Maui's Diablo: My Miracle Horse
Posted: Tuesday, February 21, 2012
by Dianne Lehmann
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Article NL Maui's Diablo: My Miracle Horse
When I first met him, he was already old but he didn't show it. Well, maybe a bit in his topline. A little sag to the back. A little muscle missing from the croup. Withers poking out a bit more than they once did. But the twinkle in his eye and the bounce in his step said it all. Young at heart and young in mind.
Diablo and me after our second lesson togetherI've only known him for just about three years. But in that short time I've come to love him and respect him and cherish him. I'm so happy to have him in my life. But it could easily have been otherwise.
Before he came to live with his present care giver, Debbie Lindley, he did not have the best life a horse could wish for. And he suffered a very serious injury at the hand of the previous owner. An injury that might have been the death knell for a less determined horse.
Tacked up, dressed up, mounted and ready to warm upDebbie Lindley adopted him while she still lived on Maui and that is why Maui is part of his name. But we just call him Diablo or "D" or Mr. D. I'm told that when he was younger and new to Debbie that he deserved his name … a little bit anyway. He would act out and run off with her at the least provocation. She has told me stories of him running hell bent for leather through the pineapple fields and the only thing that finally stopped him was exhaustion. I can't imagine riding out that sort of enthusiasm.
It could be that a lot of his early behavior was in response to finally finding a loving and respectful home, good fitting tack, good health and someone who understood him and let him be who he is. You see, this horse survived a broken neck to become the wonderful school master that he is today. Most high level equestrians might not truly consider him a school master, but to me he is all that. I have learned so much from him that it would take a book to get it all down. And not all of it is only about riding.
He began his career of carrying humans around in a dude string, dutifully giving tourists a nice horse riding experience. But he had an impish streak in him that just couldn't be beaten out of him and so ultimately he had to leave that profession.
One day his owner thought that he'd teach Diablo a thing or two and tied him very securely to a post and beat him. In his efforts to avoid the beating, Diablo broke his neck. And that would have spelled the end of him were it not for Debbie Lindley … and Diablo's sheer cussed determination.
I've ridden dude string horses that were dead broke and I have to tell you that riding a "dead" horse is no more fun than sitting on a saddle on a tack stand. I want a horse that throws you a curve now and then (but not too often), and can think for himself. I want a horse that is sure of his abilities. I want a horse with spunk and a fun-loving impish streak. Diablo is all of that. But he is caring and kind as well.
Warming upYou can see that he feels badly when you fall off of him, as if he could have somehow kept it from happening. And sometimes when we are cantering and I get nervous and tense and start rolling around on the saddle like some giant marble, he is there shifting his weight side to side beneath me and making small adjustments, doing his best to keep me centered on his back and off the ground. He's marvelous with children too; so patient and careful.
I was hoping to get more of his back story from Debbie and her daughter, Kim, but they have little free time. So a friend suggested I just write about what makes him special to me. That's not as easy as it might sound.
I've written about him before in a series of articles I started called "Animals are Funny." In those articles and others, I've referred to him as "Lucifer" because I hadn't really gotten permission from Deb to write about him, or her.
Horses are more than just animals. Shoot, most animals are more than many humans think they are. Horses are smart and funny and have a sense of humor. They like to play, even as adults (I've always thought of that as a sign of creativity). They are protective of those they love and they understand human emotions. Horses that are ridden are like little mind readers. They can feel (literally) every thought and emotion their rider is having. They are simply amazing. And of all the horses I have known, Diablo is the most amazing.
He isn't the most skillful dressage horse around. He doesn't automatically take and keep the proper frame. He's not the prettiest horse … except to me. People have commented when he's been taken to shows that he should be cutting cattle and not doing dressage. That's more a comment on his looks than his prowess because he always earns good scores. Me … not so much.
Many, if not most, dressage horses (especially in the higher levels) are brown, bay, chestnut or black. You just don't find that many Paints other than under cowboys and cowgirls. But he loves dressage. Probably more than I do. So even if he is giving me "grief" during practice, I know that once he's in the ring and "on stage," he'll buckle down and do just what I say and show himself off to the best of his ability … which is considerably more formidable than mine. But, in his mind, it's not just all about him.
He's just as pretty from the back as from the front! 
Once, when I was still having fear (I'm talking crazy adrenalin rushes and numb hands and a totally inability to breathe) about cantering, we had a show coming up that I just knew I wasn't ready for. A good friend of Deb's volunteered to help me get ready during the week before. We were working hard at the canter and I lost it. Fear took a hold of me and I froze up. Diablo did his best to do what I seemed to be asking him to do. Even though I wasn't really asking him to jump over the railing that's how he interpreted my tight knees and forward leaning (trying to curl up into a fetal position) posture. Despite his best efforts to avoid the jump and keep me on, I came off quite painfully … two days before the show. To my credit, I did get back up on him that day and he did his best to keep me seated the rest of the afternoon. Thankfully, he was successful.
On the show day, I didn't think my fear would let me do it (physical pain not withstanding and a mostly useless right arm). I almost backed out but Deb's daughter, Kim, would not let me. She's as good at getting people to behave as she is with horses. I got up on Diablo and we did a couple of canter paces in warm up, but a lot more than that was going to be required in the test.
My nerves were a mess and he knew it. So when I asked him to keep it slow and easy, he didn't protest. We did the trotting bits at a jog and the canter parts at a lope. Once, because we were going so slowly, he even "stalled out." We got a terrible score and I felt badly for him. But he had done just what I had asked of him and just what I needed him to do. It was the beginning of my "cure" and I am now riding a canter without fear … even though I still haven't found the joy in it that so many of my friends express and have the occasional nervous misgivings.
He doesn't always listen though. Sometimes he throws me for a loop. But I honestly think he does it out of love. If he doesn't push me now and then, I'll never learn to be a better rider. He's got that whole tough love thing down. Charging out of the practice arena at a canter without warning, veering off track suddenly, and not stopping when I ask him to are all some of his favorite tricks. He loves to put is head up and ears forward and just GO. I wish I could ride him the way he would like to be ridden. But he is patient with me and that is another thing I love about him.
So let's see. I love the way he plucks at my sleeve to tell me to keep scratching that one particular itchy spot. I love how he knows when my mood is a bit bleak and gives me kisses on the back of my neck that always make me smile. He'll come to my rescue when we are all out in the pasture and one of the other horses, asking for attention, starts trying to push me around. I love that he loves to be ridden by me. He comes when I call him to groom him before tacking him up. He takes the bit eagerly as if to say, "Come on! Get up there and let's go!" There is one other horse at the ranch that I ride and when she sees me coming with a halter and lead rope in my hands, she runs away. She, unfortunately, does not look forward to being ridden by me. I love the way he smells and how he feels beneath my hands. I don’t look forward to the winter weather that forces me to wear gloves more often. I love every last little thing about him.
He may not be a true miracle horse on the order of those that make headlines … at least in the equestrian world. But to me, he is a miracle and a joy and I am so very happy to know him.
[Author's Note: This story was inspired by The Old Gray Mare's (Heidi Rucki) article about Neville Bardos, "The true-life story of Neville Bardos, a miracle horse."]
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)D- Always love a good horse story-thanks
BingHi Bing.
Thanks! And thanks for reading too.
Hugs,
Dianne
hi diane,
you did diablo justice in this piece, and i think it should be put somewhere so that all will remember him when he ever passes. this was an article that not only show cased diablo, but gave a little more insight into how kind and patient you are, and how you try your best to enjoy life. good for you,
my best,
sueHi Sue.
Diablo is really the patient one. He's had to put up with more stupidity from me than you might imagine ... well at least while I'm on his back. Working with him on the ground, grooming him, just hanging out ... we're best buds. :)
He really is amazing and I'm glad that I managed to get some of that across.
Thanks for reading and for leaving your comments!
Hugs,
Dianne
What a beautiful love story, Dianne! My heart leaped with pleasure when I saw the photos - I love the first one especially. Diablo is gorgeous. I can't believe what that terrible owner did to him, it made me so angry. Incredible that Diablo survived to become the horse that he is.Hi Jennifer.
Here is the problem with falling in love with a horse that is not yours. I just found out this afternoon that Deb is leasing him to a friend and I will not be able to ride him or probably see him for the foreseeable future. Her friend had a bad fall and is afraid to ride her own horse. Diablo will be moved to a boarding facility and the friend will be financially responsible for his feed and feet and all that. I just hope she tells the friend about his special needs regarding his neck injury and that he can keep the same farrier that he has had for years.
I can't begin to tell you how sad I am right now. Hopefully, it will all mellow over the weekend so that I can see Deb on Monday and talk it over with her rationally without blubbering all over. She's said that I can ride Dancer or Makana if I like, but I'm not sure I'm up to either of those mares. And she is trying to find people to take them on a life lease. So they may not be around much longer.
Oh well, thanks for listening. :) (Captive audience and all that)
And thanks for reading!
Hugs,
Dianne
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