Learning experiences

I had a conversation yesterday with a girl whose horse has been experiencing lameness issues for quite a while now. She said a recent diagnosis indicated that the lameness would be a continuing problem, and that surgery was possible but would be expensive and might not be successful. Her family opted not to do the surgery and to try to find him a good home to hang out at. She has owned the horse for less than a year; I could only imagine the disappointment that she must be feeling.

It made me think of the trying times - big and small - that we've experienced with horses over the years. Buster, Katie's first lease horse, was sent back to the farm he'd come from when the stable we were riding at decided they couldn't use him. It was a sudden decision, we were not informed until the last minute, and he was basically loaded on the trailer immediately after she had a lesson on him, and off he went. Lots of tears of disappointment after that event (and a private vow by Horse Mom never to be at the mercy of someone else through a lease!).

There was Dude's hip injury. A prognosis that a year's time off would heal the injury, which for the kid meant an adjustment in plans, with no show season for two seasons, lots of hand walking, lots of time doing the care end of things.

Then there were the little things. Like the horse deciding to act up in a class, the horse losing a shoe right before a show, the horse going lame before a show.

In thinking about these situations, I considered how much my kids learned through all of these experiences, and really, how wonderful it was as a parent to watch that learning process, even though it was disappointing or heart-breaking at times. Compassion, responsibility, patience, flexibility, leadership, and invaluable "people skills" developed through interaction with other horse-crazy kids, and adults in their roles as boarders, barn managers, trainers, farriers and veterinarians.

While it was sad news about the horse in our barn, I definitely admired his young owner's ability to talk knowledgeably and confidently about her horse's condition and the plan the family had been considering for him.