When I was a young person I was crazy about horses! As a teen I was sure I would have a career with horses. I started a few young horses and ponies under saddle by myself, did work experience, clinics, a bit of pony club, a couple of vocational courses and some voluntary work in the industry. I even tried a position as a stable hand for a top show jumping stable. The horse industry was not the beautiful image of connection with these lovely animals that I had always wanted.
At work experience, an experiment in interval training by a local university PHD candidate, the experiment resulted in most of the horses becoming unsound and put down. Standardbred horses aren’t worth much if they have already failed to win as racehorses. They were also stabled with no turnout or enrichment and showed a broad range of stereotypies. The guys who worked with young horses relied on brute force and coercion. One vocational course instructor told me to hit my horse with a whip every time another horse approached while I was riding to stop him from laying his ears back. I am still scarred that I took that advice, hit my poor, scared horse a couple times, before telling the instructor in no uncertain terms that I wouldn’t do that again. My horse was, by then, completely terrified of other horses approaching. The show jumpers regularly returned from rides with bleeding mouths in the short time I was there.
I ended up sticking with personal project ponies, starting a couple friends horses under saddle and working for some kind, boutique horse trekking centres before embarking on a different career.
Fast forward about 15 years. I’ve had a baby as an older mum, which is not great for the body. So not great that I can’t continue with my previous career as a performing artist featuring hula hooping, contortion, low key acrobatics and aerial hoop (in a comedic manner, not cirque du soliel) but I’ve found myself with the opportunity to have horses in my life again and apply some of the things I’ve learned away from the industry to horse handling. I’d love to ride again, but there aren’t exactly any trainers in the area turning out riding horses trained with R+, or even that have any awareness of behavioural science….
Obviously, the solution was to buy a young horse and start from scratch.
Re-Starting with Horses
