Dilema regarding a talented horse

charlie76

charlie76

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At last, my horse has really progressed and is going well. He picked up half pass in trot and canter in 2 sessions, has started changes and is pretty established in travers and shoulder in (again, picked up in a couple of sessions). In the past 3 weeks I have been to 3 different trainers ( one is my trainer all the time) and all 3 have said the horse as GP potential and should be at Ad Med by June this year.
My dilema is, I don't think I am talented to produce him to this level. So in my situation would you hand the ride over to a more talented rider and be an owner or would you perserve and reach the level that you are capable of?
I would never sell him.
 
What tosh! I actually think that a lot of Britain's top riders (in all spheres)would not in any way be described as talented, but because they have the right horses, training,money and intelligence- they get to the top level.
Of course you can do it if you put your mind to it and are determined and dedicated! :-)
 
In your place I would categorically keep riding. You don't know till you try how good you can get. Can't you get your trainer to also compete him to ensure he statys on the right track & fulfils his potential.
 
It will come I am sure, just keep trying! For example if you were to watch Pippa Funnell doing dressage when she was in her late teens and watch her now, 20 years later- its a compeltly different rider.Anythings possible :-)
 
absolutely as said above.

Also, you should do what you love - and if you love riding your horse then carry on doing that. Even if you dont get to GP level together - do you really think your horse will worry about any "wasted potential"?
 
He's yours, and he has no ambition of his own! If you enjoy training and competing him, carry on (with a good sympathetic-but-motivational trainer), maybe also have schoolmaster lessons, lessons on mechanical horse, Alexander Technique for riders lessons, etc. If you want to do it, you'll get there... You have obv got the best out of him so far.
But if you'll get more pleasure out of seeing someone else compete him, carefully pick a rider and enjoy...
Lovely to have such a talented horse, congrats!
 
I'm with the others! He's not going to worry about "wasted potential", so why not see how far you can get with him? Maybe be could be doing adv med by June, but he's certainly not set himself any such deadline, and wouldn't you be super-proud to get him to that level yourself, even if it takes longer?
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Not a dilemma
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Carry on riding him yourself, I agree with what everyone else has said. You've obviously got him this far and no reason why he can't go further with you.
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I'll agree that the horse doesn't know or care about his potential, he only cares that he's comfortable, mentally and physically. If you enjoy riding him then that's the important thing.

That said, I do know, in these posts, we're all supposed to say "ride the horse yourself"
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but surely that depends a bit on what YOU want out of the situation? There are lots of owners in the world and they have different reasons for going that route. If YOU want the horse to progress as quickly as possible and then take over the ride yourself, that's a situation where many people place the horse with someone else for a few years. People might be surprised how many horses at the very top level are actually being produced for their owners - the current Olympic sj gold medallist has a deal like that with his owners.

If you want to ride the horse yourself, ride it yourself. If you think it would give you more pleasure to go with someone else, you are perfectly within your rights to do that, too. After all, it's YOUR horse.
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And it's not an admission of failure or lack of ambition if you do, it's simple a choice.
 
Agree with TarrSteps. Olympic rider at my last yard kept her best horse with her trainer in Germany!!

Depends what your goals are for you and your horse I guess. Sometimes its better just to seek help early rather than being stuck for ages if its out of your ability. Just having someone more experienced to show the horse the way a bit can be a big help for both of you, and often nicer for the horse I think, its definitely not cheating. I'm sure you and horse are a great team though and good luck to you
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Totally agree with TarrSteps and Dressager. It depends on what you want. If you WANT this horse to get to GP, well, the journey to GP is difficult enough as it is -- perhaps it is safer to be 'helped' along the way.

I keep my two horses with my trainer, and wouldn't want it any other way. I really regret riding Rauti completely on my own when he was 4-6; I am quite aware that, if I had then the kind of set-up I have now, he would now be really established at Advanced, not struggling because of the mistakes I made when he was young, and which took years to correct. With Frodo, I am adamant I am not going to make the same mistake, which is why I only ride him twice a week max., and let our Bereiter 'train' him. However, I do still want to be as involved in his progress as possible, which is why I do want to ride him half of the time. This could be a solution which could work for you too; instead of just sending him away and becoming a pure owner, why don't you move to your trainer's and share the workload? This way, you'll still feel that you are going up the levels together
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Of course as well as what you want also comes into it what can you afford?

I have a lovely young horse I have produced entirely myself with only as many lessons as I can afford, it would be lovely to have a lot more lessons(for me!) and perhaps pay someone else to help school hiim as I'm sure he could be very good but ultimately I cannot afford this. If you can afford the better rider and extra hellp then why not? It certainly does not have to be a them or you siituation.
 
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I would say take him as far as YOU can. If you feel you are not talented enough to take him to the top...well, there'll always be something to improve on and another level to strive for, won't there?
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I know how you feel, having been there with Ellie in the past. She was a lucky find for us - when we bought her, no one would have said she was particularly talented (in fact she came with more warnings about what she wouldnt jump than what she would!) but once I had schooled her and got her fit, we quickly realised we had a bit of a superstar. We paid £3k for her, and at a show three months later we were offered £12k
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I'm not an overly good rider, and I have always had my limits, whether they be psychological or physical. We did so well in the first couple of years - I never expected to do anything other than Pony Club 2'6 stuff, yet within a year we had qualified for Trailblazers 105cm and were jumping 1.10 BSJA. Mum and my trainer both had visions of us getting to HOYS for the Newcomers, but deep down I think I knew it wouldnt happen. I believe to this day that Ellie could have done it, but I certainly could not have. It was actually proposed at one point that my trainer could ride her at shows and start to chase some of the big qualifiers that I was too chicken to do (Grade C, 7 year old, Winter Novice etc) but I refused - she was MY horse, and there was no way I wanted someone else to ride her! Maybe I was selfish, but at the end of the day, I'm so proud of what we achieved together - I didnt need someone else to ride her.

As someone else wisely said, horses dont have ambition. They dont stand in their box envying the horse next door. They don't pop round a 2'6 course thinking 'Goddamn you, I should be jumping 4ft!' So just enjoy your boy, and see where he can take you
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Obviously money plays a HUGE role, but I do think it's important to match resources with expectations. There is a good reason very few top dressage horses are the first horse trained to that level by their riders and even when that seems to be the case, often times the rider has produced other horses to almost that level and/or has ridden at least one horse someone else has produced to that level. That said, if the horse is truly talented to that level, you don't mind how long it takes, and your ambition is primarily just to get there at a reasonable level, then it's probably doable.

Where I do find it sometimes goes off the rails is when people "expect" a certain result without really having the resources to support the ambition. It's the old "time-money-effort" continuum - the less you have of one, the more you need of the others and you will likely not get the same results as someone with access to all three.

I do think though, even if people don't want to hear it, that you do not get endless second chances with horses. As FB said, going off the ideal path in a horse's early training will lead to problems which may not be obvious, particularly to someone without a lot of experience. Not to say that some paths can't be retraced and many improvements be made later, but, like it or not, there are only so many steps in a horse and the more you use up on your own education, the fewer are left on the timer. This isn't unfair, or insulting, it just is. EVERY top rider will tell you about the horses they rode when they were younger that didn't do as well as they could have because of mistakes or misunderstandings on their part.

Again, the horse doesn't care if it reaches that level. But if YOU care then you need to weigh up the options realistically. Of course, if there are actual problems, if the horse is not doing well in more basic ways or the rider is not well served by having the horse and/or does not enjoy it, then that's a different matter entirely.
 
totally agree with what others have said. Where is the satisfaction in letting someone else do it!!

You are a lovely rider, far more talented than me and most other people i see! Make sure you go as far as you can, then maybe revisit it, but in all honesty he isnt going to care if he is in a field eating or out competing!! He doesnt know of "waste"!!

If you are never planning on selling him, I would keep at it yourself and see how you go, I am sure you could progress together very well!!!

GO for it and dont underestimate your abilities......
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Why don't you find a VERY good Pilates instructor who will do private sessions with you (proper certified trainer with a lot of experience). You might be amazed how much body awareness you can gain.
I have a potentially crippling knee injury due to being kicked by a horse. My doctors told me at the time I would never ride and will have problems walking - well, ok I might not be great rider but can stay in the saddle and I am not overly crippled am I?
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I did Pilates for several years and that's what made it possible.
Keep trying, you've made such an amazing progress with this horse, would be a shame to give up now!
http://www.pilatesfoundation.com/newsite/index.php
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