My Trainer Broke My Horse

I trust her for one ride. One ride! And what do I get get? A busted, broken horse, that's what. All I can say is FINALLY!

He's so broke that he can't even stand up!

Of course, I doubt he's permanently broken which means I need her back on him the second he starts to act unbroken.

Don't even think about it, dude!

While I would love to give Chemaine Hurtado, owner and trainer at Symphony Dressage Stables, ALL of the credit, I know I also had a lot to do with it. It's taken us several years, but Izzy has slowly gotten on board. At our lesson in November, both Chemaine and I were quite surprised at how rideable he has become (most of the time).

When I got so sick a few days after that November lesson, I was pretty frustrated at the ground I was sure we would lose. Rather than ride him myself during our December lesson, I asked Chemaine to hop on board. I just didn't have the physical strength to ride him through any hooligan moments. We all know that turned out to be the right call as Chemaine ended up working him for nearly two hours. It was during that ride that she broke him.

A lot broker these days ...

After that ride, I got on a totally different horse. He was so submissive that I wondered if he was drugged. Over the past two weeks he's kept her lesson in mind, but he's not quite as soft and malleable as she left him. However, with her strategy in my mind, I am keeping him pretty respectful. 

So what magical powder did she coat him with? As far as I can tell, it was called BEAT HIM WITH A BIG STICK; apply as needed. Yep. She pretty much just called his bluff. For so long I've felt that there was a fear element involved in his spooks and resistance. Nope. He's just a jerk. Chemaine called them Dick Moves. And when he pulled them, she beat him with a big stick. Sometimes literally and sometimes metaphorically.

My best friend's husband refers to Izzy as as one BAH - big ass horse.

Remember that this horse is nearly 17 hands. And it's not just height. He's big. He's strong. And he knows it. He's also very opinionated and not at all reluctant to share said opinions.

Chemaine insisted on one simple rule: his attention was to be on her/me EVERY SINGLE MOMENT. That meant that he is no longer allowed to look around, ever. That includes walking to and from the arena. Getting groomed. Being tacked up. It doesn't matter where we are. He doesn't get to look around. And if he does, hell fire is about to rain down on him.

I am sure someone is asking why I didn't just try that three years ago. Yeah, I know; I wish it was that simple. It's just that now he's ready for this rule. In a few months, he'll be ready for a new rule that will get him even more broke.

Again, it's a good thing I like this horse!