Nicole here: I met Mandee Widrick through a Social Media Managers group on Facebook — she saw the horse in my profile picture and sent me a message right away! When I looked into her web consulting and speaking business I was blown away. She started the beautiful online magazine, Horse Family (which is soon to unveil a live streaming or radio show feature) and she’s also been to speak at the American Horse Publications annual seminar, which I’ve attended in the past. Clearly, this is a girl to be on the lookout for!
First-Horse Horror Stories — We’ve all got ’em.
For Mandee, her first horse nearly made her stop riding entirely.
When Mandee and her family moved onto a farm when she was 7, she looked at the empty stalls and plainly stated that they should fill those stalls with horses. Years and years of begging ensued before she all but gave up. And then, when she was 13, her parents bought a horse. Having never owned horses before, they unknowingly purchased a 6-year-old green horse that was far from being suitable for a novice rider.
The horse bucked Mandee off countless times.
“I was young and thought I could do anything,” she said. “And I believed I had to get back on.”
But when she ended up in the hospital with a sprained wrist, the family re-evaluated. For a year, they took the mare to a professional trainer, but she was still too much for young Mandee. They sold her. Mandee said she cried for a year.
Then, the family purchased a 30-year-old horse that had been around the farm a time or two. Slowly, this new mount would help build Mandee’s confidence back. After being thrown so many times, she said she was pretty freaked out.
Don’t forget to check out Mandee’s website for more information about her services. I also recommend looking at Horse Family for great articles and join Mandee every Monday night for #horsechat on Twitter.
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