Ahrena
Well-Known Member
This may be long. Will try and avoid waffling for once!
I'm just feeling a bit demoralised and frustrated with my Lacey pony. Some of you may know her history.
I've had her 6/7 years now and been to hell and back. She is very excitable and fizzy and as a teenager I adored her. 6 months after I got her we started to have serious problems, eventually we traced it to an old back injury causing her neck muscles to go in spasms. Over the course of a couple of years she went from a fab SJ pony who would win EVERYTHING to literially rearing vertically continuously as soon as someone got on her.
During these 2 years we had her checked numerous times ect and no one found the cause. Eventually someone did and she had 3 treatments under sedation (she was impossible to treat without) then sent for reschooling. It's still taken a few years but she's pretty good now.
99% of the time she is perfectly well behaved. She's still feisty, strong and fizzy but rarely rears. She schools nicely, hacks great and jumps well.
BUT I feel stuck with her.
Basically a couple of years ago i acquired the most lovely horse who i compete BE. Getting him chained my life - horses were fun again! I quit my plans to go to uni, worked on an event yard as a WP for a while, and now am a freelance rider. I had a couple of horses to compete unaff and is all going well.
Unfortunately my super horse is 15 this year, and while I know that's not old, I am aware he is ageing. Also i want to take my eventing further and hopefully get some rides BE at one point. But i need to prove myself. And unfortunately competing novice be on a 15 year old is not going to prove anything.
What I really want is a nice young horse to produce to compete BE. Partly as doing well on a horse I've produced is what I need if I want to get a ride on another horse, but also so i have a horse to go onto when Squirrel needs to take it easier, and just it would be great.
But I really havn't got time for another in work. I can afford it at a push but time is the issue.
Lacey is a nice pony, but really, best case scenario she may eventually go back to unaff comps. This needs work but i think she could get there.
I just feel I'm working and working at this, but even best case scenario she isn't going to be what i want. She could do BE100 I think, but she would struggle to go higher, and that's even provided she became consistent enough for us to risk spending the money to affiliate her.
So what do I do? Do i just accept that until one of them needs retiring, i need to be patient? Is she loanable? I couldn't sell her as I fear with the wrong handling she could go back the way she was, and I want control over her future.
Sorry i know this is a very selfish moan really, I'm very lucky to have both of them and I do love her dearly...but i do wonder if she is better off in a home where no one wants her to compete. Like i said, i think she could go back to it, but she can be a stress head and des find competing stressful so I'm not really sure it's in her best interests....but i find is hard to ride and school a horse of mine with no competitive goal.
Any ideas? Please don't be mean lol i do love her very much.
I'm just feeling a bit demoralised and frustrated with my Lacey pony. Some of you may know her history.
I've had her 6/7 years now and been to hell and back. She is very excitable and fizzy and as a teenager I adored her. 6 months after I got her we started to have serious problems, eventually we traced it to an old back injury causing her neck muscles to go in spasms. Over the course of a couple of years she went from a fab SJ pony who would win EVERYTHING to literially rearing vertically continuously as soon as someone got on her.
During these 2 years we had her checked numerous times ect and no one found the cause. Eventually someone did and she had 3 treatments under sedation (she was impossible to treat without) then sent for reschooling. It's still taken a few years but she's pretty good now.
99% of the time she is perfectly well behaved. She's still feisty, strong and fizzy but rarely rears. She schools nicely, hacks great and jumps well.
BUT I feel stuck with her.
Basically a couple of years ago i acquired the most lovely horse who i compete BE. Getting him chained my life - horses were fun again! I quit my plans to go to uni, worked on an event yard as a WP for a while, and now am a freelance rider. I had a couple of horses to compete unaff and is all going well.
Unfortunately my super horse is 15 this year, and while I know that's not old, I am aware he is ageing. Also i want to take my eventing further and hopefully get some rides BE at one point. But i need to prove myself. And unfortunately competing novice be on a 15 year old is not going to prove anything.
What I really want is a nice young horse to produce to compete BE. Partly as doing well on a horse I've produced is what I need if I want to get a ride on another horse, but also so i have a horse to go onto when Squirrel needs to take it easier, and just it would be great.
But I really havn't got time for another in work. I can afford it at a push but time is the issue.
Lacey is a nice pony, but really, best case scenario she may eventually go back to unaff comps. This needs work but i think she could get there.
I just feel I'm working and working at this, but even best case scenario she isn't going to be what i want. She could do BE100 I think, but she would struggle to go higher, and that's even provided she became consistent enough for us to risk spending the money to affiliate her.
So what do I do? Do i just accept that until one of them needs retiring, i need to be patient? Is she loanable? I couldn't sell her as I fear with the wrong handling she could go back the way she was, and I want control over her future.
Sorry i know this is a very selfish moan really, I'm very lucky to have both of them and I do love her dearly...but i do wonder if she is better off in a home where no one wants her to compete. Like i said, i think she could go back to it, but she can be a stress head and des find competing stressful so I'm not really sure it's in her best interests....but i find is hard to ride and school a horse of mine with no competitive goal.
Any ideas? Please don't be mean lol i do love her very much.
and Willow. I am pleased to hear Lacey's anatomical issues have been diagnosed and she has progressed and that you are following your eventing dream. 
