1. A horse trainer is born
Published by Cari Zancanelli under BLM, Canyon City Prison, horse training, mustangs on 7:41 PM
I have loved horses since the day I first saw one. It was hardwired into my brain, and I know I'm not alone. Those of us that are horse lovers cannot be dissuaded and nothing that a horse can do to us will change our minds. The love of the animal and the drive to be with them overcomes the fear of falling off, getting stepped on, bitten, all the broken bones and concussions. I beleive that's why people have something they love more than anything else - it's the thing that drives us to face our fears.
I didn't set out to become a horse trainer. The only job I knew of where you could ride and get paid was a jockey. This was a major career goal until I started growing, and growing...and growing. Way past 5'4" - all the way to 5'9". Being tall was awful! All my career goals were smashed, not that we lived in an area where people raced horses. When I was 8 years old we moved from cowboy country - Denver, Colorado - to Hawaii. Yes, it's paradise - except if you love horses. There are horses there, and even a rodeo that we attended as children. But it was a luxury and all the horse things were far away from our house and what I figured was expensive. I gave up, which was my first mistake.
My parents used to ask me, especially every summer, what kinds of activities I wanted to do and never once did I ask for riding lessons. It just never seemed like a viable option. Then, after getting married to a man in Air Force and getting stationed in England, at age 24 I began taking riding lessons. Due to our nomadic Air Force lifestyle, I took lessons for 7 years without owning my own horse. One of my instrutors suggested that I become a really good rider first and then I could buy a horse that needed some training or was more difficult to handle but cost less.
Finallly, after taking lessons for years, my husband left the military and we moved back to Colorado. I asked if we could purchase a mustang from the government - the BLM adoption program. They only cost $125, plus another $300 (at the time - it might cost more now) for training provided by prisoners at Canyon City Correctional Complex. He thought this was great and more desireable than having a baby, so he readily agreed. A few months later I was the proud owner of Bella, a black 8 year old mustang mare.
She spent 6 months at the prison in training, which was only supposed to take 3 months. I grew concerned. I called and asked about her and the guards would respond vaguely. I asked if she was finished with her training and the guard responded that since she had been there so long of course she was ready to go home! So I headed to Canyon City with my brother pulling his trailer and my step mother in tow. What I found on arrival shocked and saddened me.
Bella the mustang as she looks today. The BLM freeze brand can be seen on her neck.
I didn't set out to become a horse trainer. The only job I knew of where you could ride and get paid was a jockey. This was a major career goal until I started growing, and growing...and growing. Way past 5'4" - all the way to 5'9". Being tall was awful! All my career goals were smashed, not that we lived in an area where people raced horses. When I was 8 years old we moved from cowboy country - Denver, Colorado - to Hawaii. Yes, it's paradise - except if you love horses. There are horses there, and even a rodeo that we attended as children. But it was a luxury and all the horse things were far away from our house and what I figured was expensive. I gave up, which was my first mistake.
My parents used to ask me, especially every summer, what kinds of activities I wanted to do and never once did I ask for riding lessons. It just never seemed like a viable option. Then, after getting married to a man in Air Force and getting stationed in England, at age 24 I began taking riding lessons. Due to our nomadic Air Force lifestyle, I took lessons for 7 years without owning my own horse. One of my instrutors suggested that I become a really good rider first and then I could buy a horse that needed some training or was more difficult to handle but cost less.
Finallly, after taking lessons for years, my husband left the military and we moved back to Colorado. I asked if we could purchase a mustang from the government - the BLM adoption program. They only cost $125, plus another $300 (at the time - it might cost more now) for training provided by prisoners at Canyon City Correctional Complex. He thought this was great and more desireable than having a baby, so he readily agreed. A few months later I was the proud owner of Bella, a black 8 year old mustang mare.
She spent 6 months at the prison in training, which was only supposed to take 3 months. I grew concerned. I called and asked about her and the guards would respond vaguely. I asked if she was finished with her training and the guard responded that since she had been there so long of course she was ready to go home! So I headed to Canyon City with my brother pulling his trailer and my step mother in tow. What I found on arrival shocked and saddened me.
Bella the mustang as she looks today. The BLM freeze brand can be seen on her neck.
0 comments:
Post a Comment