Most of us ride in a particular discipline. We may be dressage riders, eventers, endurance riders, western pleasure, trail riders and so on. We school our horses on a regular basis and some of us may even do a little cross training.  Our horses oblige, usually, and life goes on. There may be some training issues here and there; little blips on the radar, but the job gets done.

Recently, I took my green horse, along with a couple of friends, to Steve Robinson, a western trainer and rodeo rider. I ride English, but Steve came highly recommended.  Steve talked a lot about respect and versatility. Hmmmm…. respect; I understand that and am working on it. Versatility…yes.  In eventing, I jump stadium, cross country and do flat and trail. (Sean is still working on being good on the trail). What does that mean? I’ve been having a couple of issues with Sean, including getting him on the trailer. Granted, Sean is an off the track Thoroughbred, but it was time to get past this issue

I arrived at Steve’s farm in Massachusetts and got Sean off the trailer. I was there earlier than my friends, so Steve started working with Sean. He did a lot of groundwork with Sean and Sean went on and off the trailer like a charm. Then, he had Sean trot behind a revving ATV on a longe line, and he coped well with that.  Steve then suggested a trail ride. Little did I know what was in store! Steve promptly put a western saddle on Sean. Sean was fine until he was asked to move and then he did a fair amount of rodeo antics, not being used to a rear cinch. Steve said he would ride Sean and I got on another horse, in a western saddle. There is something to be said for the comfort of an English saddle/narrower twist! Edie and Sara M. arrived and mounted up and off we went … to the cattle ring. Steve went into a round pen, took Sean to a cow pen surprisingly, and proceeded to do what is called “sorting”.  Sorting involves changing the cow’s direction, being close to it, heading it off, etc. There was my OTTB, trotting fancily after a large calf with fake horns. That was a sight to behold. He was a little skittish when he first saw all the cows, but took right to it. All of us had our chance to give it a try on the other horses. It was so much fun and boy, did we laugh.

From the sorting, we moved on to a desensitization area. Sean had to walk through strings with bells, go over wooden bridges, etc. After all the horses made it through a few times (without wanting to leap through), we moved on to the trail ride. The ride involved opening gates, going through cloudy water (many a horse’s nemesis), and so on. Sean learned some good lessons, but he did manage to lie down in the water with Steve, just as I said, “Steve, I think he is going to…”. Oops, too late. Steve stayed on and hopefully, Sean learned that is not a good idea!

When we returned, he “tied” Sean (although Sean was actually not tied at all) to a fence, and there he stood quite patiently for quite a while, until I washed him. Steve had mentioned earlier that even though Sean is an OTTB, I should treat and think of him as if he is a Quarter horse. Interesting concept.

The thread throughout this whole experience was versatility. A horse, when exposed to more than the usual daily routine and training, becomes that much more adept at dealing with the unexpected and therefore, becomes more manageable and rideable. He compared how challenging it is for a country person to be comfortable in a noisy city versus a city person dealing with the quiet of a place like Vermont.  Steve talked about how important it is to always give your horse a job that makes him think. Not only does it enhance the learning experience, but it’s a lot of fun for both the horse and rider.

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and at least I know my horse, my off the track Quarter horse, when at an event , will have no problem dealing with cows and moreover, he will have a back up career as a “cow sorter”.

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