Horsefriendship.LLC.

                                        

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Our Willie is quite the complex horse! He is an Appaloosa Mustang out of a Wild Springs mare that a good friend adopted from a BLM auction (the mare was straight off the plains, pregnant, but nobody knew). I have known and loved this little guy from the day he was born. However, he can sometimes be a big challenge to deal with.

Most people interpret his “attitude” as stubborn and unwilling.  I have seen some otherwise good and well-meaning horse people really loose their temper with him; he sure can frustrate the heck out of you! I’ve had two different barn owners flat out refuse to handle him. Trainers have come and gone; he has been given back to me with the explanation that nobody could figure out what to do with him.

In my heart I have always known that Willie is a good guy; a very intelligent and sensitive horse who wanted to please but would only do so if he felt an honest respect towards the person who was handling him. But I began to doubt my feelings. After 5 years, I still did not possess the skill or experience necessary to effectively communicate with him and I couldn’t seem to find anyone else who did, either.  All the advice I was getting from the horse people I knew either didn’t work at all or made him worse.  I was beginning to feel hopeless. What was I going to do? Here he was, 5 years old, and no one had been able to get anywhere near the point of riding him. I was starting to seriously consider the possibility that maybe I just had an unreachable horse that would never be ridden.  

Luckily, thank Heaven, we found Mo! I do not know what we would’ve done without her; we feel truly blessed that she has been able to help us with this horse.

We started weekly lessons with Mo on 10/14/2007. From the first lesson, we saw positive results. Mo seemed to really understand my horse. She was open hearted towards him and non-judgmental. She was patient, direct, calm and knowledgeable. She seemed to genuinely enjoy working with Willie, paying attention to and assessing his individual temperament. In doing so, Mo tailored her training methods to best suit Willie, instead of just putting him through an assembly line of boring routines. She explained that Willie was very smart; he had a quick mind and caught on fast, therefore needed a lot of variation to keep him interested. She did a number of different ground working exercises with him and taught me how to get the same results. At the end of our first lesson, I started to feel hope again. I was excited about the weeks to come.

By the third session, I was doing groundwork with Willie that was not only building my confidence, but his as well. I was able to take him to a barrel, point, and he would jump over the barrel! This was an amazing breakthrough for us. I was starting to feel a true partnership with my horse!

We continued our weekly lessons (even skipping a few here and there due to scheduling conflicts). On some days, Willie might be a bit more challenging than others. But Mo always responded unfazed, with patience, confidence, and determination.

On December 24, 2007 Mo gave me the best Christmas present, ever! After only eight single lessons, Mo put the first ride on my horse! I actually was able to sit him myself during that same session. It was a miracle. This was a long-lived dream come true.

Since then, Mo and I have continued our weekly lessons with Willie. I can’t find the words to describe how good it feels to be developing a real partnership with my horse. For instance, when I turn Willie loose in the arena these days, and then go about my business cleaning stalls, Willie often comes up to me of his own accord and “asks” me to play with him! This happens even if his other horse buddies are around. We run around and play tag. He follows me like we’re on a little herd run of two. I can tell that he genuinely enjoys being with me. This is the best feeling in the whole world. Sometimes we still have our challenging days; but Mo has helped me to learn how to turn those days around. I have new and creative ways to deal with any problems that might come up.

The other thing is, Willie has new ways to deal with his conflicts on his own, as well. Mo has taught Willie how to “switch gears”; when he gets scared, now, I watch him shift his brain on his own. He will catch himself and stop and think, instead of perpetuating the “freak-out” loop, like he used to do. Mo says this is because we are building his trust in us and his confidence in himself. We still have a long way to go, but now I am excited about what the future will bring with this little horse of mine.

Thank you, Mo for helping me & Willie to have a real understanding of each other. We could not have done it without you. Your guidance has truly been an answer to our prayers.

Suzi Mattox & Willie

3/25/2008

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