A huge step for one - and child's play for another

Trying to keep our training sessions interesting and varied I decided last night to set up a big blue tarp in the outdoor arena. I had it laid out like a water jump, with poles at each end for stabilization. Saumur notices and reacts to the slightest change in his environment, so when I longed him next to it he was jumping, snorting, and galloping before eventually settling down.


I stuffed my pockets with horse cookies, put his rope halter on, and led him up to the tarp. Sure enough, at first Saumur planted his feet and didn’t want to go near it. Chambord was the trail blazer, after a thorough inspection he decided it’s not going to eat him, so he walked right over. I patiently tried again with Saumur, and big surprise: He put his nose down and walked over it. Calm as could be, and we repeated it several times. A first in all the years we’ve been together! It truly shows how much more relaxed and confident Saumur is now.


Then comes the Four-year old: one look at the tarp, the head goes down, teeth are bared, head comes up… waving the tarp triumphantly from side to side and up and down! Clearly, this one thinks “fun and play first – worry later (if at all)”. I went a step further and put the tarp on Remy’s back, walking and then trotting him around. Imagine this big floppy sheet covering most of Remy’s body, billowing all around, and then sliding off behind him. Remy didn’t even so much as look behind him. Junior sure is pretty cool (and well, yes, pretty cocky, too).


What was child’s play for Remy took years with Saumur. It doesn’t seem like much to most people, but for us it was a HUGE step. It shows once more how important it is to embrace each horse (or human, dog, etc.) as individual and not to try to make everyone fit the same mold. I couldn’t have been happier with all three of them. And no, I didn’t wave the tarp around to celebrate – I opted to open a cold Stella Artois instead.