Over the past year, my children have fallen in love with riding horses. Horses are amazing creatures. They require a lot of respect and trust. So what happens when the trust is broken? Well, another life lesson happens.
Sims on Willy
We had two new horses and riders with us. Sims’ horse was a little out sorts. He likes to be the leader on the trails, which he was not on this day. Willy, the horse, took off a couple of times and Sims started to get frustrated (a rare thing for Sims on Willy). At the end of trail, we had to head back through the cow pasture.
Now typically, the cows simply move out of the way. On this day, however, the cows were interested in us. We had to actually move the herd just to open the gate. Well, when Willy and Sims went through the gate, Willy went nuts. He ran right through the pasture and knocked into a tree hurling Sims backwards. Sims hit the ground with a thud, and Willy was running for his life.
15 minutes he ran wild.
When we finally got Willy calmed down and Sims settled, we all walked back to the barn and into the arena. Sims was initially refusing to get back up on the horse but eventually he agreed to get back on and walk around the arena.
Since that day, Sims is having a tough time trusting Willy. In fact, last week, Jasper (“Parks'” horse) got spooked and Willy began to run. Sims jumped off of Willy while he was running and was on the other side of the fence before any of us even realized it.
Time. It will take time and patience. Trust is built. Trust requires you to give your self whole-heartedly. We have spoken a lot about trust and how hard it is to earn back someone’s trust. I hate that Sims had the experience, but it has been a amazing lesson in trust.
Simple Days Make for an Exciting Adventure 
I understand his fear. When I was about 9 or 10 years old, a friend offered to let me ride her pony. It was my first experience on any type of pony/horse and I was excited and nervous. Her dad got me situated on the pony and that darned animal ran straight to the fence, rubbing up against the fence until I fell off.
Fast forward to my teen years and I was with the same friend. By now, of course, she had graduated to owning a horse and once again I wanted to give it a try. While I didn’t get knocked off the horse, I ended up on the ground once again. A longer fall for sure.
About 1 1/2 years ago, I began taking riding lessons with my girls. It helped me to better understand how a horses mind works, but I never completely learned to trust my horse. The movies make it look much easier than it actually is and once we move, I hope to get back into riding. I’m determined to conquer realized that the movies make horseback riding the fear of childhood experiences.
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Thank you for sharing your story! I think that the fall itself was devastating for Sims. But even worse than the fall was that “his” horse ran him into a tree. He trusted that Willy would take care of him so he was/is horrified that the horse took off. I think this was the first time he has experienced a true loss of trust in someone/thing.
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That is a hard lesson. But a life lesson. I hated learning that lesson, although it was with people and not horses. All the same lesson…
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I hated learning it too. It is difficult to watch your kiddo learn it. Agreed. All the same lesson. All the same feelings- animal or human.
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