Ein guter Junge

Sienna Duncan, a new client, had called me and brought her horse Popy.

Gillian: “Good morning, I’m Gillian. This must be Popy.”

Sienna: “Good morning, yes — that’s him. I’m Sienna. You’re my lifesaver!”

We took Popy into the round pen first.

Gillian: “Tell me — what exactly is Popy’s problem?”

Sienna: “Buying Popy was a dream come true. It was love at first sight. He’s usually well behaved, but then suddenly he starts bucking, kicking, or rearing. It’s like a switch flips.”

She rode a few rounds in the pen — and suddenly Popy exploded. Sienna barely managed to stay on.

Sienna: “See?! That’s exactly what I mean. We’re riding calmly and then it just happens. It scares me.”

Popy stayed with us for now. Sienna had bought him at a horse market during a western event. The seller had assured her he was well trained. Sienna had already fallen so badly a few times that she needed medical attention. I didn’t feel great about it — but I really wanted to help her. I had a lot of riding experience, but no professional training background. Now I had to ride him myself. I felt uneasy, but I had to clear my head so my nerves wouldn’t transfer to Popy. He was curious and people-oriented — that was obvious right away. While grooming and saddling him, we even fooled around a bit, which helped me relax.

Gillian: “Alright Popy, let’s see what makes you launch into the air.”

He was very well behaved. Just as I was about to praise him — the words “good boy” barely out of my mouth — he exploded. Bucking hard. Eventually I couldn’t hold on and fell. Ouch. Wesley and the vet had been watching and rushed over immediately. I was still lying on the ground, a bit dazed.

Vet: “Gillian, are you okay? Stay down.”

Gillian: “I’m fine. I think I urgently need to make a phone call.”

I called Mr. Brixton — Popy’s seller.

Gillian: “Mr. Brixton, you sold your horse Popy to Sienna Duncan. He’s having some serious issues… can you tell me anything about that?”

Mr. Brixton: “I suspected this would happen when she bought him. She didn’t want to hear his story, even though I tried to explain. How is Popy? Let me tell you — he’s a good horse and never causes trouble.”

Mr. Brixton had owned Popy since birth. Popy was trained western-style and worked as a ranch horse for years. When the ranch had to be sold, Mr. Brixton looked for work where he could take Popy with him. They became rodeo clowns. He taught Popy to buck and kick whenever he said “good boy.” They were very successful in their shows. Suddenly, everything made sense. “Good boy” was Popy’s trigger word. So I started defusing it.

Gillian: “Good boy — yes, that’s calm. When I say ‘good boy’ and you stay relaxed, you get another bite of carrot.”

Popy learned quickly, and soon it worked beautifully. I called Sienna so she could try it herself.

Sienna: “Gillian, it works so well. Come on, my good boy… oops!”

Sienna was happy — but we agreed to replace “good boy” with “brave boy,” just to be safe. Mr. Brixton was right. Popy truly was a very good horse.