Meet Your Equine Teachers
Ransom
23 yr old thoroughbred gelding
Louie
13 yr old Paint Pony gelding
Ransom and I met 10 years ago. I needed an event horse, when my previous horse had a career ending injury. What started as a temporary lease, turned into ownership and the best adventure of my life. Ransom was a great horse, pretty mover, athletic, but he was difficult and “lazy.” I was often told he was taking advantage of me on purpose and I complied with the increasing amount of force necessary to get him to perform. I kept feeling like there had to be some other way, it should not be so hard to ride my horse. It was winter 2021, I had no arena at home, and Ransom had been getting worse. On a whim, I took the Willing Equine’s Foundation Course. I had clicker trained dogs, so I thought this would just be a fun alternative while the winter weather was bad. Little did I know it would change my whole perspective on horsemanship. It was the first time I was told my horse’s behavior was communication. He was in discomfort, not being disobedient. So aside from training, I started to dive deep into his health. And I found so many things. So many things suddenly made sense and I was heartbroken that my horse had to push through it all, unheard. I stopped riding him and vowed that if I did ride him again, he would have to give me his consent.
Positive reinforcement changed so much for us, but it took time. He had to heal physically and mentally. He had to learn it was safe to say no and that I would listen to him. Once he began to understand that he had control over what happened to him, he started to flourish. He tries new things cautiously, but trusts the process- he trusts that I will ensure good outcomes for him now.
Because of his past, Ransom does best with a lot of clarity and slow approximations toward the end goal. He has taught me to train patiently and slowly. He has taught me to trust his communication.
Ransom is an excellent and patient teacher. Sometimes it takes him a bit to gain confidence with strangers, but I think he also knows that’s how he can show you what two way communication looks like.
Louie entered my life to be a companion to Ransom when I moved him home in 2019. He was also a prospect lesson pony to teach kids dressage. I had already started to learn about how to listen to horses better by the time Louie came along and after a period of time it was clear he also was experiencing a lot of discomfort while being ridden. His behavior seems to “come out of nowhere.” He wasn’t prone to shutting down like Ransom, he was sensitive and reactive. He really wanted to please, but was very overwhelmed. Clicker training helped Louie learn to settle. He also challenged me to be precise and skilled as well as attentive to small signs of tension. He is quick to learn, but can often get anxious. He has a lot of metabolic and other health factors that contribute to his behavior, proving that horse training and handling is almost always a holistic endeavor. He is such a kind teacher now, and that was accomplished through training, but also getting his needs met and monitoring his nutrition and body pain.
Louie is a very welcoming soul, and makes everyone he meets feel confident as he patiently waits for his cues and guides you through making adjustments.