KING OF THE BRUMBIES
Adam got his name as he was the first horse to be captured from Guy Fawkes River National Park—he didn’t have an ‘Eve’.
Unfortunately for Adam, the contractors at the time were of the old school of handling horses, and he was traumatised on capture and transport. Then his introduction to humans who continued to mishandle him further escalated his fear and flight response. On his first day in captivity he had a saddle thrown on his back and he was bucked out in the roundyard. The following day, when I arrived, Adam had dumped two rodeo riders and was cowering in the corner of the yard, soaked in sweat, shaking and terrified. He was also bleeding heavily from a deep gash on his shoulder where a stirrup iron had cut him. Because of his resistance to what was being done to him, they declared Adam a ‘dangerous horse’ and he was consigned to the abattoir. That week I bought him for $500 and had him trucked to my farm.
So here I was with an extremely sensitive horse with a very high flight response who had been severely traumatised. On my farm Adam was last in the pecking order. He would follow the other horses up for a feed but would never venture further than the bottom gate of the stable paddock. He was absolutely freaked out by the sight of humans, and who could blame him? It took three months for him to even handle eye contact with me—he would watch me cleaning up the paddocks and every time I glanced at him he would shake in fear, avert his eyes and hide behind the large fig tree.
I just let him be and did not attempt to approach or handle him. I would put his feed bin in the stockyard, leave the gate open and just walk away. He would come into the yard, snatch a huge bite of feed from his bin and then gallop out. There was no way was he ever going to be trapped again!
And so began my ‘crawling’ strategy. Every time Adam saw me approach the yard he’d flee, so I would crawl along the fence line, making myself very small. Every time he turned to look at me I would hunch myself into a ball, avert my eyes and keep still. Eventually, after several weeks of ‘crawling’, I was able to shut the gate to the yards and then simply walk away. Adam would settle and finish his feed. A few hours later I would calmly walk down with averted eyes, quietly open the gate and walk away again. I didn’t attempt to touch him or contain him in any way. By doing this, he learnt that I kept out of his ‘orbit’ and the yard was safe.
I then progressed to sitting in the yards with him, never touching him, just being there. Finally, after about six months, I began to circle him with my ‘carrot’ stick. We progressed slowly and he began to face up to me. The day he allowed me to first touch him I was overwhelmed with joy. Within another week he would drop his nose into his halter without attempting to pull away.
Adam is very food motivated. Most Brumbies are. I introduced him to small pieces of carrot, and although dubious and wary at first, his greed and inquisitive nature won the day. Now Adam’s attitude towards me began to change rapidly. He became quite vocal and would whinny when he saw me but still not approach me freely in the paddock. It took about a year before he would come to me in the paddock, stand quietly, enjoy his carrot and then I could rub his neck. I always stood close to his shoulder and if he backed away I would turn my back and ignore him.
Once I could halter him easily in the yard, he learnt to lead, back up, move his quarters and flex his neck from side to side. Lunging came next in the dressage arena. Adam is very smart and quickly learnt to circle, walk, trot and canter on command. I could now call him in the paddock, he would stand without a halter while I rugged/unrugged him and I could actually approach him when he was resting and curl up in the crook of his neck and take a nap with him. I became his leader and his safety. I had his trust and I vowed never to let him down.
From establishing trust I progressed to sitting on him. I started bareback from a mounting block, just leaning on him, both sides, while he only had a halter on. This took several weeks before I finally sat upright on him and rubbed him down all over. However, we had one severe setback ... Adam was calm and quiet and very relaxed when I walked him forward for the first time down the long side of the arena but when we turned the corner he suddenly exploded under me and bucked like a rodeo horse! There was no warning, he just completely freaked out. I came off, winded. Adam bucked a few more times and then suddenly stopped. He came over to where I was sitting on the ground, sniffed me all over and then stood quietly next to me. I think what happened was that as we turned the corner my weight probably shifted a little and he also caught a glimpse of my leg out of the corner of his eye. Perhaps this triggered a flashback to his horrific experience in the beginning and he reacted instantly from fear. So I started again, backing him, flexing his neck so that he would give softly, and then rode him forward a few steps before quitting for the day. Adam has never bucked since but it made me realise that I had a horse with deep-seated bad memories and that an accident could happen again.
As I’m older these days and can’t afford a bad fall, I only ever sit on him bareback, just at a walk, in the post-and-rail arena. I would never venture out with him. Interestingly, if I put a saddle on the rail to tack up another horse Adam takes off very quickly. To this day, he can’t handle the sight or smell of a saddle. And again, who can blame him?
I asked several trainers about starting him under saddle and all were very cautious and didn’t want to take him on. One said to me, ‘Why do you have to ride him, Jan? Not every horse needs to be ridden. You have so many in work, let Adam be himself. He’s your horse, he loves and respects you, you’ve done wonders with him, just let him be...’ I pondered the wisdom of this trainer and took his advice. Adam is not my riding horse. He’s more than that, he’s my best friend and I felt there were other things we could do together.
I bought a book on horse tricks and as Adam is so smart and keen to learn I began to teach him some. Wow, what fun it was and still is! He can now shake hands, give me a kiss, tell me secrets, count, bow and talk, nodding his head up and down in answer to my questions. He will work at liberty with me in the yard, trot by my side, stop when I stop, circle when I circle, and stand on his platform as King of the Brumbies—he’s quite amazing. And so he has become Mascot for Save the Brumbies. Adam has finally found his niche and rightful place in the world of humans!
The bond is complete. He really does love me. I’m his mate and he actually prefers to be with me than with other horses. He will put his nose to mine, cuddle into my shoulder and stand in total bliss, breathing deeply as he takes in my scent and comfort. No other horse here, even my old boy that I’ve had for twenty years, is as close or as special to me as my Adam.
My journey with Adam continues and the pleasure he gives me is immeasurable. I count myself privileged to share his life.
Image 14: Adam shows off his tricks to Jan.