A few months after I bought Shadrack, quite a handful of other horses came into play for varying reasons. I bought Tijeanne, a draft-quarter horse cross mare, and Teacake, a racing-bred gelding (He was red and handsome, I couldn’t resist).
Then there was Cornbread.
My friend Tay knew someone who just had a palomino colt earlier that year, and was looking to sell him. By then you all know I went very quickly from taking horseback riding lessons, to buying and building a farm, to owning a herd. For riding safety reasons, I bought aged horses. Been there, done that horses. Horses that taught me good ground manners and horsemanship, and now, with Cornbread, I had an opportunity to learn how to impart that on a horse. I was excited by the challenge, so said yes! Let’s go get him. And also, I have the perfect name.
Cornbread came to Saloma as a spunky, spoiled 9 months old colt. He had the cutest, little mischievous face. We knew both his sire and dam (I would later own her); and his first lesson on human interaction besides dropping grain in the middle of the pasture was getting him to load onto the trailer. I was still green, having only been around older mellow geldings really (lol but if you’re counting, nine in those first few months!) who would bend to your will over a cookie. Not 400 lbs of pure muscle full of no! So I was going to be NO help loading Cornbread, but I was a pro at driving a truck and trailer LOL so I guess I did contribute to getting him home to Saloma.
What became most exciting and terrifying to me was that for the most part I would be the one responsible for his future development; his temperament with humans; setting him up to be a good horsey citizen. Each day watching him change from barely halter broke to a horse that will greet you in the pasture, stand quietly to be haltered, and be game for whatever it is y’all are working on that day: from first foot trim to first lungeing session to first ponying session to first saddle pad to first saddle! It’s the journey, y’all.
Cornbread taught me to love the journey as much as the destination (destination: having a horse you can ride confidently anywhere). That you can have a lot of fun playing with horses you can’t ride. That I want a thinking horse above all else. Cornbread helped me define what it was I really wanted in the horses I keep, and how the human-horse relationship can go.
He also taught me that if horses really want out of their paddock, LOL, an electric fence can’t keep them from exploring! But you know what I really loved? That he knew the whole of the farm was his home, and he didn’t need to go too far from there (that is, escape through the back side of my property that wasn’t, at the time fully fenced in!). Each time I woke up he’d be back near his paddock, waiting for me to halter him and send him back in, LOL.
But what I really got from Cornbread is a love of baby horses. He is the beginning of me understanding that I can make the horses I want to live with, ride with, partner with. It would take me a few more years to solidify that understanding, but it started with the days we played together.
Cornbread is now almost four this month (Feb 22!) and living his best life with his new mom just down the street from me. A friend of mine, actually! That is also the gift of this work: creating horses I want to live with, ride with, partner with, but also ones that can be successful in new environments! You could say I got hooked on raising baby horses.
Cornbread is an eye-catching trail boss, and just learning the ropes of hauling exposure. He comes for playdates at Saloma Acres, which I love continuing to be a part of his life, and watching him blossom where he is. I cannot wait to see who he becomes!
