Hi, Charlie Horse here. I received an interesting tidbit and picture from my friend Sally. She read my column from last month and wanted to share a story with us. Sally is an interesting old gal and has been there done that in her 30 something years. She won't divulge her true age, as it isn't that important to her, but we can see the ravages of time in her swayback and all the gray that is appearing in her pretty chestnut coat. Without further ado, I will let Sally carry on.

Hello Charlie and all you horses and humans alike, I just want to share this story to encourage all my equine friends out there. You know, when I first came to my present human, she was a wreck. It took me a little less than a month to get it through her head that I had a problem with humans. That's pretty fast considering what I had been through up until then.

She just wouldn't listen at first. I tried to tell her the first time she wanted to take me out of the pasture. I could tell by her body language that she was trying to be kind to me but I was just plain terrified of humans and needed more time. At that time, I had been at this new place less than 24 hours. She put the halter on me and I looked at her hoping she would see the terror in my eyes. She just didn't see it. Next I turned to my pasture mates who were still back at the fence line about 50 feet away and held my head up high, my nostrils and eyes were flared. Of course I was tense but I couldn't help it. I know it was only 50 feet but I was so afraid and most of the humans I had dealt with up until that time didn't care what I was feeling. I was used to being ignored. I went into panic mode as she was still trying to lead me away. I felt that the only ones I could trust were Cinnamon and her two-month old son, Kelly and they were not coming with me. I had turned off my hearing and the only thing I could think about was getting back to them. I was dancing in circles, whinnying and pulling hard. This human finally reached up and tentatively undid the halter to let me go. What a relief!

Two and a half weeks later, she was back. I had all that time to get settled in because she was gone on what she called a vacation. She had another human with her, a child of 12, her niece I think she said. Anyway, these two came out to the pasture one day. She put the halter on Cinnamon and myself and led us to the front yard. I was more comfortable this time because Cinnamon was with me. Kelly followed us but just kind of did that kid thing, you know, running around like a maniac and then took off on a curiosity mission. I really took a lot of comfort from Cinnamon because she told me that this human was okay. Cinnamon had been with her for a little over a year and was beginning to think that all humans weren't bad. She was comfortable with the situation so I tried to be also, just as long as she was real close to me. They saddled us, mounted up and we went out into the field next door.

My new human was riding me and her niece was on Cinnamon. Poor Cinnamon was having trouble. This human child was scared, unbalanced and just plain couldn't hold onto the reins right to support Cinnamon. She was doing okay but at the end of the half hour that we had been in the field, Cinnamon wanted to hurry up and get back. Well, so did I but my human was asking me to turn in a circle away from Cinnamon. I was trying so hard to get it through to her that this was probably the scariest thing that I could imagine right then. Turning my back and walking away from the only creature I felt I could trust! Cinnamon started trotting because the child couldn't stop her. My human was tensing up and started yelling to the child to take a hold of the saddle. Well, that really started my panic attack. She tensed up more, started pulling the reins tight and yelled at the child again. That was the straw that finally sent me over the edge. She just wasn't listening to me tell her that I was terrified of being alone out there. So the only option I felt I had was to get to Cinnamon as fast as I could. Cinnamon was going through the gate into the yard and I was right behind her. Whew, when I got to the yard with Cinnamon I was so relieved. While I was catching my breath and thanking that guy in the sky (humans call Him God) that I was still alive, I saw something moving out in the field. When I looked closely I was surprised to recognize my human. It was at that time that I realized she wasn't on my back. I was so panicked that I just don't remember her dismounting. When she came into the yard, it was clear that she had fallen off when I took off towards Cinnamon. My thoughts were going back to other incidents when I had lost my rider and I was afraid of the beating that was coming.

The funny thing is, she was limping a little and looked rumpled but I didn't see any anger or rage in her body. This was new and the next thing that happened was also strange to my knowledge. She got that long line that humans call a lounge line and hooked it onto my halter. She started asking me to go around in circles at a trot then a walk and back to a trot. She kept this up for a while and I finally started to understand what was happening. The other humans I had known just made me run around in circles. It always made me nervous because there was no meaning behind it - just run. She did this for a while and I realized that I could relax. This was a new experience because of the calming affect it had on me. I realized that maybe she was beginning to listen to me and maybe wasn't such a bad human after all. When I got relaxed she "asked" me if I was ready to stop and started to talk softly to me. That was nice. Humans had never "asked" me anything at all; they just ordered me to do things without caring what my opinion was. Then she started petting me on the neck and it was rather soothing. After the saddle was off she started brushing me. It was nice for a change because this human noticed that my back was very sensitive and only brushed my mane and neck. Several months later after I began trusting her better, I finally let her brush the rest of me more often. You know even after these 5 years she still approaches me very carefully because she knows my skin is so sensitive. I have really grown to like this human and have come to the conclusion that there is always hope for humans. Some just need more time than others.

I got a couple of days rest after that. Cinnamon and my human were training the human child to ride with more balance and the proper use of the reins. After two days my human saddled us both up again and I was quite nervous. She did let me stay close to Cinnamon and that helped a lot. We stayed in the yard and pasture and I got quite relaxed. That was so nice because I felt that she was really going to listen to me. She proved over and over again in the years to come that she was trying very hard. She still missed things as we progressed but over all, my human has improved immensely. I consider myself very lucky indeed because my human has told me that I will never have to change humans again as long as she can help it.

Sincerely,
Sally Sue

Thanks Sally for that inspirational story. I agree; all humans aren't bad. My new human is continually improving my conditions and learning to listen also. It makes life so much easier for us and I would assume that it is easier for the humans also!

Happy grazing! Until next time,
Charlie Horse