I posted this story on the draft horse form, but here it is again: typed with one hand George and I rescued two abused, deer-wild Tennesse Walker geldings 3 1/2 years ago and he helped me break them to trail ride, jump, and drive, which we did almost daily.
However, Levi (George's horse) got the impression the last time George drove him in December (my injured left arm prevented my driving), that he was in control, since George is so passive with him. Levi is usually perfectly behaved when the rider stays in charge- i.e., after I broke him he was the perfect trail horse. But since George then became his regular rider, everytime I rode Levi after George had been riding him, Levi would ignore all my cues and I would have a fight with him until he accepted me as the boss again. He was usually a wonderful, calm driving horse since I did all the driving and wouldn't let him get away with anything. However, Levi has what the Beery horse breaking manual calls the classic #4 personailty head profile; long, hairy ears, slightly bulging forhead, small, close-set eyes, which he says means the horse will have a natural tendency to bolt and be treacherous. After Levi kept pretending to spook and to run away in December while George was driving him, I felt very uneasy about him. I told George I didn't want to mess with such large horses (16 hands) anymore, especially since Levi was starting to shows signs of dangerous behavior and even the perfect Banjo could be spooky at times. I put both horses for sale online and began looking into Icelandic horses-known for their stability and intelligence-and the reason I joined this forum. Problem for 6' 1" George, though; they are very small compared to our horses. Because George was so upset about my plans to switch breeds, I didn't try very hard. We drove my horse, Banjo, this Sunday on a 3 hour drive in the Daniel Boone National Forest, and he was on his best behavior as we watched a helicopter laying electric cable along a cut while I took pictures. I suspected Levi would try something when his turn came, after having 3 months off, so when we hitched him up day before yesterday, I put a rope Beery poll pinch bridle on under the driving bridle. I held the leather driving reins and George held the Beery rope reins so we could stop any misbehavior. Levi was mostly perfect for about 1 1/2 hours of driving the National Forest access roads. A couple of times he tried to break into a run, but the Beery rope pull quickly discouraged him. On the way back, George wanted to stop and chat with someone in a truck, but after a minute or two, Levi started tensing like he was going to run. I warned George, and thought we could stop Levi with the pinch bridle. I was wrong. Levi suddenly bolted down the hill as though we weren't there, despite both of us yanking on our lines, throwing me into the side of the mountain on the sharp corner, then bucked until he rolled the cart. George got scrapes, but I had to go to U.K. medical Center to have plastic surgery from where my teeth had punctured my cheek, and a hand bone expert set my fractured left hand. My left jaw had a hairline fracture, so I have to eat through a straw. Still, I'm lucky to be alive! I had to rinse out my mouth with water before I was stitched, and joked to the doctors that I was like the Jim Carrey character in The Mask when he reappeared from behind the bar after the gangsters had shot at him, and said, "Did you miss me?" He paused to take a drink, whereupon water came spurting out of him like a sprinkler, then quipped, "I guess NOT!" The accident happened around 12:30 and we didn't get out of the U.K. emergency room until after midnight, so I mostly sat around hospitals reading Heinlein's The Cat Who Walks Through Walls while they were doing stuff to me. Although George adored Levi and didn't want to switch breeds, I have resolved to listen to my better judgment from now on. I now have both our horses in the paper for sale at a reduced price. Even though Banjo has been good as gold, even when we drove him a few days ago, I know he used to be spooky when I rode him, and he is so tall he's almost impossible for me to mount with an injured arm. Well, I think I'll sip my dinner now-luckily, I always eat blended fruit and sprouts anyway! Rachel from E KY
