Hey truth, where did you go?

So the guy who broke this beastie, Heath, came out to ride her tonight. I wasn't able to get out until class was over, so I missed the first half of the ride. Grayson sent me short texts to keep me posted. Apparently the little one reared on him while tacking, and under saddle. This guy just over powered her, as he is a 6'+ 190 lb+ man. To me that is not breaking/starting a horse, thats breaking a horse's will. He said eventually she stood still after he beat her up a bit. My guess is that he didn't notice that she was probably shaking and terrified at that point. She has a tendency to do that.

Under saddle she resisted him a lot too. By the time I got there she was dripping in sweat and still fighting. He had a thin corkscrew snaffle in her mouth, and a tie down that works like a running martingale. He basically used all that leverage to force her down into a frame and get her bending back and forth to each side in a way that I have never seen. After watching him for about ten minutes, I asked him to steer her in a straight line without worrying about the bend. Oh wait, there is a hole in what should be basic training. Several other holes came up when he said he had never seen her rear before (oh really?), and again when he had to run her into a canter.

I understand that she is bred to be a cow pony, so she has that stubborn streak bred into her, but to me a horse is not broken based on how much they can do after you have broken their spirit in the beginning of the ride. To me a horse should be happy and willing and quiet under saddle. Not terrified of the next move. I told him I want to see her move straight; I can get her to bend and drop her head later in her training, that doesn't worry me at all. Its the backward momentum and the upward tendencies that bother me most. And the fact that she doesn't have much positive experience under saddle. Sounds like all 30 of her rides in her lifetime have been along the lines of tonight's and I don't blame her one bit for not wanting to put up with that. I can achieve my goals with a less forceful hand. Thats not to say I will hesitate at any point to give her what she deserves, she better bet that she will get beaten over the head if she decides to go up. She might even get flipped one of these days. That would really teach her.

Anyway, we'll see how she goes tomorrow morning, and I'll update you all when/if everything is final with Zena.