As a horse trainer, and especially as a trainer working under someone like Jennifer Collman, I have had the oppertunity to help keep count of the numerous horses that might not have been saved had it not been for Jennifer ‘s lack of willpower to say ‘no’ when faced with a horse in a desparate situation. Now, looking back at my ten plus years of loyal servitude to Jen, our count has reached an even dozen. A few of the most memorable have been Poncho, now my favorite trail horse, who was hours away from being hauled off to slaughter after being labeled “dangerous”, and Kiss, a thoroughbred mare who was “vicious” who we rescued after hours of driving across Minnesota in the dead of winter. Her 8 month old colt, Mikey, was destined for the slaughter pen simply for having a slightly crooked foot that wouldn’t hold up to the rigors of race training. I knew we wouldn’t be leaving him behind, so after drving all the way to pick up the mare, Jen (of course) had to drive aaaaaaall the way back to pick up the colt. Mikey now lives in an equine rescue facility, and Kiss is in training for Grand Prix show jumping with her new owner. I won’t tell all of their stories here, many of you have heard them many times over.
We were able to save many remarkable and talented horses from a bullet by just turning the tables and letting them “talk” to us. Some people call us weird, some call us miracle workers. We like to call ourselves the horse psychologists. They talk, we listen. Every horse has a story, and better yet, a really good reason for behaving the way that they do. We work our magic to figure it all out, fix it, then we find them the perfect home. In some cases, that perfect home is right in our back yard, literally.
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| Vertical Limit |
The latest “pretty good for garbage” horse (as Jen has coined them) we have plucked from an uncertain future is a 5 year old Thoroughbred X Warmblood mare that I’ve named “Ve”. After seeing a free horse that was deemed “unpredictable”, “crazy”, and “spooky with alot of buck” advertised online, my first thought was “that sounds perfect”! After ten years with Jennifer, something told me that she would agree, and of course, she did, quite enthusiastically.
As Jen has told me many times, horses with a feirce competitive spirit, extreme power, gracefullness and athleticism are not easy. Horses like that are fighters. In the wrong hands, you’ve got a horse that will fight against you every step of the way. In the right hands, you’ve got a horse that will fight for you, fight with you… into anything you point them at. When I laid eyes on her, she marched into our presence like an empress. As I watched the way she arrogantly strutted down the barn aisle, raised her body up and looked down at the rest of the world, I knew that this was one of those once-in-a-lifetime horses.
So, for one dollar (just to make the sale official), I picked her up not knowing exactly what I was going to get. What I got was a pretty bay mare with one white coronet sock, a cute head, and near perfect conformation. I also got a big floaty trot and a jump that makes people’s jaws drop. And, I also got a horse that maxed out 6 foot jump standards… yeah, I know, right?! The light was shining down from the heavens, the angel’s choir was singing, and I was drooling a puddle in the arena sand…
The mare that I got for one dollar, who was deemed crazy and unpredictable, was sadly misread. I have had her since October 24th and in seven days, we have already shown at our first show. Ve continues to surprise and amaze me and already I’m learning more from her than I had ever anticipated. I knew I was willing to wait years to find the perfect horse to become my grand prix prospect, but it just goes to show, you don’t have spend a fortune. Maybe you just need to give one horse a second chance.
— Staci Gust