Five Times
January 7, 2019
Just before the snow settled in this area of Alberta this year, I saddled up my horse for one last ride on a beautiful warm fall day. The last time I rode him the experience had not been a good one because he’d been nervous and even humped up and down a bit on our ride trying to get rid of me. I have come off horses about five times and after the last time I came off a horse, about 13 years ago, I said I would never come off a horse again. And I haven’t. So when Hobo tried to get rid of me that day, I stopped him and said, nope. That’s not going to work. He listened and we headed home because he’d had enough.
This time though, my horse trainer guide was right with me. He gave me this advice for Hobo, five times. Do anything with him five times and he’ll get it. So I used the mounting block with him five times. Walked him beside the gate I wanted to open when I was riding him five times, opened the gate and walked through it five times, walked him back through the gate into the pasture and closed the gate five times. Each time I mounted him using the mounting block I rode him a different way in the pasture getting him used to just going where I wanted him to even though he wanted to RUN back to the neighbor’s mares. He was going really well so on the fifth pasture ride I rode him upside the gate that I’d never ridden him out of before. I had used two other gates on the other times I'd ridden him out. I opened that gate up, swung it open and rode him through. He did it like a pro and we had such a great ride away from home. I even took him on a route that we’d never been on before. To some of you reading this it may sound like it’s not a big deal for my horse but it really is. He is scared of everything and I don’t like to ride horses that are scared. I do love to ride alone with just my horse and me; it’s a bond that is so strong, I cannot even describe it. I love it. Hobo wants to be with the pack and I am not a pack animal, even though I know horses are herd animals, I am not. So it’s always interesting to do new things with Hobo because as much as he wants to be with other horses, right now it’s not happening. I’m okay with that. I want to buy another horse but that horse has not yet materialized, so I wait.
My horse trainer guide is not always with me but when I need him, he is there. When I want to achieve something with my horse, he is there telling me what to do, and I listen so I have success. I have mentioned before that Hobo is not the easiest horse to work with but I figure he is with me for a reason so I stick with him. I have had such amazing rides with him and some very frustrating ones. I love just getting on a horse and riding but with him it does not always work that way.
A couple nights ago I had a dream about Hobo. In my dream he peeled away some really thick layers of his skin. I realized when I woke up and remembered that dream that he had actually been removing his thick skin. When I first began to ride him seven years ago, he was so unresponsive it was really frustrating. I never used spurs on him because if I were a horse, I would not want anyone to do that to me. I did using a riding crop with him every now and then. I didn’t have to use it much but I did use it to get him to move in the direction I asked him. Very soon after I didn’t need the crop at all, which is how I like to ride. I really felt his energy shift after that dream though. He seemed different, younger and softer. I understand it has a lot to do with time that has passed since we have become horse and owner. I do also attribute it to his growth after all of the healing sessions I have given him. He has been a lot of work and it has taken a lot of patience to get him to where he is now. I do not regret any of that at all. He has come a long way from where he used to be and isn’t that what it’s all about? Growth? I think it is.
Just before the snow settled in this area of Alberta this year, I saddled up my horse for one last ride on a beautiful warm fall day. The last time I rode him the experience had not been a good one because he’d been nervous and even humped up and down a bit on our ride trying to get rid of me. I have come off horses about five times and after the last time I came off a horse, about 13 years ago, I said I would never come off a horse again. And I haven’t. So when Hobo tried to get rid of me that day, I stopped him and said, nope. That’s not going to work. He listened and we headed home because he’d had enough.
This time though, my horse trainer guide was right with me. He gave me this advice for Hobo, five times. Do anything with him five times and he’ll get it. So I used the mounting block with him five times. Walked him beside the gate I wanted to open when I was riding him five times, opened the gate and walked through it five times, walked him back through the gate into the pasture and closed the gate five times. Each time I mounted him using the mounting block I rode him a different way in the pasture getting him used to just going where I wanted him to even though he wanted to RUN back to the neighbor’s mares. He was going really well so on the fifth pasture ride I rode him upside the gate that I’d never ridden him out of before. I had used two other gates on the other times I'd ridden him out. I opened that gate up, swung it open and rode him through. He did it like a pro and we had such a great ride away from home. I even took him on a route that we’d never been on before. To some of you reading this it may sound like it’s not a big deal for my horse but it really is. He is scared of everything and I don’t like to ride horses that are scared. I do love to ride alone with just my horse and me; it’s a bond that is so strong, I cannot even describe it. I love it. Hobo wants to be with the pack and I am not a pack animal, even though I know horses are herd animals, I am not. So it’s always interesting to do new things with Hobo because as much as he wants to be with other horses, right now it’s not happening. I’m okay with that. I want to buy another horse but that horse has not yet materialized, so I wait.
My horse trainer guide is not always with me but when I need him, he is there. When I want to achieve something with my horse, he is there telling me what to do, and I listen so I have success. I have mentioned before that Hobo is not the easiest horse to work with but I figure he is with me for a reason so I stick with him. I have had such amazing rides with him and some very frustrating ones. I love just getting on a horse and riding but with him it does not always work that way.
A couple nights ago I had a dream about Hobo. In my dream he peeled away some really thick layers of his skin. I realized when I woke up and remembered that dream that he had actually been removing his thick skin. When I first began to ride him seven years ago, he was so unresponsive it was really frustrating. I never used spurs on him because if I were a horse, I would not want anyone to do that to me. I did using a riding crop with him every now and then. I didn’t have to use it much but I did use it to get him to move in the direction I asked him. Very soon after I didn’t need the crop at all, which is how I like to ride. I really felt his energy shift after that dream though. He seemed different, younger and softer. I understand it has a lot to do with time that has passed since we have become horse and owner. I do also attribute it to his growth after all of the healing sessions I have given him. He has been a lot of work and it has taken a lot of patience to get him to where he is now. I do not regret any of that at all. He has come a long way from where he used to be and isn’t that what it’s all about? Growth? I think it is.