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I have learned that when a horse hears a sound that makes him startled, alert or worried, he will turn his head and even his whole body towards the sound and prick his ears forward, facing directly towards the sound.

Some horse people feel it is a waste of time to talk to a horse. I disagree. Horse’s have a brilliant sense of hearing. I talk to all my horses all the time. I give my horses verbal commands like ‘whoa,’ ‘go,’ ‘no,’ and ‘good boy.’ I love to tell Huszar what a handsome and brave horse he is!

While I am training Zum, I have learned that I may have to repeat things hundreds of times before Zum understands that I am serious in my requests.  Zum still pins his ears back and refuses to move forward at times. I keep encouraging him to move forward, consistently, over and over, until he does.

Sometimes, Zum still pins his ears back and throws his head around. I feel anxiety when he does this with me. But I don’t want to focus on his irritation. Instead of spending more time and energy focusing on Zum’s problems, I provide Zum with a new goal that is positive. Our goal now is to relax.

When I saddle up Huszar, Kamar thinks and hopes that he gets to go on a ride too. Huszar doesn’t like to pony another horse behind him so I have learned that I cannot bring another horse with me when I ride Huszar.

I just finished writing a book based on how I saved Kamar’s life when he was 5 years old. The book is fiction. The end of the book has a positive message. I ride Kamar bareback and I wonder, ‘Will Kamar be famous?’

Zum and I are building our relationship back up again. I want the foundation of our time together to be based on having fun. I am tired of fighting with Zum. Yes, I want to be firm with him. But I also want him to be happy. When he is happy, he is eager to please.

I have finally figured out a way I want to handle Zum. It took a lot of trial and error. I tried doing things that both my horse trainers in Arizona did as well as asking new horse trainers what I should do. Their suggestions were not working. A huge rain storm recently made Zum feel frantic and frightened . He was whinnying and galloping in fear but I couldn’t calm Zum down. I realized at that moment that my relationship with Zum is what is most important. Zum’s relationship with other horse trainers isn’t the point. I need to find a place with Zum where he looks to me for guidance and comfort.

I live by the saying ‘Love those who care for me and yet still be kind to those who care not.’ I am always grateful when I find out who doesn’t care for me. I prefer knowledge and truth to pretense. My life is full of true love. I don’t need pretenders.

Santa Fe has become very popular. There isn’t a house to rent or buy right now. I love going to the Santa Fe Plaza on a summer day.