On Horsemanship

I read a blog post by John Strassburger this week which got me thinking about my own horse journey, which has been over the course of 50+ years (you can read his post at http://horse-journal.com/blogs/the-equine-things-that-matter-most). I also thought about what my sister Laurie had to say about her relationship with her own horses the last time we spoke on the phone.

Mr. Strassburger makes several points worth considering: 1) many folks can’t pursue riding at all if they must care for the horses themselves—they don’t have the time; 2) many people’s education regarding horsemanship is sadly lacking, because riding is the only piece of horsemanship they ever learned; 3) the horses are often better and more efficiently cared for if the pros do it; and 4) if you provide “full care,” then you need to charge enough to actually pay people to perform those services. Amen! I have to agree with him on all these items, but at the same time I must say that no stable has ever cared for my horses as well as I do myself, and it’s been the source of considerable annoyance through the years. Now that I’m the stable manager, I can only blame myself if things don’t get done—but that‘s rare. I’ve never had a stable that blanketed my horses for me or cared for my tack, nor have I had one to groom and tack up my horse so all I had to do was ride. Are you kidding??? Who does that? It must truly cost a fortune if you can find it anywhere. Very few indeed can afford THAT, I would imagine, and I personally would not care to do horses under those circumstances. I love doing all of it, not just the riding, which to me is a very minor part of having a horse.

I am fortunate really, because I was only allowed to have a horse when I was a kid (I was 12 years old when I got my first horse) if I promised to faithfully take care of it myself. That meant feeding, watering, grooming, and mucking out every single day, no matter what, or the horses would be taken away. It was my job to care for my filly and her mother (my Mom’s horse), plus I was expected to hold the horses for hoof care and shoeing, since my stepfather did that part.

My stepdad taught me a few things about horse care, but the vast majority of it I learned on my own by reading, and I know I read every single book our local library had regarding horses, horse care, and riding. Many people do take the trouble to inform themselves as I did with books, DVDs, lessons, and clinics; but at the same time, it blows me away how many people don’t. I was not allowed to participate in 4-H (too costly and inconvenient for my parents), so as all I had was the library. Oh, and we did subscribe to Western Horseman magazine. Believe me, you can’t learn to ride by reading books, but you can learn a hell of a lot else, and I absorbed everything like a dried-out sponge! Even today, I would bet my equestrian library of books and DVDs would put most public libraries to shame. I still add to it from time to time. I also buy books to read on Kindle, so I have my equestrian library to take with me.

I learned feeding and nutrition by reading Diana Tuke’s book Feeding Your Horse or Pony (1987), grooming by reading Grooming to Win: How to Groom, Trim, Braid, and Prepare Your Horse for Show, and of course my Bible, The Event Groom’s Handbook. Then there were the many riding instruction books (Wilhelm Museler’s Riding Logic and Sally Swift’s Centered Riding were among my favorites), and I devoured everything I could find. More than anything, I wanted to learn to ride English, because to me that was real riding. It wasn’t my fault I lived where people only rode Western. I wanted an Arabian too, not a Quarter Horse or Appaloosa, because Arabians were the foundation breed and supposedly prettier and more intelligent—at least that’s what the books said. No doubt teenage rebellion had something to do with it, but I DID eventually get my Arabians, AND I learned to ride English—and not only English, but dressage through Second Level. I tried my hand at jumping too, because I love the sport of three-day eventing, but I kept falling off so gave up on doing it myself, especially after getting my total knee replacement. In a way, it’s too bad, because my Friesian-cross gelding Laddie is a really talented jumper.

Lucky for me, I found a fabulous riding instructor, Karin Bishop, who was also a licensed dressage and eventing judge, so I never felt I had to show in order to know how I was really doing. And, Karin taught me everything I needed to know. I can never thank her enough for all she did for me in the years I knew her and took lessons, but I can certainly be grateful that she was patient and willing to invest the time in teaching me. For one thing, she never yelled at me, even when I wasn’t getting it—she just tried another tack. A big part of it was teaching me how to correctly do the things I thought I already knew how to do—from reading books. Books are great, but they can’t give you all the pieces you need to know, and you need to actually do things yourself, not just watch someone else do them.

I do have some gaps in my horsemanship education. For one thing, I never learned to bandage horses, partly because I never needed to—I never had any lame horses! Also, since Karin came from an eventing background, her philosophy was that horses needed to learn not to strike or step on themselves. The way they did that was by stepping on or striking themselves and discovering out how to avoid doing it again. They learned to be careful on their own. I do use brushing boots when lunging and riding and shipping boots when trailering, but mostly, they do figure it out.

I also never had a horse that colicked, thank God, though I have known lots of folks who have. I always tried to make certain my horses were fed properly and that they were outdoors as much as possible, with other horses, rather than on a high grain/alfalfa diet and locked up alone in their stalls all day. I do blanket them when the weather is foul, but I let them be horses and roll in the mud if they want. It’s what they do! I have to clean up the mess later, but they are much happier for it. I can also say that I’ve never had to deal with a horse that cribbed. I doubt I would ever buy one that did.

Since I’ve retired, I’ve been able to manage my horses as I wanted to do most of my life, and I care for them completely now, since we own our own place. It’s wonderful! I know I wouldn’t have time to do things this way if I still had to work, for one thing my 30-year-old Arab pensioner gets fed five times a day, so I recognize that boarding stables are a must for most folks. Just figure that the pros give your horse the bare minimum care required, and it’s your job to fill in the rest, including routine visits from the vet and farrier. And don’t feel guilty if you can’t ride every day. My sister feels guilty because with her schedule she rarely has time to ride her horse, but she does groom and spend time with it every day. As Laura Graves recently said in an interview on the Universal Sports Network, “Some people are horse people, just like some people are dog or cat people,” and I'm sure I fall into that category! If your horse makes you happy, it’s getting what it needs to be healthy (horses do not NEED to be ridden), and you can afford to pay its bills, then you should enjoy having the pleasure of its company. True, you won't be getting what most people call your “money's worth," but don't fret if you don’t have time to ride. Do what you need to do to change things so you CAN, and just don’t feel guilty, period.