Ride The Horse That Shows Up

by Kelley · Published November 1, 2022 · Updated November 23, 2022

In the beginning, there was a red-headed mare. Her name is Rose, and she is an Arabian Saddlebred. I fell in love with her immediately. She was so elegant and sweet and followed me around the barn. She would call out whenever she saw me. I would spend hours grooming her and telling her beautiful she was. She became my heart horse. We showed halter her first year with me, and she was unstoppable. Then came the time to start riding. Rose loved being a halter horse. Riding, however, was a different story. She would turn and bite me or stop and completely ignore me. After several vet visits, it was determined she had no medical issues. According to my vet, “She’s a red-headed mare.” And that started my love affair.

Rose taught me a lot about monitoring a horse’s personality and mood and sitting on a horse whose idea of moving forward was up. To say the least, she was a challenge. To say the most, I loved every minute of it. Rose taught me to be patient and quiet. I had no choice. I had to wait for her to express herself before we could move on. I always started our rides with, “Ok, Rose, what are we going to discuss today?” That’s what it was, a discussion. I asked for something, and she let me know what she thought about it, then we came to a compromise. We got the job done, but she made me think about it, and I let her think whatever we did was her idea.

What Rose Taught Me

What Rose really taught me was to ride the horse that shows up. And believe me, Rose showed up differently each day for the first few years. I still recall going to shows and knowing the exact moment I walked her off the trailer if we could show or if we needed to load up and go back home. I know trainers who say, “rider her anyway, get her in the ring.” But that was not the deal Rose and I had. And quite frankly, it was not worth the fight. When Rose decided she was not doing something, she WAS NOT going to do it, period. We would go do something else. It worked for us. We respected each other, and we got along just fine, usually.

Through all the trials and tribulations, Rose has remained my heart horse. She still calls me when she sees me walk into the barn. She still wants to be the halter horse, posing every chance she gets. She’s gotten better at riding, but she will still let me know when she is done by turning and biting my foot. I laugh and say, “Yes, Rose, I know.” She has proclaimed herself the Queen of the barn and expects to be treated as such. You know what I am talking about if you have a red-headed mare. We love them and always will. I hope you enjoy reading this and come back often to see what Queen Rose and the rest of the herd are up to.

Until Next time…. Ride the Horse That Shows Up.