Introducing JT
I had been casually looking for a project horse for several months. Not exactly sure what I was looking for but would know when I found it.
When I started this new found horsemanship journey with Ozzy it began with hate. I didn’t hate my horse. I hated the situation that we were in because of his lost eye. I have learned to transform that hate into teaching us both how to compensate with his vision loss.
Now that we’ve spent the last few years working on that, and building a trusting relationship, I was curious if I could do it again. Could I repeat the process with the same results? Could I get better results?
I am hoping that what I’ve learned with Ozzy I can replicate with another horse. Maybe I can do better. Maybe I can learn something and go back to work on with Ozzy.
What I did not imagine, is that I would end up with a second horse missing an eye. But when the opportunity came up, I jumped on it.
This little guy (I call him JT) has had a great start. But after losing his eye his depth perception was significantly compromised.
JT and I do not have the history of what I thought his life plan was going to be. I don’t have the same emotional expectation of how each day will unfold.
It is a challenge to work with a horse who struggles with seeing. And JT’s depth perception is quite different than what I went through with Ozzy. Sometimes I wonder why I chose to accept this second challenge. Then there are other times when I think it’s easier because there aren’t any crutches.
What I know for sure is that there isn’t a pity party happening with them. When you watch them in the pasture, they only have 2 goals in life, eating and surviving. That’s it. They don’t tease one another about being different. And they also don’t coddle each other and whisper everything is going to be ok. While they do hang together and semi-lookout for each other, if one decides it’s time to go, they don’t wait on the other. It’s survival of the fittest.
As I work this through this journey, my mentors have been Warwick Schiller and Jim Anderson. The way in which they tell stories, use analogies, are what have helped me the most. Warwick also talks a lot of his “Principles of Training” and reminds us that it’s not his principles, but rather the “principles of the horse.”
And I’m also excited about adding another element in this journey, and that is working with Elsa Sinclair, Freedom Based Horsemanship & Taming Wild. I think that incorporate her approaches of what motivates the horse will help immensely in building a trusting relationship – especially with a horse that cannot see well.
And then there is Endo the Blind is another great inspirational story of a partnership that is built on trust and has been a reason that I accepted this second challenge.
Taking this journey I know is not for everyone. Not everyone is able to or willing to modify their ways to accommodate a visually impaired horse. But I am hoping through my experiences that I will be better with my own horsemanship, and be able to help others in a different way, work with their horses.
Our first few times working together has already shown me that with trust, JT will try to do anything I ask. He’s only been here a couple of weeks, and this was only his second time on the obstacles.
I can’t wait to see how we progress throughout the summer.
