The Horse That Chooses You

Julie Dickie of The Morgan Horse magazine asked me to submit a short essay to support the breed magazine's new by line: The Horse That Chooses You. This is the submission that will appear in the October issue. Thanks to Jackie and the staff at The Morgan Horse and the American Morgan Horse Association.

The Major General [Black River Major x Whitmorr Topaz] Black Morgan stallion and his human, Michelle Blackler

The first time I saw The Major General, he stuck his neck [which at times seems to be retractable] out of his stall and stopped me in my tracks. He looked at me with a deeply penetrating sentience that said, “You are mine.” From that moment, I have belonged to him. Major is one part Medici, one part Mick Jagger, one part Charlie Chaplin, one part Edward Cullen. His beauty is defined by his sense of humor, his dorkiness, his athletic prowess, his creativity. Defying gravity with his frolicking or expressing his perfectly timed comic genius, I often believe my only purpose in life is to witness his virtuosity. To watch him play games [complete with structure and rules] with his first born foal or stand sentinel over his goats is like living alongside a legend. Thank you for choosing me, Major. You have made my life much less ordinary.

Michelle Blackler driving The Major General at the Harvest Moon Carriage Classic, Living History Farms, Urbandale, IA.

Kind Regards,

Michelle Blackler

Serendipity

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Serendipity is an Accidental Sagacity Corporation Company

Serendipity Strategies for Carriage Driving Obstacles

Accidental Sagacity for The Day

1. Know Your Course

2. Know Your Horse

3. Love Your Horse

That is oversimplification, I know, but it's true.

This photo of The Major General and I at the Harvest Moon Carriage Classic in Urbandale, IA, shows something important that I harp on about all the time. Carriage driving clients of mine will say, "Michelle! You are dropping your shoulder!"

Yes, slightly. And notice that Major is slightly dropping his shoulder to mirror me. It is incredibly hard to drive a cones course on a hillside in the gig without dropping your shoulder, but this is what happens. This is why we placed fourth or fifth or whatever.

Second thing I say that sounds like a broken record: Look where you are going so your horse knows where he's going. I know he has blinkers on, but they KNOW. See, Major knows where he's going, he's looking at exactly what I'm looking at. He mirrors me.

Mirroring is a topic that too few people are aware of in their relationship when training horses. It can elevate you from a competent horseman to a remarkable one. It takes a study of body awareness both of the person and the horse. It takes commitment to the process both physically, mentally and emotionally. I constantly work to achieve the level of brilliance that my horses attain. The mirror works both ways.

A photo is worth so many words...