As we headed East towards Florida, we made a pit stop in Texas to visit my family and give some lessons. I also met up with Buckley’s owner, who still was unsuccessful in getting pregnant but was still trying….so she asked if I would hold onto Buckley.
Of course I would- I told her. Buckley was not my right hand man, and I couldn’t contemplate ever losing him.
That year was an unusually cold winter in Florida. When I look back at the pictures and see the faces of the horses and humans that shared that time with us, it’s a whos’s who of Natural Horsemanship.
Linda and Remmer, Pat and Casper and Magic. Trevor Carter, Kalley Krickenburg, James Roberts- just to name a few.
Since we didn’t have cows in Florida, we focused more on arena work, trail riding and how to seriously develop a horse.
We had had some serious flooding at the center so we had to do some teaching off site. I was now assisting folks like Dan Thompson, Pat, Linda and Amy Brimhall. Buckley was happy to help.
I remember one day we were at the facility, and we turned Buckley and Amy’s mare Chessy out in a very long narrow paddock. Chessy started chasing Buckley, and he initially was terrified. As I watched this unfold, I saw when it clicked. He turned his head, looked at Chessy, and started running backwards and kicking out at her. He did this all the way to the end of the paddock. He didn’t stop until she dropped her head and licked her lips. Then there was peace.
Buckley would never have done this a year ago….the training through NH not only gave him more confidence with humans, but also with other horses. He became calmer, smarter, and braver.