Back in my time as a camp counselor, we sang a song that advised us: "Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other gold." That song came to mind to me today when I made a new horse friend at the barn where I volunteer. Since my last chore night, Riders Unlimited, Inc. welcomed a new boarding horse, Trigger, to the herd. I got to meet him tonight.
Trigger is a 2006 Arabian-cross palomino gelding who spent the entire day in pasture with the herd today, but then gets separated into a stall at night while many of the other horses are turned out into the indoor arena. As the pasture has a gate leading directly into the arena, everyone came in all at once for supper, to be separated into their stalls to eat in peace. Wouldn't you know, my soon-to-be-new friend wanted nothing at all to do with me! Trigger ducked behind the trio of Haflinger mares to evade me, thus upsetting two of them and causing one to go into a slight heat-induced frenzy (that's not to say any of the horses were behaving dangerously, it was simply very comical to watch two mares kick and run away, while the other one "winked" at him, stayed between he and I, and looked at me with a very obvious, "You stay away from My Man!" expression).
After a few minutes of Trigger-and-mare silliness, I decided to go back to work, and let out some of the other geldings who had finished their grain and were ready again to be turned out. As other geldings entered the arena, the mares relaxed a bit and began to spend time again with their usual friends. Everyone relaxed and began to eat at their hay. I entered the arena again to separate Trigger, but he still had no desire to come with me. He ducked behind the other geldings and mares again; provoking a few to kick out and run, and poor Flicka (the lovebug Haflinger) to still try to keep his attention and stand in my way.
At last, the farce had gone on long enough with no result. I grabbed a lunge whip and entered the arena again. As soon as the other horses noticed the whip in my hand, they were very wont to stay out of my way and no longer harbor the New Guy that I was coming for. Quickly, they all crossed the arena and began to eat-- including Flicka-- abandoning poor Trigger at the other end. Now I stood between him and the herd, and the herd had no interest in him or me with my whip. What was Trigger to do? He stood there, ears perked up and forward, looking at me, looking at the herd, and looking at my whip quietly at my side. I had his attention now! I stood there and quietly spoke to him. I said things like, "Now we can talk, huh? Are you going to be a good boy? It's ok. I won't hurt or scare you. We'll just talk a minute." I rambled on about what a good boy he was being as I stood there, arm outstretched, whip quietly at my side. As he relaxed and bent down his head, I took a step forward. When his head came back up and his eyes and ears were again studying me, I praised him. When he relaxed and sighed, I took another step. This went on until I was close enough for him to sniff at my hand, and then I was close enough to touch him, praise him, and scratch behind his ear. He sighed and dropped his head again, and I took him by the halter.
He followed like a pro-- he'd been caught and was relaxed enough to go on behind me as though he'd known me for years. I took him back to his stall and closed the door behind us, loving on him and talking to him, bonding with him as he looked out the window, sniffed around, and nibbled at his hay. When he was happily settled in and I was content, I quietly crept back out the door.
This story isn't actually very interesting. Lots of people catch horses who are hard to catch all the time, in various ways. There are many things I could have done differently. There are many "right" ways to safely catch a horse and put him in a stall. I hope that you readers can all see that, and understand that this isn't a story about catching a horse, or "taking control," or asserting myself. This story is actually much more to do with how I felt as I slowly gained the trust and respect of a new horse friend.
It has been a long time since I met and worked with a young and new horse. Many of the horses I come across these days are either already familiar with me, or they are old hands at meeting new strangers all the time. It's been a long time since I've had to introduce myself and have that "first conversation" with a horse. It was a little bit strange yet very familiar and ultimately very rewarding. I've sorely missed teaching a horse and gaining his trust! As much as I love Thunder and we do learn so much together, he already knows me and his job pretty well. He's secure. It was nice to "make a stitch" with an otherwise insecure (at least to me) horse for a change. It doesn't make the tapestry I've been slowly working at with Thunder any less special, but it comes with its own unique thrill.
So there you have it, Sonata Fans. There's the part of riding I've been missing for a little while now: making new friends while keeping the old. One is silver and the other gold.