Month: April 2020

Many of the people that I ride with do not approve of the way I am training Zum. They think I should force him to do what I want. They want me to show Zum that I am the boss of him. They openly criticize me for not being tough with Zum. I am training Zum with patience, praise and positive reinforcement. I do what I do not to be liked or to be approved of by other people, not to please others, not to gain power over another, not to catch interest or love. I do what I do because what I do is true to me. I may have to say no to people who try to push me around when it would be easier to say yes. Zum and I are both personalities with significance!

People love Huszar! He is good with people and other horses. I let beginners ride Huszar. He is a great trail horse!

I want to teach Zum that if he is worried about a new object on the trail, he doesn’t have to move his feet. I want to introduce Zum to new objects without ever frightening him. This is developing his emotional control. I am training him to take time to be curious and to investigate the new object before moving away from it.

Kamar just turned twenty-six years old! Twenty-two years ago, right after my mother bought Kamar, Kamar fell on chipped gravel and severed the ligaments in his front knees. At the time, the vets wanted to put Kamar to sleep as they claimed that Kamar would never walk again. Thankfully, my mother and I decided to heal Kamar with alternative methods. Kamar not only walked within a year but I also began to ride him and I have been riding him ever since! Kamar is my success story!

I was driving Zum with the long reins and Zum bolted and ran off with the driving reins dragging behind him. One of the long reins got around one of his back hooves and Zum tried to kick it off. This only tightened the rein around his hoof. This caused Zum to panic. The more he kicked, the tighter the rein wrapped. Zum galloped faster and faster around me. I finally got Zum to stop and I slowly loosened the rein from his hoof. Zum was very grateful for my help. Ever since then, Zum is terrified of the long reins. I heard that driving reins are only used before the first few rides. So maybe I don’t need to use them anymore, I still plan to drape the driving reins around his body just so Zum is no longer threatened by them.

I am amazed at how floods, starvation and viruses can unearth the true colors of a man. If a man is genuinely kind and generous, he will be kinder and more giving during a crisis. If a man is cold and uncaring, he will show his true colors when things get tough. I am grateful to find out the truth! No matter what my colt does and no matter what world pandemic is occurring, I will always stand by him, love him and feed him!

Each day passes, never to return. I know I can never call back a day so I try to make each day the best I possibly can. I may not be able to work as my jobs ended on March 16 because of the Coronavirus, but I can enjoy the April sunshine on horseback!