>>> The only horse I own that I can brag on training 100% is my tivar, >>> trained by Shirley and Karen at her house in NC. That Shirley with her >>> quiet kindness and know how to teach a horse what it needs firmly and >>> quietly combined with Karen's will and enthusiasm about getting inside a >>> horse's head and discerning its needs after it has gone sour from other trainers... he was just a lucky guy cause let me tell you something about my Teev, he is like no by god, aint gonna take, I will go down fighting,
Thanks Janice, but to be fair, I think Tivar had SOME good basic training and some good rides before we ever met him, but unfortunately, he must have had some bad experiences too. He was not a happy horse at all when we met him. Another good friend, not Shirley this time, kept saying things, like, My god, can you imagine what Tivar would be like if ALL of his training had been so positive? I've said it time and again - training is SO much easier than retraining. I'm lucky to have someone like Shirley who's taught me so much and who can take over the parts that still frustrate me. I do some parts of the rehab work fairly well I think - Tivar and I developed a nice bond on the ground and he was SO willing to learn... but I couldn't have ignored his initial threats of bucking in the quiet and patient way that Shirley did. (My memory of waiting for someone to find me when I broke my back are too vivid.) That would have unnerved me too much and frustrated me, which probably would have kept him on edge. Shirley rarely gets dumped...not because she's a great rider, even though she is. It's because she knows when to mount a horse, and when not to - that's SO important. We agreed early on that Tivar needed something done besides being ridden - no point in anyone. horse or human, being hurt. Once I took the time and did plenty of relaxed groundwork, got him all physically checked out, and figured out to try the ulcer treatment, she was ready to get on him, and could tell that his initial reactions were more from "fear of pain" than from actual pain. As soon as he saw the real pain was gone, it was smooth sailing...slow, but smooth. To Janice's credit, Tivar was in the best state of mind I could imagine when I saw him last fall, almost a year after he left. She needs a huge atta girl for that, that she didn't allow him to backslide during his transition. Karen Thomas, NC
