6 months ago. The horse you have sounds wonderful and very smart.That’s hilarious the things he does, that’s a great story. I hope you have a a lot of great years with him!!! Thanks for making me smile with his picture!!
What an awesome story. It sounds like you’ve both been blessed
. Keep up the good work. The best is yet to come!!!
Thank you Catherine. When I received Al’s email, I was having a really bad day. Your story and pictures, especially the one of you hugging Mago made me smile inside and out. Good for you Catherine! Seems like you have natural horse whisper tendencies. Hope to read more of your friend in the future posts.
Morgan horses are awesome! My family had one growing up…and yep, they are smart, active, adventurous. ..and mouthy! (a desirable trait in the show ring for this breed) Love what you’re teaching him, wish we had thought of that! Morgan’s love to work and learn new things so a trainer can really enrich the experience. Best to you both!
CJ
😛 so cute and a great way to train a horse
I can see a short film out of this .wow . No better friend than a horse
My TWH Kodak has been itchy since last June, and we have tried EVERYTHING to no avail….has anyone experienced this and found a cure.Thanks so much
I LOVE your story i also rescued a hurting mare. My best friend now for the rest of her life. Shes so thankful we found each other.
What a wonderful story. Photos are priceless!
Wow I am so happy he found you, he is a gorgeous horse.
😀 I really enjoyed this. You go girl.
😆 love the storey. Jack is my first horse and I’m still learning, so this website is great. Jack is 20 years old. Old man with set ideas, but I’m learning, day by day.
You go Girl 😛