That Liam Horse - Chapter Three

Despite being in no condition to move thanks to Vicodin and an extreme amount of anger......... the next day came with me waiting by the front door ready to move at turtle speed down to the barn to go see that Liam horse get ridden.

The young college student that they had chosen to ride him was the girl that used to ride him before he left the stables the first time. She was a boarder that had just come back with her horse from her summer break. 

She had a gentle spirit. Her love for him was transparent there was no hidden agenda. No harsh touch and no ill spoken words. 

It hurt to breathe. It hurt to be up and moving around. It hurt immensely that they had rushed this day by three months............but in the midst of all this hurt......there was comfort. Knowing he was in the hands of someone who obviously loved him dearly was.....a relief.

He was still grossly underweight. To protect his spine a gel pad was required as well as pads to bump up the front and back of the saddle. 

He seemed worried and confused. He and his young rider obviously had history. It seemed to be nothing but good history.....But he was still a monster as usual on the crossties. 

With the barn buzzing with anxious energy I was so relieved to see his young rider was not swayed by his vicious threats to kick and bite.

I gimped my way into the indoor arena and took my seat. I was glad to be alone for a moment because the wide array of emotions brought on by happiness/anger/the feeling of injustice/happy pills was more than I could stand. 

What would happen to this Liam horse??? I felt as if this was indeed the beginning of the end. Somehow I had tricked myself into thinking that our time together had no ending. But this was the harsh wakeup call I needed. He would be transformed into a lesson horse.....or even worse still.....the Liam horse would be sold and taken somewhere far from here where I would never again lay eyes on him......

I could feel the tears forming.....but when the gate to the indoor arena swung open and she walked him in the ring all dressed up.......the movement of my cheeks caused by the huge smile forced those tears to fall out.

That Liam horse was......stunning. 

The boarders and owners and young kids were all watching to see him go

He wasn't very patient at the mounting block. His young rider had mounted and was going to put her right foot in the stirrup when he decided it was time to go.

He had this weird head bob thing going on which was very odd to me because I had never seen another horse do it. With every step he took he nodded....very odd. 

The warm up and ride lasted less than thirty minutes. With tears in my eyes and emotions that to this day I can never explain in words I recorded the ride. 

She was so gentle with him my heart soared. He was so gentle with her my heart swelled…..when the saddle and all the pads came off and I still saw all those ribs my heart broke again.

The love she had for him was evident. She took everything off of him and thanked him for being such a good boy and then walked him to the upper barn…..oh by the way we forgot to tell you he was moved out of your barn because that’s for boarders. He now lives with the lesson horses in the upper barn….....</3

That Liam horse - Chapter Two - Peace....be still

It had been three months this way. Everyday we’d walk and talk and groom and eat. My main focus was on giving him space to heal but never so much space he ever felt alone. He was spending less and less time facing the back of the stall.

He put on so much 
weight.

It was so good to 
see him really start 
to fill out

Life was GOOD!

Horses are prey animals. In their natural

 environment (open plains) their hearing 

acuity is needed for their survival.

 Other animals and weather are the only other 

things generating noise. Predators generally 

don't vocalize when stalking so these 

creatures are hard-wired to listen for sounds

 of stealth such as the snapping of a twig and 

rustling of grass from the weight of a 

predators paw. It's ALWAYS safer to run first 

and ask questions later and if another horse starts 

running.......you better run too.

Super quick anatomy lesson

 In comparison to our small flat ears horses 

have cuplike shaped ears. Very little sound

 spills out of them.....so they can capture 

noises we might miss. In addition horses can 

detect sounds we cannot. They have an ability 

to hear a wider range of high-frequency tones.

They can also hear things a very far distance 

away and when you add wind it becomes very 

confusing for them. 

Something ¼ of a mile away can sound 

like it’s coming right up on them. So 

naturally being a flight animal rather than 

fight this can cause their reaction to be to 

bolt. 

Now that we understand why horses are so spooky.

As I was taking out the horses in the lower barn. This very very large horse got spooked on the walk out to the pasture and made me the center point of his spastic circle. 

I went with him at first. I thought we made it through the bad part and his mind had come back to me. This big creature seemed to realize that monsters were not very fond of Lipizzan flavored treats. 

Then it happened again but this time that very fine line holding the insanity at bay......snapped. 

He frantically circled me. He tried to cut right across but just ended up ramming his left shoulder into my right and knocking me down to the ground. I let go of the lead rope once I hit. He did everything in his power to not step on my head and chest. 

My life flew in front of my eyes in an instant. Heaven and hell and everything in between seemed to pause for a second to allow me to examine it all. 

Instead of crushing me he jumped over my limp body. He hit my back and side with his hind legs with such force it knocked the wind out of me. This creature was so terrified of the wind and noises that he did this……..but was concerned enough to see that I was hurt and never leave me. 

I was not holding his lead rope. He could have run off but he kept watch for monsters while standing over me. I was having such a terrible time trying to breathe. 

Time....which had been so patient in allowing my moments of reflection had now sped up and it seemed as if I had not taken a breath in minutes. When I was able to work up the strength to try and get up he put his head down and gave me his halter. I grabbed on and he helped me up. That gesture made time once again stand still. What a beautiful painful moment.

Enlarged liver some bruises and cracked ribs meant bed rest……I stayed up at the house because I couldn’t make it up the stairs to the apartment. I didn’t see Liam for days. It broke my heart but what hurt even more was the news that my six months of having Liam all to myself was...no longer the truth. 

I was informed that since I was injured the stable owners would have someone start riding Liam...that pain was some of the worst I have ever felt. I begged them to wait until I was able to make it to the barn to at least see it happen......All they said is that it would happen the next day......