Tag Archives: horse

The Long, Dark Horseback Ride of the Soul

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My horse Juno and I don’t really share a typical horse/human history. For a start, she’s in her late teens, and she’s spent more years in the wild than she has in the paddock. She’s the first horse I’ve ever owned. Oh, and by the way, I have no idea what I’m doing half the time. It’s not really what you’d call a recipe for success, but somehow Juno and I have muddled along, with a harmony that comes of being kindred introverted spirits. I’ve mentioned before the particular challenges of moving beyond where we’ve been and into the exciting world of saddle training, which for a horse of Juno’s age isn’t necessarily an easy proposition. But I’ve always known that it was possible, and in recent years we’d reached a point where the only thing standing between Juno and a truly spectacular future was me.

Years ago when I first began to admit to myself that I wasn’t qualified to start my horse myself — which admittedly wasn’t until I’d taken my third ride on her, which ended with a spectacular unscheduled dismount — I didn’t really know what to expect. What I discovered was that there are some trainers who, when you say the word “mustang,” will immediately say no without hearing anything else. There are quite a few who won’t even bother to think about starting a horse as old as Juno is. (Horses can live into their thirties or even forties so she’s really kind of middle-aged, but younger horses are without a doubt easier to train, and a lot of equestrians would consider her practically over the hill.) And there are some trainers who, when you tell them the horse you want started is both teenaged and a mustang, will laugh until they’re red in the face and then offer to loan you a gun so you can just kill yourself since you’re apparently intent on dying anyway. (Cowboys are secret drama queens, apparently.) And it usually didn’t matter anyway what many of those rough and tumble trainers of the American west thought, because watching most of them work with horses was enough to convince me that I never wanted them to touch mine.

Luckily for both Juno and I, we wound up in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, where I’d taken a job with Parelli Natural Horsemanship and suddenly found myself surrounded by both experienced horsemen and fellow students who were on the same horsemanship track and speaking the same language that I was. And when I asked around about who might be able to start Juno under saddle for me, pretty much everyone I met recommended 3-Star Parelli Professional Terry Wilson. When I ran into Terry and asked him about training my horse, he was a little surprised at her age, but he was game to give it a go. He warned me that Juno might never work out as a saddle horse, but he was willing to try.

In deference to her age and introversion, he started off slow — compared to what he’d do with a young colt, anyway — with plenty of groundwork, filling in the holes I’d inadvertently left in her ground training and helping to get her accustomed to saddles and cinches, which was something I’d always had trouble with.

Wearing a western riding saddle

Ponying out onto the road with a pack saddle on

He was mounting bareback in the middle of their first session; by the end of the first week, they were out on the trails.

Riding out on Terry’s acreage on day 3

I knew that all of Juno’s groundwork, and her inherent good nature, would make things easier than Terry likely expected, but I had no idea how quickly they’d progress. I’ve had the very good fortune, with Terry’s kind cooperation, to be able to watch nearly every session he’s had with my horse. I’ve accompanied them out on trails and learned a remarkable amount just from watching everything that Terry does. It’s been amazing to see how much my horse is really capable of, and how much more I should be doing with her. And of course, the more I watched her progress under Terry’s tutelage, the clearer it became to me that one day, very soon, it was going to be up to me to ride her, to keep her moving forward both literally and metaphorically, to be the leader in our herd of two.

To put it succinctly, I was petrified.

The day of reckoning arrived today — Terry had suggested that after his session with her, I should get on and ride for a bit — and it would be fair to say that I spent most of the day at work vacillating wildly between excited and scared as hell. Not scared of Juno, or of getting hurt — even green as she is, I know her, and feel quite confident in her and in Terry’s work with her — but rather scared that I wouldn’t be able to be the leader she needed. Scared that I wouldn’t know what to do or how to do it. Scared that I’d set Terry back in his progress with her, and that I’d never be the rider she needs me to be.

So I sat and watched Terry work with her, as he ran her through the basics again and made sure she’d be okay with a rider that bounced on her back and flailed at random, which she was… though it was more than a little humbling to realize exactly how necessary that would be before I could get on. Then Terry asked if I was ready to ride, and I said yes, because no wasn’t even an option, no didn’t occur to me, no was not in my lexicon. So I went into the round pen, and I got on.

I wish I could give this story some sort of Disney finale where as I rode, I realized that I could be a leader, that I did know what to do, that I wouldn’t be setting my horse back at all. Rather, the experience was quite the opposite. On the one hand, it was incredibly thrilling after all these years to be sitting on my horse, feeling all in all calm and confident about being there (but slightly panicked about being able to follow Terry’s directions, because my mind was stuck on a bit of an endless loop that went, “Holy s***, I’m riding my horse!”). On the other hand, I discovered that I hadn’t been worried enough. I thought I’d be bad, and I was worse.

Everything I’d ever known about riding — which I can’t say was much — I suddenly forgot. Fine motor control was a thing of the past, as was language comprehension. When I asked her to walk forward, Juno kept diving nose-first toward the fence and sidepassing, which was awfully fancy, but would’ve been even more impressive if I’d been aware of asking for it. When I posted the trot she thought it meant I was about to go flying out of the saddle, and obligingly slowed down to save me from myself. Whenever I asked her for something, it was more of a timid suggestion than a confidently worded direction. When Terry asked me for simple maneuvers it felt like he was demanding rocket science.

After I’d managed to somewhat laboriously grasp a few basic concepts, I asked her for a bit of trot so we could end on something I could actually accomplish, and then I unsaddled her (and started training her to stand with her nose at the tie rail, even when she’s not tied, because by God if there’s one thing I can accomplish it’s training my horse to stand still and not move). I got her a dish of grain and held it for her while she calmly chowed down, undoubtedly secure in the knowledge that of the two of us, she’s by far the cleverer one. Terry left me to put her away, and headed up to the house (probably to pour a stiff drink, poor guy).

I watched Juno eat and relished the way that she’d occasionally turn her head into my hand for a rub, with a confidence and self-assurance that even a few months ago she didn’t possess. I reminded myself that nobody starts this journey knowing everything — or even necessarily anything — that they need to know. I gave myself credit for being proactive, trying to get more time in the saddle before bringing Juno home and even working on enrolling in some formal lessons in addition to all the DVD studying I could do at home.

And then I buried my face in my horse’s neck and had a complete emotional meltdown.

Horses are good for things like that, though. Juno just stood and curled her neck around me a little (I suspect she was giving me a “wtf?” look behind my back, or maybe just subtly inspecting my pockets for cookies) and waited for me to stop weeping like a little girl, which I’m only slightly ashamed to say took quite a long while. I apologized to her profusely and repeatedly for not having worked harder to be the partner and leader she needs me to be, and I promised to do better if she’d just try really hard to keep me out of the hospital while I tried to catch up. I pretended for awhile that she understands English, which clearly she doesn’t (otherwise, you’d think she’d respond a bit faster when I say things like, “Hey Juno, it’s dinner time!”).

I know it’s not necessarily anything to be ashamed about, having a moment of complete mental break and just absolutely losing it. I know it was about more than one lousy ride, and that I’d piled work stress onto personal stress with a shaky foundation of overall uncertainty about life, but as I drove back to town, still sniffling, it was hard to even begin to gather the scattered shreds of my dignity, much less think about putting myself through the same wringer again tomorrow. It isn’t the riding that’s a hardship, it’s more that when you’re in the saddle, you have to face yourself.

The moment I walked in the door, my friend and temporary house-guest Gina wanted to know how the ride went.

I told her, in all honesty, that it had been simultaneously awesome and horrific.

“Good,” she said. “That means you’re learning.”

I’ve been keeping an album of photos from Terry’s sessions with Juno on Facebook; if you have any interest in seeing a great many pictures of the process, along with occasionally-helpful commentary from me, check out the first album and the second album on Facebook. You don’t need a Facebook account to access these public albums! And if you’re on Facebook and would like to friend me, please feel free!

Edit: Wow, this blog sure has gotten a lot of attention! My thanks to the WordPress gods for Freshly Pressing this entry, and to my colleagues at Parelli for finding it interesting enough to post the link on our official Facebook page. If you’d like to continue following the saga of Juno and I, please check out my follow-up entry, Trusting the Process, wherein we go on a trail ride and nobody dies.

Between the Lines

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Most of the writing I do is fiction. And prose. So I don’t really write poetry, by which I mean I’ve never been good at it so I’ve mostly avoided it. But I’ve made many a secret attempt at verse throughout the years (I’m currently wrestling with writing songs, lulz), and when I dug this up from my files and didn’t hate it, I thought I’d stretch myself a little and post it. Every day is a good day to try something new

Between the Lines – Mackenzie Kincaid.

These are my beasts of burden:
these words with their
bent necks and brute strength
and a grace that belies their
consonants –
these words that stand collared
side by side and waiting
keeping company without context
until these conjunctions are laid
as harness across their backs
so that their shoulders may strain
against the hames of my intention.

These are my beasts of burden,
that surge too eager forward
and push on, blinkered,
against the bit;
but pull the weight steady
from wheel, swing, lead
and know their paces.
Set them now to their rows
and let them pull the weight
let them drag their furrows
and do their work between the lines.

Are you ready to own a horse?

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It seems to me that everybody I meet has always dreamed of having a horse. Often, when they find out that I do in fact own a horse, they immediately begin quizzing me. They’re not typically seeking actual answers to any questions of substance, but rather reassurance that surely, by now, their childhood pony-dream could become a reality.

(First lesson for the prospective horse owner: Don’t treat every horse-owning yahoo you meet as an expert. They usually aren’t. And you probably haven’t learned yet to distinguish knowledgeable advice from complete nonsense.)

Don’t get me wrong: I get it. I can’t say I ever had a particular attachment to dreams of horse ownership, only because I never imagined myself being able to afford a new pair of jeans, much less an equine. Instead I sort of woke up one day and had one in my possession. It wasn’t the ideal situation: I was young and stupid, she was still half-wild, and I’d only recently decided to quit my job and go back to college. It’s not really a combination that leads to a great deal of financial security. We made it through some very lean times, and there were days when I spent my last dime on a bale of hay and ate pancakes with mustard because it’s all the food I had.

It’s not a lifestyle choice I’d generally recommend.

But let’s say, for the sake of argument, that you’re rich enough to maintain a horse, but not quite rich enough to hire a full-time staff to take care of it for you. You’ve wanted a horse since you were just a tiny wee person, and though you’ve never really learned much about horses, you want to buy one. You spend all your free time fantasizing about cantering down the beach with your hair streaming behind you, and your horse running to meet you in the field Shadowfax-style, and all of the marvelous adventures and exploits you’ll get up to when you finally, at long last, have a pony of your own. So, are you ready to own a horse? I have some helpful questions for you which may help you come to that decision.

Are you ready to pluck embedded ticks from your animal’s body with your fingers? Are you ready to clean smegma from your horse’s teats (or his sheath, if your horse is a male)? Are you ready to scrub water buckets, even when they’re thick with algae, drowned insects and horse slobber? Are you ready to spend a good chunk of your time smeared with horse snot, covered in a fine layer of dust and horsehair, with manure on your boots? Are you ready to haul water into the field, bucket by bucket from the kitchen sink, because the barn pipes are frozen? Are you ready to stay up all night trying to nurse him through a colic? Are you ready to take rectal temperatures, shovel manure, engage in all-out warfare against flies, and get up in the middle of the night just because you heard a strange sound and you want to make sure the horses are okay? Are you ready to funnel all of your money into feed bills and vet bills and equipment and trailers and trucks and boarding and supplements and farriers and trainers and transporters and more vet bills? Are you ready to be frustrated, kicked, bitten, ignored, bucked off, or otherwise defeated?

Are you ready to challenge yourself, to learn new things, to discover exactly how emotionally fit — or unfit — you are? Are you ready to put your own ego aside and ask for help? Are you ready to always push to better yourself for your horse? Are you ready to throw yourself into becoming a better rider, a better horseman and a better human being?

If you can answer yes to all of those questions, congratulations! I still wouldn’t recommend getting a horse. Not yet, not if this would be your first real horse experience. Here’s what I would recommend, first.

Continue reading →

Born to Be Free

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You won’t often hear me talk about rodeo. A big part of the reason for this is that, as I’ve grown older, I’ve realized that it’s both useless to tell other people how to conduct their lives, and it’s foolish to spout off opinions on subjects you don’t know too much about. I don’t feel like I know hardly anything anymore, and my life’s become a richer thing since I started asking to be taught instead of arrogantly insisting that I already knew all I needed to know. In my experience, that kind of conviction often exists in the void left by a lack of real knowledge and experience. The world exists in a million shades of gray, and even when you’re certain of yourself, it’s still important to acknowledge the reality that you’ll never bring anybody around to your viewpoint by laying in with your spurs or trying to whip them toward the finish line.

So while I might not like the way I see a lot of people ride at the rodeo — just like I might not like the way I see a lot of people ride in Grand Prix dressage — you won’t hear me talk much about it. I might also wish that more equestrian sports rewarded softness, feel, finesse and the health of the horse instead of simply performance. I might cringe to see a horse hurt or a calf bowled over or a kid pinned beneath a steer, but I understand that even in the best circumstances accidents happen, and I don’t think that every rodeo should be judged on the basis of the kind of wanton cruelty and careless carnage that some rodeos call sport. My point is, I would normally have very little to say about rodeo, because I feel it isn’t my issue, my cause, my fight, or my world to be commenting on. But tonight at my little local small-town rodeo, I saw something that I do think of as mine. I saw these.

saleauthority_trio

If you don’t know what you’re looking at, I’ll be glad to tell you. The white brands on these horses’ necks means that they were wild horses, once. At some point in their lives — probably late in their lives, and I make that assumption for reasons I’ll explain in a moment — they were rounded up by helicopter and brought into captivity.

I won’t get into all of the arguments, politics and opinions surrounding the wild horse issue. There are whole books on the subject, and in this particular post it’s not the point. The fact is, these horses came in from the wild and they weren’t going to be put back again. They could’ve been adopted into private homes, but it’s unlikely they were even given that chance. The large white “U” you see clearly at the end of each brand — a match to the smaller U that you can’t see at the beginning of each brand — means that these are “sale authority” or “Burns amendment” horses. Simply put, sale authority strips away protections or sale prerequisites from wild horses who have been judged to be over ten years of age, or who have failed to adopt at three events. These horses, from the look of them, were probably deemed to be sale authority animals on the basis of age.

saleauthority_grandmotherThe fact that they wound up as bucking stock on the small-town rodeo circuit isn’t illegal or even frowned upon. It is within the government’s right to dispose of them as they see fit. You can walk away with one of these horses for a low, low price — I’ve seen them sold for a dollar — and then if you want to put it on the next truck to Mexico to be turned into horse steaks, you can do it. I know all that. I don’t agree with it, but I know it.

Still, walking up to those pens and seeing those brands on the horses was like a punch in the gut. Perhaps they were younger than they looked, but to me it was like stumbling across a group of grandmothers who’d been pressed into service as gladiators. It felt demeaning in a way that I still can’t entirely explain.

saleauthority_grandmother2

But then,  that feeling itself isn’t necessarily rational. I eat meat, and those animals on my dinner plate undoubtedly suffered worse. The domestic horses in that bucking horse collection had clearly been through the wars, too; one seemed to have more branded flesh than unbranded, and another had a bleeding wound ripped into his hind end, most likely from the constant miserable fighting going on in the pen. But it was the presence of mustangs there that for me stung the worst. This wasn’t the life they’d been meant for. Their dignity was gone. And knowing that they’d fallen here from freedom seemed somehow almost unbearable to contemplate. Better perhaps than the other souls penned with them, they knew what they’d lost.

saleauthority_run

Though they’d spent most of their time in the pen with their ears pinned back, warning all comers not to venture too close, once the stock contractors brought them out for a mad run around the arena, you could see a little spark flare. Their ears came forward, at least some of the time. They moved as one unit, as if they’d never held each other at bay. And they stretched their legs out like if they could only run hard enough, they could fling themselves into another life.

The rodeo announcer assured us via loudspeaker that bucking horses love their jobs, that they perk up at the sight of the chutes. He also assured us that this stock contractor’s fine animals were ranch-raised, and came from long lines of bucking horses.

He said that they were “born to buck.”

Presumably, this was supposed to reassure the crowd that there was nothing unsavory about the evening’s entertainment. But I watched one of those sorrels gallop past me, with the wind picking up its mane, and the neat white brand beneath gave the lie away.

Herded back into their pens again, the horses only stared into the far distance, and kept their silence.

saleauthority_distance