Frankie D. at the race training stable, 8/30/2005
Flashback to August 30, 2005. It was the day of my 9th wedding anniversary. My husband picked me up at work on my lunch break and in the pouring down rain we drove out to a large thoroughbred race training stable to see a 2 year old, 16 hand, solid bay thoroughbred that very much needed a home. He had a cervical spine injury that was discovered after he fell during a morning gallop. Attempts at finding a home for him had been unsuccessful and the farm owner had ordered him to be “taken off the books.” We watched him walk and he displayed some minor signs of neurological issues with his hind end. Over the phone I spoke with his vet who informed me “he’ll have good days and bad days. Some days he may not be able to walk.” After the farm manager put him up and closed his stall door all sorts of racket could be heard coming from within the stall. The manager opened the door above his feed bin and a very angry looking horse face appeared, ears pinned, teeth bared, demanding a flake of alfalfa which he promptly received from the manager. I thought to myself, “I’ll take him. He’s the one!” That horse was Frankie D.
Several months prior to this I had decided I was ready for another horse: a youngster that I could bring along and have fun training as I had done in my younger days. I was approaching age 40 and my practical mind told me I needed a calm, well mannered quarter horse that I could ride for pleasure. The first horse I looked at was a solid bay 3 year old quarter horse, 16 hands, with a wonderfully sweet disposition. The price was right, the horse seemed perfect, I knew his owner, but something in my gut told me, “Close, but he’s not the one.”
The next horse I looked at was Frankie D. So what made me discard what my practical mind was saying and rely on my intuition to make such a snap judgment? I have thought about this a lot over the past 5 years and feel I know the answer. As a child I always loved the challenge of difficult puzzles, reading mystery novels, and attempts at “training” the stubborn family dog. At age 11 I was introduced to horses and after a couple of years of riding lessons under my belt I fell in love with and began leasing a horse named Heidi. A former race horse and open jumper, she challenged me every time I rode her and I thrived on that! I was bored out of my mind whenever I got stuck riding one of the “old faithfuls” at the riding stable where I took lessons or when I rode horses that easily won ribbons at the horse shows.
As an adult my horses have become, for conscious or unconscious reasons, my path of personal growth. They have challenged me to stretch myself, face my fears, discover new possibilities, and expand my growing edge. Horses are my passion and I will listen to the feedback that they give me before I will listen to any so-called human “expert” who might tell me what changes I need to make in my personality or behavior. My desire to connect with them is so deep that I have found myself pursing personal change for the sole reason of improving my relationship with them, which in turn spills over into my everyday life. So, going back to that day when I first met Frankie, I believe my unconscious mind was thinking, “this horse is going to stretch you, he is going to challenge you and insist that you become a better human being.” And he has, hands down, no questions asked!
