Of all the horses I encountered while living in Riverside, CA, Nathan stands out as being the biggest challenge.
He was yet another ex-racehorse that had ended up at a dressage barn. Toni Betts of Betts Stock Farm in Norco, owned him and had asked if I would be willing to work with him as he was �unmanageable�.
Toni was in her late forties at the time and was coming into riding late in life. I was in my late twenties and still quite the daredevil in comparison. I'd been made fully aware of what a problem Nathan was. He�d been to several trainers who sent him back in worse shape each time. He was nasty and mistrusting and it was clear he�d been abused because of this (or maybe that�s what caused it?)
For a thoroughbred, Nathan,five or six by this time, bay in color and well above average in size and substance. Though he was no �Rambo�, he was a good 16.2 hands and had lovely conformation.
He also had an arrogance about him that I found very appealing, but was part of what had been causing the problems.
He would not give in.
I fell in love with him as soon as I started working with him, despite the fact he did some horrific stunts while being tacked up - even just being tied up. He had the �halter pulling� thing down to a science. Nothing seemed to be able to hold him. He�d throw himself on the ground before he would give in. This kind of thing is bad enough when you have an average sized horse, but this guy was big and his ego was even bigger!
I decided I needed one on one time with him so we could bond. I spent lots of time grooming and letting him know I was his friend. I didn�t tie him, so he couldn�t do his trick of pulling back on the halter and scaring the crap out of himself and me. I just did non-threatening things with him and got a feel for his � emotional boundaries�.
This kind of training was frowned upon by the �cowboys� in Norco. But- when all else fails- you find another way. At least, I do. There was no muscling this guy, that�d already been tried by guys twice my size .
Luckily for Nathan and myself, Toni was willing to let me take my time with him. To her credit, this was a large part of the reason I eventually succeeded in making him rideable.
After several sessions of him trying furiously to buck me off, bringing me closer to thinking I�d met my match , I started to see a change in his attitude. He was listening to me finally. Not just shutting down, but actually cooperating and enjoying the rewards. Toni was thrilled to see him become a happy horse and start to show a sweet side to his personality. I started to ride him out on trail with her.
Norco is a very unique little horse town, in that, all the streets have horse trails instead of sidewalks, with railings separating the trails from the road. The first time Nathan saw the world outside the ranch, was a real test of nerves for both of us- and Toni. She had a big emotional tie with him and felt every spook and flare-up, as we braved the streets and all the terrifying things they had to offer. Sometimes, the stress would be too much for Nathan and he would blow up. This usually came with some warning, as I felt his stride shorten, his neck would arch and though he felt as if he looked magnificent, all I could think about was, I have to stay on to keep him safe. If he dumps me, he could really get hurt. So I kept my nerves hidden and didn�t let him know how anxious I was. This took some practice and you have to be ready for anything even though you maintain a relaxed posture. Sometimes though- he blew his top regardless. This would bring out the gymnast in me- you have to grip tight to stay on board, but relax your grip the instant he relaxes, this rewards him and lets him know, it�s how you want him to be. Not one to toot my own horn, but it's quite an art, or craft, when it comes to working with problem horses and one that I honed by deliberately choosing to work with the rankest horses I could find.
After some time, I was able to ride Nathan out by himself and live to tell about it! Once I even rode him over to one of the ranches he�d been sent for training. Unfortunately, the trainer who�d sent him back to Toni as a lost cause, wasn�t there to see us trotting up his driveway, but neighbors where only too happy to let him know Nathan had been to see him!
All Toni wanted, was to be able to ride Nathan and the only riding she did, was dressage- basic dressage.
It was one thing for Nathan to behave for me- who let him be himself in order to get his trust. It was another thing for him to put up with a nervous rider, who hung onto his mouth when she lost her balance if he spooked or played the fool.
Eventually though, Nathan became more trustworthy as he gained confidence, and Toni was able to have dressage lessons on him. I never really thought he enjoyed it, but was glad to hear she was happy with him.
A few years after working with him, I was told he was for sale. Toni wasn�t getting any younger and Nathan was becoming a handful again.
I had recently met a trainer from Yugoslavia. Alex Radomirovich was an up and coming showjumper / trainer who was looking for a high quality horses. I took him to see Nathan and while concerned he might be too old, he was so impressed that he bought him.
Nathan turned out to be a natural jumper with way more heart than was good for him. By now, he was nine or ten, but still amazingly athletic
I was delighted to find out he ended up with Hap Hansen, one of Southern California�s top winning show jumpers and America�s equivalent of David Broome or Harvey Smith.
I always wondered what Nathan could have achieved, had I met him sooner and Hap Hansen taken him on as a young horse, instead of a ten year old. Actually, I believe he would have been a star, something he always knew he was. Nevertheless, I was happy to see him jumping, which he loved to do, instead of boring old dressage!
