A Hourse to Love (17 page)

today:

the American

Saddlebred,

Tennessee Walker, Morgan, and Quarter Horse.

No one is sure where the Palomino came from, but it is believed that the horse came from Spain. An old legend says that Isabel a, queen of Spain in the late 15th century, loved her golden horses so much she sent one stal ion and five mares across the Atlantic to start thriving in the New World. Eventual y those six horses lived in what is now cal ed Texas and New Mexico, where Native Americans captured the horses’ offspring and incorporated them into their daily lives. From those six horses came al the Palominos in the United States, which proves how adaptable the breed is to different climates.

Today you can find Palominos al over the world and involved in al kinds of settings from jumping to ranching to rodeos. One of their most popular venues is pleasing crowds in parades, namely the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, every New Year’s Day.

Perhaps you’ve dreamed of owning a horse that you could be proud of whether you are trail riding on a dirt road, showing in a western pleasure class, or strutting to the beat of a band in a parade. If that’s the case, then the Palomino is the horse for you!

If you’re shopping for the best in bloodlines, look for a horse that has a double registry! With papers that show the proper bloodlines, an Appaloosa Quarter Horse can be double registered. Perhaps you’d like a Palomino Morgan or a Pinto Tennesee Walker?

Who Can Ride a Horse?

As you have read this book about Skye, Morgan, and some of the other children with special needs, perhaps you could identify with one in particular. Do you have what society cal s a handicap or disability?

Do you use a wheelchair? Do you have any friends who are blind or have autism? Do you or your special-needs friends believe that none of you could ever ride a horse?

Although Keystone Stables is a fictitious place, there are real special-needs ranches and camps that connect horses with children just like Skye and Morgan, Sooze in book two, Tanya in book three, Jonathan in book four, Katie in book five, Joey in book six, and Wanda in book seven. That special kind of treatment and interaction has a long, complicated

name,

Equine

Facilitated

Psychotherapy or “EFP.”

EFP might include handling and grooming the horse, lunging, riding, or driving a horse-drawn cart.

In an EFP program, a licensed mental health professional works together with a certified horse handler. Sometimes one EFP person can have both credentials. Whatever the case, the professionals are dedicated to helping both the child and the horse learn to work together as a team.

Children with autism have benefited greatly from therapeutic riding. Sometimes a child who has never been able to speak or “connect” with another person, even a parent, wil bond with a horse in such a way that the child learns to relate to people or starts to talk.

An author friend has told me of some of her family members who’ve had experience with horses and autistic children. They tel a story about a mute eight-year-old boy who was taking therapeutic treatment.

One day as he was riding a wel -trained mount that knew just what to do, the horse stopped for no reason and refused to budge. The leader said,

“Walk on” and pul ed on the halter, but the horse wouldn’t move. The sidewalkers (people who help the child balance in the saddle) al did the same thing with the same result. Final y, the little boy who was stil sitting on the horse shouted, “Walk on, Horsie!” The horse immediately obeyed.

So the good news for some horse-loving children who have serious health issues is that they might be able to work with horses. Many kids like Morgan, who has cerebral palsy, and blind Katie in book five actual y can learn to ride! That’s because al over the world, people who love horses and children have started “therapy riding academies” to teach children with special needs how to ride and/or care for a horse. Highly trained horses and special equipment like high-backed saddles with Velcro strips on the fenders make it safe for special-needs kids to become skil ed equestrians and thus learn to work with their own handicaps as they never have been able to do before!

A Word about Horse Whispering

If you are constantly reading about horses and know a lot about them, you probably have heard of horse whispering, something that many horse

“behaviorists” today do to train horses. This training process is much different than what the majority of horsemen did just several decades ago.

We’ve al read Wild West stories or seen movies in which the cowpoke “broke” a wild horse by climbing on his back and hanging on while the poor horse bucked until he was so exhausted he could hardly stand. What that type of training did was break the horse’s spirit, and the horse learned to obey out of fear. Many “bronco busters” from the past also used whips, ropes, sharp spurs, and painful bits to make the horses respond, which they did only to avoid the pain the trainers caused.

Thankful y, the way many horses become reliable mounts has changed dramatical y. Today, many horses are trained, not broken. The trainer

“communicates”with the horse using herd language.

Thus, the horse bonds with his trainer quickly, looks to that person as his herd leader, and is ready to obey his every command.

Thanks to Monty Roberts, the “man who listens to horses,” and other professional horse whispering trainers like him, most raw or green horses (those that are just learning to respond to tack and a rider) are no longer broken.

Horses are now trained to accept the tack and rider in a short time with proven methods of horse whispering. Usual y working in a round pen, the trainer begins by making large movements and noise as a predator would, encouraging the horse to run away. The trainer then gives the horse the choice to flee or bond. Through body language, the trainer asks the horse, “Wil you choose me to be your herd leader and fol ow me?”

Usual y the horse responds with predictable herd behavior by twitching an ear toward his trainer then by lowering his head and licking to display an element of trust. The trainer mocks the horse’s passive body language, turns his back on the horse, and, without eye contact, invites him to come closer.

The bonding occurs when the horse chooses to be with the human and walks toward the trainer, thus accepting his leadership and protection.

Horse whispering has become one of the most acceptable, reliable, and humane ways to train horses. Today we have multitudes of rider and horse teams that have bonded in such a special way, both the rider and the horse enjoy each other’s company more than ever could have been imagined. So when you’re talking to your friends about horses, always remember to say the horses have been trained, not broken. The word “broken” is part of the past and should remain there forever.

Bible Verses about Horses

Do you know there are about 150 verses in the Bible that include the word “horse?” It seems to me that if God mentioned horses so many times in the Bible, then he is very fond of one of his most beautiful creatures.

There are some special verses about horses in the Bible that make any horse lover want to shout.

Look at this exciting passage from the book of Revelation that tel s us about a wonderful time in the future:

“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war.His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.The armies of heaven were following him riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean” (Revelation 19:11 – 14).

The rider who is Faithful and True is the Lord Jesus Christ. The armies of heaven on white horses who fol ow Jesus are those who have accepted him as their Lord and Savior. I’ve accepted Christ, so I know that some day I’l get to ride a white horse in heaven. Do you think he wil be a lipizzaner, an andalusian, or an Arabian? Maybe it wil be a special new breed of white horses that God is preparing just for that special time.

Perhaps you never realized that there are horses in heaven. Perhaps you never thought about how you could go to heaven one day when you die. You can try to be as good as gold, but the Bible says that to go to heaven, you must ask Jesus to forgive your sins. Here are some verses to think about: “For al have sinned and fal short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23); “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shal not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16);

“For everyone who cal s on the name of the Lord wil be saved” (Romans 10:13).

Do you want to be part of Jesus’ cavalry in heaven some day? Have you ever asked Jesus to forgive your sins and make you ready for heaven? If you’ve never done so, please ask Jesus to save your soul today.

As I’m riding my prancing white steed with his long wavy mane and tail dragging to the ground, I’l be looking for you!

Glossary of Gaits

Gait
– A gait is the manner of movement; the way a horse goes.

There are four natural or major gaits most
horses use: walk, trot, canter, and gallop.

Walk
– In the walk, the slowest gait, hooves strike the ground in a four-beat order: right hind hoof, right fore (or front) hoof, left hind hoof, left fore hoof.

Tro t
– In the trot, hooves strike the ground in diagonals in a one-two beat: right hind and left forefoot together, left hind and right forefoot together.

Canter
– The canter is a three-beat gait containing an instant during which al four hooves are off the ground. The foreleg that lands last is cal ed the “lead” leg and seems to point in the direction of the canter.

Gallop
– The gal op is the fastest gait. If fast enough, it’s a four-beat gait, with each hoof landing separately: right hind hoof, left hind hoof just before right fore hoof, left fore hoof.

Other gaits come naturally to certain breeds or
are developed through careful breeding.

Running walk
– This smooth gait comes natural y to the Tennessee walking horse. The horse glides between a walk and a trot.

Pace
– A two-beat gait, similar to a trot. But instead of legs pairing in diagonals as in the trot, fore and hind legs on one side move together, giving a swaying action.

Slow gait
– Four beats, but with swaying from side to side and a prancing effect. The slow gait is one of the gaits used by five-gaited saddle horses. Some cal this pace the stepping pace or amble.

Amble
– A slow, easy gait, much like the pace.

Rack
– One of the five gaits of the five-gaited American saddle horse, it’s a fancy, fast walk. This four-beat gait is faster than the trot and is very hard on the horse.

J o g
– A jog is a slow trot, sometimes cal ed a
dogtrot.

Lope
– A slow, easygoing canter, usual y referring to a western gait on a horse ridden with loose reins.

Fox trot
– An easy gait of short steps in which the horse basical y walks in front and trots behind. It’s a smooth gait, great for long-distance riding and characteristic of the Missouri fox trotter.

Parts of a Hourse