I met Smoking Walla Whiz, Wally to us, in the spring of 2023. Wally came from Texas when he was only 2 years old. He was 1 1/2 years old when he was brought into the world of reining. His bones were still soft and he had the mind of a 1st grader. He was shown for a year after his training in Texas and won almost every class he entered.
Sounds like a great start, doesn’t it!
That was when he was pulled from the show world and put out to pasture. Wally was shut down and had developed the habit of cribbing. He absolutely hated the horse shows, but won everything anyway so he wouldn’t let anyone down.
His current owner (a retired school teacher) bought him when she found out he was a close relative of her other beloved older horse, Cody. Cody is a retired reining horse who suffered from years of relentless mental and physical abuse. Wally, like Cody, has impeccable blood lines.
When I connected with Wally, he told me that he was afraid his owner would get rid of him because she always referred to him as her problem child. Cody was her golden boy and Wally believed he would never live up to that. Wally believed Cody could do no wrong which is something she said often in Wally’s presence. He was quite the character, always doing things to make her laugh. He hoped that if he made her laugh, she would let him stay. His anxious behavior masked an almost autistic laziness.
He also showed me that he was always isolated and confined while doing the show circuit. The cribbing behavior started there. It helped to sooth his fears of being left alone and having to perform in shows he abhorred.
What I didn’t know until I relayed this info to his owner, was that Wally’s background and fears were just like hers. She had a sister that could do no wrong. She thought she didn’t belong. She was a disgrace to a highly successful family.
She was amazed that she could have missed such an obvious connection! And the reason for his cribbing became crystal clear. Why hadn’t she seen that?! His fear matched her own personal fear. The similarities are uncanny.
After I relayed all of this information to Wally’s owner, he proceeded to yawn, chew and lick. Those are signs that he is releasing stress. Just the mere act of being heard was enough to help him release some of that stress from his body. Since my communication with him, his owner has been giving him constant praise and tells him how much she loves him and how much joy he has brought to her life.
There is still work to be done. You cannot undo years of anxiety in one session, but when she comes to the barn now, his eyes are brighter and he waits at the gate for her.
