The Horses That Shape Us

Posted in: Featured, Horse Care, Horse Training, Ranch Life

There are horses we ride for a short time, there are horses we ride till they pass, there are horses we sit on once and never see again and then there are the horses that shape us. Shape us as human beings, as riders, horse trainers, men and women; they shape who we are and who we will become. Those horses are special, they aren’t in passing or for a time, they are a part of us. Commonly called heart horses, these horses are animals that we will never forget no matter how long they are with us. I’ve rode many different horses over the years. Some when I was young that taught me how to ride, some after having babies that felt like they held my hand as I changed, many horses I’ve rode that belong to others as a colt starter, but a few horses have stuck out in my mind deeply. 

Nic, the very first colt I started, bought and sold. He was a gangly, homely, sorrel unstarted three year old gelding. He had been set aside as a two year old because at that time he was very small, but as a three year old he became all legs. I had just moved out to a ranch in South Dakota, to become a colt starter. Twenty-one years old, never really having messed with colts a whole lot, I was eager, determined and fell off a lot. My bosses at the time offered to let me start a colt by myself and we could sell him as partners at the end of the summer. I initially picked a different colt, but was quickly humbled by the fact that an unstarted four year old was too much for me. Nic seemed to pick me, on the back burner for that ranch, but he stole my heart quickly. He was willing, kind and only bucked me off twice, which at that time was a MASSIVE win. 

At the end of the summer we decided it was time to sell and I didn’t feel like I was done with him. I bought out their half and that horse moved with me twice, before I was ready to sell. When I started my job working under a cowhorse trainer, I had some interest in Nic through the barn from a local barrel racer. Though I didn’t really want to part with him, I knew it was time. Nic taught me to be tough, to be brave, to not let people look down on you just because you aren’t the best looking colt in the barn. He showed me heart and try and at the end of the day that one colt launched me into the horse training and selling business. 

After selling Nic, I knew I wanted to get a cowhorse colt to try and take to the showpen, in walked Moxie. She was the cutest little, red roan filly, sent to be trained at the barn I was working at. I loved her style, her stop and her gritty, little attitude, an attribute I would later struggle with as her trainer. I had never shown a cowhorse before her, but I knew I wanted to. I pushed that little filly as hard and as far as she would let me; sometimes probably too far. That was a lesson she taught me, you can go too far on a colt. The first time her and I stepped into a show arena, I felt at home. Every mistake was a confirmation that I was trying, every missed cow a testimony to the fact that you have to show up in the ugly. After a few attempts and some vet bills, Moxie and I took home first place at a junior cowhorse show. I felt like I had won the lottery, walking out of that show, knowing I had showed up in a big way on my little red roan, filly. Now this mare has become a forever horse on our ranch. Now used for heeling, ranching and breeding she is producing some our ranch’s future athletes. Because of her I learned to stick with the horses that are a little more hard headed, that sometimes you can go too far and that you showing up takes grit.

 Pilgrim, my husband’s horse that helped me learn to rope, rocked my first baby to sleep during many rides on the ranch, is a horse that has more heart than any horse I’ve ever rode. When I showed up in Montana, after working many cowhorses and colts, I could barely swing a rope, let alone have the nerve to compete at a jackpot. Pilgrim took me from roping a dummy at home to some of the most fun arenas down in Arizona. The thing about this horse though isn’t his athletic abilities, his flashy color or the fact that anyone could rope off him with ease, Pilgrim is one of the best because he was the only horse I felt safe riding after having my first baby. He is surefooted, sound minded and he knows the difference between a roping pen and a mama with her baby strapped to her chest. My daughter took most of her naps on him, strapped on mama’s chest, Montana cattle calling in the background; he is our safe-haven. My husband and I had no intention of selling him, but one day it felt right, God opened the right doors and he went on the help a local gal, go far in her roping career. This horse is forever a part of me, showing me how to ride with littles in tow as life changes, he showed up for me at my most vulnerable and I will always love him for that. As a horsemen, we eat, sleep and breathe good horses, but then we meet a few that become our course changers, our heart horses, the horses that shape us.

Posted in: Featured, Horse Care, Horse Training, Ranch Life


About Anna Foulger

Hey there! My name is Anna Foulger, I am a young mom of soon to be two; a toddler daughter and little boy on the way! Me and my husband ranch in Eastern Montana with his family and we love every minute! My background is in...

View all posts by Anna Foulger


Comments