# The Journey of my horse and I



## Sonrise Farm (Sep 18, 2008)

It was Summer 2006. I was walking toward a barn that was covered in metal sheets of a wide range of colors shapes and sizes, looking more like a patchwork quilt than a barn. 
"She's really wild," the owner cautioned as we stepped inside, and as my eyes adjusted to the darkness of the barn, they stabbed every corner, searching for the object of my interest. 
I found her in a stall in the back corner of the barn. 
She was a dirty white pinto mare, so tall and skinny she looked more like a pinto girraff than a horse. Her eyes held a distant, glassish startled expression, and the nut-brown ears moved constantly. 
"She's three hundred pounds underweight," The lady told my dad who nodded numbly. "the dude who owned her had a stroke and didn't have the good sense to sell of his animals. So they were half starved when I found them." 
I went into the stall, she cowered in the corner, a skinny rack of ribs, head lowered, lips moving, she told me in her language, "I'll be good, don't hurt me--- I'll do whatever you want if you'll leave me alone." 
That was the single reason I needed Jinah---- She needed me. 

I spent the rest of the summer trying to touch her. A simple ten second touch could send her plunging across the pen. Haltering her was a nightmare. 
I got run over. Kicked. Bit . . . .but still, She needed me. 
That next winter she dragged me through the snow as I tried to halter break her. I chased her around the pasture for hours at a time trying to catch her. 
January she went to the trainers. He basically made her worse than before--- now I couldn't get within ten feet of her without her running. She was saddlebroke; but green. 
My second ride on her resulted in a headlong jump into the snow. 
She was the bucking carousel pony of my dreams. 
In 2007 I had accomplished breaking her to halter, I could ride her half-ways, and she 'almost' fully trusted me. Summer 07 I spent chasing her around the pasture again, getting bucked off, wrestling with her feet, crying because she didn't trust me. 
Then something happened. I got horse savvy. I worked Parelli with my horse. 
We grew a bond--- an understanding. To her I was safety, and she was to me a sense of hope. 
She was my only friend. 
Spring 08: If I called, she would answer in her deep,throaty neigh. A light shone in her eyes. A light called love. When I puckered, she would lift her muzzle to my lips for kisses. Her eyes closed at a gentle touch or word. 
Now I am the only rider for this mare. Anyone else who climbs on her will ten seconds later end up on the ground. I get on, bareback, she lowers her head and sighs. 
I've been thru hell--- but then so has she. 
We came out together. I have the trust I have been looking for all these years. The love only an Arab can give.


----------



## PiccoloGoat (Sep 10, 2008)

*Re: My Jinah*

That amazing, its like a story from a fantasy book! :horse: 
:hug:


----------



## Sonrise Farm (Sep 18, 2008)

*Re: My Jinah*

I just can't believe how long it took for her to trust me. Like almost three years. I have thought of selling her time and time again and it finally hit me, "I am never going to get rid of Jinah!!: for the simple reason that she truly is 'my' horse . . .I'm expecting a 2009 foal: any really cool names? Her dad's name is Twister and her reg. name is R.S. Windchimes. . . Jinah means 'wind' as well . . . like the Black Stallion's dam 'Jinah Al Tayr' which means 'wings of a bird' in arabic . . .


----------



## AlaskaBoers (May 7, 2008)

so parelli worked majic? i hear they are very good horsemen, would these practices work with goats ya think?


----------



## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Talitha....That is a beautiful memory, thank you for sharing.


----------



## Sonrise Farm (Sep 18, 2008)

hehe, alaskaboers. Not magic horse savey. As for working with goats . . .you can try. :shrug:


----------



## FarmGirl18 (Oct 5, 2007)

Good job writing, Talitha, really held my interest.


----------



## Sonrise Farm (Sep 18, 2008)

thanks. I meant it with all my heart. In case you guys haven't noticed, I love my horse!!! I'll post a pix of her tomorrow.


----------



## Muddy Creek Farm (Oct 5, 2007)

I had a mustang mare once, she had some arab in her. We rescued her from a meat horse auction, she had been caught from the wild before being brought there. And she had that same quality about her as you describe. That was a really great story, she sounds perfect for you and vice versa.


----------



## heavenlyhaven (Apr 17, 2008)

what is parelli?

i have a similar story
arabian that was gelded late in life and acted like a stallion
i was the only one who could ride him
someone almost raped me once in my barn
Saber reached over top of me and literally took a chunk out of his shoulder
unfortunately
my story doesnt end so well
i was young and we had to move and no longer had room for livestock
:sigh:


----------



## AlaskaBoers (May 7, 2008)

okay not magic, horse savvy, and i cant spell today. i'm having one of those blonde days. 

great writing , made me feel that i was there.

heavenly haven - that is terrible, but you had a good horse. your lucky the horse was there.


----------



## Sonrise Farm (Sep 18, 2008)

God was with you that day, Heavenly haven--- I like to imagine my animals as my 'guardians'.


----------



## Sonrise Farm (Sep 18, 2008)

Oh yes, parelli is a horsemanship method--- you can acquire a Homestudy for like $400 bucks. He has a webpage: parelli.com I think . . .


----------



## mystic's_mom (Oct 5, 2007)

Wow, she was definitely a project horse, huh? 

My current boy, Pride, was one of those as well; I spent a year just on ground work before getting on him, even though they said he was ready to ride when I bought him. Unfortunately, he was so messed up in the head, and had so little confidence in human handlers, that there was no way I was going to even consider getting on him. He even went over fences to try and get away from me or anyone else; and one bad boarding experience set us even further behind. When I did get him to a different 'home' he was alone, which was a good thing, because then he had to really rely on me for everything; food, water, and companionship. From there our progress was actually progress; although there were many many days that I pondered whether I had gotten the right horse, because it seemed like we had to go back and work on the same things over and over again. Slowly though, progress was made, and late in the first year I had him, I finally decided he was ready to be ridden. We really haven't looked back after that first year, but he is still very selective of who he trusts; my last boarding facility, even after being there for months, Pride still wouldn't allow himself to be caught by the BOs...so I decided that in his best interests he needed to find a different facility in which he would trust the owners. The place that he is at now couldn't be a better situation; he trusts the owners, and they absolutely love his ground manners.


----------

