As one of the CVYR horse team members, I’m usually just doing tune ups on older horses or educating fellow mentors on techniques to understand how horses think and learn. So when we purchased our first rescue, a mare about 6 years old, I was excited to maybe have the opportunity to train one from the ground up. Starting a horse for the first time is something I have done many times, and their progress is quite predictable. Or so I thought, I quickly realized this mare couldn’t move forward due to her complete lack of trust. Her first 6 years of life was filled with very bad experiences with people, so she saw them as feared enemies. This made progress extremely slow, and extra patience was needed. Daily my goal would be one little positive thing, like a softening of an eye or an attentive ear and then I would leave her alone for a reward. Day by day my interaction was short and a good experience. Slowly I saw little signs of her trying to connect with me, but I knew she was in a very fragile state of mind. So I stayed slow and patient.

I know in my heart she could be changed and if she needed more time then that’s okay. Finally, after 9 days of real slow going, she made big changes. Suddenly all fear was gone and she started following me around like a little puppy. She had complete trust in me. Her whole outlook on life was different, now she knows peace, she no longer has to go through life scared and jumpy at every little thing. Her face changed, her eyes were soft, and now her lower lip hangs down because she’s so relaxed.