So, which do you prefer? Finishing a broke horse, fine tuning and turning that good broke horse into a pattern machine OR starting one from the ground up? Both have their merits - the nice thing about a broke horse is the whole, less of a danger of imminent death, factor. But for those of you crazy enough to start one from the ground up - does it give you as much joy as it does me?
Maybe it is because once we get to the finishing stage I feel like a complete moron and I don't really know what to do, but I would rather start a young one any day. Don't get me wrong, the whole fear thing is very real too and that's a little horrifying. I'm fully aware of the fact that I do not have one of those "sticky seats". I can remember back to a time not so long ago when a fellow rider was watching me try to ride the bucks out and I could hear them going, "you've got it, you've got 'em", right before I ended up in the sand. "You don't got it." Landing in the dirt, dirt sampling, being an arena dart definitely hurts me more today than it used to. My goal is always to prepare with enough groundwork to not put the possibility of flying through the air at the top of any ponies list. I call it the "I don't want to die" plan.
But those of you who have started colts (I call them all colts - fillies or stud colts) know what I'm saying is that change, real change, is so much more obvious and so much faster. You can almost physically see the lightbulbs clicking on. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing the relief and relaxation come over a colt when they know they have done the right thing and you are pleased with them. I'm being reminded of this every day that I work with Charlie and Invy. Every minute spent with either of them, is both a challenge and a joy. A mental challenge trying to predict and plan what to do next, what each of them needs and how to react to them. They are both so different and training them is a completely different process.
Charlie is the reactive one. He wants to please, but he seems to think that I want everything done quickly and if he doesn't do it right, there is a chance he is going to get hurt. So his first instinct is to put miles between us when he's scared. Most of the training with Charlie has been about going slow, building his trust and putting him into situations to help him learn that even when he is scared, I am his safe place and he can trust me. He has come so far in just a few weeks. He's gone from taking people on ski trips on the end of a lead to softness and responsiveness on the lungeline. His thinking brain is starting to override his reactive brain and you can physically see him thinking and relaxing as he gets it right more and more. If I had a nickle for every time I have said, "oh Charlie" as I rub him and reassure him, I could buy 5 more Charlies (or the hay to feed them). We spend loads of time desensitizing Charlie (getting him used to scary things) and very little time sensitizing. He already is very good at getting out of your space and moving his feet. Charlie came with 60 days of groundwork in his past (he's 5 now) and a lot of those lessons are coming back to him as we work together. We have a long ways to go before he is ready for those riding lessons, but progress isn't always about miles in the saddle. The steps we take now will translate to faster progress under saddle some day.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Invy. Invy had not been handled a ton in his 2 years. He doesn't understand personal space and actually tried to climb over Tim as we were choosing projects (so of course he was the one, lol). He has continued that behavior here from time to time. Thankfully at 48 1/2" he is pretty easy to manhandle, but he will get bigger and heavier. His lessons have been less about desensitizing and more about getting him to move away from us, get out of our space and yield to pressure (not push into it). He is such a polar opposite of Charlie. If you raise a stick/whip at Charlie he could be in the next county with zero thought for his personal safety in 10 seconds. Invy has gotten his butt whacked a couple of times now and doesn't even move. He's all "ho hum, whatever, don't you want to pet me?" He's the kind that many saddle up and ride before they are actually ready because they are just so quiet, they can get away with it and not die. He's the kind many think are "broke" before they are even trained, because they just don't have much of a reaction too much of anything. I've made that mistake before, not with Invy. We aren't skipping steps and since he is so small, we have plenty of time to invest in the right groundwork before he's ready to ride physically anyway.
It's hard not to pick favorites and easy to love them both. Just for kicks we have a third project who is different yet again. Pepper is a classic mix of both Invy and Charlie's temperament. About some things she is deadhead easy and quiet and yet she has enough sass and fire in her to be a little like Charlie about other things. She has met her match in Sophie though. Sophie saw right through Mercy's sass and Pepper will learn that quickly too.
Working with colts is rewarding and challenging and the best way to keep a person honest. Just when you think you know how they will react, just when you think you have them figured out, they will try something new on you. I love the challenge and I love helping them all become solid citizens. I can't wait to keep sharing stories with all of you as they learn. It's been a Godsend to have projects to keep us busy with all the extra time we have had lately.
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