This is my dear horse Painted Lady, aka Zoomer! The colors became a little off when I scanned them, but she is darker in the winter (pic on left from the winter, the one on the right from the summer). At any rate she is a Chestnut-roan QH-Paint with a dorsal stripe :)
Hey everyone, this page as of now just contains an essay I did for college aplications but I will add to it when I get time and the guinea pages dont require updating... So sit back, kick back, and read my 1000 word essay... (maybe grab some tissues if you are the emotional kind...)
In the spring of 1996 I met someone who would forever change my life. Zoomer was her name and she was a Quarter Horse mare. I purchased her on May 2 of that year and fulfilled my lifelong dream of owning a horse. I entered this relationship thinking how much I had to teach my new horse. I never dreamed that she would teach me far more than I could ever teach her.
The first lesson Zoomer taught me was something she hoped I would never learn. She is somewhat stubborn by nature, which comes from her desire to be in charge. When I asked my new companion to walk forward, she would walk backwards instead. I became frustrated because I was certain that she knew what I was asking. After this occurred several times my trainer yelled across the arena, "She's testing you, Christina!" After this I was always firm and persistent when I asked Zoomer to do something. To this day she still tests me, but I am always alert so that I never let myself fail her tests.
Once I began to understand my horse, we were able to start working as a team. As my understanding of her grew, I was not only able to work better with Zoomer, but I was also able to work better with people. My ability to work better with people developed from Zoomer teaching me to listen, not just with my ears, but with all my senses. This summer, while I was "listening," I finally realized that most of Zoomer's mistakes were actually mine. If she took a jump wrong it was usually because I wasn't relaxed enough. If she stumbled, it wasn't that she was being lazy, the problem was I did not have her attention and she was becoming bored. Now, whenever she does something wrong, I first ask myself what I did wrong. After I analyze my mistake, I figure out what Zoomer did wrong, if anything, and decide if it was even her fault.
Half way through the summer of 1998 Zoomer and I were working wonderfully together. We went for long gallops in the cross country field, jumped bareback with ease and confidence, and enjoyed our time together. Then the unthinkable happened. Zoomer came down with navicular disease, a circulation problem in the horse's foot. I was upset and frustrated that my horse was hurt and that we would no longer be able to go for rides together until she recovered. I went out to the barn, where Zoomer is boarded, twice a day for over a month and spent a great deal of time with her. I took care of her injured hooves and made sure she was comfortable. As time passed and Zoomer showed little improvement, I became more and more frustrated, but continued to pamper my horse with carrots and kind words. The time we spent together deepened our bond. I was proud of her for being so strong. It was obvious that she was in pain but she didn't let that stop her, and she never complained. This was yet another lesson she taught me.
Zoomer was given new shoes that protected her feet and various medications that would slow down the painful degeneration inside her feet. With this she began to recover quickly compared to previous weeks. Soon I was able to ride her again. Some days Zoomer felt better than others, and I always had to make the call as to how much work she could handle. I knew when Zoomer was truly feeling better because she spooked at a passing vehicle, and rather than run from it she took the opportunity to try and buck me off. I was riding bareback at the time, and did not have a bit in Zoomer's mouth. I barely managed to stay on her back, but knew to sit back and hang on. When she stopped bucking and began to slow down I did not lose my temper with her, like I had the last time she seriously attempted to buck me off. Instead I urged her on. If she wanted to get me off her back, I'd give her a second chance. Zoomer jumped into another bucking fit, but I was better prepared and rode her well. I was proud that I had again taught her that she couldn't throw me, and knew she would try again in the future. But Zoomer had taught me that she was still the same horse, and that there are better solutions than losing your temper. I was able to canter her that day for the first time since she developed navicular. That bucking fit revealed so many things about myself, about her, and about our relationship. Though we have a strong bond, and a good understanding, I wasn't the only one in charge. My "stubborn" mare wasn't as stubborn as I thought. She was simply telling me that relationships work two ways.
Zoomer has taught me so much over the past two years and I would not be the same person if I had not learned to listen to her. Her lessons have helped me develop mentally and emotionally. I look forward to the lessons she has yet to teach me, and I know there is a great deal left for me to learn.
UPDATE: December 2001. After many frustrating years of dealing with Zoomer's off-and-on lameness (until recently more on than off) my friend and I had an Equine Podiatrist out to do our horses feet. This man use to be a farrier (person who trims and shoes horse feet), but gave it up because he wasn't satisfied with the job. The second he was done trimming her feet, she went from terribly lame to nearly sound! Each week that goes by she becomes better, and better. Her current soreness is due to residual effects of improper trimming, and she should be 100% really soon. So, after all that, it turns out that Zoomer did NOT have Navicular (Remind me to send a reallllly nice thank you note to my now-former vet who did not take the time to get X-rays and confirm her diagnosis), and her lameness was caused by the FARRIERS! (I think a few choice words are in order for them too). Instead of being trimmed improperly and getting "corrective" shoeing (which made her lame!) she is now being trimmed regularly and goes bare-foot. And she loves it! To put it in perspective for you, she went from being too sore to trot, unsafe to canter (due to a stumbling problem), and most certainly unable to jump one weekend, and the next weekend when I saw her again I was able to walk, trot, AND canter! A LOT! Now, for FUN, I am sending her off 3 foot drops and jumping her over large barrels turned on their sides (around 2 feet). We are currently doing the jumps without me on her back (ground work) because we both have to relearn how to jump again. This really means alot to me because I KNOW that my horse loves to jump (you can just see how excited she gets, its great) and now we can do something we both love again.
Email: BahamutChild@hotmail.com
