Walking into the barn, I didn’t know what to expect. Part of me was still replaying the words, “This is a dangerous horse.”
My friend greeted us with a smile.
“Everything’s going really well,” she said.
For the first time in months, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders
My friend handed the lunge line to Jaydyn and asked her to get Apollo moving.
At first, he tested her.
Looking back now, that doesn’t surprise me. Apollo has always been the kind of horse who likes to see what he can get away with before deciding if you’re serious.
Once Jaydyn became more confident, something changed.
Apollo settled.
He started paying attention.
Then came the moment we’d been waiting for. Jaydyn climbed into the saddle.
I’ll admit, I was nervous. This was the horse we’d been told was dangerous.
My friend stood nearby, calmly giving Jaydyn instructions while I watched every single step Apollo took.
Watching Jaydyn and Apollo together that day filled me with hope.
The horse we’d been so worried about was beginning to trust us, and we were beginning to understand him.
We drove home that day believing we had made the right decision. Were there still challenges ahead? Absolutely.
Apollo was still learning. We were still first-time horse owners. There was still so much for all of us to learn.
But one thing had changed.
We no longer saw a dangerous horse.
We saw Apollo.