Teaching others

July 07, 2008 01:00 pm

— Working with horses is something that Christine Arthurs has been doing as long as she can remember.
It seemed only natural for the Logansport resident to follow her passion and not only train people how to ride horses, but to train the horses how to be ridden.
Arthurs, a horse trainer at Happy Hollow Horse Farm, starts her morning at 8:30 and pretty much works until dusk, which means until 10:15 p.m. during the summer.
During the winter, the horse trainer said her day can end as early as 5:30 p.m. She is able to continue working inside for training, because of a heated horse arena.
The job is non-stop, with Arthurs constantly having to feed, give lessons, clean, make hay or visit with the horses. With so much to do, Arthurs has the help of her 13-year-old son, Jake.
If his mom has a lesson, Jake finds himself putting the fence back up, if one of the horses knocked it down. He also helps his mom at feeding time, among several other odd jobs.
“If mom can’t do it, I will,” he said.
In addition to training, Arthurs also has 28 horses that are kept on the horse farm and must be fed and watered daily.
“We go through 90 pounds of food a day,” she said. “The horses drink 10 gallons of water a day, depending on how hot it is.”
The most important part of her job is the feeding process, which happens once during the morning and once at night.
The horses must eat at the same time each day. As daylight shortens, Arthurs said, feeding time gradually grows earlier.
The horse trainer said she must also observe each horse daily and learn its behaviors. She looks for any new cuts or for sickness.
“If a horse does not come to breakfast or supper, that’s a 911,” she said. “It seems like the easiest job here is giving grain, but it requires the most responsibility.”
Arthurs also rotates the horses from the area each one stays in outdoors to an even larger open pasture. Once the morning routines are completed, she takes a break for lunch and then heads back out for her daily lessons.
She has anywhere from one on three lessons a day, but must schedule them around doctor visits.
A farrier visits every other week to trim hooves. A veterinarian, dentist and chiropractor also make scheduled visits.
Arthurs is trained in the Parelli method of horse training.
Each lesson lasts for a little over an hour and begins with the student catching his or her own horse and preparing it to ride.
“I teach each rider safety, how to read as well as how to ride,” said Arthurs. “Most horses will tell you what they are going to do before they do it.”
She also prepares riders for the 4H Fair, helping them prepare for their events and timing them to watch for improvement.
On Saturdays, Arthurs schedules clinics. She calls them “Parelli Play Day,” in which she shows people what the Parelli program is about and also helps them prepare to pass the course.
Training a horse usually takes about 30 days, she said. Some horses are more difficult, especially older ones needing to be retrained.
The job is seven days week, but that doesn’t stop Arthurs from loving what she does.
“I’ve just always loved horses,” she said. “I always liked to teach and help people, too.”
Denise Massie can be reached at (574) 732-5151 or via e-mail at denise.massie@pharostribune.com

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