The Things We Learn Because Of Necessity

My office windows face the inside of our barn. Because I have to spend so much time in the office, it is nice that I can at least look out periodically and catch someone getting on a horse and making a couple of rounds in the barn before heading out to the riding ring. Today, I watched as my Dad (who is 74 years old), get on his horse. I remember the days when "the boys", (since I have three boys who seem to always be into something, they are referred to as "the boys"), would be getting on their horses and they would do this flying mount thing. I would run out of the office and tell them, "if I can't get on that horse that way, then nobody is going to buy it until you teach them to stand still when you get on." My dad would agree, but even though he was better at it....he was never as good as I would like to have seen. They were not being slack in their training, it just came so easy to them, that they didn't even think about it. Much like teaching a horse to back. Such a little thing, that takes about 15 minutes to teach properly, but I have seen many horse show classes lost because the horse didn't back or backed poorly. Foundation is a must and backing and having a horse stand quietly while mounting is a couple of those things that sometimes get overlooked. Back to my story... Dad is having a time with his knees these days. He is going to therapy a couple of times a week and is getting better, and once he gets on his horse he does fine, but getting there has been difficult lately and he has been using a mounting block. As I watched from the window, I saw him bring the mounting block out and place it in front of the horse. He then stood on the block and motioned for Blue On Black to come over to him. Blue moved his butt very easy and quietly over to him and stood while Dad mounted, got his stirrups and ask him to step off. Now, why did he just now start teaching all of his horses (and my mother's personal horse) to move over to a mounting block and stand still while mounting?....because he is just now needing the horse to do this.

If you are interested in teaching your horse some of the fundamental things such as this, come join us on May 28th. Check out the schedule of events we are having here and make plans to attend....give us a call or email us. vera@vanbertfarms.com or 606-663-9070