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Penny is the
result of a mistake, an accidental breeding between our beautiful
quarter/draft
mare Philadelphia and
our Morgan stallion Javelin.
The day she was
born she walked right up to me proving to be very personable.
Since then, Penny
had been handled so much, she became very friendly.
She is among the
first to greet people and one of the last to leave.
It was my
intention to raise, train and sell this horse and I began ground
training her.
Penny was proving
to be easy to handle and willing to please.
In April of 2010
a family member by the name of Bonnie was in need of a younger, more
surefooted
horse.
Her first horse
Figure which was given to her by my father was old and unsound.
At the time I had
several young horses for Bonnie to choose from and took the time to
saddle each
one and
have her get on to see which one she felt the most comfortable with.
Penny, Emmy,
Thunder, and my very own favorite, Flurry were all candidates.
I managed to
accomplish this without Bonnie catching on that I was doing it for her.
Penny won hands
down.
Shortly
after
this I gave Penny to Bonnie to be her new horse.
While Bonnie was
able to put Penny through her paces on the ground,
training her while aboard
proved too fearful and challenging for her.
For a time, I
rode Penny, while Bonnie rode my trained horse Flurry.
I trained her with
voice commands to stand, walk, trot and cantor.
Taught her to neck rein, leg
cue and back up. She yielded to the shift of my weight in the saddle.
I also taught her,
as with all my horses I train, to put her head down on
command.
While this is
helpful in bridling a tall horse, its purpose is to supple the horse,
release
tension and
become willing and one with its handler.
I worked Penny
with plastic bags, rattling hardware and dragging leads.
I rode her among
the cattle teaching her to herd.
I rode her to check on cattle scattered out on
60 acres of hay ground and timber.
Penny was very
rideable and knew about as many cues as my better trained
horses.
Some she
could perform even better.
A couple times I rode
her off the property down near the black top to get her accustom to
vehicle
traffic.
Another time I
trailered her to my other property in town for the same reasons.
Bonnie
began riding
Penny regularly and at the same time her horse began to be less
manageable.
Bonnie asked for
my help many times but asking for help and following directions do not
go hand
in hand with her.
In April of 2018 I
put my foot down and sent Bonnie and everyone concerned an email
expressing my
disappointment.
Click Here To View It.
I came
to accept
the fact that Bonnie has no interest in improving Penny to make her
reliable
and
manageable in any job asked of her.
Excuses were made
by her as to why my own horses had to go the "extra mile" to get a
job done and hers didn't,
simply because mine did it last time.
I realized Bonnie
assumed that my horses will be her pack animals.
It was a real eye
opener for me when she was not forward to have her horse carry a
harmless bag
on a clear, calm sunny day.
I concluded she
was not trying to work with her horse at all.
I spent many
hours training Penny for Bonnie.
Time and again when
ever Bonnie rode her, she managed to teach Penny that she needs only to
obey
when she feels like it.
She was
needlessly afraid and her fear transferred to her horse.
In the early
years, Penny had her favorite pasture mates, she got along fairly well
with all
the horses out at pasture.
As she got older,
she began to be more aggressive towards other horses.
Riding near her proved to
be dangerous. I’ve taken a kick or two meant for my horse.
Bonnie disregarded my rebukes in not trying to correct this.
I also spent many
hours trying to teach Bonnie to ride better and to help her understand
how to
handle her horse better.
This includes how
to sit, how to shift her weight, how to hold the reins, when to pull
and when
to release on the bit.
I explained the importants of timing when correcting or rewarding her
horse.
I also gave her exercises to practice that would
reinforce what she and her horse where learning.
I told her
that she is to practice the lessons whenever she rides her horse.
I explained, at
first it will be difficult and tiring but then one day she will find
her horse
has finally
understood what is expected and will perform smoothly.
Bonnie has not
shown any heart, mind or interest in following through.
On
Painted Sky
Farm, the horses I use for a job perform because I have trained them and
continue to train them every time I ride. To start a horse
to be able to ride takes a little more time.
Once it is
rideable, then I work toward making it dependable.
My horse Cody was
a real trial of patience and persistence for me.
Back in 2013, I
wrote and signed an agreement that Bonnie and I would have Penny
trained good
by the end of the summer for my Dad.
I really believed
that Bonnie wanted to train her horse but was at a loss to know how to
go about
it.
She needed help.
I really thought she was at a disadvantage.
I thought because
riding came difficult to her that she just needed time and really
wanted to be
able
to have another dependable quiet horse and she was willing to work
towards
the success of training her horse.
I now realized
this was not the case. I WANT OUT!
Dad was right, it
will never happen.
Bonnie had no
desire to do this. Never had she taken the lead towards improving her
horse.
Any
training
given to Penny was done by me. Just look at the photos.
One evening,
having some spare time, I took Penny out and harness her up.
That horse was
ready for some ground driving. Bonnie was not with me in this venture.
To her
it was only a nice to have.
Another time my job
required me to pony Penny alongside another horse, Penny was not
trained to pony.
In little time I
taught her to pony. She performed even at a cantor.
If someone wanted to ride
roman-style, they could do it with those two horses.
Because
of
Bonnie's unwillingness, lack of concern for herself, her horse, other
people,
and
laziness, I decided in 2018 to stop helping Bonnie with her horse.
Also, I was done
trying to make it easier for her because of her short comings.
I was not making
any more allowances for the fact that she was not able to do her job.
Because of her,
my horse and I have to run farther, work harder, carry more when doing
a job, and
then,
have to slow down and walk, wait or take an uneventful ride when the
time
is meant to be enjoyable
because her horse is spooked or unmanageable or she
just Thinks it might spook and become uncontrollable.
I had no trouble
doing this when I gave her a chance to work with her horse.
But now, after
years of patience, things have changed.
I am not her pack
horse anymore. I don't mind packing my horse. He can do it!
I mind being used
without respect.
I informed Bonnie
that she was to pack her own saddlebags, rope, tools and
anything else that a
job may require her to carry on her horse.
A chainsaw
perhaps. If the weather is threatening rain, she may want to pack a
raincoat.
This is nothing
more than I do with my horses.
Penny became
unpredictable because of Bonnie. All of this I have clearly verbalized
to
Bonnie.
I believe I have
trained Penny well. Bonnie has untrained her well.
Sadly,
Bonnie
sold Penny in June 2020. You can see her advertisement and bill of sale
in the photos.
The training she claims her horse has is my doing. Even the bill of
sale she copied from my bills of sale.
She is the lawful owner in every respect except
gratefulness.
February, 2021
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