Remy's Journey

By Carolyn Guske

I bought my black Morgan "Remy" when he was 4 years old and 14.3 hands. His barn name at the time was "Rambo", and little did I know how appropriate that name was. Because of his young age I assumed the bratty behavior of ears back, and moving into my space on the ground, were easily fixable issues that his previous owners had never addressed. He was such a calm, lovely riding horse, curious about new things without spooking or jumping at anything. 

The past eight years have been quite a challenge! He grew to nearly 16 hands. His bratty behavior and crowding, not only into my space, but aggressively into other people's and horses' spaces, escalated to the point that I tried several different trainers (with limited success) and still had a cranky horse that felt the need to dominate the world. Trail riding was fun, but getting him to keep moving in a ring was exhausting and frustrating. 

When we were living in Port Townsend, Audrey Bryant, my fabulous barefoot farrier, kept talking about Freedom Farm and the horsemanship, dressage and "cowmanship" classes they offered. I began trailering out to Freedom Farm at least once a month. I took the dressage class with Michelle Grimmer, who had also taught me in PT, learning fun new things like moving with Remy in a straight line, bending and giving. The horsemanship class taught by Mary Gallagher was an amazing introduction in how to "play" with your horse, getting him to want to do things with you instead of the constant battle Remy and I waged. Mary's cowmanship class was another revelation. Remy LOVED it! He could dominate the cows, push them around, and not get in trouble for being aggressive. 

In May of 2013, we moved to Sequim and I was thrilled that Mary had room at Freedom Farm for Remy. In the past when put with other horses, he would try to play by rearing and biting another horse, which usually concluded with Remy getting soundly pummeled. Freedom Farm has several pastures with different herd groups, one of which Remy joined, and I believe that for the first time in Remy's life, he had the opportunity to be integrated into a healthy social environment and learn how to be a horse. I'm finally learning how to be a proper horsewoman, keeping my boundaries on the ground and learning to ride in a way that is no longer a battle, but about connecting on a deeper more attuned level.

Remy has progressed from being dangerous and unpredictable, to being a horse that is now an accepted part of the herd. He has confidence and a happy calmness I had never seen in him before Freedom Farm. Though I have been riding since I was 8, I feel I'm back at the beginning, learning new, effective and kind ways to connect and have a better, more profound relationship with my horse. 

Thank you Mary, Michelle and Audrey and the rest of the Freedom Farm tribe who make us feel at home and that we are finally where we need to be! 

Carolyn and Remy

Is Working Out Really for Me?

by Kenny Hall, B.Sc., TPI-CGFI

 I asked Kenny Hall, who is my personal trainer as well as the coach for our Riders Fitness classes, to say a word about getting in shape. He offers a general perspective here, and I hope in the future will give tips on exercises of special interest to riders. I recently watched a great video of Annie Kursinski, a world class rider, Olympian, and trainer*, who emphasized exercise for herself and all riders. She said that in a fitness class or with a personal trainer, we get to 'become the horse' feeling something of what they experience when we work them. An interesting thought! -MG

In a simple word, the answer is "YES!" Whether you are young, old, beginner or Olympic athlete, exercise is for everyone. The benefits of exercise far outweigh the consequences of non-exercise. How important to you is controlled blood pressure, strong muscles and bones and good posture? You do not have to be a body builder to get into the gym or to join into a group training session. What is important is to stay moving. We apply Newton's First Law to fitness. A body in motion tends to stay in motion. A body at rest tends to stay at rest. What type of body do you want to be? 

And what type of rider do you want to be? A passenger? Or a support to your horse whose balance, strength and fitness are an asset to you both?

It has been great to work with Mary and the folks from Freedom Farm in our two Rider Fitness classes at Anytime Fitness, Sequim, 7 am on Saturdays and Mondays (see class listing below). These and our other classes are designed to boost your metabolism and to build a stronger core. I have seen great successes coming out of this special group training. And we all have a lot of fun!

If you have any questions, just ask Mary or me.

kenny.anytimefitness@gmail.com 

*You can watch the Annie Kursinski video, which is part of a George Morris master class, at this link. Look down the class list to the right of the video window.