I have been trying to figure out what to do with Zum. Should I hire a normal trainer? Should I sell him? Can bucking be fixed? Then I realized something important. Zum has never bucked me off in Santa Fe. I know that a horse is highly sensitive and finely tuned to the environment in which he lives. Noisy environments can be distressing to a horse. People who keep their horses near busy roads or in loud neighborhoods report that their horses become high-strung. Police and parade horses need patient training to learn how to not respond to constant noise. Rearing up or fleeing in panic is a normal response for a horse to painful stimuli. Santa Fe is quiet and peaceful for Zum. Where I live in Arizona is full of unbearable, unpleasant noise even for me. I love Zum. I need to find a way to calm his nerves.
