Month: January 2021

Buddy rode Zum and I rode Huszar in the wash in Wickenburg this morning. Buddy had Zum trotting and cantering in the wash beautifully. Watching Buddy ride Zum teaches me on a mind, body and spirit level. Buddy reassures me that Zum is acting like a normal young Arabian horse. I rode Zum in the round pen. A woman driving a truck accelerated loudly and I yelled in fear. Buddy jokingly said he paid her $5 to make so much noise and frighten me. I am the anxious one now. Buddy said I need to breathe and relax when I ride Zum.

Buddy uses a snaffle bit on Zum with 3 inch rings and a 5 inch mouthpiece. He tells me that this snaffle bit is intended to control, reinforce and refine lateral flexion or sideways pulls of the reins. He uses only one active rein at a time. It teaches Zum to move his head and hindquarters to the side. This bit is not the kind of bit to pull on with both hands to stop the horse. He says that there is a perfect bit for every stage of a horse’s training.

Buddy gets Zum to canter around him to the left by swinging the rope he carries towards Zum’s withers. If Zum doesn’t move as fast as Buddy wants, he throws his rope towards Zum’s forequarters with more energy. If Zum resists, Buddy matches Zum’s resistance. When Zum canters, Buddy quits swinging the rope. Buddy tells me that Zum is not lazy. Zum just doesn’t always want to do what Buddy asks.

Buddy uses the round pen to develop a relationship with Zum. Buddy asks Zum to trot and continues to ask until Zum trots. When Zum trots, Buddy stops stimulating Zum immediately so Zum knows this is what Buddy wanted from him. At the slightest try, Zum is rewarded with release from pressure.

Buddy is refining Zum’s training as well as helping to solve Zum’s hang ups. He told me that Zum has an attitude problem. Buddy asks Zum to do something in the round pen and Zum’s first response is ‘@uck you!.’ Zum won’t pick up his feet for Buddy either. Zum needs to learn to respond to Buddy.

I drove Huszar in the trailer to visit Zum at Buddy’s ranch today. Zum was happy to see me. I am so glad we still have a close bond. Buddy told me a story about his grandfathers. One grandfather believed that if a horse bucks a person off three times, it shouldn’t be ridden anymore. But his other grandfather said that a person should get back up on a bucking horse no matter how many times the horse bucks a person off. I am grateful to Buddy’s grandfather that believed in not giving up on a bucking horse because Buddy is willing and determined to fix Zum’s bucking.

I am missing Zum intensely. What is it about my horses that make me feel such extreme feelings? Is it their grace and beauty or behavior and personality? I think it is that they are my best friends, companions and trusted allies in my life.

Now that Zum is being trained at Buddy’s ranch, I have more time for hiking with Karuna in the desert.

I took Zum to Wickenburg and on his first day of training, Buddy showed me the importance of turning Zum’s head to the right with the right rein and making Zum move his hindquarters over to the left. Then Buddy turns Zum’s head to the left with the left rein and makes Zum’s hindquarters move over to the right. Over and over. If Zum is afraid of something, Buddy makes Zum move in serpentine motions again and again. This is using flexion to bend the horse.

I no longer want Zum to react out of fear, surprise or anxiety. My goal is that Zum responds to me with respect, understanding and awareness.