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Army National Guard
I found an ad for a horse trainer last June in the Want Ad I
stole from my dad to look at the horses. Just as my father
was wrestling it way from me so he could look at trucks I
ripped out the page that caught my eye. Gods honest truth I
have the ad in front of me right now. It says, "Horse
Trainer. Specializing in starting colts & problem horses."
The lines that caught my attention were, "I won't break your
horse. I'll gentle him." I thought about it for a day or so
and I placed my first call to Cathie.
I told Cathie I had a horse that everyone had given up on.
No one wanted to ride him because he was scary; He was
dangerous and unpredictable. His biggest thing was running
into fences. He would just get scared and run. You could try
to turn him and even with his nose to your knee this horse
would just run full speed into the fence. This horse is
Taco.
Taco came to the Massachusetts Army National Guard in
November 2005. He is the safest and sweetest horse on the
ground. It’s when you got on his back you flipped a switch.
He was a six-year-old quarter horse with a face you could
read like a book and you could watch his personality fade
away when someone got on his back. I couldn't figure out how
a horse with such a big heart could change so much just from
my feet being in stirrups instead of on the ground.
I was sure Cathie would tell me there was no hope and I
would have to give in and concur with everyone else's
recommendation to retire Taco from the National Guard. She
told me just the opposite; for the first time there was hope
again.
Cathie came out and worked with us for a few hours the first
day. We did all groundwork using a rope halter and bringing
him right back to basics. Cathie taught me the basic
concepts and left us a lot of homework and we started
studying. I had invited the Officer in Charge to come out
and watch or at least hear what Cathie had to say about Taco
and the initial review was promising. Unfortunately I had to
go away for a few weeks due to work but we didn't loose our
focus. Taco seemed to pick right back up where we left off.
It was about a month or maybe six weeks later when Cathie
came back out. During the large break Taco and I became
masters of the skills we needed to polish up on from our
previous session and I had procured a substantial amount of
financial backing to see Taco though training. The training
sessions were scheduled weekly. We continued ground work and
introduced Taco to the bitless bridle. After a few sessions
ground driving with the bitless bridle Cathie rode Taco. For
the first time since I have known him he was calm as could
be. The nerves weren't there. His focus was on Cathie and
not on getting rid of her. It was refreshing. I got on too
and Taco did the same with me. When I untacked him he hadn't
even broke a sweat like he used to just because of the
nerves. We continued to build on basics until Taco was
injured putting him out of the game for about a month.
I took advantage of the opportunity to have Cathie get Lacy,
the Shire-Thoroughbred I ride, going in Dr. Cook's bitless
bridle. She tends to get heavy on my hands but working her
in the bitless bridle softens her up again and she seems
less distracted by her mouth. It is easy to get her round
and moving forward in the bitless bridle.
When Taco was healthy again we were nearing the end of our
training but our progress was mounting. I could walk and
trot Taco in a large arena without fear he would charge into
a fence. Honestly I couldn't ask for more. When Cathie's
time training us came to an end I was both sad and scared.
We had developed a friendship over our weekly training
sessions and I think she came to enjoy watching Taco's
progress as much as I did. While I loved doing things hands
on with Cathie there so she could tell me what to do next if
I was met with an unpredictable situation. Quite frankly I
was scared for when she wasn't there but her pep talk made
it all OK. She just told me I could do it; and so far she
has been right. She is not like so many other trainers that
don't want to share their secrets or teach you anything.
Cathie taught me everything she did. Since we have finished
I have been able to refine the groundwork of other horses
through the skills I took with me. Cathie made me a better
horseman through this experience.
Today Taco is an active member of the Massachusetts National
Guard's Mounted Platoon. Taco has performed Military Funeral
Honors at three funerals to date. He canters, and more
importantly stops, and loves to go on nice easy trail rides.
Taco is still ridden exclusively in the bitless bridle. If
taking the bit out of his mouth has made the difference in
his mind that I am not going to hurt him I have no intention
of changing. Cathie managed to give Taco a second outlook
that holds a much brighter future, for that I am eternally
grateful.
Amanda Young
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