Introduction

Let's start with a brief summary of my personal history with horses. I was born the second child (14 years my sister's junior) to a British couple, Leslie and Violet Fontaine. My father's career took him to Canada where I was raised in the beautiful Fraser Valley in Chilliwack, B.C. This is where horses came into my world. I lived on the outskirts of town and had access to a neighbour’s ponies at a very young age. I started riding as soon I was old enough to walk across the street and convince the ponies to stand still so I could sneak onto their backs!

I began riding lessons at the age of 8, but my parents did not want to buy me a horse until they knew I was not only serious about riding, but about taking full care of my own animal. I purchased my first pony at the age of 10, with seventy-five dollars that I had been saving for about 3 years. My parents, not being horse people, could not really be much help in choosing my first pony so I wound up with what was probably the most inappropriate creature available – a wild 2-year-old, straight off the train from a big ranch in Alberta. “Lady”, a half-Welsh, half-paint, bay and white Tobiano mare, had just had her foal die before she was sent to me. Through sheer dumb luck and the help of a very nice young fellow named Tom Berry (who was kind enough to help me break her at the fair grounds in Chilliwack at a large public boarding facility), Lady and I became a team. I registered my little mare with the Pinto Horse Association of America (there was no Canadian registry back then) as ‘Polka's Painted Lady’, who eventually became one of the most successful show ponies in British Columbia, winning in English Pleasure, Western Pleasure, halter, trail horse, pony jumping and pony hunter classes, along with a myriad of gymkhana events.

I bought my next horse, a registered half-Thoroughbred pinto by the name of “Gartmore Shadow” in 1971. Shadow, whom I broke and trained myself, also did very well in the Pinto and open show ring, winning titles of 4-H District Champion Showmanship and Reserve District Champion Equitation.

I purchased my first Arabian mare, Keyjan Sabeyna, as a weanling in 1972. I broke, trained and showed her myself, but unfortunately had to sell her when I decided to move. But it was too late - I was hooked on Arabians! Since then I have owned, shown, trained and ridden many different breeds. Horses I have bred have gone on to win Canadian national titles in hunter pleasure, dressage and reining classes. I have shown horses to regional wins in halter classes and national wins in team penning.

As for my personal equestrian training, I have worked with national winning trainers in both English (dressage and jumping) and Western riding, cattlework and natural horsemanship. I aquired my Level One certificate in Parrelli Horsemanship and was lucky enough to go to Parrelli's ranch in Pagosa Springs for a 3 day event! I have held two judges cards in AMHA and AMHR, which have afforded me the honor of judging in such places as Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Montana.

I continue to update my riding abilities, taking dressage and cow horse lessons on a regular basis and attending any other clinics that are available. I show in Arabian and Welsh breed shows, open dressage, and team penning and sorting events, and am participating in ranch cutting for the first time this year. I have a diploma in Human Rehabilitation (working with the mentally and physically challenged), and although I did not go into this field as a career, I find the extensive courses in psychology and behavioral training to be of great benefit to my current interest, Level 1 Western coaching, specializing in first time purchasers and riders.

I am also a certified ‘Equine body worker’ (through Equinology USA) This is basically a sports massage therapist; I also provide low level light therapy as an option for my equine athlete customers. I have long been a student of horse physiology, reading and attending as many classes as I can. I am a firm believer that form to function is vital in finding the correct horse for the job required.

One of my strongest passions is finding horses in need, rehabilitating and finding the correct home for them. I hesitate to use the word ‘rescue’, although I have taken many a horse out of the meat pen or a neglectful home. I find that most of the horses I rehabilitate are neither physically or mentally abused, just in the wrong profession or in a conflicting relationship with their current owners. I have purchased many horses from friends as well! These owners are not cruel or neglectful in any way, simply frustrated with their relationship and expectations for a particular horse. What I have discovered over the years, especially since I started coaching people, (beginners and children in particular) is that many of the problems encountered by horse owners are a result of a personality conflict between owner and horse. Of course there are also the usual problems such as training issues and unsuitability of a horse for a particular job, but 95% of the time the critical issue is personality conflict.

Many people ask “Do animals really have personality in the broadest sense of the word?” My personal answer, based on 35 years of experience, is an unqualified YES! Let’s look at the two words most commonly used to describe ‘personality’ regarding the horse. First is the term ‘disposition’. Used by horsemen worldwide, it means ‘tendency, inclination or attitude toward things’, as described in the Merriam/Webster dictionary. In my opinion, this is a very vague explanation of why a person or a horse is what he/she is. Second is the term ‘temperament’ ,which is described in the same dictionary as ‘characteristic, habitual inclination or mode of emotional response’. This term is perhaps more accurate as it contains both scientific and nature/nurture elements, but it still leaves little room for individual qualities.

Now let's look at the word ‘personality’, which is described as ‘a distinctive personal character, distinction of personal and social traits including quality, individuality, temperament and disposition’. This, to me, is the key. Yet when looking at ‘horse for sale’ ads, personality is either mentioned dead last or not at all! Imagine choosing your human mate this way – Oh, here's a good one: good looking, well bred, very highly skilled in his/her field. Do they actually suit me personality-wise? Do they like what I like? Can they cope with all of my personality foibles? Oh, who cares! They look good on paper! Basically, this is what we do when searching for our equine partner. We get a picture in our heads of how we would look on a beautiful, well-trained, athletic young animal, often forgetting our own physical short comings and/or lack of experience. This is where the picture in our minds often does not line up with reality. We think we know what kind of horse we want, but we rarely know the truth of what kind of horse we NEED!

Some people have the misconception that in buying privately instead of buying at an auction, for example, they will be somehow protected from making an unwise purchase. They put the onus on the seller to somehow be all-knowing and honest and let them know if a particular horse will be right for them. This is neither being fair to the seller or realistic.

While I have found most sellers to be reasonably honest about the horses they are trying to sell (although not in every case), many of these people are selling for the very reason that they themselves cannot work things out with a particular horse. If they could, they would likely not be selling it! Some sellers simply do not have the knowledge to evaluate their own animals correctly. I have seen many horses sold by owners who honestly believed their animals would be perfect for the new owners, when in fact this couldn’t have been further from the truth. These people did not dupe the new owners intentionally, they simply did not know any better!

These scenarios are some of the reasons I would like to advocate human/horse partnering from a different perspective. My belief, which I have proven to myself and others time and time again, is that personality MUST be of prime consideration when choosing a horse! All of the other attributes of a horse can be created. For example, we can breed for correct conformation for a particular job. With good training, we can make an animal ready for whatever life style will be required of it. But personality is by far the most difficult equation to work through. It is partly genetic, partly designed by environment and then comes the added variable of the human who is to become the partner. We are also creatures of heredity and environment. We, like the horses, can be shy, aggressive, worried or happy-go-lucky types. We, like the horses, may have come from nurturing backgrounds or may have emotional hurdles to overcome from past bad experiences. I believe that over the years I have developed an awareness of these problems through my experience with many different horse and human personalities. I have been fairly successful at putting horse and human personalities together with positive results.

This is not so much a job or even a hobby to me as it is a passion. I have seen how the proper pairing of personalities can be crucial to the success of a horse/human relationship. Hence, the birth of ‘Ahorse4me.ca’. If you are interested, please look at my questionnaire section. You may fill it out and keep it for your own information or send it to me for evaluation if you are considering using my match making service. Also, feel free to go to the Q and A section if you would like to ask any questions or comment on any of the prior information.

Sincerely,
Vanessa Quartly

Polka's painted Lady, in Western Pleasure at the Pinto show in Cloverdale B.C., 1972.