TruDy

Trudy was a mare who had had a roller coaster life.  While she was born in a beautiful place with a kind owner, the trainers who encountered her over her life did not have any success with her.  She is bred to be smart, strong-willed and athletic and she is all of the above.  When her training would hit a bump, a fight would ensue and she would be thrown in the broodmare pasture.  A couple of years would pass and someone else would try with the same result.  Eventually, she learned that the sooner she got big and intimidating the sooner she could go back to the pasture.  She also learned to dislike people and just to shut down while she endured whatever they did to her.  When she was around 9 years old, a trainer finally recommended she be put down as “dangerous”.  At that point, through a series of circumstances, we had the opportunity to start working with her. 

Tried and True, as she lovingly came to be called at Far Hills Farm, would just take over in any situation where she felt threatened.  At first, this was just about any situation you could imagine—being led, being touched in her stall, being groomed, anything.  We decided that the only way to help her was to go very, very slowly and to not quit on any given day until there was relaxation.  Success in Trudy’s case didn’t come from “training” or teaching her a skill, but rather helping her realize that everything did not require a defensive reaction.   We didn’t even think about riding her until almost 4 months after she came.  First, we addressed veterinary issues and then we spent time on the ground rebuilding her body, but mostly her mind.   I distinctly remember one day that was not going well.  I was simply trying to lead her from one barn to another without her deciding to run me over.  It involved lots of ground work and boundary setting and she decided to put on her full drama queen show.  At one point, she turned to me, took a deep breath and just stood there as if to ask “why are you still here?”.  In that moment of realization and ultimately relaxation, we had a break through.  Sometimes it isn’t skill or a technique, but just staying on the end of the rope long enough for them to decide to try something different.  This is not to say that everything was smooth sailing afterwards, but we had a base from which to build.  After 18 months, she became a horse again.  Her muscles developed, her brain unwound and while she will always be a hot, sensitive mare, she was fun to ride and enjoyed her job.

We are very proud of Trudy for deciding to become a different horse.  In her case, there were some physical pain issues that needed to be resolved, but in the end, we could only show her a better path.  She had to choose to take it.  Not all of them do, but she is living a great life that she has most definitely earned.