Heart Horse: A horse that not only changes your life, but defines it.

My heart horse has to be ‘Temple Hill Prove It’ or Charlie, he is a 17-year-old Irish Sport Horse by the Hollsteiner Courage II & out of a Clover Hill mare.

I bred Charlie & when I first met him he had been foaled out over the fence & experienced his first few minutes of life by himself in the next paddock. His poor mother was frantic & his arrival into the world acted as a forewarning as to what type of horse he was to become.

We were breeding a few sport horses at the time & we tried to sell him, but to no avail he was too rambunctious for anyone who came to view him. He had one undescended testicle so he was gelded a little late & this also contributed to his already ‘lively’ presence. I decided to keep him for myself – which in hindsight wasn’t the smartest move, but it was also the best decision I ever made. He has made a horsewoman of me and for that I will be eternally grateful. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t draw on something that Charlie caused me to learn.

He was started by Chris & Sarah Brady, Parelli Professionals in Sallins, Co. Kildare he got a wonderful introduction to life as a riding horse with the Brady’s. Chris & Sarah treat each horse as an individual & are a wealth of knowledge, I couldn’t recommend them highly enough. A good start really sets a horse up for a successful future & the people that start them are often the unsung heroes of a horse’s successful riding career. I have developed him since he was started & what we have achieved still astounds me. The relationship I have with Charlie is the kind of relationship I have always wanted with a horse. We have had our ups & downs, but the width & breath of our relationship is so strong, it is one of my biggest achievements not only in my horse life, but my life in general. 

The Messy Middle

Charlie is very extroverted & wears his heart on his sleeve which sounds wonderful, but this did not make it easy on me as his human who desperately wanted to build a relationship & partnership with him. I was starting a new journey with natural horsemanship & also recovering from a horse-riding accident at the time & Charlie’s antics put me to the pin of my collar. When he was a young horse, it was a real sink or swim time for me. I invested heavily in trying to make a go of it, it wasn’t easy, but it was absolutely worth it. I needed to step up & act like a partner for Charlie, when I did it went well, when I didn’t I learned a lot.

When Charlie came under pressure doing groundwork one of his go to behaviours was to rear & that took me awhile to get sorted, he was also extremely nippy, very nappy under saddle & not-overly keen on horseboxes (he has been known on more than one occasion to have escaped.). It took a lot of unlearning & learning on my part to help us both overcome these issues.

I brought him to every lesson, workshop & clinic I could find so that I could learn as much as possible to develop a partnership with Charlie. I also got another horse that was a little more straight forward to develop my skills & then return to Charlie with them, this really helped my progress & kept me feeling successful. Charlie is semi-retired now due to having arthritis in both his hind legs & pole, it took a lot of investigations to figure this out but knowing what I know now I firmly believe it contributed to many of his behavioural issues.

Things I Learned About that Changed My Life with Horses:

• Ground Work
• Horse & Human Psychology & Behaviour 
• The Equine Brain & Nervous System
• Rider Biomechanics
• Rope Handling Skills
• How to Set Myself & My Horse Up to Win 
• The Tools & Techniques to Use in Different Scenarios 
• How to Keep Myself Safe So That I Can Have Fun 

I still focus a lot on education in my equestrian life, horses will come & go, but your education will stay with you & look after you long after the lessons are paid for. 

I have achieved many of my life long equestrian goals with Charlie, doing liberty, riding bridle less, doing demonstrations & actually being able to communicate my intention with a horse through energy & body language. What we have achieved together has been beyond my wildest dreams & he reminds me every day to dream a little bigger.

The Things Charlie has Taught Me:

• You don’t always get the horse you want, but rather the one you need
• I have also come to appreciate that tools & techniques are nothing without psychology
• Don’t ride faster than you can think
• Having a sense of humour is not only desirable, but actually essential with horses

‘My treasures do not clink together or glitter; they gleam in the sun & neigh in the night.’

Arabian Proverb