Because I Said So

Before a horse should ever see a saddle, they should know how to do several basic things:





1. They should be able to be caught and haltered easily.


2. They should lead politely. Stopping when you stop, walking when you walk, respecting your space.


3. They should be able to be groomed, bathed, and clipped without fuss.


4. They should load and un-load from a trailer.


5. They should stand tied without spinning in circles or pulling back.





Somewhere in Ace's training these basics were forgotten or lost. So, we're going back to the beginning.





He stands tied to the fence while I do barn work every afternoon. He looked confused the first few days, but I patted his neck and channeled my mother when I explained why he had to. "Because I said so."





Horses are big animals. It's easy for them to hurt themselves or people around them. The basics are important because they're the rules that make working around horses safe.

(UPDATE: Ace ground-tied perfectly for a bath. That is, he stood still as if he were tied while the lead rope just hung to the ground. He learns quickly.)

Are "Problem Horses" Really Just "Painful Horses?"

All the people who have contacted me to warn me of Ace’s craziness have said the same thing- when they tried to mount him he flung his head and bucked them off.
Their solution was to always have someone hold his head to mount.

Letting a rider mount is one of the most basic things a horse should be taught. It’s like a child learning to sit still through a church service. Having someone hold a horse’s head so they won’t buck is equivalent to giving a child a video game so they don’t throw a fit in front of the congregation.

When mounting a horse, most people pull back slightly on the reins. If the horse throws it’s head, they pull back more- putting pressure on the bit in the horse’s mouth.

Once I heard about Ace’s less than stellar reputation, I knew I had to rule out any of his issues being pain related.

Horses need their teeth “floated” once every 6 to 12 months. Unlike human teeth, horse teeth are always growing. So, a dentist comes with a “float” (large file) and files down a horses back teeth to prevent them from developing sharp edges that can cause the horse pain. Horses also have “wolf teeth.” They are similar to wisdom teeth in people. They might have served a purpose at one point, but now they just cause pain.

I had Jeff Goren, my wonderful “pony dentist” come out to check Ace’s teeth. They hadn’t been floated in at least three years. As soon as he began, Ace visually relaxed. He bit down on the file on his own and tried shaking his head back and forth. He was literally trying to file down his own teeth- it was that much instant relief. It was unbelievable.

What we discovered next was even more unbelievable. When Jeff ran his hands along Ace’s gums, he found a sharp hard spot underneath. It was an “invisible wolf tooth.” A wolf tooth that wasn’t visible to the eye, so no one had ever caught- and it was directly where a bit would sit in Ace’s mouth. Meaning, that anytime someone pulled back it caused Ace sharp pain in his mouth.

Jeff’s educated guess was, “If this horse has changed hands this many times, this tooth is 100% the reason why. It’s amazing anyone rode him at all.”

My “crazy” Arabian then stood absolutely still as we made an incision into his gum and pulled out the tooth. No sedation, no anesthetic. He not only understood we were helping, he was that desperate for relief.

The tooth. It's amazing something the size of a pen tip could cause so many problems.

Listening to Horses: The Join-Up Method

I read “The Man Who Listens to Horses” first when I was 11 years old. It became my bible. Even at 11, the idea that to train a horse we had to think like a horse made perfect sense.

When I was 12 I used the join-up method Monty Roberts describes in the book with a beautiful jet black hackney pony named Magic. Magic was an ex-circus pony and had been abused. He had severe psychological issues and was bound for auction- I figured trying just one more thing wouldn’t hurt.

For those of you not familiar with the join-up method, it is based around the dynamics of wild mustang herds. In the wild, there is an alpha mare. If you do something against the alpha mare, the alpha mare drives you out of the herd. You don’t want to be a wild horse out of the herd because it’s dangerous to be alone. You circle the herd hoping the mare will let you back in. She watches you and waits for you to ask for permission to come back. When she looks at your eyes, you stay out. If she relaxes her gaze down to your hooves and away, you’re allowed back in. But, you have to show her that you trust her before she looks away.

The trick to using this method is to become the alpha mare, and then wait for the horse to ask to come to you.

As soon as I turned Magic loose into the round pen, he started galloping in panicked circles around me. I focused my attention on his head, driving him away from me with my eyes. I kept my body squared towards him. I was saying, “you need to be out of my herd.” Eventually I moved my eyes to his withers, his gallop slowed to a canter. I moved my eyes to his hips and it slowed to a trot. If I moved my gaze back towards his head, he picked up the pace. Eventually, he dropped his head. Next, his ears relaxed towards me. Finally, he started making a chewing motion. This is what he would do in the wild to say, “Ok, alpha mare. I get it. I trust you. Now please let me back in!” So, I let my eyes travel down his body until he was at a walk and I turned my back towards him. And I waited. And I waited. Then I felt his hot breath on my neck. Not turning around, I walked. He followed. I jogged. He trotted. I turned. He turned.

It was in that moment that my world opened up. It had worked! I finally had a way to really connect with these animals that I loved so much.

By the end of the summer, Magic was being used for pony rides and I was a believer.

(Above: Pictures of Magic and I when I was 12 years old.)


This will be the core of all the training that I do with Ace.

The Horse The World Gave Up On

I was raised to believe that there are no bad horses, only bad horseman.
However, I am going to give some horseman the benefit of the doubt and assume that maybe there are only horseman who forget to listen to their horses.


TCA Windtalker aka Ace is an Arabian gelding the world gave up on. It’s always difficult to pin down a horse’s history and Ace is no exception.
As far as I can tell, he was sold by a breeder to an endurance rider for $3,500. He was deemed “un-trainable” so he was sold. That buyer brought him back. He was sold again for $1 to someone who had to sign a contract saying she would warn other buyers that he was dangerous. She didn’t- instead selling him to someone for $1,500. They brought him back- and sued her. After that the story becomes more murky. I know that he was sold to at least three more people before he came to me.


That makes me his eighth owner in two years.


I don’t use a specific training method. I don’t follow a Parelli or Anderson training plan. I learn all that I can from every trainer I come in contact with, but most importantly I listen to my horses. I strive to be the best horseman I can be.

This blog will be the story of Ace and I.

A running account of training the un-trainable horse.