| I've never claimed to be a quick learner, but you | | | | what Mario was working so hard to impart. |
| think thirty years of studying would be enough. | | | | It was not enough or soon enough for us to get |
| That's how long I'd had horses when I finally got | | | | a handle on the stallion situation though. The day |
| around to discovering Natural Horsemanship. I | | | | finally came when we knew we needed expert |
| spent the majority of those years searching for | | | | help with him, and Mario graciously agreed to |
| ways to improve myself and my horses.Sadly , I | | | | tackle the major disrespect we had built into him. |
| wasn't making nearly the progress I had hoped | | | | Unfortunately, things had escalated to the point |
| for, despite the years of traditional lessons with | | | | that we were too late, and my husband ended up |
| different talented instructors. Nevertheless, my | | | | getting seriously hurt because of our mistakes. |
| husband and I thought we were ready to have a | | | | We realized at that point we had been fooling |
| stallion, and that was a move that showed us | | | | ourselves into thinking we were better than we |
| how bad we really were. The three year old | | | | were, and we got Baron gelded and started |
| stallion was fine until we started breeding him. He | | | | treating him like a horse. He had to learn to |
| remained controllable under saddle, although barely | | | | socialize with other horses, and that was hard for |
| sometimes, but he was getting worse and worse | | | | him because he had always been kept away |
| in hand as the breeding went on over the next | | | | from them and never learned to get along. It was |
| two years. | | | | quite a surprise to us to realize that he was |
| We attended some Parelli tours and bought the | | | | actually afraid of them, and his best defense was |
| kits and were slowly working our way through | | | | a good offense! |
| that program when I decided we needed to | | | | The years since that epiphany have been ones of |
| progress faster for our own safety and sanity. | | | | greater growth and understanding, trying to soak |
| That's when I started working with a natural | | | | up as much horse savvy as possible from as |
| horseman nearby, Mario Rossi, to learn how to | | | | many sources as possible. Without natural |
| improve myself and therefore my relationship | | | | horsemanship, I'd still be blaming the horses for |
| with horses. I started with Shadow, a gelding we | | | | my mistakes, still be floundering around trying |
| owned, because I heard and believed that you | | | | different things that would probably prove to be |
| needed to start with your easiest horse. Plus, no | | | | unsuccessful and slow to boot, and still be very |
| one recommended learning with a stallion. | | | | frustrated. |
| Once I started working with Mario, talk about | | | | I'm happy to say that Baron is now very happy |
| progress! Not because of me being any kind of | | | | living the life of a gelding, outdoors 24/7 with |
| whiz student but because of the things Mario | | | | other horses and even learning to play with them |
| taught about horse psychology, feel, timing, and | | | | some. He still worries some about strange horses, |
| balance. Some I'd heard or read, but having | | | | but that too is getting better. |
| someone coach me through things really helped. I | | | | Natural horsemanship has given me confidence in |
| kept taking different horses to him to get help | | | | being able to read a horse better and to have an |
| starting or restarting them and was continually | | | | idea of what to do in so many different situations. |
| amazed at how much "smarter" each one was. It | | | | My horses and I are still works in progress, but |
| finally dawned on me that maybe they were | | | | the journey is a lot more fun these days! |
| better because I was starting to "get" some of | | | | |