If the story of Martinete was about love and friendship, my next horse was quite the opposite....
After Martinetes passing I fell in love with a horse on an ad! I went down to Spain to see him. LUCERO was big black "monster". A stallion with so much hate, aggression and no respect for humans or personal space. He attacked me more than once, bit me pretty much every day or kicked me, or broke all the bonds, bridles or chains holding him in place. And when you rode him he actually reared so he could aim at you and fall down backwards. To say the least he was a "nightmare". I remember one day when I came to the stable and he stood with his face pressed against the metal bars, staring at me and froth came out of his mouth. I knew then and there if I had opened that gate he would have killed me. As I said I saw this horse in Spain, he was owned by a very old couple who loved him dearly and gave him candy all the time - no matter the behavior! He lived indoors in a little garage together with his other horse friend. He was ridden mostly just in festivals or when trick trained. I remember the first time I rode him. They had a "serreta" on (a metal nose band with spikes). I asked them to take it off since I would have nothing to do with that. They took it off and pieces of flesh followed and blood ran down his face and nostrils. They told me I was crazy to ride this horse without it since he was a little bit dangerous but up I went. I probably should have made another choice considering that we mostly stood on the hind legs the entire ride but I had to have that black stallion to give him a new life without pain and blood. Gosh he taught me a lot but the most important thing he taught me (this might sound strange) was how to actually be terrified of a horse - Not knowing if I had to shoot him on the spot one day for not being killed myself.
As you probably could figure out we got kicked out of three stables until I finally found a place that would give us the thing he needed most. Time. Time to settle in this new life, time to find a new approach to life, time to understand that aggression and hate had no place here anymore. And day by day he changed. We changed. He even got so stable and friendly and amazing that he followed me on two different type of medieval events. With big crowds and events happening all around. It’s strange but only by being terrified of him and determined I knew I had to find a way to reach out to him - making him want to become my friend and not kill me. He taught me many lessons and the greatest one of all - we can't make the horses fit into our own boxes of expectations and dreams - we have to stand "naked" in front of them and ask them who are you and what do you need and want to become happy?! I owned Lucero for 2 years until I sold him. He was safe now but my trust in him after our struggles was gone so I made a decision to let someone else continue his journey after my traumatic rehabilitation of him. I met him a few years ago in his new owners place. He lives a great life for him with an owner who absolutely adores him. He never had any trouble with him so I knew I made the right choice - for both of us!
After Martinetes passing I fell in love with a horse on an ad! I went down to Spain to see him. LUCERO was big black "monster". A stallion with so much hate, aggression and no respect for humans or personal space. He attacked me more than once, bit me pretty much every day or kicked me, or broke all the bonds, bridles or chains holding him in place. And when you rode him he actually reared so he could aim at you and fall down backwards. To say the least he was a "nightmare". I remember one day when I came to the stable and he stood with his face pressed against the metal bars, staring at me and froth came out of his mouth. I knew then and there if I had opened that gate he would have killed me. As I said I saw this horse in Spain, he was owned by a very old couple who loved him dearly and gave him candy all the time - no matter the behavior! He lived indoors in a little garage together with his other horse friend. He was ridden mostly just in festivals or when trick trained. I remember the first time I rode him. They had a "serreta" on (a metal nose band with spikes). I asked them to take it off since I would have nothing to do with that. They took it off and pieces of flesh followed and blood ran down his face and nostrils. They told me I was crazy to ride this horse without it since he was a little bit dangerous but up I went. I probably should have made another choice considering that we mostly stood on the hind legs the entire ride but I had to have that black stallion to give him a new life without pain and blood. Gosh he taught me a lot but the most important thing he taught me (this might sound strange) was how to actually be terrified of a horse - Not knowing if I had to shoot him on the spot one day for not being killed myself.
As you probably could figure out we got kicked out of three stables until I finally found a place that would give us the thing he needed most. Time. Time to settle in this new life, time to find a new approach to life, time to understand that aggression and hate had no place here anymore. And day by day he changed. We changed. He even got so stable and friendly and amazing that he followed me on two different type of medieval events. With big crowds and events happening all around. It’s strange but only by being terrified of him and determined I knew I had to find a way to reach out to him - making him want to become my friend and not kill me. He taught me many lessons and the greatest one of all - we can't make the horses fit into our own boxes of expectations and dreams - we have to stand "naked" in front of them and ask them who are you and what do you need and want to become happy?! I owned Lucero for 2 years until I sold him. He was safe now but my trust in him after our struggles was gone so I made a decision to let someone else continue his journey after my traumatic rehabilitation of him. I met him a few years ago in his new owners place. He lives a great life for him with an owner who absolutely adores him. He never had any trouble with him so I knew I made the right choice - for both of us!
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