Meet the fam, Part 2: “Willow” is a huge blessing in a tiny body.

During the young-horse handling class, the first time Willow was caught, Brent had to rope her. It was the gentlest way to catch what was essentially a wild horse. But look at that trot ... is it not cute?

Maybe in a past life, “Willow” was a journalist, too. This 3-year-old sure has a lot of stories to tell … but for now, let’s start with the story of how she came into my life.

Her background: She traces to Doc Bar on top and bottom, is closely related to National Cutting Horse Association money-earners, and to Baileys Copper Doc, the two-time AQHA-Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association heeling horse of the year, who was bred by the same longtime breeder as Willow.

But I knew none of that when I first saw her. I just saw a scraggly, scared little filly with a huge distrust of humans.  

Remember the young-horse handling class I was in when “Zen” was born in 2006? Well, I took that class again in 2007 because there’s so much to learn there. Under the tutelage of AQHA Professional Horseman Brent Graef, we were paired with untouched yearlings and, in the span of six days, we had them leading up nicely, loading easily in a trailer and politely picking up their feet, among many other things. The lessons I learned – about feel, about softness and about seeing things from a horse’s point of view – were applicable to horses of any age, and those 12 days (the 2006 and 2007 classes) were among the best I’ve ever spent. (Visit Brent’s Web page and scroll down toward the bottom to see a video explaining the young-horse class. Willow and I make cameo appearances!)

Brent has a real knack for reading personalities – both the equine and human varieties – and so when he pairs up the students with yearlings, it’s interesting to see which horse he picks for which human. Some of the yearlings are headstrong and willful; others are frightened and withdrawn. My match in 2007 was Willow, and it’s hard to say whose walls were built higher at first. Mine were: I will not get attached to this horse. I have plenty of horses at home already, I don’t need any more, and this one isn’t going to get to me. This is a training gig. It’s good experience for me, and it’ll get her off to a nice start, wherever she ends up. Hers were similar: She had zero intentions of latching onto me, or any other two-legged beast.

Have you ever been sitting in church and felt like the preacher was talking directly to you, like he must have been reading your mind? Well, that was me when Brent began talking about how if you want your horse to open up to you, you have to open up to your horse. You want your horse to put his walls down? Put yours down first.

More than a year later, Willow has matured into a lovely young lady.

So the guarded little filly didn’t want to trust me, eh? It’s probably not a coincidence that when I put down my defenses, she did too. It was a big step for both of us, and well, you already know how the story ends. We’re continuing our journey together, and it is cool beyond words.

Willow is a tad shy of 13 hands (thank goodness I’m “vertically challenged,” too!), but don’t tell her she’s small. Her heart – and her spunk – are huge. She’s full of curiosity, spirit and verve.

My challenge as I’ve continued her training is to preserve that spark. The last thing I want is a horse who’s had the curiosity beaten out of her – even in subtle ways. So, for example, if we’re walking somewhere and she asks to check something out, we do. “I’m in a hurry” doesn’t have any place here. But more on this later. Willow will be started under saddle soon, and I’m quite certain she has many more lessons to teach me. Stay tuned …

Happy riding!
Holly Clanahan
Editor, America’s Horse magazine

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