I sent my Thoroughbred gelding, Chase, to live with Vickie Montgomery. I was only expecting to have a nice place for my horse to retire in the company of other retirees. He was not really old enough to retire, but I had been unable to train him to be a safe ride for me and so I decided to buy another horse. Vickie then worked with Chase.

The main problems I had with Chase were:

1) spooking and bolting(one incident ended with me in an ambulance and trip to the ER)

2) very aggressive towards other horses,and

3) rushing fences in certain situations.

Other issues included a very “busy” mouth, rarely carrying the bit quietly. His mouth was busy even when he didn’t have a bit, i.e., when being lunged with a halter or being ridden with a hackamore.

Chase was also a “hard keeper” and I had to feed him a lot to keep weight on him and he often did not finish his hay, just scattered it all over his stall.

If he felt any pressure, i.e., was being led or lunged or ridden, he would not tolerate the proximity of any horse and would invariably kick out. If a horse walked by his stall, he would almost always rush at the bars of the stall, teeth bared, ears pinned and threatening.

What I observed when making the trips to work with Vickie was that my horse (now) appeared to me what I would call very quiet in his mind. He walked differently on the lead (slower and more relaxed) and he could attain a very relaxed state working in-hand in the arena.

I was also amazed when I saw Vickie lead him through a paddock among a couple of very active, large youngsters who were “all over” Chase wanting his attention and pushing at him and all the while he just followed Vickie’s lead through the pasture without any sign of anxiety or hostility.

I knew my horse had changed at a very fundamental level. Vickie patiently worked with me so I could learn first how to access a relaxed state myself and then be able to share it with my horse. In this aspect, Chase was already far ahead of me. I have enthusiastically jumped in, knowing that improving myself was going to allow me to have a great relationship with my horse. I greatly enjoyed working with Vickie, as she is patient but also energetic and always looking to make the process fun.

I mentioned the results that Vickie achieved working with Chase at The Yard. I have to admit I had some trepidation about bringing Chase back to the boarding barn near my home. I wasn’t sure if I could maintain the great progress Vickie had made and keep improving my relationship with my horse. But I could see the difference in Chase, again at a fundamental level, right away.

The most telling thing was when he had been in his stall for a few minutes, someone walked a horse past his stall, right in front of him and he only raised his head, had a look, and then went back to eating his hay! That was astounding. As I write this, Chase has been home a week and has not had even the slightest aggressive attitude towards horses walking past his stall. He has made fast friends with the horses stabled on either side of him. Not the picking and fussing kind of attitude he had before with neighbors but now truly affectionate and playful. Many people at the barn have commented on how “chill” he is. Chase had quite the reputation previously and I think not everyone was excited about him coming back. But now that they see his new personality, he is very popular.

I was so hopeful to find something that would allow me to connect with this wonderful horse and that I wouldn’t have to give up on him after all. I felt that Vickie took the time to get to know me, and really delve into how I was feeling and perceiving the process not just with my horse but with myself also.