My love for horses started very, very early in life. As a young girl growing up in the city of Royal Oak, Michigan, I constantly begged my father to take me to riding stables. Every Saturday morning, we’d get up by 6:00 AM so he would get me to the stables by the first 7:00 AM ride. When I turned 11, my dream of living near and working with horses came true. The family with which I had a baby sitting job owned a wonderful Thoroughbred gelding named “Timer.” Timer taught me how to ride. Our relationship started by him throwing me off several times in the morning, and then I would try and try again, and off I’d be every evening, too. With the patience that only a young girl who loved a horse had, I won his respect, attention and trust to finally let me ride him, even bareback.
When Timer’s family eventually moved away and throughout my teen years, I continued to ride horses with other families, and soon became a very good traditional rider, earning a name for myself as working with horses in a quiet and soft manner. I was asked by many owners of problem horses for help, and I did so willingly, learning and gaining much experience, and doing it my way. In my teens, I watched trainers working horses with the dust flying and horses resisting; I knew that there had to be a better way. I found a book called “The Nature of the Horse” by Margaret Cabell Self. Her theories confirmed what my instincts were telling me and why my methods worked so well. I felt validated and even more committed to learning the natural way of working with horses.
In my quest to learn more about horses, I decided to get a job at the race track. My first job was at the Detroit and Hazel Park Race Tracks where I groomed Thoroughbreds. The foreman saw right away that I had a thirst to learn, so he took me under his wing and taught me so much. By my second year, the trainer found out I could ride, so I began exercising the race horses. By the end of the second year, I left the race horse industry. I could no longer be a part in this field of horse activity after seeing how things were done and the pain the horses endured. But I did go with knowledge that has never left me.
Soon after, I started my own business of working with problem horses. It was then that I realized that the problems were not the fault of the horses, but resulted from the owners’ lack of understanding. I again went on a quest to gain more knowledge of a better way to address this. I attended a Parelli clinic and immediately, I knew this was IT. His natural ways and use of horse psychology again validated my personal beliefs and methods in managing horses; I knew that helping horses and their owners was where I belonged.
Now, many years and horses later, I’m at my best with helping horses and their owners achieve a true partnership. My priority is always achieving this goal by maintaining the horse’s dignity, earning the horse’s respect, and assuring the owner’s understanding of the best training techniques for that horse’s personality……..true partnership through the eye of the horse.
Jody Halladay