Life Lesson #18 A Master of Horses, is a Jack of All Trades!

Posted January 28th, 2010 by Nealia

I woke up to snow, and if anyone has looked at our website you would know why that is a big deal. To make things worse, Jason has Thursdays off, but Lalo also knows how to clean the driveway and in a pinch, I can do it.  By the end of the day, AFTER Lalo finished the driveway, the day warmed up and all of the snow melted. Oh well, good practice.

Being a horse trainer has forced me to learn a lot of things you would be surprised to hear. When I was in high school I took a vocational agriculture class.  Besides the class work we also had what was called an Ag. Lab. I thought that meant we would be working in a lab to do soil testing and stuff like that;  NOT!   The Ag. Lab was another name for a shop class. I was the only girl as it was, and I was in a class full of farmers or want-to-be farmers.  I, of course, wanted to be a Horse Trainer.  It is a far cry from horse trainer to farmer, but I have to say I learned a lot from my Agriculture classes (both of them).  I think I always marched to the beat of a different drummer, but at the time I did not think I was different.  Wasn’t EVERYONE obsessed with HORSES?  My Ag. teacher was my all-time favorite teacher and he was the only teacher in high school I could remember their name, Mr. Bossellar (maybe spelled wrong). Even this teacher remembers me for things like bringing a dog to class. I personally do not think that is different, but then I guess I think a little off center. Anyway,  the Ag. Lab class was a different and difficult class for me, but I must say I passed and learned some interesting things: arc welding, electric wiring & wood working,  just to name a few and I think it did help me understand that I could do anything I put my mind to.

In my years of horse training I have learned to drive a tractor and work the blade for snow removal, I have learned to pull a trailer that is almost as big as a semi,  I can repair fences, stalls and hang buckets. Repairing tack, cleaning enough tack to supply every barn in the state of Texas for a year or more, cleaning stalls, pouring cement and putting up hay are just some of the things I have done.  While I am not a ve,t I can give IV shots, clean wounds, pick off crud (fungus), feel pulses, check for heat and bandage ANYTHING!  I can pick up poop, wipe off snot, clean up blood and squeeze pus with the best of them. I know how to pull shoes, pop mineral build- up on the teeth and clean ALL the private parts of a horse as well as hold on to any horse and NEVER let go.  I can groom, brush, detangle, wash, clip and ready any horse for any show. I can ride, drive, long line, lunge, lead and teach every horse that crosses my path to walk, trot, canter, slow gait, rack, jog, lope, halt AND do patterns FOR SOMEONE ELSE .  I can write articles for magazines, talk to 100s of people, teach the tiniest child, and give lessons to senior citizens. If you are scared, happy, sad, moody, mad, PMSing or going through menopause, I can teach you or relate to you.  I can help people with their problems with their kids, their horses or their families. The list goes on and on.

I love my job almost as much as I love horses. Maybe when everyone else thought I marched to the beat of a different drummer I was really learning to be an independent thinker, and a jack-of-all-trades.  I can honestly say that I never thought about NOT being able to train horses for a living.  I just KNEW that is what I was SUPPOSED to do!!  Without bragging, I am a Master of Horses– but to do this I have become A Jack-of-All-Trades.