Ranger

Ranger is one of our yearlings and as such is still in training. This provides a unique opportunity for students to gain a “parent/instructors” perspective of what it’s like to teach a child or teenager! Various techniques are used to work with the horse and require trust and patience of our student-trainers as the young horse learns and grows. (For a general idea of what training a young horse may include, click here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_training )

I remember watching Tony work with a young horse like Ranger on campus one day. Tony had placed a blue tarp out on the ground in a circular pen and was working with the horse to build up the confidence to come close to the “scary” blue tarp crackling in the wind as it lay on the ground. Over and over Tony led the horse up to the tarp and with fear in its eyes the young horse jumped back and would run back to the safe side of the round pen. With patience, Tony continued to familiarize the young horse with the tarp and eventually was able to get the horse to trust that there was no real danger and even walk over the tarp as it wrapped thunderously under its feet below! This simple lesson observed by the few of us there that day became the perfect visual incentive to face our own fears with caution and progress until we reach the point where all fear is gone and we have done what seemed scary and impossible.