Motivation is what makes a horse move and do things. Positive motivation produces slower, calmer movement. Negative motivation produces violent, fast movement. When Zum is frightened, he reacts quickly, bolting away at top speed from the thing that frightens him. So I need to ask Zum to do simple things, rewarding him as he does them. Eventually I can ask him to do something more difficult and he will accept it.
I still need help putting the saddle on Huszar and I still need a lift to get on Huszar’s back. It has been almost six weeks since my accident. I realize that the most important thing for me to remember as I heal my broken bones is to know where I want to be. I want to be riding my horses! I need to dare as what I know takes daring. I need to do what I love. And I need to accomplish my dreams. My dream is to ride Zum after he has been retrained not to buck and run away….
Horses with a naturally high head, like Arabians, normally have very little tendency to resort to bucking to solve their problems. To deal with Zum’s bucking, I need to raise his head. A horse cannot buck as long as his head is up. In order to buck, a horse needs to arch his backbone and that is mechanically impossible when his head is elevated. It makes sense. But Zum uses bucking as a means to escape from a situation. He gives no warning that he is going to buck.
I decided to ride Huszar today, one month after my accident. I had help putting on the saddle as I still cannot move my right hand. I cannot express the joy I felt being up in the saddle on my horse again. I neck reined Huszar with my left hand and he was as happy as I was to be out, riding free in the hills and arroyos under a blue sky!
I need to get Zum out of the corral everyday and take him on walks. My right wrist still doesn’t move so I need someone to help me with walking Zum. My ferrier took Zum’s shoes off but Zum wouldn’t let him trim his feet. I have to keep massaging my right wrist so I can move my knuckles. I need to trim Zum’s feet myself.
