Just work with me here!

(Wow, it's been a long time since I posted. Yikes! )

So Sammy knew how to shake hands, we were doing good. The next step was going to have to be some real training. How does one train a young horse in a large herd of horses? Good question. Even better question, how does one train a young horse at all? Haha, I had a feeling I was about to find out.

First thing was first. I put a halter on him. Good start. Then I clipped a leadrope on. No problem. Now to walk. Hmm . . . now to walk. H'mmm . . . c'mon walk, dangit! I pulled and he leaned. Not working so well. Treat out in hand, Sammy walks right up to me. Ok, now we're getting somewhere.

I wanted to walk him to a little enclosure made of panels in the pasture. I figured it would be easier to work him in a separate area, away from the other nosy horses. The "roundpen" of sorts was a long way away. Like 100 yards. How on earth was I going to coax Sammy down there? One treat and pat at a time, that's how.

Actually, he followed me fairly willingly. I was amazed. We would stall out once in awhile, but eventually we got there. I led him through the gate and closed it behind us. Yay, captive audience!

I took the lead off of him and then swung it at him to get him to move out. Wow, he could trot! Tail up, breaking level in the front. Who knew this sweet, sleepy horse could move so pretty? He was gorgeous. And then all the other horses got excited and they started to run. They ran past the pen . . . and out of sight. Oh crap.

Sammy took one look and was like, "what? I'm alone?? I've never been alone!!!!" He moved faster and prettier, but now I was getting nervous. After all, I knew I had no clue what I was doing. I got him calmed down enough to walk him to the gate and out. Then I let him go. Whew!

It went like that for a few months. He turned 4 and I continued to work with him in between hanging out with Ms. Saddlebred Breeder and helping to do random chores. We went riding another time or two. I went home for the summer and came back, excited to see the new babies. I gave them all nicknames and we laughed over their different personalities.

One day I asked her if she thought I could sit on Sammy. Could he carry me, was he grown enough. She looked at my 110 pound frame and then looked at him.

"Sure, he could carry you."

I was excited and very nervous at the same time. I put his halter on and clipped on the leadrope. I led him over to her truck bumper, stood on it, leaned across him and then threw my leg over. He stood like a champ. Oh wow, I was sitting on my horse!

He wandered toward the other horses, and I just sat there. I let him wander, and he carried me. He was ok with it. I was thrilled. I had no idea what the next step was, but what the heck, I was riding!

We continued like that for a few months. Then I clipped a second leadrope to his halter and tried steering him. He seemed very dull to leg and very dull to the "reins" too. He didn't understand "go forward" signals with the heels. So I would wait until he started walking and then ask. He started to connect it, but slowly. I found I could walk him toward the other horses, but not very easily away from them. I put him in the "roundpen" and rode him around in there. It went better, but still, it was shaky.

One day, I got the bright idea to take him out of the fence. I threw my old western saddle on him and put a couple of leads on his halter. I got on him and he felt like a coiled spring. Uh-oh . . .

I nudged him with my heels to walk a little way down the road. Along the pasture fence, but away from the herd. He took a couple of hesitant steps, head up and very alert. He was making me nervous with his quivery tension. I coaxed him slowly down the road, just a few yards. Then I turned him around and he very eagerly headed back toward the fence. He even broke into a trot, which was scary and sort of exciting at the same time. Then I thought, "What if he bucks like his mom did?" Yikes!

We got safely back to the fence and then I led him back through. We never tried that again. But from there, I did start trying to get him to trot more often. I went to a Parelli demo and learned that applying a leadrope to the butt can get forward out of a horse. So I would whack him on the butt along with using my heels. He started getting it more, "oh, that means walk forward!"

If I wanted him to trot, I would ride him away from the herd and then turn him back around and whack him on the butt with the lead. Wow, sopisticated training methods!

And yet, despite this unorthodox training, he continued to like me. I still got those cute ears and that sweet face turned toward me when I called his name. How cute was that?

I progressed through college and then spent my last semester in Guatemala. When I got home and graduated, I got my first "real" job. Now, I had money to find a "real" trainer.

Ms. Saddlebred Breeder helped me load him into the trailer for the 25 minute ride to the Big Name Barn where I was putting him in training. I followed the trailer in my car. We took lots of back roads, but I could see he was nervous in the trailer. He had never been off that property. 6 years old, and he had been bred, born and raised right there in that herd. I was nervous for him. What would he do when he got there? How would he handle being in a stall? He had never been in a stall. What if we get him there and I can't lead him? What if he freaks out? I've done all the training on him and I don't know what I'm doing . . .

We got there safely. I went around the back of the trailer with my leadrope. I stepped up into the trailer, and there was Sammy, wide-eyed and nervous. I took a few deeps breaths, clipped on the lead, and opened the door wide. He jumped down from the trailer, took one look around and whinnied at the top of his lungs. Oh boy. More deep breaths. I started to walk and he didn't walk with me. His head was up, he was on full alert. I tugged at the leadrope, and his attention came back to me a little. I started walking and he followed me!

I led him to a paddock and walked him through the gate. He was doing it, almost like he had had real training! I shut the gate, threw him some hay. Gave him a hug. And then walked away. My baby was growing up. Time for real training!