Wow! I am so embarrassed that
my blog has been put on the back burner lately, but we have spent the past
seven months doing some pretty intensive schooling with a phenomenal trainer
named Chuck Green. At the end of September, Eclipse concluded his time with Chuck
and was ready to return to our home barn at Gaston Farm. The most exciting part of his time at school,
however, was that Chuck had trained him to lie down on the ground, then sit up
like a dog and patiently remain sitting for as long as the command was given.
This was in order for me to have an alternative way to mount him in case I was
ever thrown from the saddle while on a trail.
Even though this was my main
focus in training, it quickly became obvious just how willing and tolerant
Eclipse was to learn new tasks. I told
Chuck of my desire to become as independent as possible with my horse despite
my limitations. He immediately went to work desensitizing Eclipse daily to
various objects that could spook him. He worked with him on everything from
tarps to plastic bags, ditches and bridges, loud noises and sudden movements, even
mud puddles and ponds! He was taught to have a tarp completely cover his body and
stand perfectly still until given permission to move. I am now very blessed
that my horse is extremely calm and not easily spooked; no horse is bomb proof,
but Eclipse is now as close to it as possible.
Part of my cerebral palsy is
that I am very weak in my legs, and as anybody that rides horses knows, cuing a
horse is primarily done with the leg. Since this is rather difficult for me,
Chuck went to work schooling Eclipse to work off verbal cues. For several days
Chuck only used his voice to communicate walk, trot, cantor and, of course, the
most important word of them all, WOAH! It wasn’t long before Eclipse knew
exactly what was being asked of him and became completely voice commanded. Now,
the minute I say “Woah,” he stops on a dime. If I say it a second time, he knows
to back up. He can even be out in his pasture running, and if he hears the
command “Whoa!” he immediately stops.
I have a special mounting
block that was made for me that has hand rails on either side so I can walk up
and mount independently. With his training, Eclipse learned that when I kiss my
lips together, he is to come to the block, side pass, and stand still while I
mount. I no longer use a bit to steer
him because Chuck trained him to ride in a hackamore. With limited fine motor
function in my hands, this is much easier for me to steer and is much more
comfortable and responsive for Eclipse.
Last, but certainly not least,
Eclipse mastered the art of lying down. It was a tedious and time consuming procedure,
one that had to be taught consistently and in small steps, but the end result was
remarkable. The process began with Chuck teaching him to pick up his foot, then
bow, and eventually ease to the ground. This was always the last task he would
complete in his daily training sessions; he learned that when his work was
finished for the day, he got to lie down, then get up and go home to his
pasture. Now, every time I finish my
ride, he immediately prepares to lie down, beginning with a pawing movement of
his left leg in preparation to descend, because he knows this means it is time
to go home. All I have to do is say “Down. Down. Down” and he goes to the
ground with a beautiful ease and grace of movement. He knows that the command “Sit”
means to sit up like a dog so I can swing my leg over and get in the saddle. He
is only allowed to move when I give him the command of “OK,” no matter how long
it takes me to get situated, and then,
with great care, he gently stands up, and we are off and ready to ride! The
first time Eclipse did this for me, I was, to put it simply, humbled and
overwhelmed. Nothing is as
powerful as being able to get a 1300 pound animal to
submit to the unnatural act of lying down on the ground at your command. It was at this point that I began to feel
confident in my equestrian abilities.
Words will never be able to describe just how
thankful I am to my trainer, Chuck, for giving me such freedom of movement and
independence with my horse. It is a feeling that can never be explained.
Through my disability, the Lord has blessed me tremendously and taught me to
value every challenge and be forever thankful, because through Eclipse, I walk
better than anyone: I walk with hooves.
