Willy became my horse even before he was born on a cold February night last year. Now that he’s a yearling, I’m planning for his future. I have an opportunity to train a trail horse from the ground up.

Vanessa has always referred to the colt as mine for a reason. His conception, quite honestly, was the result of my procrastination in fixing a fence strung between his mother’s and sire’s paddock.

The fencing mistake affected my life. Out of a sense of obligation, I assumed the responsibility of caring for the mare. My experience began with an unusual 12-month, 10-hour pregnancy and ended with a colt that became bonded with me from the moment he stood up. I didn’t expect that the birth would be just the beginning.

Prelude to Training
I’d always planned to geld Willy young and train him as a trail horse. His breeding would have him as nothing else. His sire, PassU, stands at our farm. He’s a well-bred Straight Russian Arabian who stands 16 hands high. Willy’s mother, Little Mare, was sired by Kovat, a Muscat son. She has Donoghue lines in her maternal breeding that traces back to the Black Stallion. So Willy has quite a pedigree.

When Willy was born, Vanessa suggested that I take the responsibility of training him myself. "If you do it right, Ben, at maturity Willy should be a big, gray, gentle gelding, a good trail horse."

I was a bit hesitant, but after thinking about it, I got excited and decided to go with the opportunity. After all, I’ll be 57 this year. BeBop, my current steed, is now 10 years old, and if I plan on trail riding into my 70s, which I do, then it’d be good planning to start working with Willy now.

Vanessa has always been and always will be leagues ahead of me in her understanding of horses. Her top ranking during her endurance career has proven her ability to train and condition great trail horses. Now, with her help and counsel, I’ll be able to work personally with Willy as my own.

I’ve looked into the theories and gentle practices of several professional clinicians. I’ve already started to use the TTouch techniques by Linda Tellington-Jones, to which Willy responds well.

Vanessa and I also recently attended a Natural Horsemanship seminar by Julie Goodnight that gave us some good ideas. Plus, a friend demonstrated John Lyons’ techniques at our farm a while back. [Editor’s note: John Lyons’ Perfect Horse is The Trail Rider’s sister publication.]

And finally, our Vermont friends have told us of their great success applying Pat Parelli’s objectives of success without force, partnership without dominance and teamwork without fear. I know there’s a lot to learn, but I’m like a dry sponge in warm water, taking it all in.

It isn’t as simple or easy as it sounds, though. Training techniques require learning and practice. Successful ring work takes time, consistency, and evenhandedness.

There will be setbacks and bad days to learn from, and successes and advances to celebrate. I embark on this journey with the attitude that it’s not a smooth path. I’ve always tried to follow the mantra, "Relaxation is the key to creativity; persistence is the key to success."

First Steps
It won’t be as if I’m starting green with Willy as a yearling. I’ve been close to him since before he was born. He was given his first halter the day he was born, and he has since outgrown five more. At 11 months old, he weighs almost 650 pounds.

Willy had his first outing when he was about 2 months old. We marched mother and son for 1½ miles around our neighborhood, Vanessa leading Little Mare and me leading Willy. It was exhilarating and a sight to behold.

With his long lead rope looped behind his butt and my arm over his shoulder, Willy soon learned to walk at my shoulder, listen, and trust me. We practiced walking through snow and mud, crossing the road, listening to cars passing by, and standing still to be cute when the neighbors came out to see our little black colt. Willy felt his first jolt of the electric fence that day, too, when he tried to touch noses with PassU.

Willy was obviously pooped when we got back to the barn. He curled up and fell asleep in his stall next to his mom without ever nursing. It was a good start to the many months of training to come.

I slowly introduced Willy to the freedom of our 20-acre pasture. He first learned to romp with his mother in the snow when she ran all the way from one end of the pasture to the other. In the spring, he carefully got to know our four geldings over the fence. By summer, he was grouped in the big pasture with his mother and what we now refer to as his "uncles."

We usually visited Willy in the pasture in the evenings, after work. Willy likes people. He’ll come right up to anyone in the pasture who stands still. We occasionally reinforce this friendliness with a handful of grain.

During the weekends, we brought Willy in on a lead rope with Little Mare to learn barn manners. To start, we removed and replaced his little halter. We added more handling as he’d accept it.

We progressed to entering and exiting the stall without Mom. This was a bit to ask at first, but he picked it up when he discovered Mom was just in the next stall. He learned to tie and have farrier courtesy (hoof and leg manners), but the thing he liked best was grooming time. By the end of the summer, he became one of the herd, entering and leaving the barn, competing with the rest.

Telltale Tails
Willy eventually bonded with all the geldings, but he seemed to make friends with them one at a time. It was easy to tell which of his uncles was Willy’s latest friend. The uncle’s tail would be chewed off.

First, we thought it odd that Little Mare’s tail was bobbed. Then, one by one, each of the geldings showed evidence of Willy’s friendship. The odd behavior affected their ability to swish flies all summer. I’ve heard several theories about this behavior; anyone of them could be true.

When Willy started to hang with our oldest gelding, Thunder’s tail remained long. Little Willy must have learned that chewing tails wasn’t permitted on retired 100-mile endurance horses. It seemed to be the lesson and teacher that the colt needed. The behavior stopped, and Willy hung out with Thunder all winter.

Personal Growth
Working with Willy this past year has been a wonderful and rewarding experience for me. With Vanessa as my guru and Willy as my future trail mount, I’m looking down the trail at what will be a long chapter in my personal growth.

The story of training Willy continues. This spring, we’ll begin some light ground work with him. The plan is to introduce him to the sandy trails in Otter Creek this summer, ponied behind his only uncle who still has his full length of tail.

If you see us on the trail, stop and say "hi." Willy likes to make new friends.