Scout’s Story
Scout’s Story
Scout was born in the Cariboo. He grew up in a huge field with one other little colt. The woman who had him was afraid of him. He was a big, strong colt and she was nervous to try to ride him. She decided to sell him. This was the kindest thing she could have done for him. She taught him good things like how to pick up his feet and how to be saddled, but she stopped trying to train him. A lot of good young horses can get treated really poorly when someone who is afraid of them tries to train them.
At the time, I was really hoping to find a horse I could compete on. I drove up to Clinton to look at Scout and loved him. He was inquisitive and gentle and seemed to want to try for me (he would offer behaviours when I asked for things he didn’t know until he figured it out).
Scout turned out to be a pretty easy horse to get along with. He never did anything mean and picked up new skills pretty quickly. He was a bit “looky” (he would need to look at things that were new or made him nervous to suss it out before moving along) and noticed everything, but he never did much about it. He would sometimes rest his nose in my palm and if I stood still for long enough, he would sleep with the weight of his nose in my hand.
One day when Scout was about 5 and was going along pretty well, I decided to take him out for a trail ride. We loaded some horses up in the trailer and headed out. But on the way down to the trail, a car cut off our trailer and the driver had to brake hard. When we checked on the horses, it was clear that Scout had hit his head hard. Horses tend to sort of hide how hurt they are, so even though I could see that he’d hit the roof pretty hard, he seemed to shake it off. Over time this accident would catch up with us.
I didn’t think much about Scout’s hit to the head until we started to do some more technical riding and I started to take Scout out to some more high pressure environments. He became more and more uncomfortable. He didn’t like to have the saddle put on and even getting brushed seemed to cause him discomfort. I sought medical advice at this point and no one could really figure out what was going on. It turned out to be several things and the hunch was that they all traced back to pain. He still gets uncomfortable from time to time, but I now know how to catch it early and get him taken care of.
Animals are strange when it comes to pain. They will not necessarily show you that something is wrong. They may even try to hide it. Once we got through all of the medical issues, I still thought I might be able to turn Scout into the athlete I was hoping for. However, it quickly became clear that speed events were not in Scout’s future. It was a hard realization for me, but I had to let go of my own agenda, my own hopes and plans. That’s the thing about having an animal as your teammate, it’s your job to find out what game you’re going to play together.
Scout loves being outside, he likes to go on adventures (especially if the adventure includes a snack or two) and he loves kids, so a new plan started brewing in my mind. I started thinking about how I could include Scout in my work as a counsellor. I started getting training in working with horses in a therapeutic capacity, and Scout and I have really hit our stride as a team.
Who he is connects so well to so many people’s stories. He can be anxious about new things, but overcomes his anxiety quite easily (unless a cow turns around to face him, that is one thing he’s never getting over!). He can be demanding, but will respect clearly set boundaries. He can be sweet, but is also sometimes stand-offish. He can be brave, but not always. He has experienced misunderstanding, unrealistic expectations, discomfort and finally understanding. He is annoying and kind. He is careful and attentive. He’s his own being and I am forever grateful that I get to have him in my life and share him with so many.
