Guest Author - Susan Hopf
For those of you that have been following the articles concerning the Thoroughbred mare, Basa, it is time for an update. The articles are linked below if you have not read about this troubled yet resilient mare. In brief she is an ex-racehorse and has come to me with a great deal of baggage from the track as well as an unexplained incident that left her with, what I believe to be, permanent damage to her back.
The last few months have revealed a much more content mare than ever before. Work in hand and occasional lunging have created a stronger body and more focused mind. We have regained each other’s trust and I now feel that this lovely mare can have a long and untroubled life. The question about whether or not to try riding her again often creeps into my mind. Although I do not relish the thought of being ejected into the rafters by the bucking queen that is not my main concern. Her back was badly damaged in what I assume to have been an incident of flipping over backwards while on trial for purchase. This was several years ago and she will no longer be anyone’s horse but mine. What did actually occur was never fully divulged and is one of those moments in time that I wish I could replay for my own eyes – unfortunately this is not possible but what I do know is that since that time any attempt to even place a saddle upon her back has brought disastrous results – setting her on edge mentally and subsequently sending her physical improvement backwards until she decides that she can once again trust me enough to go back to work in hand.
I do not really care if she can never be ridden again as there is much satisfaction in the work in hand, but I do wonder if her life would be more interesting if we could explore the farther reaches of the property – she was on her way to becoming a nice lower-level event horse – not spooky and very brave over jumps. She always looked forward to new challenges and I do wonder if she misses that part of her life. The decision to place a saddle on her back (or not) is the current nagging question. We have come a long way back to a working relationship and the last time the saddle was contemplated she went deeper into that dark place she runs to when nothing is right in her world and lived with the demons that dwell there for a very long time – so do I dare risk another plunge into that abyss??
