Читать книгу Finding the Missed Path. The Art of Restarting Horses онлайн

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However, what we also need to understand is that everything the honest seller tells us about his horse is relative to his own personal experience and what he finds good or acceptable in horse behavior. So when a seller says the horse is easy to catch, it could mean anything from the horse actually is easy to catch, to the horse is easy to catch as long as you have a bucket of grain with you. When a seller says the horse is good with his feet, it might mean the horse is good with his feet, or it might mean the horse allows his feet to be worked on even though he is worried and tense the whole time. When the seller says the horse is good for the vet, it might mean the horse is good with the vet, or it might also mean he’s good as long as he has a lip twitch on. Everything is relative.

That was the case with this particular horse, whose name was Rusty. When Rusty arrived at our place, we found that all of the qualities the owner said Rusty had, he did indeed have. But, each of his qualities seemed to have somewhat of a caveat to it, as well. For instance, he wasn’t outwardly lame, but he was quite stiff, particularly in his shoulders, lower back, and hips. He was easy to catch…sometimes. Other times, he would turn tail and run for all he was worth. We could handle his feet, but he seemed terrified anytime we did. Under saddle he was as good as gold, but nothing he did was terribly soft, nor did it seem as though he did it with much willingness.