A Ride in the Snow

Winter came to Delaware in a big way this winter when a series of northeast storm buried much of the state under snow measuring in the double digit inches. There were many days I wasn’t able to go down to the rescue and Elena told me that the snow drifts in places were waist deep. The horses stuck pretty close to their run-in sheds and several mornings they had a breakfast of warm bran mash with apples.
Seeing all this snow got me thinking about the time I took a ride in the snow on my first horse, Max. You could say Max was my first rescue horse. I had just returned to Delaware after working for two year in Toledo, Ohio and I was looking for a horse. Max had been abandoned by his owner; a college coed who had brought him with her to the University of Delaware then met a boy, fell in love and stopped paying his board. He was being used as a lesson horse by the owners when I first came to the stable. I had asked my instructor to help me find a horse and she immediately suggested Max.
When I saw Max, it was love at first sight. Although Max was a registered appaloosa, he was 7/8s thoroughbred and he looked more like a racehorse than a cow pony. Solid chestnut in color except for a white snow flake pattern over his haunches, I thought he was the most beautiful horse I had ever seen. He was nine years old and had been professionally trained both in both English and western styles of riding. He could jump four foot fences and he had a smooth trot and rocking chair canter. When my instructor suggested him, I thought he was too good a horse for me. I was only looking for a pleasure horse and wasn’t an overly confident rider, but my instructor insisted that what Max really needed was an owner who would love him. So for the extravagant price of $1700 (a lot of money in 1981) which would reimburse the stable for the missed board payments, I became a horse owner for the first time.
In the beginning, Max didn’t have much of a personality. He seemed to go inside of himself whenever I went into his stall. But I loved him to distraction and spent hours with him, grooming him, feeding him carrots, hand grazing him on the lawn. Slowly but surely, his personality began to emerge. When he heard my voice, he would put his head out of his stall door and nicker to me. If I came to the pasture, he would amble to the fence looking for treats. Even though I was an inexperienced rider, he always gave me his best. Of course in 1981, I’d never heard of natural horsemanship. Looking back, I can see that Max showed all of the characteristics of a right brain introvert. He was compliant, timid and somewhat fearful. Sometimes he would seem to just go inside himself to get away from what was going on around him. Without knowing it; I had been playing the Friendly Game with him, which was, of course, exactly what he needed from me.
At the time, I knew nothing of lateral flexion or disengaging the hindquarters but it turned out that I needed those skills the first time I took Max for a ride in the snow. We don’t get significant snow in Delaware very often but that time there had been about 8 inches of snow and the pastures were white and inviting, unmarked by footprints as the horses had been in the barn. I saddled Max, led him to the largest pasture and mounted, looking forward to a quiet walk in the snow, but Max had other ideas. He’d been in his stall for almost two days and always was ready to move his feet. Max wanted to go. As he jigged and shook his head, I took a tighter hold of him and that was a mistake. Max took the bit in his teeth and started to run. The harder I pulled, the faster he went. The footing was slick and I was afraid that if I didn’t fall off, Max would slip and we would both go down. I didn’t know what to do, so I did the only thing I could think of. I bridged the reins, planted my hands on his neck and cranked his head around so he was circling to the right. He slowed as the circles got smaller and when he stopped, I threw myself out of the saddle. We stood there looking at each other, both breathing hard and shaking. Eventually I caught my breath and calmed down enough to lead him back to the indoor arena. I’d had enough of an outing for that day. Max and I were partners for 23 years after that first winter but I don’t think I ever had a ride that was quite that wild.
I’ve had my current horse, Sonny, for four years but we have never had a chance to go riding in the snow. Maybe sometime he and I can take a spin around the snowy fields, but first, I’d play with him on the ground, check his flexion and disengagement and see what horse shows up before I mount up and ride because I am getting a little to old to have my horse run off with me in the snow!