Soundness is in the Heart - or A Teacher named Bailey

It was December of 1999. The Denver area had gotten a good dose of snow. The wind was still strong as I drove south of the city, to an address in the middle of nowhere. I had to find the turnoff, follow the dirt road past a huge power pole and stop at a barn. I was so excited I could hardly drive. Sean, in the back seat, didn't know where we were going but he was happy to be going somewhere.

The object of the trip was to look at a horse. From the ad in the paper, it sounded like this horse might work for Sean. The horse was an older, "been there, done that" ex ranch horse. 20 years old. I had been around an old retired horse as a youngster and knew how much an older horse could teach. Many years later I had rediscovered horseback riding when I leased a horse and rode double with a small, 11 year old Sean, almost daily for over a year. Sean couldn't get enough of that horse and of riding.

I had never owned a horse as an adult. The prospect was daunting. The owner brought out a saddled, bridled "Bailey" and rode him around for us. This was not reassuring because the ground was icy. It terrified me to watch the rider nonchalantly canter Bailey around. When the reins were handed to me, I preferred to bring Sean out to a non-icy area. I let Sean approach Bailey and touch his face, touch the saddle, stroke Bailey's neck. I then handed the reins to Sean and walked off a little, letting Sean use his residual vision to follow me. Bailey obediently followed Sean and stopped when Sean stopped. There was never anything but slack in the reins. We walked in this manner for several minutes. Sean was not about to get onto Bailey because it had been several years since he had ridden a horse and Sean had grown up in those years. Getting him back onto a horse would probably take months because it would have to be at his own pace. But I felt Bailey had the patience to go with Sean on this.

Bailey scuffed his front hooves as he walked. I asked about it. Yes, Bailey was had always walked like that since they'd had him. They'd taken him up into the mountains for trail rides over the last year and Bailey had done just fine but yes, he was not sound. He was also nothing to look at. He was a plain brown horse with a winter coat. He had a tiny white spot on his forehead. But I wasn't looking at color . The temperament was the most important thing to me, and Bailey was calm. He was fine around people, and the seller didn't strike me as the kind of person who would dope up a horse.

What a gem this old brown horse turned out to be. He was the best possible teacher we could have found. Over the 7 years we have had Bailey, he has taught us how to care for him, taught me what a fine mind he has, how smart he is and how safe he could be. Even though he scuffed his front hooves, he took great care with his riders. He especially loved carting small children around.

Bailey taught Sean how to feed carrots to horses; Bailey taught me how to be calm and not get riled if things didn't quite go as planned. He taught us infinite patience. He was a saint waiting at the mounting block for half an hour so that Sean could get on in his own good time. Above all, he taught everyone in our family what a blessing a horse can be.

Now, Bailey is no longer rideable. (I think he was older than the "20" I was told in 1999). He now enjoys having the freedom to roam our 10 acres and hit us up for treats when we go out on the deck. He seldom misses a chance to snag a carrot if he sees us out on the deck during the day. We have since gotten 2 other horses, and Bailey is the herd boss. The other two horses are mares and although mares usually rule the roost, Bailey continues to be the benevolent dictator.

I used to read horsemens' stories about what a great teacher this or that horse was. Now I understand what those horsemen meant. And with more horses now, the learning just keeps on coming! What a journey we are taking!