Peter Hurd
English 50
10-08-02
Lessons Learned from
a Hard Fall (part two)
Blossom is an alpha-mare; however I often
joke that ‘alpha-bitch’ suits her better. To understand what alpha-mare means,
it is important to understand that horses are herd animals and as such they have
a strict social hierarchy. An alpha horse strives to reach the pinnacle of this
hierarchy by subduing other horses though charging, biting, kicking, and other
forms of intimidation. Therefore the most important part of training a horse
like Blossom is making them respect you. Even if you do manage to earn their
respect, an alpha horse is likely to take advantage of any situation in which
you emit a lack of confidence. As well as being an alpha-mare she is also very
intelligent, which turns out to be a mixed blessing. It is beneficial in that
Blossom learns extremely quickly, but it is less fortuitous in that she quickly
grows bored of repeated exercises. Blossom expresses her boredom in a number of
different ways depending on her ever-changing mood. A response on a good day may
be as mild as simply being dull, requiring a little more leg and quick pop with
the reins. Comparably, on a bad day she entertains herself by bucking, biting,
galloping and rearing. Finally, Blossom is a perfectionist. Despite what seems a
contradiction of the previous attitudes, she is unsure of herself and must
constantly be reassured, else she become extremely frustrated and hard to work
with.
Now, you must be thinking that to ride a
horse like this, I must be an expert or at least an advanced intermediate.
Despite whatever truth the preceding assumption may contain, it doesn’t change
the fact that I am only a beginner who borderlines on intermediate. I think that
I am a sort of experiment in which my instructor tries to see how fast she can
grow an intermediate rider and trainer. Indeed, I have learned all that I know
about riding and training within one summer. Riding four hours a day, five days
a week. However, riding a horse is far more involved than most people suspect.
I, for one, once believed that cowboys simply jumped on a horse, gave it a kick,
pulled on the reins some and galloped off into the sunset. Unfortunately, this
is not the case, and it usually takes years of riding before a rider can gallop
anywhere with a semblance of grace and control.
