september 2008

By September Nina was looking pretty healthy, although I had been told by people experienced in horse rescue that you really need to give them a full year when they have been starved before you can see what you have.
Her ground manners had been re-installed, she was moving well, her disposition was good.

But I had put several very experienced riders on her, riders more confident about bad behavior than I am, and every one of them got off fairly quickly. She wasn't really doing anything, with one rider she reared a bit, but she was telegraphing loud and clear that she wanted the rider off...NOW.

So I started looking for a professional trainer. Not a NH guru and not a 'beat 'em up' type.
I know many of the H/J trainers in this area and they are not interested in risking their necks on a horse like this. Why should they, they have barns full of nice horses that need riding.

Taking on problem horses seems to have been relegated to the round pen pros and the idiots.
Then I heard about a trainer that a local H/J trainer had sent a problem horse to and was very pleased with the results.
I called, drove up to his place (70 miles) and got to know this trainer. He is a rare gem, a trainer who just gets on and rides and assumes that the horse can't unload him and that he can get off quick if everything goes south. He doesn't own a round pen, doesn't use exotic equipment and just rides; first in a deep arena and then out in the open. He thinks most horses are either fearful or spoiled and either way, they just need a job and somebody to be consistent.

Just what I was looking for.