Living with Multiple Sclerosis Part 3 - by Lisa L

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We were out with my daughter Lucy who was around 15 at the time and her big black cob Joe. Lucy had already started on a journey with Joe a year or so earlier, he was so insecure in himself and had obviously been through some kind of horse hell of his own then Lucy got a free DVD in one of her horse magazines, it was about some incredible natural horsemanship which made so much sense, work in partnership with your horse.

I had been around horses since I was 9 but had never really looked at the psychological side of things, now our view of horsemanship was about to change. Lucy and Joe learnt together and played together, he was stripped of all restraint and worked in and was handled in a rope halter. Joe and Lucy went from being unconfident to working as a team. I thought as I looked at my old boy, I would love to be at that stage with you. Solo’s knees healed really well but I did invest in a pair of leather knee boots and never took him out without them on again!

Solo had no brakes so to speak, his mouth had become so hard from the years of people pulling on him, he would just grit his teeth stick his nose out and go! He was only happy if he was in front of the other horses we rode out with, which was a problem for a horse his age. I was sure one day he would have a heart attack mid-flight and we would end up in a heap on the floor. I also had the added problem with my hands, they were affected by the MS and sometimes I would be riding along and not realise I was no longer holding my reins, I kept them knotted so when this happened they wouldn’t get caught under his legs! But I did feel I needed more ‘at one’ with my equine companion.

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Opening the packet of equipment my daughter had brought me for my birthday, I thought its now or never! Solo was his usual disinterested self as we fitted the halter and Lucy gave me a lesson on how to tie the 12 foot line through the halter to make reins but before I was even aloud up onto his back I had to get savvy with him. So armed with my horse in his halter, a 12 foot line and a tool, wand or carrot stick which ever you want to call it we move to the centre of the school. Lucy was working Joe out to the side of the school, Joe and Lucy moved with such grace it took your breath away, Joe watched for Lucy’s hidden signals and Lucy watched for Joe’s. People came from all over to see Lucy and Joe work together, the reputation of this fabulous horse was growing. I started to learn the games with Solo. He was so different to Joe and I had to apply a lot more pressure with Solo at the beginning, this was something I found hard to do.

I also had to remember to lift my energy or bring it down! To help Solo with the bending games I found having treats stuffed in my pocket helped, he would bend almost double for a bit of carrot. So as the weeks went by Solo was becoming more responsive, more flexible and more interested. I felt confident to get on my haltered horse. Solo learnt about how to deal with things. When he came from his old owner she had said he didn’t tie up and he didn’t! I tried once he just panicked, pulled back on the rope and sat down nearly strangling himself in the process. He spent his time wandering round the yard, a good plan on his part I thought but with some retraining from Lucy about pressure and yielding, he now tied up perfectly. Which was a godsend as he used to disappear and I’d end up having to fetch him back every time I wanted to do something with him. Sitting astride him with just a halter and one string looping from the loop underneath his chin I began my first natural ride. No bit in his mouth, no reins to steady myself this was truly a test of balance and trust. Lucy gave us a lesson and we followed behind her and Joe.

At first I just kept my legs and body still but after a few minuets I was throwing the string over Solo’s head so it was on the other side of his neck and we could change direction. Lucy taught me how to use my body to turn, stop and back him up. This was so much easier for me than the conventional riding I had been doing for years. Nothing was forced and Solo responded really well, I could stop him just by squeezing my buttocks and slow him by squeezing on one rope, asking one of his fore legs to slow down so all the other legs followed. Genius!! Lucy had been away on a camp course with Joe to study bare hoof management, Joe was so distressed at having mental shoes put on his hooves, bare foot was the way to go. He had soft hooves on spongy soles so Lucy had a lot of hard work getting then back to form but without shoes on his feet, he improved and slowly she was soon riding him miles bare foot, the tarmac roads helping to repair his hooves. So the next step for Solo and I was to go bare foot as well, I was so impressed with the change in Joe I was hoping it was the way to go with Solo… just another feather in the cap of making his life better. I took the plunge and had his shoes removed. I was amazed at the change, his head no longer stuck up in the air star gazing, his out line was long and low which meant I could now start work on building the muscles in his back along his spine which over the years had disappeared. He was a changed horse and a changed ride. So bit less and bare foot we pottered around the countryside looking in people’s gardens and generally having a good time together.

As the years went by and our relationship grew I couldn’t stand a day without seeing Solo. He would run over the fields when I called him and wicker when he heard me coming to his stable. I would bury my face in his old tatty hair and breath in the smell of horse but I could see he was getting tired, something in his eyes told me he was getting ready to sleep for a long time. December 2007 he stopped wanting the other horses near him, he was irritable and bad tempered, although still eating his hard feed he was dropping weight daily. As I stood with him in his stable, his eyes closed, his head nodding, as he seemed to drop in and out of sleep I thought it was near his time. Going home with a deep sadness settling in my stomach I new I would soon have to make the decision to help him on his way to eternal slumber. I spent as much time as I could with him over the next few weeks. Then on a frosty day mid January 2008, I gave Solo his last feed with the carrots and apples he loved. The knacker lorry rattled up the drive and the man got out, he came over to stroke Solo. “He’s more than ready love… a real old fellow.” He said to me as my eyes welled up with tears. We led Solo down to where the driver had parked the lorry, he picked at the grass as I said my last goodbye. I handed the lead rope over to the man and walked away. I heard one shot and Solo was no more.

I felt gratitude that I got to share part of my life with him and make his last years comfortable and happy, he was truly remarkable and he taught me so much about life. He was wiser than any person I know and I would love to have met him sooner somewhere in his 30 years of life.

 

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