I have spent much of my life around horses. Dreaming of horses, praying for a horse, riding horses, caring for horses and, most of all, loving horses. My love affair with the horse began at birth, or so I am told. As a young rider I took bi-weekly lessons from a wonderfully "natural" riding instructor for 12 years. I successfully competed at many levels and explored many aspects of the horse: from trail riding, showing, carriage driving and parades. I have enjoyed spending time with a motley collection of horses during my life.
In 1999 my twins were born and I soon discovered that my horse's care was suffering as the babies demanded so much of my time. My thoroughbred gelding, Charlie, was moved to my dad's barn for a few years to be enjoyed when time would allow (which wasn't often!). I missed my special boy but family demanded my full attention for a time. Just as my 3rd child was old enough that I was considering moving Charlie home with me again, tragedy struck. In March 2004, Charlie broke a hind leg after a quick thaw caused a deep sink hole in the lower pasture and had to be humanely destroyed. I was devastated at the loss of my partner for 11 years and I turned away from horses for over a year.
But soon the horse bug would bite again and I began to have an urge to re-introduce horses into my life. I decided to search for a breed that had always interested me but I had never owned. I purchased a 4 year old appaloosa gelding, Duke, and brought him home after a test ride showed him to be quiet and laid back. My 3rd ride on Duke had me thrown twice from rearing and a third rearing incident brought him over onto his back. I put the horse into the pasture and didn't touch him for 12 months, my fear overwhelming. After many, many instances of attempting to ride this horse, the fear was too much and I considered listing him for sale. Fellow horse people at the barn where Duke was boarded convinced me to take a Level 1 Parelli Clinic from 3 star Parelli professional, Ron Pyne.
That weekend was a turning point for me. I discovered that Parelli was what I had been searching for all along and was actually echoed in my brain from the teachings of my first riding instructor all those years ago. The process brought me back to where I had first started with horses! Duke and I played through our issues and reached a very solid Level 2 in our progression through the Parelli program, but still the fear remained on a reduced level. In March 2009, I made the decision that, although we had come along way, I was scarred from our sour beginning and was never going to be able to trust him completely, and thus never have the relationship I truly wanted. I committed to finding him a good home - no matter how long that took before beginning the search for my perfect partner. (Ironically, while attending the Celebration in Harrisburg PA in April, Walter Zettle solidified my decision with the statement "if you don't trust the horse, he will never trust you".)
Little did I know that I didn't have long to wait. A buyer came along the end of May. After a few days of phone tag, we agreed on a price and Duke was off to his new home. During those days of Duke's sale, I happened across an ad (I really wasn't searching for a horse, the ad was literally just there!) that sounded too good to be true! I phoned and made an appointment to see the horse and waited with bated breath for 4 days, fearing that the horse would be sold before I could see him. He did sell, to me.
My perfect partner is named Tido and he is a 5 year old, 15.2 hh gelding of mixed breeding. His white face was what caught my attention and his unusual colouring is what people notice first. He is trusting and playful (an extreme Left Brained extrovert). Some days, I still can't believe he is here! I always joke that my fear got on the trailer and left with Duke, but that isn't far from the truth. I trust Tido and my confidence has soared since his arrival. My 3rd ride on Tido was done bareback with the Parelli halter and savvy string. No fear. So our journey together has just begun ... and I can't wait to see how far it takes us!
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