Sometimes life hands you a big present. For the past three days I have been in Dripping Springs, Texas, attending a trick training class at Red Horse Ranch. Allen Pogue, Sue De Laurentis and Kristi Unsell instructed more than 15 students in the basics of trick training, a discipline not just for performance but also to create a wonderful companion animal that will be fun to be with even after the horse becomes too old to ride. Trick training is a means of increasing the intelligence, adaptability, and desire of the horse to interact with us.
I may not be teaching Minnow to lay down this week but he will learn to smile and retrieve a ball. Best of all this training encourages communication and a desire to interact with me.
A horse that desires my company is like waking up to Christmas morning every day. Icing on the cake…