How I Became The Person I Am Today

I've been an avid horse lover since before I could walk. When I think of my childhood I think of the walls in my bedroom filled with breyer models, horse posters and a bookshelf full of horse books. My mother shared this passion as well but couldn't get me my own horse until I was 13. In the years before that though my mother kept me involved with horses as much as possible. If it was driving 2 hours just to watch a barrel racing event or stopping in at a local tack shop to buy a brush for my "hope chest", she always kept the fire going inside me. She knew it wasn't just a childhood phase that would pass.When I turned 11 I started becoming more involved with hands on horse experience. I would always be the first to volunteer cleaning a friends stall or cleaning their tack before a show. I was surrounded by horse people that loved me as much as family and did nothing but fill my thirst for horse knowledge. I remember a gentleman by the name of Randy P., he owned a huge Arabian horse facility and let me help out and be around the horses as much as I wanted to. He taught me how to ride properly, grooming, important nutrition details and above all, the ways of natural horsemanship. I once saw him throw a farriers tool rack out the barn door after he saw the farrier knock the wind out a his stallion for moving around too much. I felt sorry for the stallion but knew I wanted to be just like Randy someday. Never man handling a horse! Instead using their language and learning to always be patient.



When I turned 13 I blew out my candles and was ushered to out living room to open some huge, funny looking packages. One was a folding saddle rack with a brand new trail saddle sitting on it. The rest were bridles, halters, horse treats and new riding boots. I was in heaven! or so I thought. Next thing I knew I was being led to my grandparents barn. Mom made me stand outside while she opened the huge sliding barn door. Then I heard him! He was whining to mom as she stepped into the barn. He was a huge, beautiful creature in my eyes. To everyone else he was an over weight 15.3 pony looking 3yr old draft cross. (Mom had saved him from a man who was fattening him up because he planned on sending him to a kill buyer!) He was about 300 lbs. overweight when I got him but to me, he was perfect.



That gelding taught me more than any other horse ever has. I learned soon enough he had been badly beaten. If he saw a whip, he would cram his butt in the nearest corner and start shaking and sweating uncontrollably! He didn't mind you touching his face but if you tried to look in his mouth or grasp his nose he would panic. Someone had twitched him and jerked him around. In the saddle he was a dream. That horse kept me safe. If he felt me coming out of the saddle he would trying to compensate his own speed or body movement. If I did pop out of the saddle, he patiently stood there and waited until dusted my self off. He was one in a million. The picture above shows it. That's my 4-year old nephew on him. As the years progressed, he became spunky and would do anything I asked. Barrel racing, cattle work, small eventing courses, you name it. When the time came to put a child on him, you could literally see him walk a little slower, soften his stride and go along like 30 yr old plow horse. Randy (the arabian owner) even used him for open house's he held at his farm for beginner riders and children. He was a big hit anywhere he went... Sadly about 2 years ago we were forced to sell my grandparents farm and I had nowhere to keep him. Randy had retired and shut down his horse facility, there were no boarding stables within 30 miles and I was working a job that wouldn't allow me to rent pasture.I was forced to put him up for sale.

I listed my 13 yr old gelding for $2000 and insisted he go to a good home. I turned down people left and right. Until I found Barb, she was my answered prayer. She had 4 teens at home, 5 other horses and personality I loved. She was looking for a good horse to coax her boys into riding more often. They were hunters and 4-wheeler riders and her horses wouldn't have it she said. My horse on the other hand had been taken on hunting trips on the back ridges of my farm to pull deer up the steep hills when my cousins couldn't get them any further. The boys were ecstatic. She brought me pictures of her barn and kids at local cowboy competition events and I was sold. There was only one catch. She had bought a horse that wasn't working out for her family and had to resell the rank little mare before she could take my boy home. The clock was ticking and the farm had been sold. I sent him home with her the next week with for an $800 check that I couldn't cash until the following week. I took a big leap of faith but knew in my heart everything would work out fine. He is 16 now and is still competing in cowboy competitions up north. The rumor has it he is unstopable and hard to beat.


The reason I am starting this blog is because I'm starting a new chapter with a new horse. In August I bought an 11yr old double registered Leopard Appaloosa mare who hasn't been worked with in over 7 years. The previous owner had a very serious work injury and couldn't train her. So she has been a pasture ornament and companion to other horses. So far she has been a dream. Not at all rank like some mares can be, she has more of the gelding personality. She was a rescue case from an abusive home when she was a 3 years old and was saved by the gentleman I bought her from. Although he couldn't work with or train her, his gentle hand has quited her down some. When I first got her she was a little jumpy but more curious than scared. She has had time to get used to me and some refresher courses on ground manners and is turning into a great horse!