Expo’s tales reinforce, redefine horse sense

In a trail-riding competition, where horses and riders head out on the trail and navigate obstacles along the way, there are two judges: one for the horse, and one for the rider.

“The reason for that is, riders are usually the ones that cause problems,” George Ehmer, who helps organize such rides, said Saturday at the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds.

The horses know what they’re doing, he said.

“It’s about understanding what that horse is telling you.”

Ehmer, from Milton-Freewater, Ore., was one of the many people staffing vendor and information booths at the Washington State Horse Expo, sharing information about trail riding events and competitions. Organizers geared this year’s event around the bond between horses and riders, with talks and stories, and made “Horse Tales” its theme.

Morgan Wagner, from Eugene, Ore., met with her horse, an Appaloosa named Endo, in 2000.

They did jumping events, but the horse began to develop eye problems. Veterinarians eventually removed Endo’s eyes, one when he was 12 years old and the other six months later, in 2012.

Endo was taking a combination of drugs, but it didn’t help, Wagner said. He started losing his appetite.

“With my lupus, I have the same thing,” she said, referring to the chronic autoimmune disease. “I can’t put him down because of that, because, what’s that saying about me?”

Wagner and Endo, now 15, stuck together.

She taught him to ride and compete without seeing. Endo helps her as well, she said, with her lupus.

“It keeps my mind off the pain,” she said. “Even if I hurt, I still go out to the barn, and if I’m not able to do anything, just sitting there and hanging out with him helps me.”

They still ride together, competing in working equitation, where horse and rider navigate jumps and make technical maneuvers.

Endo was always a competitor, she said, and he still loves to take the final leg of the events as fast as he can.

And he loves all the attention. He’s picked up a habit of yawning to steal back their interest once they stop petting him to ask Wagner questions, she said.

“He’s turning into a diva.”

She hopes meeting Endo, who was gregarious with guests at his stall at the fairgrounds barn, can help change people’s minds about helping blind horses as rescue animals.

“Showing him, taking him around where people can see he’s still able to do things just like a normal horse, maybe they won’t give up so quickly on a horse when they start having problems,” she said.

The whole journey has made her a better rider, she said.

Riders sometimes get frustrated when they can’t figure out what’s spooking their horses, or why their horses just won’t cooperate. She’s found there’s all kinds of smells and sounds that might bother a horse, things she might not have though about before.

“Myself, going out and doing all these things, sometimes I get nervous, and I can tell he starts getting nervous,” she said of their public appearances. “I really try to stay relaxed so he doesn’t feed off that.”

Ehmer said several times that good riding is about trust between rider and animal, and listening to the horse.

Ehmer acquired his now 24-year-old Appaloosa Joker, in 2011. Some time ago, Ehmer was helping set up a trail ride, and rode out to replace some route markers.

Ehmer, astride Joker, and a friend headed up the trail.

“All of a sudden, old Joke lifts his head and blows,” he said.

Ehmer said he figured Joker smelled something. No, his riding partner said, Joker smells a person.

Joker, Ehmer discovered, had a knack for what’s called equine scent detection: He’s a bloodhound of a horse.

After some training, for him and the horse, the two found the body for a man who was missing for months. When trying to show off the potential for trained scent-detecting horses for an Oregon sheriff, Joker found a someone sent to hide under a tarp in 30 acres of brush after less than two minutes.

Usually, Ehmer said, knowing about Joker’s nose helps with simply riding around.

He recalled a time when he and Joker were in Montana heading up a trail when they encountered grizzly bear prints up the path. Another riding party was about an hour ahead.

Ehmer pressed on to let the other riders know of the danger. Not long after, Joker stopped again near a stream. Ehmer looked, and saw more grizzly prints.

They were still wet.

“Joke plants his feet and says, ‘Wait a minute boss, this is about enough,’ ” he said.

Joker’s nostrils were flaring, and Ehmer said he could feel under his saddle the horse’s ribs spread and contract with each nervous breath.

“You know horses can trot backwards?” he said. “Really well, and they can go fast with the right motivation.”

They backed away then turned down the trail, then let a ranger know.

“That’s how important it can be to understand what that horse is telling you,” he said.