My Boy Berhwood

It has been seven years since the fateful day when Berhwood came down from Oregon for his vet check.  His name was "Will" and he was 18 months old.   He failed the vet check, because he came up lame on the flex tests for both front legs. The vet didn't want to do the rear, because it was pointless.   A horse his age should not fail the flex test!  I won't hash through the details of what transpired after I decided to keep him anyway.  All I know is I saw something in him, and I signed the contract, much to the horror of everyone around me at the time. 

Walking between two bull kelp.

I'm not a gambling person.   And I definitely would not recommend purchasing a horse that fails a vet check.   But I am not sorry I forked over the $800 plus $200 delivery for Ber.  Today, he is the horse that I thought he could become. This summer has been Ber's summer.  Once he got his very first set of shoes the first week of July, he took the world by storm and hasn't looked back.

One day, we went to the beach.   It was a nice mid-day, slightly foggy but not cold.   Ber set out confidently across the dunes. We came to a length of bull kelp laying across his chosen path.  He looked at it, and set out  confidently across the bull kelp.I could hear him saying, "Oh, I know what that is.   I've been here before, no problem!"  Knowing Ber as I do, I sank deep in my stirrups and kept myself light and secure and confident.  Good thing.  The second his right front hoof touched the kelp, Ber shot straight up into the air--must have been 3 feet.  After reaching the top of his leap, he angled forward to land in the clear sand just in front of the offending kelp.   He stood square, looked to the left, looked to the right, gave a little shake, and walked on as if nothing had happened.

I, too, rode on as if nothing happened, and I looked around in case someone was near by so I could ask them how high he jumped.  Sadly, no one saw Ber's leap.   About ten strides later, the delayed adrenaline rush hit, and my knees went weak.  Phew, what a sky ride!    I still wonder what it was that set him off. Did the kelp pop under his weight?  Or did it sink in the sand?  Perhaps it was the slippery texture.  I do know that I need to take him down with a long lead rope and let him explore the plants, sand, and surf a bit, without a rider or saddle, so he can "own" these things. However, it says a lot to me about how far he's come that he was that matter-of-fact about "killer kelp."
 

Checking out the competition.

A few weeks ago, we had another monumental milestone in Ber's training: cantering on the beach.  Ever since he got shoes, his ability to move "forward" and with energy has skyrocketed.   His trot is big and full, he over steps by several inches, and he no longer "falls" into his downward transitions as much as before.  He had never cantered under saddle, and cantering on the lunge line took exhausting levels of encouragement.  After getting his shoes, as we rode around the property where my horses live, Ber would canter up slopes--at first only when he felt like it, and then when asked.  A few times, I had cantered him a few strides, or even a full circle, on our flat exercise area at the pasture.  Sadly, his canter felt more like bucking.  He cantered like a rocking horse, throwing his front end down, in order to pull his hind end up, and then shoving his hind end down in order to throw his front end back up.  Poor guy.   We kept at it, though, knowing that it could get better with more practice.  Meanwhile, his trot and walk were becoming lovely.

Trail blazing an overgrown old highway.

The stronger he got, the more willing he was to canter.   So three weeks ago, at the beach on a perfect low tide that had left a flat firm surface, I asked him to canter.  He did, and he cantered his way into a nice canter.  I could hear him saying, "Wow, this is great. This feels Great!  I want to canter More!"  Like a young rider who wants to do nothing but canter after his first try.   He dropped down into a trot, and had a fairly magnificent forward trot.  After walking a bit, we picked up the other lead and cantered some more.     I'm not sure who was prouder, Ber or me.

Since that day, cantering has become a regular thing at the beach, as well as on the flats around the pasture. Ber is a cantering fool!. I can't wait for Stuart to visit, so we can have some photo proof!

That's Ber and Em on the wave slope.

Somehow, against the odds, Ber has grown into this handsome, strong, brave gelding.  I couldn't have asked for a better outcome.   I know it sounds so cliche, but he makes my heart swell every time I see him.    He is the horse I hoped he would become, and he encourages and motivates me to become the best riding partner I can be, for him..