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My list of things my horses and yours too, have had to be "trained" to 
get over their fear of, and circumstances for which they have learned 
that idiot behavior is unacceptable: Being haltered, lead, horse 
blankets, girth straps, me on their back, leg presure, being tied, 
barking dogs, cars, asphalt, farriers lifting their feet, vets lifting 
their lips, stethascopes, rain, an ever popular anal tone check,wind, 
blowing bags & tarps & sagebrush, hats and flapping jackets,electric 
clippers, tractors, llamas, cows, deer scattered on the trail, breaking 
branches, crossing bridges, crossing puddles, streams and swimming in 
lakes, crossing fallen logs, water hoses and baths, fireworks and 
walking in parades, water being dumped on them from buckets, narrow 
trails, riding at night, and yes even riding in lightening (as Carla 
said, Colorado in the high country in August is a real light and sound 
show.) And let's not forget the ever popular and infamous horse-eating 
trailer. Now for some of the more unusual ones that many of you already 
know about my horses, Up close and regular work with mountain lions, 
bears, coyotes, bobcats, lynx and other natural predators including Pat 
Parelli using my lion on top of a truck at a clinic and a horse and 
rider below to teach how a horse can be trained to overcome his fears. 
(featured in Western Horseman August 1993, see this link with a slide 
show of it all  http://www.myspace.com/sweetmayleesa) sharing the 
pasture with the buffalo, pulling a sleigh, walking calmly into and out 
of western bars with me in the saddle for pictures, flash cameras, 
gunfire from their backs, riding calmly with me on their back and a 
red-tailed hawk landing and flying from my gauntlet for falconry, 
playful otters underfoot, anltered bull elk jumping the fence and 
sharing their hay, packing out deer carcasses from the high-country, 
muddy bogs, playing horse soccer with a giant ball bouncing into and off 
of them, swinging polo mallets and polo-cross nets, and of course, 
riding with that skunk-humping wienie dog sitting in a feed bag hanging 
from the saddle horn during rides. I'm not tooting a horn, I have just 
never bought the idea that a horses natural fear can not be overcome or 
at least made to become more manageable. Before now, I guess nobody ever 
told me that it wasn't possible. Remember, one of these horses was so 
skittish he was almost unrideable when he was first given to me. I don't 
own spurs and don't need to kick them or pull on their faces. I'm no 
horse trainer, but have had 30 years experience training and handleing 
wild animals so getting the horses to be brave and manageable was done 
just out of patience, consistency, repeated exposure. I am learning more 
all of the time, especially since adding the tougher endurance rides to 
our "bucket list". In June I rode someone else's Arab into an easy 3rd 
at the Cooley Ranch ride. A horse and owner that I had only met in 
person a few hours earlier. I don't ride Arabs. The horse had speed and 
stamina but at every vet check he beat the livin $#!^ outa me, running 
over the top of me and into the vet, knocking me to the ground with his 
head. I wanted to kill him. My thought was not that he was untrainable, 
it was that he had been allowed to get away with unacceptable behavior 
for too long and too often and it had been forgiven because he was a 
good racer. I was convinced that he needed some damn good ground manners 
training that was focused on long and hard before he did a single other 
race. The guy was "conditioned" as all hell and was not an idiot, he 
just needed some MANNERS. I thought...But everyone here has been saying 
that this behavior is an "Arab thing". I keep thinking of the remarkable 
BLM wild mustang makeover challenge and that anything is do-able. But 
maybe Arabs ARE the exception.....guess I'd rather continue to be a 
"black-sheep" in this Arab sport. Watch, today I'll mount up and get 
thrown off, trampled on, and left in the snow.....never say never
Melissa Margetts
Telluride Colorado
" If you don't get your horse to do what you want him to do, maybe 
you're asking the wrong question, or maybe you're not asking the 
question right."  Parelli

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