Monday, February 16, 2009

A Thank You I Can't Express

     I sat thinking about how amazing Quinn was at my last lesson. Or, at my first even. He is everything that I had secretly dreamed he would always be, but never thought could happen. Thank-you just feels so empty compared to what I really feel. You made my horse my best friend; that deserves more than a thank you.

    When you are pondering a crazy stunt as a rider or even a trail ride, the first horse you think about having under you is your horse. Unfortunately, that was not the case with me and Quinn. I feel ashamed to say this, but I was not proud of us as a team. Everyone would always say, "Do you want to go bareback riding. Well, after you're done with Quinn."

    Dan Keen, you are a miracle worker. You took my insane little Thoroughbred and turned him into a horse that I would never want to get off of. I used to get everything out of the way before I cantered him to the left, because after I would, I had no more control. Now, that is the furthest thing from the truth. I can warm-up, stop, then canter if I want, then trot a bit, then jump, stop , then trot some more. It doesn't matter, because as long as I do what you've taught me, Quinn will respect me and always be ready and want to do what I tell him.

    After reading some the posted e-mails on your web site, I couldn't believe that you were for real. I would tell myself, "There horse isn't Quinn. They probably snapped at people a bit and that was the end of it." But, I figured to myself that anything was better than what I had, so I gave it a shot.

    To say I am pleased with the results is such an understatement that it is almost as if I was lying. My Quinn is a different horse. You understand horses so well. I too was taught all those things about not stopping a horse before a jump, to have a set warm-up routine, but obviously that was all junk because that wasn't working. Sure, your methods are crazy at the least to most but they really aren't because I am not the only one who understands the functionality of it.

    IT WORKS!

    They are exercises in which once you are shown the logic of it, are the greatest tools that can be used on horses. Just what you told me on the first day about not feeding Quinn by hand or about petting him made absolute sense.

    I am ever-so thankful for what you have done to my horse, but more importantly how you taught me to ride and handle him. You didn't just 'fix' him and then hand him back to me, no you taught me what you taught him so that we could only go forward.

    Thank you a million times Dan Keen, though I will never be able to thank you enough.

 

Newly Found,
Vanessa and Quinn