Ein vierhufiger Therapeut

A few days ago, a new training horse arrived at Meadowland. He had settled in well — and now it was time to begin.

Gillian: “Claire, could you start with Thorn today? He knows lunging, but that’s about it. We can use the riding arena over the next few days — it’s free.”

Claire: “I’ll pack everything I need and load Thorn into the trailer. Then we’re ready.”

Thorn was a four-year-old Tennessee Walking gelding. He belonged to a rehabilitation farm that specialized in working with people with physical disabilities. With his calm and steady temperament, he showed great potential for therapy work. At Meadowland, he was to be backed. Afterward, he would continue his education at a specialized therapy training stable before eventually working with people at the rehab farm. In the arena, we first led Thorn around and let him move freely for a while so he could get used to the unfamiliar surroundings.

Claire: “We’ll start by getting him used to the saddle pad. I let him smell it first, and now I’m gently running it over his neck and back. If he accepts that, I’ll carefully place it on.”

Gillian: “Well, he definitely likes the taste of it — judging by how much he’s been nibbling on it.”

Thorn accepted the saddle pad without hesitation. He could be led and lunged with it easily. The next day, Claire suggested we begin introducing weight to his back. She filled a sack with hay and a little oats. Thorn was allowed to smell it first. Distracted by the delicious scent, he barely noticed when Claire placed the sack on his back. He stayed calm — though at first he kept trying to reach the tasty contents. It worked surprisingly well. Even when he tried to sneak a bite of the hay, the weight itself didn’t seem to bother him at all. Claire led him without even turning around. Every now and then, she simply asked:

Claire: “Everyone still there? Sack still on?”

We walked lap after lap around the arena — first at walk, then at trot. When Claire suggested trying a canter as well, I officially went on strike… I was exhausted! So she decided that was enough for the day. The following day, we introduced the saddle.

Claire: “See how curious he is? Once he’s had a good sniff, we’ll carefully place it on. We’ll leave the girth off for now.”

Two days later—

Claire: “Isn’t it incredible how quickly he’s learned? He’s so calm. He’ll make a wonderful therapy horse.”

We had already made great progress. Thorn could now be lunged fully saddled and bridled. He cooperated with everything so willingly. Now it was time for him to experience a rider’s weight and learn how to balance himself with someone on his back. Not entirely without risk — but for Claire, it seemed like routine.

Claire: “For now, I’ll just apply light pressure to his back. I’ll increase it gradually and lean gently over him. Only when he accepts that calmly will I carefully mount.”

Gillian: “Please be careful, Claire.”

That was our goal for the day. Claire gradually increased the weight on Thorn’s back, leaned across him, applied pressure to the stirrups — and eventually, she was able to mount. We took many breaks in between and allowed Thorn to move freely. He stayed calm and even sought out our closeness. That was exactly what we wanted. We didn’t want to make a single mistake. The rider had to become something positive in his mind. Claire succeeded. She trained Thorn in all gaits so he could learn to balance himself properly with a rider and understand the aids given to him. When Claire finally decided that Thorn was ready to continue his education elsewhere, I called his owner.

Owner: “Gillian, thank you so much. You’ve done a wonderful job. Thorn will now move on to his therapy training.”

Gillian: “Claire has done something truly remarkable. We were very careful not to overstrain him. He will become a reliable therapy horse.”

Claire: “Not just me — Thorn did something remarkable too!”

Thorn’s training was something very special to us. One day, he would take on a role that perfectly matched his gentle character.