The horse that started it all

Those who turn to natural horsemanship usually have that “One Horse” that nearly made them give up on being an equestrian all together. A horse that qualified as ‘untrainable,’ ‘dangerous,’ or just plain ‘crazy'. I'm pretty sure all those words (and more!) ran through the minds of all who watched Buggs' freak-out episodes.

There’s nothing scarier than being on a runaway horse. Many a time I found myself hanging on for dear life as Buggs had one of his episodes. The barn’s trainers tried every mechanism imaginable to ‘make him behave’ –tight ‘neck-stretchers,’ martingales, etc. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from that ordeal, it’s that harsh mechanisms don’t work and can even exacerbate the situation for a 1200 lb animal that’s scared to death. Only three people in the entire lesson program including me were able and willing, or maybe just crazy enough, to ride him.

Call it what you will, love at first sight or whatever, but I was instantly attracted to Buggs from the time I first time I saw him doing his antics with someone else aboard in my group lesson.

Buggs' main problem was with jumping. Approaching a jump he would bolt towards it, hind end swinging every which way, and leap over it (sometimes sideways!) at the speed of light. He also had issues with maintaining a slow, steady canter. Only three people in the entire riding program, including me, were crazy enough to ride him. It got to the point where the riding stables that used him for lessons decided if he didn't sell, they were sending him to slaughter. The other student that rode him in lessons bought him for a dollar. Together, we brought him through the Parelli program, and the transformation in him was tremendous. He became the quietest horse in the barn. He went from being panicky and unpredictable to a confident, dependable mount. Unfortunately it seems as if his behavioral issues were exacerbated by physical ones and so he has been retired to a pleasure (no-jumping) horse and will be enjoying life in the big open fields in North Carolina.

I'll always be thankful to this horse, and will remember him as my greatest teacher.

Here are some pics of us over the years:

What's next??

Look how relaxed he is :)