As a horse trainer, we are sometimes caught off guard by our horses, our training partners. The following is a page from my book:
I can't say I didn't entirely see it coming. That there weren't plenty of warning signs. In her entire three and a half year existence, she had dominated over all. Neither a human or fellow horse had taught her true submission. So in the short time I worked with her at my facility, I heavily addressed this issue. Wore down her resolve. Decided to wear spurs. After a long and arduous grooming and tacking session, I finally mounted and asked her to move off. I tried to turn left. She was stuck. I tried to turn right. She was still stuck. And angry. The next seven seconds were spent blindsided by an explosion of leaps and bucks only intended to send me soaring. I was off the saddle now, the mare's entire body below me. As I've always programmed myself to do, I went limp, tucked everything in and waited for the ground. With an impact that left a dirt angel, there it was. I watched as this huge black flash galloped around my arena and then ran toward me. But not to me. To run me down.
To finish chapter 7 and to read more from my book, order it from Amazon.com.
My Top Ten Favorite Horse Stories - and the lessons learned
Author: Gail B. Veley, certified instructor with ARIA.
