Stating the goal - a date with my unconscious desires

Terence Trent is a stubborn youngster. He curls his lip and snarls at me as I brush him down making his coat shine. He lunges at me and his teeth crack together, he missed me again, he’ll get me one of these days but until then he lives t tell the tale. As yet we are to join up fully but when he finally does it will be a great day.

His life to date has been a traumatic one and he has lived learning to hate and mistrust us all with great depth and persistence; I will not give in, he is such an amazing creature, we both deserve more than this. He came from Ireland in one of those lorries you get to see coming over on the boats, laden with horses ready for the French meat market, and like many of the horses, I have owned in the past he has come via the auctions at Ashford. We bought the lorry load; we didn’t look in the back just paid the man to deliver the lorry to the yard where I ride and called the knacker-man ready to shoot those who had failed to travel well. Sometimes there would be dead ones in there already, half trampled where they had fallen and failed to get up. So sad, but one of the facts of life so hidden from many eyes.

Terence as I called him came down the ramp with that wary eye and skittish action. He was going to be hard work for someone and on spying me, ran almost headlong at me. I grabbed his head-collar and that was that, Terence entered my life. He has stomped on me, bitten and kicked me but when I go away from him he calls for hours I am told, so there is a connection I just have to get it to be on my terms not his. He is stunning to look at, a dark grey with black lower legs and mane and tail. His dapples are irregular and when you look closely they are of two colours, black and brown, giving him the moth eaten look so common on dark greys. He is over 16 hands tall and is still filling out so there is a chance he will reach 17.2 maybe more. He has elegant gaits and a head carriage to die for, but place a rider on his back and he goes as stiff as a board; he has been terrified out of his wits and I am going to try to get this magnificent animal not only to trust me but to also allow me the privilege of riding him. He has such promise but I can see by the stubbornness and the resultant fear, he has been a handful and continues to be one now. I will win, I have to, the alternative for him is unthinkable.