A Dream Come True

Many girls go through the stereotypical horse-crazy phase. Many of us out grow out of it too. I'm not one of those girls. I used to make fun of my horse-crazy cousin (check out her blog: http://randomrambling01.blogspot.com/), constantly teasing her and asserting that horse crazy people were so weird. This continued until I was about 8. That was when I caught the bug. I don't remember for sure, but it may have been reading Misty of Chincoteague that drew me into the horse world.

Resources were never on my side, but I managed to stick my foot in the door of the equestrian world. My mom went out on trail rides with some friends of hers who owned a small herd of Arabians.They also owned a small pony, who became my obsession. When I was nine I took a few free lessons (walk/trot) at Promised Land Ranch. When I was  . . . twelve(?) I started taking real lessons and joined the United States Pony Club soon afterwards. I also rode with a close friend who introduced me to Parelli Natural Horse-Man-Ship.

The summer after my freshman year was when everything really started to come together. I was offered the job of every horse-crazy girl's dreams: a farm hand at Galloping Hills Equestrian Center. That summer I learned so much; it truly defined me as a person. While I mucked stalls, exercised an overweight gelding, helped treat a wounded foal, and helped the trainer with a few of the green horses, I realized that this is what I am meant to do. Nothing makes me more happy or self-confident, which is something we all need after our freshy year!

That summer was even more important than I thought. I was working in exchange for lessons, but early this spring, my boss made a different offer. It had been my dream for so long to work in exchange for my own horse, but I never thought that dream would come true. In fact, I've had more than a few conversations with myself that went something like this:

Me: Look at So and So with her horse. That must be really nice; having a horse.
Myself: Hey, pull it together. You can't afford a horse, whining about it will not help.
Me: I know but I want that. I want it so much. I wonder if she even knows how lucky she is.
Myself: What kind of attitude is that? Straighten up Jenna. You are lucky you get to ride at all! You will not have a horse any time soon. Grow up!
Little did I know.

In March of this year, just before Easter, I bought Gambler: a four-year-old gelding. He is a dapple grey half-Arabian and he is my dream come true. He cost me $800 dollars, the money I earned that wonderful summer after my freshman year.

When I first got him, Gambler had been started under saddle some months before, but his training was stopped and he sat nearly untouched in the pasture for several months. He is an incredibly friendly horse. I would go out into the pasture and he would follow me everywhere. However, where a lead rope was concerned, he appeared to be totally clueless. He had no concept of cross-ties, and hated having his feet picked up. My mom and I led him around, trying to remind him how to walk calmly, but he was spooky and unpredictable. That being said, he trailered like a pro.

It has been about four months since we brought Gambler home to his current barn and it has been a long journey. May and June were spent honing his ground skills. It took the longest time to teach him to longe, especially to the right. Gamby is very one-sided.

In July, we discovered that Gambler had hurt his back through a series of unfortunate events. At the same time, I was overwhelmed by thoughts of college and the future, which lowered my confidence regarding Gambler. We both had a rough month, but it brought us a lot closer to each other. After a month spent rehabilitating Gambler's back and my emotional health, his ground training had taken a serious turn for the worse. I brought a friend out to see him and after an hour of stopping, backing up, bucking, kicking, and rearing, I was hit with the brutal force of how far we had fallen. This, and the way-too-quickly approaching school year made me all the more determined to start Gambler under saddle before snowfall.

In the two weeks since I brought my friend out to see him, Gambler has improved by leaps and bounds. He now longes walk/trot and he takes the canter (sustaining it is another matter).

Yesterday I put a western saddle on him the first time since I've had him and he performed beautifully.

Today, just for fun, I took him off of the longe line to see if he would circle at liberty. He did! It was only at a walk, because I didn't want to push it too far, but it is a tremendous improvement, and shows just how far we have come together.