Meet Rosemary. She's a good friend of ours. She trains horses. And people.
Yesterday we went for a short ride on our motorcycles. Leaving a little later in the day than normal, we found it to be a bit warm with our leathers on so we rode out to Rosemary's place in Finley aka fondly known as "Fintucky", to sit under a shade tree and watch her in action. It is horse heaven out there.
Rosemary was busy in the ring helping one of her Sheriff's Posse friends, pictured here, train a young horse who will be riding in the 4th of July parade tomorrow. This horse has never rode in the parade. It was fascinating to watch the process.
See that yellow bag she is towing behind her? It's an empty dog food bag. It makes a little noise while it's being dragged and, of course, the horse thinks it's strange. The point is to get the horse to ignore the bag and keep riding with confidence. Also, the rider needs to feel confident that his horse will not rear up and run as that just won't work on parade day.
I watched as they went round and round the ring and there was a moment when the horse simply just dropped it's head and paid little attention to the bag. Ah ... that's what they were shooting for. Beautiful. I love that moment when you see an animal "get it". I've seen it many times with my dog.
There were lots of horses at Rosemary's yesterday. And, she has a donkey along with the coolest cattle dog named "Ontos". I don't know much about horses, but they all seem happy to be at her place and Rosemary seems happiest when she's on a horse.
Did you ever wonder what someone looks like who has a job they are happy at? You'd need to look no further than a horse trainer, me thinks. Rosemary loves what she does. And, it shows.
While I was watching the training, Gene got to visit with Carl. Carl had a notebook with photos of years and years of horse memories. He took Gene through the pictures and talked about the horses he had owned and rode. Carl is in his late 70's, might even be 80, and still rides. He's a tough old cowboy!
It was a great way to spend an afternoon. Hope you enjoy the photos! The next time I'm at the parade, I will have a better appreciation for the horses and their riders.
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| "Ontos" the working dog! |
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| Gene and Carl ~ talking about horses. |
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| I already forgot this donkey's name. Isn't he so cute? |
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| "Shenzi" all decked out and ready for the 4th of July. |
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| What a fun day in Finley! |
love, susan
I just love horses, but have only been around them a handful of times. I like the dog food bag training. I would have never thought of doing something like that. Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteHappy Fourth!
I too learned something new... about how they train a horse to ride in a parade. I went to high school in a small school where all of my friends had horses, and most rode in the parade, yet I never knew they needed trained for that!
ReplyDeleteIt's also a thrill to see an animal love it's work. I can still vividly remember watching a classmate practice calf roping. His horse loved the event so much that every muscle rippled in anticipation as he stood in the chute. An awesome sight.