In September of 2020, during the Covid pandemic, I bought a Horse. Though I only spent just over a year with this older ex-ranch horse, the red roan gelding taught me so much during my time with him.
This is the story
I call my horses ‘divine mirrors’—they reflect back the emotions you put in. If you put in love and respect and kindness and curiosity, the horse will return that.
Allan Hamilton
FORWARD
Animals have been in my life since I was a shy little girl. From Dogs to Cats, Parrots all the way down to Hamsters, Rats, and Gerbils. I even had a Prairie Dog at one point. There is just something about our deep understanding of animals and our partnerships with them.
I started riding horses after begging my Mother for lessons when I was 8, and I have never looked back. When I was young, I dreamt of being a Horse Trainer. From 1992-1994 I took that dream and worked for Doc Nichols at Blue Spruce Veterinarian and learned more about training from Les Corbett (a well known saddlebred trainer) at Marywood Farms. The experience gave me a solid foundation of horse care and working with them, but I also experienced some very tough cases. At that time, I discovered I had a knack for working with horses that had behavioral issues due to abuse or other sort of unknown causes.
When life got in the way, I focused on my children and took a break from horses. I kept my saddles, brushes, and all of my tack until I could use them again in the early 2010s, as both my boys showed a passion for the animals that mirrored mine. I have helped horses to trust again and found them good permanent homes. I still have my younger Son’s AQHA named “Sunny Moe Deluxe” (Moe), who will spend his days with us. In addition to Moe, I like to have a young, or “project” (as I call it), that needs patience and understanding. This is the beginning of a 6 part story of a unique project that deeply touched me and goes by the name “Cowboy.”
WHAT’S THIS CRAZY HORSE YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT?
For several years, I had been considering getting a second horse. My career had been advancing, and my role at Microsoft gave me the flexibility to work from home and financial stability. My retired AQHA cutting horse (that couldn’t cut it), Moe, was getting up in age (27 years old when this story began). Though Moe acted as if he was just 10, the reality of his age became more apparent each year. I’d thought about taking on another project horse many times. There are a lot of horses that people give up on because they can’t deal with whatever behavior issues that have developed. Since working with problem horses has always been a skill of mine, I have always been confident that I can work through almost anything.
In the spring of 2020, the world had stopped. Covid was running rampant across the globe, shutting down entire cities, and the Island I live on was doing its best to cope in an uncertain world. I had hunkered down in my little house and hadn’t gone to the barn to see Moe for several weeks. When things opened up a bit more in early summer, I was spending more time with Moe. By mid-summer, the boarders and people in dressage training were frequenting more while maintaining social distancing. The barn became my “normal” (as much as it could in a world flipped upside down).
When we women are around each other, we talk about our horses and other horses, and gossip flies when anything significant happens. I stay out of those talks and generally don’t pay much attention to what’s being said. In those stories, I had overheard something about a horse being kept up on the hill with the property owners (they had separate paddocks for their horses and some boarders). Audrey (the trainer and stable manager) and Nancy (the Farrier) talked about how this crazy horse flipped in the crossties from spooking. He was also unruly during his shoeing, so they had to drug him to get his shoes on him. I didn’t think much of it then, other than noting a crazy horse up the hill.
TELL ME MORE ABOUT THIS COWBOY
This is what I pictured.
It was mid-August when I was with Nancy (the Farrier) getting Moe’s hoofs trimmed up when Audrey and Lauren (the weekend stall cleaner and one of the instructors) talked about the crazy horse on the hill. There was mention of Shawna (the horse's owner) needing to take him to auction. I perked my ears and inserted myself into the conversation. “What horse is this?” I asked. Audrey turns to me and says, “He might be perfect for you. He just needs someone to take some time and start him over.”
Cowboy (this crazy horse’s name) was bought from upstate New York and shipped to our Island in the Pacific Northwest by Shawna. It was said that Cowboy was 13 years old and a registered AQHA. Shawna and the property owner's wife were good friends and traveled to New York to ride a couple of horses when they first met him. Shawna was on a Cowboy, and the other woman was on a different horse. The other horse flipped out and severely damaged the other woman (broken bones, concussion… the works). Cowboy was so calm during the drama that there was speculation that he was drugged.
Audrey told me a story of when she was bucked off of Cowboy. She described his buck as being like a rodeo bronc. She said that while she was cantering him, she could feel him rounding out under her, and he suddenly exploded. Head down and hop around the arena until she comes off. He had done the same with a young woman who was training with Audrey soon after. That time she came off, she broke her pelvis. That was the last straw for Audrey. She said that it wasn’t safe for Shawna to continue with him, and no one else could ride him.
I had mentioned that it would be nice to have a project again. A horse with behavior issues that I could start from the beginning with groundwork and work our way up to riding again. I had the money and the time, and with Moe being my “day off” (as I call him), I would have the patience to give this horse another chance.
Audrey introduced me to Shawna, and we got to talking about Cowboy. Shawna repeated some of the stories I had heard, which confirmed his behavior. She said he bucked with her on the trails once, but she believes it was because of a bee nest as she saw welts on him when they returned to the barn that day. She added that she bought him of riding him on the trails, but after some time, she really liked the dressage work that Audrey trained for. Shawna had put Cowboy into training with Audrey, and she also took lessons for several months. Sometime after this, Cowboy started his bucking (aside from the bee incident).
She showed me the Dressage saddle (stuffed and fit by a saddle fitter) and the bit she used on him. I am not a fan of bits at all. I don’t think badly of people who use them, as I know that most horses need various degrees of contact. For some, the bit's communication is also essential in most disciplines. My first mare had a curb (30 years ago), and it was what she needed. In the 90s, I rode saddlebreds in double bridles, understanding when to use the snaffle and the curb. In the past, I was diligently trained to keep my hands steady while riding and communicate gently. Today, I spend the months it takes to train my horses to use a side-pull bitless bridle. The trust and communication we develop are not because of the piece of metal in their mouth but because of the respect and relationship we have with each other. I was feeling that Cowboy could be a candidate for a bitless bridle, but it would take a lot of time to get him there.
Shawna talked about all of the Veterinary and Chiropractic work she had done on Cowboy. They checked for a kissing spine, did a neurological exam (he exhibited wobbler-type movement when cantering), and x-rayed both hind hocks. All of it came back negative for any problems. The Chiropractor had also worked on his back but didn’t see any significant issues. If she hadn’t done all of the Veterinary work, I might not have even considered buying him.
GETTING TO KNOW COWBOY
Shawna was very reluctant to sell Cowboy, so we initially worked out a lease. I texted her on the days I wanted to work with him and communicated each step. He was very reactionary to things that were (or weren’t) in the distance. He also tended to want to walk ahead of me, drag me in the opposite direction, knock me in the head with his head as he quickly looked at the ghosts in the trees, had no respect for my personal space, and struggled to back up when asked.
The initial groundwork consisted of:
- Leading him around the property, asking him to respect my space
- Do not knock me in the head
- Yield his front end as I turned in the direction of him
- Follow me as I change direction away from him
- Back up as I stopped and backed
- General calming methods while walking in a tight circle
My goal with him was to get him to keep his focus on me rather than what was going on elsewhere.
I noticed during Cowboy’s first showing that he was agitated. His neck was solid, and he planted his feet as if ready for a fight. Nancy has been working on Moe’s feet for years. She and I are both proponents of barefoot. I asked Shawna if she was ok with taking Cowboy’s shoes off. She said, “I’ll let you make the call.” I also requested that we not drug him this time so that I could see how he reacted.
Shawna had to leave to another appointment and left Nancy and I with Cowboy. I gave him treats when he exhibited calming behavior while Nancy worked with him. After each hoof he was suitable for, I rewarded him with pets and treats. Showering him positively so that he would become familiar with how I work and trust that I wasn’t there for a fight. It wasn’t a smooth process, but he didn’t flip out or act up, as I have experienced with some horses. This proved that he had a solid baseline to work with; we just needed to bring it out of him.
Over the month, I continued to work on his ground manners and scheduled a massage therapist to work on his stiffness. Donna (the masseuse) pointed out a few places where he could use some work. His neck was naughty, and his hind end was reactive. She was scheduled a few weeks out as I worked on loosening him up through groundwork and lateral flexion.
I BOUGHT COWBOY
In September 2020, I decided to buy Cowboy from Shawna officially. Audrey had been working on introducing Moe and Cowboy to each other with plans to have them stay in their own two-stall and paddock setup on the hill above the main barn. I eventually would come to call the two “Brothers from another mother” as they became best of friends.
The groundwork, bending techniques, and massages were working well for Cowboy, so I felt it was time to try my old Western saddle on him.
I tacked him up with the saddle while still in his halter and led him into the arena. Cowboy ripped the lead from my hands and immediately took off down the arena, bucking like a bronc.
I laughed loudly and yelled, “Woo, look at you go!” with a big smile. Audrey was putting the horses away for the evening, and I could hear her laughing from afar. She stopped and talked to me for a bit as I got a hold of him, and we chatted about his bucking again. She exclaimed, “That’s exactly what he does”. She described it as not some little kick out or a protest, it’s a full on rodeo buck that’s very difficult to stay on.
I had wrapped things up with his usual tight circles and calming techniques. He got to where he was doing a lot of licking and chewing during our sessions. Around the same time, he went crazy with the saddle; he was running out of the Magnesium that Shawna had been giving him, so I asked Audrey to let it run out and bought Smartpak’s SmartCalm® supplement to replace it. We continued the probiotic that the Vet recommended for Shawna to use to help with any gut-related issues that could be causing his behavior.
Over the following months, Cowboy needed a lot of groundwork if I was ever to get on him. He needed to work with the bitless bridle, bending, stopping, and yielding to pressure from the leg. This would be accomplished from the ground by developing a partnership and clear communication before I braved the bucking bronc. As I said, “I want him to love me so much that he won’t want to hurt me.”… right?