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SEPTEMBER 2006 • VOLUME 13 • © Copyright HORSES For LIFE™ Publications
“The walk is the therapy for the brain.” Spring was in the air. The horses were energized and the humans were busy. It was Saturday morning at the barn and there were a few carpentry projects on the go. I tacked up Atlas in his stall and noticed immediately that the stallion was focused on anything and everything except me! Frank said, “Take the horse and work in-hand for a while. The pick-up truck is going to be coming through the arena. When that’s done, we’ll get started.” I led Atlas down the aisle, passing mares and stallions. In the past, this twenty-metre walk was uneventful, but not today. I had a tight grip on the reins, just below the horse’s chin; however, Atlas hardly knew I was there. He called to the horses, pulled mightily to get closer to each one and generally made that short walk a hair-raising adventure. Sliding the large arena door open was especially hazardous. Relicario, the stallion in the last stall, decided this was the time to rear, squeal and bang on the walls. Atlas answered with a quickness that almost outmaneuvered me. Every fibre in the Lipizzaner wanted to answer that stallion’s challenge. I got through the door, shut it, picked a whip out of the bucket near the stairs and led my prancing mount into the arena. To say “I had my hands full” is an understatement. In seven years of riding, I have never encountered a horse so totally oblivious to any commands.
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