Author: GPadmin24

My dream is to ride Zum on beautiful trails in the deserts of Arizona and in the mountains of New Mexico. When I first bought Zum in August of 2018, I wanted to offer the best of myself to Zum and see if he could offer the best of himself to me. Negative trainers along the way traumatized Zum and told me Zum is naughty and disrespectful. It feels like my original idea to train Zum with love and reward may fail. Zum doesn’t like humans very much and I am a human. My girlfriend in Santa Fe thinks I should sell Zum. Zum has his good days and his bad days. On his bad days, I am very discouraged. But I am trying to make every failure with Zum into a steppingstone to success. Instead of telling myself that I have failed with Zum, I am trying to remember that I haven’t yet succeeded.

Zum loves to crowd me and take over my space. I need to teach him to respect where I stand and to allow me room to breathe in peace. I don’t want to yell at him or hit him. This approach is the coward’s way to discipline a horse. And it doesn’t work. It only starts a fight and the coward is the loser. The best way is to ask Zum to back away and reward him when he does. If he doesn’t obey me, I have learned that there is nothing wrong with firmly pushing his body out of my way. I can also make a loud growling sound to show my displeasure with his behavior.

I also want to show Zum that I am confident. The more I show him that he cannot push me around, the better he feels about me. We both need to build confidence in each other.

The racehorse trainer has taught me that I don’t know how to discipline Zum. I know how to show Zum how to do things, like put ropes around his ears when Zum doesn’t want his ears to be touched. I know how to reward Zum, praise him and love him. But when Zum disobeys, I really am at a loss. I know how to discipline myself. But I need to be taught how to discipline Zum.

I am so grateful that my racehorse trainer friend is teaching me how to drive Zum in the round pen. This is the missing link between all the groundwork I have been doing with Zum and riding Zum on the trails. With driving, I am teaching Zum how to turn right and left with the reins but I am standing in the center of the round pen. The secret to driving is the tension and release of two long ropes that I hold with my hands. There is an art to it and I really am excited to learn something new. So is Zum!

I love riding Kamar in the desert in the winter! The sky is brilliant blue, the grass is emerald green and the views are heaven.

For over a year, I have easily put either a bridle with a snaffle bit or a hackamore on Zum’s head. Suddenly, Zum wants no part of a headstall anywhere near his head. So I am back to putting ropes around his ears to help him accept things on his head. I do not understand his sudden rejection of things he knows. Is he testing me? Is he just acting like a young and inexperienced colt? Or is this part of the learning process? Two steps forward and three steps backwards….

One time last winter when I led Zum while riding Huszar, it took me 45 minutes to get Zum to jump a walk over in the desert. Zum just refused to get close to the metal bar. After many repetitions and attempts, I am so happy that Zum can now march over the metal bar with no anxiety!

I have noticed that most the trail heads in the desert now have metal walk overs connected to fences. This is designed to discourage motorized vehicles from entering the Sonoran desert. So in preparation for the time that I will be riding Zum in the desert, I need to teach him to step up over a metal bar.

Zum relaxes when he knows that someone he trusts and likes is in charge. Respect deepens as I slowly, carefully and patiently introduce him to a world that holds little fear or concern and that offers him pleasure and affection on a daily basis. Zum follows me around the round pen when we are a team!