Mickey Dee - Part 2

Part 1

We Can Do This

It took six months, but I "broke" MIckey myself and taught him what he needed to know to be a trail and endurance horse.  I used every training technique I knew: treats, approach and retreat, and repetition, repetition, repetition. Before I could even begin any under saddle work, I had to teach him that he could be touched.  I spent the rest of that summer, fall, and winter teaching him how to be groomed, how to pick up his feet, how to come to me in the pasture, how to stand tied, and how to load into the trailer.  None of it was easy.

By late winter I was finally saddling him and working in long lines.  Hubby threatened to sell him when I was thrown violently and sprained my pelvic bone (I didn't know you could sprain that part of your body!).  I convinced him that I was okay, and I could finish this horse.  For the years that I owned him, I don't remember coming off Mickey again. 

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On the Trail

Los Padres National Forest

Mickey turned out to be the most surefooted horse I have ever ridden. When I was mounted, we were one unit.  I could literally ask him to go over or under anything.  He was fearless, brave, and very balanced on the trail.  He never tried to dump me and when he did spook, he always kept me perfectly centered in the middle of his back.  He trusted me implicitly.  I challenged that trust many times on the trail, but he never failed me.



If I was on the ground, his confidence disappeared completely, and he was a different horse.  He would spook at loud noises, plastic bags, or anything that he perceived as a threat.  He was always afraid of men.  I never quite trusted him while tied, and if I wasn't very careful, he would pull back hard enough to break halter and lead rope.  If I left his sight, he would panic and call for me until I returned.  The instant my car pulled into the barn, he started to whinny for me.  Most people laughed at how attached he was to me.  I knew that his attachment was actually a problem for him and worked for many years to build confidence in himself.  As time went by, he did gain confidence and learned to trust other people.

To be continued ...

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