A Foal in Training

My summer with the horses will be one I will never forget. Ever since I was just a little I have loved horses. I love the way they smell, look, and the challenge of earning a horse’s trust. It takes patience and a lot of love. This particular summer I learned more things I have ever learned in my whole entire life.

I moved in with my uncle one summer, his back was injured and he needed me to take care of his horses. At the time he had 10 horses, two of them foals. Now, a foal is a baby horse. Both of the foals were of the same age, but with different mothers. The two of were born wild as wild mustangs but they were actually Hackney Ponies.

I named the foals, Patrick and Sarah. Now my job was to tame them and lead-break them which simply means teaching them to lead with a lead rope. I thought it would be an easy task but I was certainly wrong.

Patrick and Sarah would run from me when I was within 100 feet of them. They wouldn’t eat their food in my presence, nor would they let me catch them for their yearly worming pills. I was prepared to do whatever it takes to tame Patrick and Sarah and gain their trust.

I began by sitting outside on a 5 gallon bucket in their pen. I had to sit as still as a statue so I would not spook them. I observed their actions, their play, and how they would talk to their moms in the pen next to them. Patrick and Sarah begin to grow accustomed to me being around.

Horses being curious as cats, the two little foals began to check me out. They came close enough to me that I could reach out and pat them but I didn’t dare for fear I would scare them away. I had worked so hard getting this far. I would hold my laughter in when they came close enough to me I could feel their whiskers on my face.

Soon when Patrick and Sarah were confident enough around me I would put horse feed in my hand. I extended my arm and sure enough the foals were eating out of my hands. I will never forget that day they ate from my hand. I was so excited that I told everyone about it.
Now it was time to tame them down enough to catch them. This was going to be very hard, and I have never had experience in this type of training. I myself was like a foal in training. I went to the feed store to pick out two halters that would fit Patrick and Sarah. I picked out a blue one for Patrick and a green one for Sarah.

I continued to stay in the pen despite the Oklahoma heat and humidity. I knew it was hot outside but I was persistent in the task I was to perform. I did not feel the heat; in fact I got the prettiest tan that summer.

Sarah came up to me one day, while I had the halter in my hand. I reached out to grab her. She spooked but I still had a hold of her. I started by rubbing her body, calming her down. Slowly I put the halter over her head. She didn’t like it one bit but it was going to take place anyways. I placed a foot long rope on the end if the halter so that in the future I could catch her more easily.

I did the same with Patrick, he was more stubborn the Sarah. He would kick and bite at me. I used a quiet and soft voice to calm him down. It seemed to work. I rubbed his neck and he began to trust me. I used so much energy that day that I instantly fell to sleep that night.

The next morning at feeding time I went into the pen and did the usual. Sit down on the 5 gallon bucket waiting for the foals to come near. This time when they came near I could catch them because of the foot long rope I had placed on their halters. I would pet them every day and then feed them. While they were eating I would pet them some more.

Patrick and Sarah got used to me being around and being touched by me. I was proud but the task of training them to lead was still ahead. In the mornings they would talk to me when I would come to feed them. I loved these moments, they seemed to trust me.

Every single day I would grab the rope on the halter and walk them around the pen. It was really tough so I thought of ways to make the task easier for me and them both. I would walk them close to their mothers. This idea worked and before I even knew it, they were leading.

I rewarded them by leading the foals to the pasture where they could eat fresh green grass. This helped to keep the foals interested in learning and it helped keep the grass from getting too long.

Now the summer was ending, I had accomplished my goal. The foals were sold to new owners. As for me, I gained some thing very special; self-confidence. This will truly be a summer I will never forget.