One of the most powerful experiences and connections I had was with a big grey horse. This horse was a national champion dressage horse and then went on to the world of entertainment next door to Disneyland at Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament. A jousting and sword fighting show - he became a star of that venue…
As he got older and lame he had some issues with his back legs. A family from Parker, CO bought him. They called me to consider if I could take his shoes off and keep him barefoot. They had heard about the natural barefoot trim and was curious to see if they could do that because the horse was getting lame enough that it was a big issue to go through the shoeing process. I showed up and took the shoes off - things went very well. They realized that he didn’t need shoes and that he was better off barefoot and healthier.
In that process and throughout the years of working with him the lameness got worse and worse. It got to where he couldn’t hardly stand on one hind leg. When I picked his good leg up the lame leg would just buckle out from under him. What we worked out together was that I would get under him pick the good leg up and let him put his weight on me, using me as a prop. That got to be a very intimate relationship between the two of us and trust at the highest level. He trusted me to help him hold himself up.
Those connections don’t happen but a handful of times in a lifetime and I have had several. That was one of the most profound connections and trusting experiences I’ve had in my life.