“Impossible Ashley Ann” | Impossible Horse Training Story

“Dad!”  My younger brother William’s voice echoed through the house as he burst into the mudroom.  “I quit! I can’t work with that horse anymore.  She is just not trainable!”  Letting the door slam behind him, William’s frustration was evident as he flopped down to pull off his boots. No need to ask which horse he was talking about.  It was Ashley Ann.

A dark bay beauty, Ashley Ann was a Percheron and Thoroughbred cross.  Big for a yearling at fourteen and a half hands high, Ashley Ann was lean and leggy.  She was also shy and independent.  The white stripe down her face mirrored her stubborn streak.  Her eyes were defiant, daring anyone to come near her.  Turning on her one white foot, she left my brother William staring at her tail every time he tried to approach her.

One of William’s jobs around Dad’s Wyoming ranch was to work with the yearlings, getting them ready to be sold.  As a junior in high school, he liked the extra money he earned training horses for Dad.   William had an uncanny ability to work with horses.  They trusted him.  He had developed a genuine respect for the amazing creatures as he trained them.  William had never met a horse that would not respond to him—except for Ashley Ann.  William had one word for her—Impossible!

First, William had tried to separate Ashley Ann from the group of horses in the pasture so that he could begin training her. Impossible!  After dozens of tries, William herded all of the horses, including Ashley Ann, into the outdoor arena. He spent the next hour catching the other horses, one by one, and leading them back out to the pasture.  Finally it was just Ashley Ann left in the arena.

William tried to approach her.  Impossible!  She ran around the arena, turning away from him every time he came near.  But William kept trying.

Days turned into weeks working with Ashley Ann in the outdoor arena. William had made a little progress…very, very little.  He was able to approach Ashley Ann and touch her on the nose—briefly—before she turned and ran.

William, a rock of patience in the ring was becoming increasingly frustrated out of the ring.  “That horse is IMPOSSIBLE!” He would holler when he came in the house.  Everyone knew who he meant.

Finally at his wits’ end, William coaxed Ashley Ann with a bucket of grain and led her into a stall in the barn.  She kept her distance, but followed.  William decided to keep her in the barn, separated from the other horses, so that the only contact she had was with him.   Maybe that would work.  Maybe she would learn to trust him.

By this time William had the other yearlings wearing halters and following him around.   But not Ashley Ann.  By this time he had been able to train the other yearlings to accept being groomed and having their feet handled.  But not Ashley Ann.  By this time the other yearlings were learning not to be spooked by shadows and loud noises.  But not Ashley Ann.

After two weeks of keeping Ashley Ann confined to the barn and the attached indoor arena, the only progress William had made was that he could touch her nose a little longer than before…but only while they were in the stall.  She was her usual defiant self in the arena.

“She’s IMPOSSIBLE!”  William hollered as he headed back to the house.  “Totally untrainable!”  He muttered.  William made a decision.  He was done working with Ashley Ann.  He had had enough.

“I quit!”  William announced as he came into the house. Dad came and sat down with him.

“Dad, I really mean it.  I quit.”   William pulled off his boots.

“William you have a gift for working with horses,” Dad encouraged him.  So, go back down there and give it another try.”

“Dad,” William countered,  “I won’t work with that horse anymore.  SHE’S IMPOSSIBLE!”

Looking William in the eye, Dad changed from being the dad to being The Boss.

“William, you work for me and I want that horse trained.  Now, go down there and give it one more try.”

Clapping William on the shoulder, Dad left him sitting in the mudroom.  Sighing, William shoved his feet back in his boots and trudged back down to the barn.  He had never been in a situation where he felt so helpless.  But defying Dad was not an option.

When William got to the barn he grabbed the halter off the wall and stalked toward the stall to give Impossible Ashley Ann one more try.  But before he reached the stall he stopped.  He had to get rid of his frustration before entering the stall.  He thought about Ashley Ann.  He realized he didn’t even like her.  Going over and over in his mind was the thought, “I can’t train this horse.  She’s impossible.”

Leaning against the wall outside the stall, William gave up.  He realized there was absolutely nothing he could do.  Nothing else he knew to do.  Except for one thing.

“Lord,” William prayed, “I cannot train this horse alone.  I need Your help.  I don’t know what else to do.”  William waited a moment, but he didn’t feel any different or any better.  He wasn’t sure he even believed that God would help him.  But when he opened the stall door, something was different.

The defiant look was gone from Ashley Ann’s eyes.  She actually looked gentle.  Could it be?  William walked up to her and touched her on the nose.  She didn’t turn away.  He touched her forehead.  She didn’t move.  He touched the side of her face, her neck, and her ears.  She just stood and looked at him.  William lifted the halter so she could see it.  He cautiously put it on her head and buckled it.  She had never felt the halter before, but she didn’t flinch.  Impossible!

His frustration replaced by amazement, William clipped the rope onto the halter and led Ashley Ann to the indoor arena.  He couldn’t believe what was happening.  He decided to see what she would let him do.  He touched her foot.  She raised it up and let him hold it.  Impossible!  William led her around and around.  She followed and followed…willingly.

William was so astonished by this sudden transformation that he felt shaken.  He took the halter off of Ashley Ann and sat on the fence and watched her.   Ashley Ann meandered around the arena, sniffing at things, looking over at William occasionally.  She didn’t whinny and try to get out like she usually did.  She seemed content just to be there.

“This is not my training that is doing this.”  William whispered to himself.  He felt like he was watching a completely different horse.  Her whole demeanor had changed.

Sliding off the fence, William walked toward Ashley Ann.  She turned…and this time, walked toward him!  Reaching him, she buried her huge head in his arms.  As he stood in the middle of the arena and scratched Ashley Ann’s head, William felt an overwhelming sense of awe.  A verse he had learned as a child echoed in his heart…”With God, nothing is Impossible.”

Sara Henderson

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