Before you sell that horse

Sue wants to share Mr Pete’s story in the hope that it will save someone else from the heartbreak of thinking that they need to “get rid of that horse”.

Mr Pete’s story is a common one

Mr Pete’s owner was advised by her trainer to “get rid of that horse” because in the trainer’s opinion, he was dangerous.  As an example of their training methods, the trainer had “tied him up for days on end with a short rope and  lunged him around in side reins for 30 laps before riding.  Then when they rode him he spooked at everything.”  What a surprise… (Some good old Aussie sarcasm there!)

Sue wrote:  “I have spent 16 months just trying to get back into riding and all I have done is spent 1000′ s of dollars and haven’t got anywhere, just got worse. My only hope is that I still have Pete and hopefully we can work through this together”.

Sue started with some free lessons on our website here, liked our gentle and incredibly horse centred approach and then started on Fast Track to Brilliant Riding a few months ago.  With that program and some email support and encouragement and one live conversation, she made these extraordinary changes with her riding ability and confidence and with this supposedly dangerous horse.

Sue:  “Hi Jenny I’m loving the fast track yeah it’s going good.  Petes going really well. We’re getting out of the round yard slowly, done some trotting, he feels very free and lovely and soft and my seat is pretty good.  I do get tense sometimes but I just do a quiet mind on myself while on him and it gets better, still working with it.

Pete is a very patient horse for his age takes it in his stride he likes being out of the round yard . We can do all our transitions pretty well now. A lot of the time I just think Trot and squeeze and off he goes.

Since I spoke to you the other day we had a bit of a moment where our connection has clicked.  I think it was more me self doubting. The last couple of days he has just gone in leaps and bounds doing everything I ask – backing back,  side passes which I had taught him in the ground but it’s like he’s just clicked and gone “I know what you want” and the more I visualise it, the more it works.

Still taking it very slowly, just working in my paddock now which is like 10 acres with bush in it so it’s perfect for trial riding exposure.”

Jenny:  For background to this next bit – Mr Pete’s companion died recently and then he was alone.

Sue:  I have to tell you something that really blew me away.  Every night I do a quiet mind before I go to bed and the last 4 nights Pete has being standing at my bedroom window (he has access to the house) so when I put on the meditation he can hear it.  The first night I just kept thinking I wish he would lay down and sleep as he’s on his own and I worry he doesn’t lay down being on his own. Well next minute he whinnys to me and I jump out of bed to see what’s wrong and he’s laying down.  It was so beautiful I nearly cried.

Well every night now at 9 pm he’s up there waiting.  I put the meditation on and down he goes out to it for hours.  I feel so happy for him that he can rest even though he’s on his own.  I just had to share that with you thanks again.  I will get on the forum.  I had a bit of a look the other day and I will get to a live seminar I just find it so hard to get up early after my week at work early starts.  Sue

Hi Jenny I just wanted to let you know your seminar on talking to the animals was awesome . Look I will be honest I’m not sure if I’m getting it but today I’m sure Pete and I had a conversion like a real conversation it’ just seemed crazy.  Am I imagining all this or have I finally tapped into it?

It seemed too easy, it just happened.  It was like he was yelling at me and I had this voice in my head telling me all this stuff and he was so thankful that I was finally listening. I thought to myself, if this is real can you turn and face me?  And he did. I felt and still feel so emotionally overwhelmed with love from him. It made me cry.

So what I’m asking Jenny have I finally started to communicate or am I putting theses ideas in my head?  I so hope this is it because it makes me feel wonderful. Thankyou Sue

Jenny: The more practice you get, the more validation you get that what you’re “hearing” and feeling is real and useful and practical 🙂  I’m running that animal communication course again next week, so get on my email list to hear all about it. 🙂

Sue:  Hi Jenny just wanted to let you know I need to share my excitement with someone.  I have taken Pete for his second ride out in the bush all I can say he’s incredible, so relaxed. It’s blowing a gale here and nothing has bothered him. He does everything I ask.  I found today if he does get stressed, I go straight into my quiet mind and bang he just relaxes and goes with the flow. I just want to say Thankyou I’m so grateful to have found you. You have changed my life with horses I feel and see things so different now I just can’t wait to go riding and he is the same.

I do a quiet mind lesson with him every time we ride I’m sure that gets us both set for a ride. He’s definitely a gem.  I don’t know what the trainer did but he doesn’t even think about shying . I’ve had goannas and kangaroos jump out and it doesn’t faze him.

Jenny:  Well I know what the trainer did with him that turned him into a shying, spooking wreck.  She went too fast, didn’t have any consideration for his confusion, for his lack of understanding what she was asking him, or consideration for his fear and anxiety, so it all built up until he was exploding in spookiness.

AND this horse is a natural Caretaker.  So many trainers stuff up Caretakers, because they slow down or stop when they are afraid or confused OR when they sense that YOU are afraid or confused!  They slow down to look after YOU.  And then people beat them or spur them forwards until they lose their ability to look after people like Mr Pete had lost because of the trainer’s handling.

It’s so darned unnecessary!  And so are most other behavioral reasons for selling a horse.  Every single problem you have with a horse is an opportunity for a deeper bond – when you solve it right.  And 9 times out of 10, solving it right just takes love, a willingness to approach things differently and a bit of knowledge.

Einstein said that you can’t solve a problem with the same mindset that created it. (My paraphrasing! 🙂 )  And it’s exactly the same with horses.  You cannot solve a horse behavior problem with the same kind of thinking or force that created the problem in the first place.  Most people are seriously surprised at how easy it is to fix problems when you know how.

So email me if you have a horse problem and we’ll have a chat about a different way to approach a solution.

Back to Mr Pete

Then they hit what looked like a big road block.  Mr Pete started displaying some stallion like behavior that was quite intimidating and they had to stop for a few weeks.  Sue, (another Sue on staff here) got the communication that he was desperately in need of a horse companion again after his previous companion had died.

So Sue (Mr Pete’s owner) put out for and found the perfect mare companion who has sorted out all that young horse behavior in her very matter of fact way and now they’re all beautifully back on track again.

Sue:  Hi guys just wanted to let you know how Pete and I are going. I’m back riding him he took three weeks to settle in with Share (the new horse). Petes being fantastic he’s not stiff and sore after his Bowen.  He’s so much more relaxed to ride no buddy sourness at all.  Very keen to go and do some riding.  Done trail rides with not one drama about leaving, coming home very relaxed at a walk he doesn’t hurry at all and so keen to do flat work and he has been perfect.  So thanks again to both of you for giving me and Pete the knowledge to get this beautiful relationship. 🙂

Jenny:  Congratulations Sue for having the courage to step out in a new direction with your horse, your willingness to email me when things weren’t going well, so that we could support you and the determination to do well with your beautiful boy.  Because THAT folks is the foundation of what it takes – the heart and desire to be good with our horse.  All else flows from that.  Well done to all three of you. 🙂

Fast Track to Brilliant Riding is the program Sue was on.