03/05/2026
Endo.
If only you and your Momma knew how many times I pulled up your account to show "the most impressive horse and human connection I've ever seen." Or to the students, "the *coolest* horse ever!"
Endo has been my inspiration for many years.
Explaining to others (horse experience or not) why I value the bond is oftentimes taken as less riding know-how being taught. However, that is not the case at all! I simply want to share the beauty of the bond and help my students/clients gain the entire experience of horses.
I have been riding for about 36 years, owned horses for 25 years. At 16, you know what I was doing? Laying on my horse while he grazed or laying in the field he grazed. Soaking in *every* lesson he had for me and truly seeking to know him as deeply as he knew me. The riding lessons I took? They taught me how to keep my heels down and toes out! I don't think we did lessons more than a couple years and I wasn't even double digits. 🤷♀️
So how can I train horses to not fear a trailer in 2 weeks out of the 30 days I promised the owner? How can I get all 6 horses to move their bodies to specific paddocks when I may only touch one during the entire ask? How can I hop on each and every horse in my herd and get them to respond with a touch unseen by those observing? How did I retrain a 5 year old horse to use his fight instinct rather than flight? Get him to walk right up to the very thing he fears and touch it with his nose?
Because I chose, and still choose, to listen to the horses' lessons over any riding instructor. I chose to learn horse from the horse itself. I promise you, I still am in awe and think, "how can I speak to them so well? How do they just know?" The countless videos of Endo, in pure amazement each time. After each video, 'I want to do that with mine,' and out to the barn I went ...to deepen my silent connection. As a teen, saddling up "was so much work!" And so, I rode ba****ck. I trusted my horse to float over fields and not stress about holes. I trusted him to fly over a 3.5 ft log that fell on our path even tho we ran barrels. You'll say "young and foolish yet," "wreckless," "so lucky it didn't end up worse!" But I trusted my horse to keep us safe. The horse-a powerful creation by God- is a being who can sense things before they happen, a feeling before we have the feeling. The horse is built to trust itself in a world full of predators. If my horse thought it unsafe, he surely would have preserved his own body which would have launched my own from his- thank you physics.
I now have the opportunity to share these unique teachers with others. In a fast world full of noise, we are conditioned to not trust ourselves. We develop anxiety over "did I make the right choice?", "what if I do it wrong?", "I've never done this before." And with that, our world becomes louder and less clear. But the horse, relies on its body, it's senses, to persevere and overcome. Not just to survive, sure, but to venture into unknown territory to find resources to better their life. The wild horses are another prime example. Adapt. Overcome.
Endo was not always blind. But what did he do? He adapted, he overcame that fear and he thrived! He found happiness in his new unknown! The bond, the trust... created over time in various ways, not just from atop his back. They went above and beyond "surviving without sight." They truly lived and were able to enjoy the world far outside of an arena.
I am so very grateful my sister stumbled upon Endo and shared his story when we were teens. I am confident had we continued on with "riding lessons," I wouldn't be where I am today. A good rider? No doubt. But I want to be a great rider.
"A good rider can hear his horse speak to him. A great rider can hear his horse whisper."
To Endo, who taught, those willing to listen, how to hear a horse whisper. A true legend. A legend deserves to live on--I will always share your story. 🫶
