The House of Equine "Never Say Never"

Posted 05-12-2010 - Story by Kelly R.

Kaleen is my Paint mare. I've owned her for close to seven years acquiring her when she was four. She was broke to ride when she came to me and I had owned several horses in the past and rode every chance I could get. Kaleen and I started off on the right foot, she was broke to ride but needed some time under saddle to get her to trust me fully. We rode every day, weather permitting and she did better with each step. We don't have many trails where we live so it does get a little boring but eventually, she would go where ever I asked her to. A year or so had passed and Kaleen and I were riding with a friend and her horse Buster. This was the first time we had ridden together on "my" trails so Buster was a little on edge but seemed to be doing fine. We rounded a tree line that joined a field on the other side and when we did, a flock of turkeys were there eating. The turkeys exploded into flight and gobbling and screaming all the way. As Kaleen and I stood there watching the turkeys carrying on, it didn't occur to me that Kaleen could have cared less about all of this commotion. I turned to tall my friend what a great job Kaleen had done by not reacting to the birds, but she and Buster were nowhere to be seen. I feared the worst. I turned my horse back the way we came and cantered down the trail looking for my companions. They were nowhere to be found. This sent a chill up my spine. I cantered all the way back to the barn where I saw Buster alone and reins dragging the ground. I shouted for my friend and to my relief, she replied. I got off Kaleen and went into the barn to find my friend sitting on some hay bales shaking like a leaf. She went on to tell me that the second the first turkey burst into flight, Buster spun around, broke into a gallop and didn't stop until they got back to the barn. She said she thought she was going to vomit so she jumped off her horse at the barn and went inside to the bathroom. The moral of this story? Buster has very little trail experience as he's almost always ridden indoors. Get your horse outside, let them experience as much as possible so that things like this may be avoided. It could have been much worse if Buster decided to go through the woods instead of sticking to the trail. Horses are horses and maybe that's why we love them as much as we do. Lets face it, if all we wanted was something to carry us around in the woods or on the trails, we'd buy an ATV, no hay, no fences, no vet bills. But now that just wouldn't be us would it. ;o)

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