Read Online Flying Horse by Bonnie Bryant - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Bonnie Bryant
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“You mean you could just tell it to get in the trailer, and it would?”
“Once I’d trained it, sure. It would just walk right in.”
“Wow.” Lisa could see the value in that. Some horses hated horse trailers. She could remember several times when one or another of the Pine Hollow horses had refused to load. After urging it forward and offering bribes of oats and carrots, Max and Red would occasionally have to resort to running a long lead rope behind the horse’s rear and trying to pull it on board. Sometimes the horse would fight for half an hour. “Wouldn’t that be great, Stevie?” she said. “Think how much more quickly we could get to horse shows if the horses all loaded that easily.”
“Sure.” Stevie didn’t sound interested at all. “What part of the island are we going to see today?”
Denise glanced at Stevie. “I thought maybe the trail you saw with the pony sign on it,” she said. “Dorothy told me this morning that there really are a lot of ponies near there. I know how much you all want to see them.”
She parked the car on the side of the road near the trail marker and carefully locked the doors. “So a ponydoesn’t break in,” she said, laughing, “or maybe yesterday’s heron.”
“He looks like he could pick a lock with his beak,” Lisa agreed. “Tell us more about natural horsemanship, Denise. It sounds interesting.”
“Well,” said Denise, “if you wanted to start working with your horse this way, one of the first things you would do is start to touch it very lightly, all over its body. Most horses have a few sensitive areas—some don’t like to have their mouths handled; others don’t want you to touch their ears, or the tops of their tails, or the insides of their legs. So what you do is gently rub the horse, finding out where its sensitive areas are and moving very lightly over them at first. You teach it to trust you and also to allow you to handle it. And since most horses really enjoy being rubbed, overall it’s a pretty positive experience for them.”
“Prancer loves to be groomed, so I know she likes to be touched,” said Lisa. “But she absolutely hates having her mouth handled. I always wondered if it was because they tattooed the inside of her lip with an identification number when she was on the racetrack. Anyway, whenever Judy comes to check her teeth we have to tranquilize her.” Horses needed to have their teeth checked at least once a year.
“Exactly,” said Denise. “So if, very gradually, you worked at handling Prancer’s mouth, and you alwaysbacked away whenever she started to fuss and never tried to force her, she might learn that you weren’t going to hurt her. She might learn not to be afraid of having her teeth checked, and maybe you wouldn’t have to tranquilize her anymore.”
“It’s worth a try,” said Lisa. “It’s pretty traumatic for her the way things are now.”
“Traumatic for both her and Judy Barker,” confirmed Carole. “Prancer really puts up an argument.”
“You know, I just don’t agree with this,” Stevie broke in. “Max always taught us to correct a horse whenever it misbehaved, to remind it to pay attention to the rider’s instructions. Horses are taught to respond to a crop or a firm voice command. Max is a super horseman, and he’s certainly not abusive. His way seems fine to me.”
They rounded a bend in the trail, and Carole suddenly held up her hand, her eyes shining. “Look!” she whispered. At the far edge of an open field in front of them, a band of wild ponies grazed. The piebald stallion regarded them warily, but the mares didn’t stir. Foals grazed beside nearly every mare.
“How beautiful!” said Denise. “Let’s stand here a minute so we don’t frighten them.” She turned to Stevie. “I do understand what you’re saying,” she said. “And you’re right, Max is a wonderful horseman. He never abuses his animals, and anything he teaches youwill be sound. His methods
“Once I’d trained it, sure. It would just walk right in.”
“Wow.” Lisa could see the value in that. Some horses hated horse trailers. She could remember several times when one or another of the Pine Hollow horses had refused to load. After urging it forward and offering bribes of oats and carrots, Max and Red would occasionally have to resort to running a long lead rope behind the horse’s rear and trying to pull it on board. Sometimes the horse would fight for half an hour. “Wouldn’t that be great, Stevie?” she said. “Think how much more quickly we could get to horse shows if the horses all loaded that easily.”
“Sure.” Stevie didn’t sound interested at all. “What part of the island are we going to see today?”
Denise glanced at Stevie. “I thought maybe the trail you saw with the pony sign on it,” she said. “Dorothy told me this morning that there really are a lot of ponies near there. I know how much you all want to see them.”
She parked the car on the side of the road near the trail marker and carefully locked the doors. “So a ponydoesn’t break in,” she said, laughing, “or maybe yesterday’s heron.”
“He looks like he could pick a lock with his beak,” Lisa agreed. “Tell us more about natural horsemanship, Denise. It sounds interesting.”
“Well,” said Denise, “if you wanted to start working with your horse this way, one of the first things you would do is start to touch it very lightly, all over its body. Most horses have a few sensitive areas—some don’t like to have their mouths handled; others don’t want you to touch their ears, or the tops of their tails, or the insides of their legs. So what you do is gently rub the horse, finding out where its sensitive areas are and moving very lightly over them at first. You teach it to trust you and also to allow you to handle it. And since most horses really enjoy being rubbed, overall it’s a pretty positive experience for them.”
“Prancer loves to be groomed, so I know she likes to be touched,” said Lisa. “But she absolutely hates having her mouth handled. I always wondered if it was because they tattooed the inside of her lip with an identification number when she was on the racetrack. Anyway, whenever Judy comes to check her teeth we have to tranquilize her.” Horses needed to have their teeth checked at least once a year.
“Exactly,” said Denise. “So if, very gradually, you worked at handling Prancer’s mouth, and you alwaysbacked away whenever she started to fuss and never tried to force her, she might learn that you weren’t going to hurt her. She might learn not to be afraid of having her teeth checked, and maybe you wouldn’t have to tranquilize her anymore.”
“It’s worth a try,” said Lisa. “It’s pretty traumatic for her the way things are now.”
“Traumatic for both her and Judy Barker,” confirmed Carole. “Prancer really puts up an argument.”
“You know, I just don’t agree with this,” Stevie broke in. “Max always taught us to correct a horse whenever it misbehaved, to remind it to pay attention to the rider’s instructions. Horses are taught to respond to a crop or a firm voice command. Max is a super horseman, and he’s certainly not abusive. His way seems fine to me.”
They rounded a bend in the trail, and Carole suddenly held up her hand, her eyes shining. “Look!” she whispered. At the far edge of an open field in front of them, a band of wild ponies grazed. The piebald stallion regarded them warily, but the mares didn’t stir. Foals grazed beside nearly every mare.
“How beautiful!” said Denise. “Let’s stand here a minute so we don’t frighten them.” She turned to Stevie. “I do understand what you’re saying,” she said. “And you’re right, Max is a wonderful horseman. He never abuses his animals, and anything he teaches youwill be sound. His methods
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