Coming From the Other Side

 Donna and Soni circa 2016. Oh, and me!

There are days where I think back to a small handful of the horses I've known and smile because all of them had the tremendous propensity to know what was needed of them and gladly stepped up to fill in. In horsemanship we say the horse "came from the other side" to help the human. The horse knows that something particular is needed of him and he is confident enough to give that thing freely. This is different than a horse who simply knows his job because in this case the human is the one who needs the horse to fill in a bit.

This is not true of all horses - some have very high expectations of the people who work with them and will demand a high level of leadership and give very little that isn't downright earned. I have known a few of these, too. I find the horses that most often "come from the other side" are also the ones that want to "get along" the most. They are the kindest, gentlest of souls. Sometimes they happen to also possess exceptionally calm dispositions, other times they can have a tendency to worry, but they all have a great desire to please.

These attributes - a desire to get along, a desire to please - are found in all horses to some extent. There are just some that sit on the far end of the spectrum. Soni is one of these horses.

Being formally backed in August of 2016. The face says it all.

Originally owned by my student Donna, Soni was a gem right from the get-go. It was only two years into Donna riding him that we found out he was green-broke when she got him: postural issues aside he rode and acted like a much more educated horse. Turns out he didn't know much at all, but he never once made Donna feel unsafe. She went on multiple trail rides with him in groups and alone. I did quite a bit of groundwork with him and rode him for a couple of months before I felt it would be fine for her to get on and she did so without a hitch save for one.

Donna did fall off Soni once. As far as falls go is was about as uneventful as you could ask for. The pair of them had taken a few steps of trot up the long side when Donna started to pitch forward a bit, her lower leg slipping back as she did. I watched Soni's thoughts as he quickened his trot before stepping into the smoothest canter he could muster. As Donna fell forward more and started to fall over his shoulder, Soni moved with her in the same direction. She did end up coming off and the moment she hit the ground he stopped moving and stood quietly ten feet away while I checked her over.

I've replayed this incident in my mind a hundred times if I've replayed it once. I finally figure out after a while that I literally watched Soni realize he was losing his rider, quicken to try and catch her and then try and get underneath her as she started to depart from the saddle in a last-ditch attempt to keep her on (and then stick around after he lost her).

One could use rationale to explain a lot of this and I'm sure many will and do when they see such things, but this was not the last time I saw such an effort from this inconspicuous-looking gelding. He packed Donna around for a little over two years before Donna asked me if I'd take him. At that point, she'd recognized his natural way of going required more balance and skill to ride than she possessed but she'd become so fond of him she couldn't conceive of letting him go. I'd also grown quite fond of him and was only too happy to give him a home. I honestly can't say that about every horse I work with.

Enjoying a nice road hack. I adore how much these two appreciated each other.

I tend to take horses for life, so Soni will have a home until the day he dies, but one of these days when Ober and I have our small farm I will likely start a couple colts a year and take on one or two restart projects at a time to sell to the general public. You can bet I'll have my eye out for that kind eye, unassuming face and gentle energy. I'd be blessed to have a barn full of Soni's.