Do you ever wonder if your horse is too good for you?

madhector

madhector

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Just had a fantastic lesson on Jerry, having stupidly booked myself in to do a novice test on Saturday though we should maybe work on our medium trot and counter canter
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Took us a while to get medium, but wow! for that moment it felt amazing!!! He is going to find it very easy once he has got his head around it.


All the time though I kept thinking how much better he would be if my trainer got on. He has all the ability to be brilliant, but he is stuck with me. I know horses don't have ambitions and he couldn't care less if he never reached his full potential, but I have ambitions for him and want him to be the best he can be, just think he might do that better without me on board
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Don't be ridiculous! I'm sure most of our horses would go better for a pro - mine certainly would but for me that is not the point. I work and work and work on getting her to go well for me. I have endless lessons to help me and then I go away and plug away at home. Some days we get nowhere, other days we make progress but I look at it as part of a journey. We are not making fast progress but what progress we do make is down to hard work and dedication. Stick with it - you will reap your rewards in the long run
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As IZC says - dont be silly!!! He's your horse and you're enjoying him and he is enjoying you riding him. Hattie would certainly go 100 times better for a pro but id far rather achieve smaller stuff on her than watch a pro doing huge stuff on her all the time!
 
I often think this about Dylan as i know he could already be out competing doing well.Nearly every time i school him i think to myself how does he put up with me and how he deserves a much more accomplished rider than me! But i love him and riding him to bits! So hopefullly if i keep plugging away then one day i'll be as good as he is.
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By the way i think your a brilliant rider and how you have over come your problems with him! (sorry if this doesn't make much sense)
 
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I often think this about Dylan as i know he could already be out competing doing well.Nearly every time i school him i think to myself how does he put up with me and how he deserves a much more accomplished rider than me! But i love him to bits!
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See I am not like that with Jerry, I dont love him as such, I see him as a challange and a way of success, he and I have a good partnership ( I think) but it isnt based on attachment. That sounds quite harsh I suppose, but I have him to compete and improve, not to love, which I suppose is why I want to see him doing the best he can do
 
You say how much better he would go if your trainer rode him but how much better would he go if your trainer's trainer rode him. There's always someone better. If he had a choice he would be happy to be fed, groomed and turned out or maybe just live in a field for the rest of his life. As you say he has no ambitions and you are realising his ability and got that wow moment in your medium. Enjoy a horse with talent.
 
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You say how much better he would go if your trainer rode him but how much better would he go if your trainer's trainer rode him. There's always someone better. If he had a choice he would be happy to be fed, groomed and turned out or maybe just live in a field for the rest of his life. As you say he has no ambitions and you are realising his ability and got that wow moment in your medium. Enjoy a horse with talent.

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Very true!

Trainer's trainer doesnt ride much anymore due to injury, but think he would go amazingly for her
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See MH I think you're doing the best for Jerry and to be honest wonderful as he is I'm not sure a pro would have been happy to work through his quirks like you have.

I think he's best off where he is. Good luck in the test.
 
I echo what everyone else has said... there is always someone out there who is a better rider, and I am sure all the pros have said that too!

At the end of the day, Jerry and you are learning together how to deal with certain situations, and you never know, if a pro had him they may work through these in a different way would then cause further problems.

Don't keep putting yourself down!
 
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Hadnt thought of that, I had to work through his issues as havent got another option, where as I suppose a pro might have deemed him not worth the effort

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Yep pro's often have to think of the money first and foremost so skip on anything that isn't 100% straight forwards.

Have know a few very good owner rider combo's who the pro's have admitted they wouldn't have gotten the results had the horse been there's.
 
Your right I know, just felt this power today and got me thinking. I suppose I should just count myself lucky I have him. Tried to get my trainer to ride him and see how much she thought he had improved, but she wouldnt, said she could see it from the ground and there was no need for her to get on. That I need to be the only one riding him now.
 
I don't worry he's too good, I worry about ruining him
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But i'm happier now we have a comp under our belt and he's come through it with flying colours and I haven't ruined him
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I don't worry he's too good, I worry about ruining him
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But i'm happier now we have a comp under our belt and he's come through it with flying colours and I haven't ruined him
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See I have yet to have that success with J
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Yes but I didn't start him off, Aaron did. The hard part was done by him, the fact that Boo remembered it all was a huge bonus. You've done J all by yourself, you should be very proud.
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I know my horse is far too good for me and would be doing a lot more if someone better had her - but i also know she enjoying what i do with her (this was confirmed going xc at bath and west last weekend) and know how much she enjoys just munching in the field!
 
Jerry doesn't care about filling his potential! He has no idea. He cares about food mostly I imagine
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Don't worry about if the horse is too good for you, just enjoy it when it all comes together! He makes you work hard enough and plenty of people wouldn't have the patience to give him the chance to shine (which he will) xx

I think April would work harder in schooling and do better in DR for someone tougher than I, but similarly she would probably start not being caught and kicking again and I can jump her more than anyone has been able to so I have a nice balance and am happy to learn off of her.
 
With a difficult horse it can take huge amounts of patience and you really do experience both highs and lows and never anywhere in the middle. I would rather have a talented but tricky horse than one that was just mediocre. You will learn more about riding through him than a schoolmaster and he will mould you for the future after all you are young and there will be plenty of horses after him.
 
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With a difficult horse it can take huge amounts of patience and you really do experience both highs and lows and never anywhere in the middle. I would rather have a talented but tricky horse than one that was just mediocre. You will learn more about riding through him than a schoolmaster and he will mould you for the future after all you are young and there will be plenty of horses after him.

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I hadnt looked at it that way, very good point. I have probably learnt more in the last year with J than I have over the last 10 years!
 
LOL She really was. really! Always good to ride but a little devil pony on the ground. You must come meet her one day hehe.
She is brilliant now though, just the perfect, sweet little RC horse but it took about 2 years to get there, people think I exaggerate all the drama we used to have (and i like to joke about it too).
If I can make such drastic improvements with all my bumbling you can def. do it with J
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April was complicated but well worth the perseverance in the end, i am sure J will be too xx
 
We all have to start somewhere and learn, its these horses that we learn the most from. A pro probably wouldnt have the time to spend on him but I bet in the past they had a horse just like him, before they were a pro. I know my instructor has had a few difficult ones in the past.
Your instructor may ride him better than you but they are only fine tuning what you have taught him.
 
Yeap thats why i brought Dylan because Paddy has taken me as far as he can. But it seems every horse or pony i have had i get really attached too which is quite bad really considering a couple of the horses i have had!
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I KNOW my lad is too good for me. I can imagine what he could achieve with a confident, non wimpy rider on him. BUT he doesn't care, he certainly doesn't loose sleep at night about it. I don't care, I bred him and I love him and we are having great fun together. I have even done the one thing I said I wouldn't do again and that is Pre Novice (and he's only 14.1hh!).
As long as he gets fed, and gets plenty of treats then he's happy and so am I
 
Oh I so know where you're where you're coming fro m!
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My instructor can make H dance and I love watching them together - I always think I'm letting her down but we're happy enough and she teaches me loads which I guess is the main thing.

I'd just get on and enjoy him - he's a gorgeous smexy boy!
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Kate x
 
No more than i feel sorry for my car, that it's not being driven by Michael Schumacher!
seriously though, as long as you are self-aware, and trying hard to improve, and getting good instruction, and the horse is happy and well cared-for, then you are mad to feel guilty that you aren't as good as whoever. Pros often don't have the time (and in some cases the patience) for the really tricky ones, and also there are no guarantees that a particular horse will bloom in a high-pressure environment.
he's yours, that's what matters.
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Frequently. I'm sure that if my loan horse was with a professional and hadn't had so much time off through injury he would be Intermediate going on Advanced. But with me he's only Pre Novice going Novice with Intermediate a dream as I don't know if I'm brave enough!

I had a very bad day on Saturday where he kept stopping at 2'6"-3' jumps after flying round 3'6" course the week before. I just couldn't see a stride and felt like I was letting him down so much - especially when I fell off!
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But his owner (who also teaches me) finally managed to convince me that I'm not as rubbish a rider as I think and that horse was just having naughty day. I think another lesson is needed this weekend as we've got Novice level event training Easter weekend and we're definitely not ready yet!
 
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