My Passion - Training

I was thinking about this in the shower for some reason today... where in the heck did my passion for training green, sometimes slightly crazy horses come from? The reason this was kind of interesting to think about was because of the type of rider I used to be. I was timid, terrified of horses for the most part, and not a good rider. Looking back, I can kind of laugh hysterically because, well... I would have never in a million years thought that fast forward a few years and I'd be starting horses. Kinda cool how things work out, no? 

I think the main thing that sparked my thirst for training was the first couple of times I had a big accomplishment on a horse that was less-than perfect. My first memory of one of these episodes was in summer of 2010. I was having a make-up lesson on this mare named Sierra. She was, well, your stereotypical red headed mare. Need I say more? She had come to the barn I was riding at really green, and one of the stablehands had trained her up. At this point, I would have been best described as a green rider. Seriously, I knew hardly anything. Anyhow, she was being a psychotic freak - don't remember the specifics, just that my trainer, Janice, said "Amina, smack her as hard as you can with the crop!" So I did. This resulted in her cantering into the butt of the horse in front of us, so I circled her a bunch of times. Anyhow, when it came our time to canter individually she decided  the best way to get out of work was to buck every stride. I had anything from a solid seat, but I managed to stay on and got in a couple good strides. I hung around to do some barn work and watch the next lesson, where another girl rode her. She was perfect. Seriously, totally different horse. I remember grinning from ear to ear, thinking wow, I was the one who got her to behave... sweet! 

The next similar experience was that fall. The barn got in this little pony, Teddy. Cutest horse ever and equally as funny. I was way too tall to ride him, but the girl who my instructor had originally assigned to him broke her arm a few lessons later, so I begged to ride him. She let me, and it was nothing short of hilarious. I rode him in a couple lessons, and when  the class went on a trail ride, I decided to pick him. He hadn't been out on the trails before, so we had no clue what he'd do. I was really excited though, and I felt super awesome being the first one to take him out on the trails. It was super fun, and I felt so amazing and accomplished when Yvonne told me I had done a good job.

Trail ride on Teddy! 

That same year of 2010-2011, I had the amazing opportunity to do a two week internship at a horse rescue. It was a requirement for the school I attended, and we got two weeks off from normal classes to do the internship of our choosing. Being the brilliant person I am, I decided two weeks in the middle of February would be best spent in the freezing cold, so that's what I did. The rescue I volunteered at rescued nurse mare foals as babies, raised them, and when they were old enough to sell, started them under saddle. I got to observe the process of their training, and although I was still definitely a noob when it came to riding, it was cool and I learned a lot. I didn't get to ride at all until the end of my two weeks there. But when I did, it was so amazing. I got to ride this adorable little pony named Toby who was basically a saint. He hadn't been under saddle very long but was super awesome. I'm sure I looked like an awkward noodle up on him but it was still cool to ride a greenie. The rescue is really far from my house, but it's about 30 minutes from where my dad works, so I tried to get rides out there as much as possible. I didn't really go after February until that summer. That summer, we had a ton of little ponies adopted out. The trainer there was really tall, so as I became a better rider, I got to start riding a few of them and putting miles on them.

Four year old Elton's third ride under saddle

These were all amazing experiences, but the real fun didn't begin until that fall. A series of awesome events (more in a different post, coming soon) led me to find my dream horse, and also the most amazing trainer and mentor. There was a guy that started volunteering at the rescue who had a huge amount of knowledge in starting horses. I am so blessed that he took me under his wing and taught me everything he did, which was a lot. At this point, I had switched lessons barns and had become a better rider, so the people at the rescue were more comfortable with putting me on the greenies. In addition to this, Jeff taught me all about join up, lunging, introducing the saddle, and much more! At this point, I was spending every single day off from school and every Saturday at the rescue. I was in training heaven. Seriously, I'm so beyond blessed to have had this opportunity. That winter, I spent every free moment of mine working with a handful of horses, including the one that became my own. In March, I put the first ride on three different horses. I felt like I was on top of the world!

First ride back on Gambler in August of 2012... Best feeling in the WORLD!

Unfortunately this did not all last, as a series of events led me to buy Gambler, and I have not been back to the farm since. I hope that I can soon, because despite everything, I hold that farm very dear to my heart. 

Luckily, the adventures didn't stop! In May of 2012, I found myself the owner of a great horse... Just a horse who wasn't trained. Without the guidance of Jeff, I was pretty much alone. It was scary, but the small progress that I did make with my horse was awesome. As luck would have it, I found an awesome trainer who worked with Gambler and myself for about a month. After that, he suffered from a suspensory injury (yay, breakable pony) and I moved him down to the farm where my friend was working. He was on stall rest for a month and then the amazing adventure of getting him under saddle began. This farm was really far away, so I only went down a few times a week and my friend rode him the other days. I am proud to say that I was the person to put his first rides on him as well as his first trot and canter. In September, I found an amazing barn near my house, where he is boarded at now. The same awesome lady who trained us in the spring gives us lessons, and his progress is amazing. 

Training horses is honestly the most rewarding experience ever. I have such a huge place in my heart for it, and I don't think that it will ever change.