I want to share a wonderful article written by a student. I am so proud and awed by Sam and the progress she's made with her horse over the past year and a half. I hope her story inspires others who may be having the same doubts.
Sam writes:
"After the loss of my beloved first horse Payton, I was not sure if I was ready to own another. A few weeks after he had passed, one of my instructors, Karin Bielefeld, emailed me a “for sale” ad about a mare named Merlot. She had also informed me that she received this ad from a friend two weeks before Payton had passed away, and felt like this was a sign. I was hesitant at first and the thought of caring for another horse scared me. I trust Karin and value her opinions whether I am in the saddle or not. So I decided to give it a shot and call the owner to make a time to go and see her."
"April 1st was the day Karin, my trainer Tanya Wretzky, my parents, and I went to visit Merlot. We first had the opportunity to see her in the arena free longeing. She was definitely sassy and full of energy. I remember looking back at Karin as if to say, “are you sure about this one?” My insecurities about this mare were prominent, but once in the saddle I could really get a feel for who she was. The visit left me with a lot to think about, because I could feel she was going to be a different horse than my last one. About a week after the visit, I decided this mare needed to be given a chance and that I wanted to give that to her. On April 22, 2017, she came home to Willow Tree, and the journey began."
"We knew when we bought Merlot that she had some mild arthritis in her hocks, most likely from her previous career in open jumping. Her body was physically out of shape and her mind was “out in the pasture” as I say. She had to adjust to being in a herd with other horses, living outside most of the time, being in a consistent riding schedule and more importantly, we had to adjust to each other. She came to me being the “dominant mare” and I was the type of rider who, in the beginning, let her walk all over me. Lesson after lesson I would be left in the dirt, sore, and frustrated as to why she acted this way.
By working with Karin and Tanya, I slowly began to see what was happening to her body and why training and correct riding was important. With every ride and training session, her musculature and mind were changing. She even went on and off lame due to her pelvis, back, hocks and stifles all changing. She could also be unpredictable: jumping out from under me, “spooking” at doors and other sounds, taking off and even rearing up. There were multiple times I questioned if I was doing the right thing and if she would ever change. After only three months of owning her we had attended our first dressage show and had also been excused for Merlot being lame in one of the classes.
Karin and I had begun to doubt what we saw in Merlot and that we might have made the wrong decision. I did contemplate selling her a few times because I was tired of feeling like I wasn’t getting anywhere, and when we did, the next ride it would be three steps backwards. Sometimes I wouldn’t even feel like riding anymore because I would get so angry. I doubted my abilities to effectively ride her and give her the confidence she lacked. As a rider I lacked confidence in myself sometimes and she definitely took that to her advantage."
"Merlot also had many bad habits (and still has a few). One of the bad habits is pawing. This is the way she used to get under my skin before every ride. She would paw, which would be annoying and no good for her as well. Then we would try different forms of disciplines and even ignoring the issue. I would be frustrated with her bad habits on the ground and bring those feelings of frustration to the saddle. This was another lesson I had to learn; to discipline and then back off and not let myself be angry. By doing this, I learned to begin controlling my feelings on the ground before I got in the saddle. It also began to teach her from the ground that I was the “dominant mare” and that I would be giving her the confidence she was lacking.
Merlot’s attitude has also changed over the course of the year and a half I have owned her as well. She went from a spooky, inattentive horse to a horse with a bit more confidence and a body that she could actually use. A few different components went into giving her body back and developing her muscles in a way in which benefited her. Using acupuncture and massages were and are a part of her training program. Karin teaches how to achieve the symmetrical muscle structure in training so the acupuncture and the massages all can work effectively. This also goes hand in hand with a consistent riding/ training schedule and Tanya has been able to provide that for me."
"Riding this horse takes patience and perseverance. She is by no means an easy ride, and now, each day I ride her I thank my trainers for the work they did and continue to do. I also give myself a pat on the back for sticking with it, and I thank Merlot, for giving me a chance. Riding Merlot has given me a new perspective and reason to ride. I learned it is not about being perfect all the time because I needed to be effective with my aids, but also giving in the times when she was behaving. For example, it is an ongoing challenge to give her that long rein because sometimes I still cannot trust her. I also had to learn to not care what others thought of me at the time because all that mattered was building my relationship with my horse."
"Merlot still has a long way to go yet, but we have definitely made tremendous progress over the past eighteen months working with her. Merlot’s personality has really begun to show over the past few months and she even has showed affection and forgiveness. Moments like this and the good rides that we have had together are what makes me push past the rough rides. It also gives me the encouragement I need to keep sticking with it because this has been one hell of a journey, and it’s only just begun!"
Thank you for reading about Sam and her horse Merlot.
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