The Story of Ziggy Starman, Part I

Ziggy at 6 yrs with Doc by "the little house" in Hernandez, NM

Ziggy at 6 yrs, in Hernandez, NM

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I apologize for the long gap between postings.  My knee surgery delayed my ability to focus my brain after the anesthesia.  I was living in "wonderland" for a while. Anyway to "The Story of Ziggy Starman" Part I

Ziggy in Hernandez against the mesa, summer 2006

               Edgewood
Photos by Bill Klienschmidt

Moving out in the round pen, Edgewood, NM, March 2012

Riding Ziggy, no saddle today, Edgewood, March 2012

One would think  accommodating a horse into one's life would take preparation and forethought.  My experience was  more "direct and immediate".   Ziggy Starman came into my life in a "flash" that would change the way I lived my life and thought about animals.   

13 years ago I was living in the historical Northern New Mexico town of Hernandez.  My property aligned to vast mesa land and was enclosed with various types of fence.  I had a small one room building called "the little house" and the rudiments of a barn on my back property. A friend needed a temporary living space and moved into my one room outbuilding.  He also brought along his 2 horses. I was enchanted to have these large creatures living on my property.  Feeding them, brushing them, spending time with them was a dream come true since I intended on having my own horse one day.  Little did I know how soon that adventure would be realized.                         
Standing around the corral one morning, my friend told me he had also recently bought another younger horse from one of the local Pueblos. Would I like to buy this horse?   My mind went into the stratosphere for a moment.  When I returned I said I would have to meet this horse to see if we would be a good team.  The next day I was staring at a 2 year old gelded red sorrel mustang, about 12 hands high, with rather small "dainty" feet standing in my yard.  We took a good look at each other and I offered him an apple. He sniffed and bit into the fruit. I was  enthralled!  My friend then explained that I had 5 minutes to decide if I wanted to buy the horse because he did not really want to sell him. Feeding 3 horses was expensive and on this particular day he was inclined to sell, but that could change.   My entire being pulled all my thoughts and energy together and I looked my friend straight in the eye and said, "YES".  At the same moment I was was thinking "do I have any understanding of what I'm doing?" The state of inner conflict was extremely intense but I could not pass up the opportunity to have such a creature live with me.  I ran to find my checkbook, wrote out the check and a bill of sale document and I had a horse.  We placed my horse on the back property with the other 2 equines and immediately the mare began to move and bite my youngster.  Eventually we moved him to a corral by himself so he could relax away from the mare.  When my friend departed with his 2 horses, I built more secure fencing, a walk-in shelter and a rudimentary tack room for my guy.  I now had a very "green" 2 year old horse who was living with a human being who hadn't a clue about horse training.  There was a very large learning curve ahead of me and if I been able to  glimpse the future in my  "magic globe" I would have "run for the hills".  The next 10 years of training myself to understand  horse "language", behavior,  bio mechanics, and the art of riding well were at times excruciating and very unrewarding.  I would work with some wonderful clinicians and some very strange horse folks.    At the time Ziggy came into my life, I was in ignorant bliss.    

Part II "My Sorrel Finds a Name and My Horse Training Begins" will appear next week.