Some things will never change. I hate to say it, but it’s true…..
Sammie will always be wary of humans. It’s been a big part of his character from an early age. He’s definitely softened over the years and once he’s comfortable, he can give a great cuddle and show great signs of softness that bring tears to my eyes sometimes.
Sammie has a great fear of farriers. And he will not tolerate them touching his hind feet without being doped up to the eyeballs – and even then it’s not safe. We tried and tried and tried again with experts and the most patient farrier I could find, but Sammie just couldn’t deal with it. It was torture for him and painful for me to see and feel his fear and panic. It was also dangerous. Maybe a more skilled trainer would have overcome this problem, but I somehow doubt it. He’s come a long way but that was a step too far.
Sammie has a strong herd instinct. He lacks confidence (I’ve often been told this is a result of brutal weaning), so he takes great comfort in having his equine friends around him. Who can blame him? They’ve never let him down and they’ve never been cruel to him. He knows he can trust them and he feels safe with them. He’ll never be the bold, brave horse who will take on anything because he was taught to fear. He’s happiest in a group when he’s out in the big wide world and that’s the way it will stay I think.
Sammie will never be a show-jumper again. To this day he will avoid going over a pole at all costs. I’ve had some of the best people work with him on this and he will oblige occasionally, but he will still go round them if he possibly can. There is no willingness to take them on whatsoever. When I see the look in his eyes, I know it’s not important. I would love to rid him of this fear, but again I think it’s too deeply ingrained.
Sammie will always be sensitive. I know all horses are sensitive, but Sammie is very much at the upper end of the scale. You have to touch him in a certain way – firm not tickly. You have to be aware of where you’re touching him – some places are real no go areas until he knows you better. Some days he’s fine, other days he’s on high alert. These days a quick growl will put an end to it and he comes back to his senses. Once again, it’s an ingrained reaction, but one that is now easily dealt with.
Sammie anticipates the worst. History has taught him to be this way and it’s a hard habit to drop. When there’s something or someone new, he expects the worst to happen until he’s shown otherwise - which is a lot easier now than it used to be. He gives out his opinion loud and clear before anything has actually happened – just in case you might be a little unclear, which you never are with Sammie! He has an opinion on most things and if he finds it intrusive, upsetting, frightening or plain irritating, you are left with no doubt in your mind. One good thing about this is that he would never be an easy horse to steal!
Sammie has a heart of gold and a pair of big brown eyes to die for. I knew when I first saw him that he was not aggressive; his eyes said that he was scared and incredibly worried. After all the stuff that people had done to him, he still had a big enough heart to take me on and see if I was worth it. Hopefully I’ve proved that I am.
Some things do change. I love to say it, because it’s true...
Sammie has learnt not to live in fear all of the time. He doesn’t race to the back of his box and take up a defensive stance (and waving his back legs at you) when you walk in any more. He carries on eating, giving me a glance, but with no panic in his eyes. He’ll also come to the door when he hears my voice. I can go in, skip him out, change his rugs and give him a scratch and the most he’ll give me is a bit of face pulling when the rugs go on and if he waves a back leg (not to kick out, just a reaction), a gentle tap on the bottom or a growl calms things down again. There was a time when I wouldn’t have risked a gentle tap, but we have our own language now and it seems to work. I would never hurt him and I know he would never hurt me, but he does like me to know what he’s thinking so I always reply!
Sammie can learn to trust. He trusts me on most things, including his hind feet. It’s taken 5/6 years of hard work, time and patience but he constantly shows me that I have around 75/80% of his trust and I don’t believe any human gets 100% of a horse’s trust. This is a big thing for him. He still gives me grief with his face pulling and his opinions on things, but generally we rub along together.
Sammie is a one person horse. He didn’t used to care for people much at all, but he knows his person now and he responds. He knows me and he knows my voice. He might ignore me when he’s got something better to do, but he knows that I’m there for him. So he’s learnt that all humans are not bad and that really is quite something for Sammie.
Sammie can go forward without the use of spurs and whipping. He’s never going to be a hot horse (it’s not in his blood) but with the right coaxing and understanding, he goes forward very, very nicely and much to the amazement of our instructor. We’ve come a long way in this area over the last 18 months. I still remember that very first lesson we had with our new instructor and I was practically whooping with delight when I felt willingness beneath me. I could suddenly see how people, who said they knew what they were doing, had gradually closed him down over the years to the point when it was considered he needed spurs and whips – needless to say, it didn’t make a scrap of difference.
Sammie loves his food. He never used to eat that well at all – he was a bit like a child that pushes its food around the plate. I’d never had full control over what he was fed and I think the state of his mind also ruled his stomach. He never had the right muscling or condition and after his operation a few years back you could see his hip bones. Now he loves his food (maybe a little too much!) and gets so excited when he knows it’s on the way. He eats with gusto and pure enjoyment – even though the food hardly covers the bottom of the bowl. It’s all low sugar stuff but it gets the right vitamins and minerals into him.
Sammie can learn new tricks. He responds enthusiastically to clicker training which has opened up so many doors for us. He will touch scary objects knowing that he will get a click and a pony nut as a reward. I still remember the first time we tried it and the look on his face as he realised what was happening. I could see the message going in and his eyes showed me that he’d clearly understood it. After his operation we played endless games using clicker training. He even learnt to play football with a huge exercise ball – not bad for a horse with no confidence!
Sammie is great at long lining. When we first started, it was a disaster and I was like some crazed mad woman on the ground trying to get him to go forward with my body language alone. He would either not move at all or race off dragging me behind like some hapless water skier. Now he’s an absolute joy to long line and it’s proved to be one of the main things to help build up his muscles and get him going forward.
Sammie can be clipped without being doped up to the eyeballs. I don’t really like clipping, but his thick winter coat is just too much to deal with when he’s worked up a sweat. When I first knew him the Vet was always called in to knock him out. Over the last two years we’ve worked with a very quiet pair of clippers and this year he stood ground tied while I worked away. He could have run off but he didn’t budge. The only time he got a bit upset was around his sensitive areas but he just stamped his foot and turned to give me one of his long hard looks.
Sammie can win people’s hearts. When we first got together, Sammie was a horse to be avoided by the yard people. He was ‘difficult, stubborn, grumpy, ignorant’ – all the usual stuff you hear when a horse is not easy to handle and requires time and patience. I’m still shocked when I hear strangers say ‘Oh isn’t he lovely’, ‘He’s like a big teddy bear’, ‘He’s so handsome’ and even ‘What a pretty girl’ when they mistake his looks and behaviour for those of a chestnut mare. Sammie mostly takes it in good spirit but soon let’s them know when (and where) they’re not allowed to touch him and/or when he’s had enough of them.
Sammie has a willingness to learn. This includes ridden and ground work. The latest is his Spanish Stamp (Sammie’s version of the Spanish Walk) on the long lines. It was introduced to him some months ago by our instructor and although we didn’t do it at all regularly, he’s never forgotten it and will willingly offer it up with a great look of determination on his face. He can be a stubborn boy when he wants to be, so it’s great to see that he’s still willing to try. His funny walk might look odd (it just makes me laugh) but somebody said to me that I’d managed to communicate something new to him and that meant he was listening and he was willing. I guess that’s true.
Sammie has started to get into trouble and I love it! Sammie never used to risk playing around but over the last year he has done some things that I’ve never seen him do before. These are normal things for normal horses, but Sammie never wanted to draw attention to himself and had closed down this part of his character very firmly. During this last year he’s escaped from his stable (once with me hanging on to his tail because he still had his bridle on, so I was walked right out to the fields hanging on for dear life), he throws his headcollar across the barn when I’m around and he’s particularly annoyed about not getting attention, he’s broken the door guard across his stable door twice when he’s been arguing with his neighbour across the way, he has the odd day when he’ll play hard to catch in the field and rounds up the other two along the way and he knows that if he whuffles very sweetly he might just get an extra treat in his food bowl.
Sammie has led me to meet some wonderful people – from professionals through to new friends. I’m often not a great fan of the human race with its cruelty, bigotry and downright ignorance, but I am willing to listen and then make a judgement. The people I’ve been led to have shown Sammie the greatest respect, patience and understanding. They have big hearts and a great attitude to life and I feel very privileged to have met them. I’m also very aware that I wouldn’t have met them without Sammie during our search to find a better way of doing things.
Sammie has a great way of teaching me to hope, be brave, and go with my gut instinct. We’ve been through a lot together. In the first few years I was a coward and relented to those who had so called greater experience. Sometimes this was against my own gut instinct. Sammie taught me to go with what I think and feel and ignore those who prattle on behind me. It’s not an easy thing to do in the horse world where a lot of people think they know everything there is to know, holding up years of working with horses, competitive work and certificates as undeniable proof. But I’ve learnt that working with horses is an instinctive thing. You take advice from the experts you trust, but if your heart is disagreeing then you should listen to it.
For all the ups and downs, I wouldn’t be without Sammie. He’s not the easy, overly friendly, push button horse that people crave for and never will be. But when he gives you his trust and you look into those beautiful eyes, you know that he’s telling you that for a human, you’re not that bad at all.
