feeling a bit fed up is he being ruined??

[lilym]

i feel i have hit a plateau with my riding and am seriously wondering wether or not to sell my boy. i have a 6yo 14.1hh section D, he is a fabulous, honest genuine lad, hacks alone in company etc.....ooops sounds like and ad!! i backed him at the end of last summer and turned him away. i brought him back into work in march and have been having a few lessons, b ut whenever i take him out i'm always dissapointed in my riding..i look at other people and see how much better they are, and moses picks up on my anxiety....but head tossing and chomping on his bit, out hacking he is a different animal....i really want to do dressage and some showing with him, but i can't help thinking i am ruining him by not being able to ride him well enough.....in my defence secD's are hefty late maturing ponies and he still has alot of filling out to do, and he is quite cumbersome, i know he will never be as supple as a TB or WB but TBH i have no desire to own either....
should i still keep taking him to low key fun events, or should i just sell him to a decent rider who will get the best out of him??

 

[piebaldsparkle]

Keep him all the time you are having fun with him. He has no idea what his potential is and even if he did, he would probably have no desire to reach it. Think logically would any horse choose to reach its full potential over an easy life doing low key stuff??!!!!

 

[trendybraincell]

He's only been back in work since march...stop being so hard on yourself!!

I backed my Section D too, plodded around for the first year then turned him away. He came back into work beginning of his 5th year (I think?) and it is only now, since I've been at my new yard that I actually feel that my riding is doing him justice!

Also there is no reason for him to not be as supple as any other horse out there! Because of how D's are built, lateral work and suppleness can be hard to achieve but with lessons from a good instructor there is no reason that you can't both go out together!

I'd stick with it. Keep us informed

 

[piebaldsparkle]

Just thought I should add, that I have happily ruined the coloured in the siggy!!! She will never reach her full potential at anything, but we have great fun doing a bit of everything!!! With a bit of luck, combined with the lack of miles on her clock, she will last for years and years.

 

[Eaglestone]

Send me a pic, I might have him

 

[hadfos]

[ QUOTE ]
Keep him all the time you are having fun with him. He has no idea what his potential is and even if he did, he would probably have no desire to reach it. Think logically would any horse choose to reach its full potential over an easy life doing low key stuff??!!!!

[/ QUOTE ]
well said...they would all be happy mosing about,lol!
I have a 17hh tb(had him all his life 13 now,and done very little) who has paces to die for(yes i own a tb that is uphill,picks his legs up and flicks his legs out like a warmblood when extending,he is fab,....never raced so that may have helped

)!!POINT is....he has huge potential,and i have lost count the amount of times i felt he was wasted, and i am always comparing myself to others...i am a complete wimp jumping and always putting myself down on flat,even thought about asking some1 else to take him competeing for me

....i now think sod it,i am going to trundle to our very 1st show on the 24th august,if i have confidence to jump i will if i havnt i wont...guess what,my lad dosnt give a toss,lol

,he will have a day out which he enjoys,and if we dont compete we are happy doing it in the school...i do need to get a rosette though so thinking dressage at mo,lol

,if you enjoy him and you both happy,you will do just fine

 

[LCobby]

You are not ruining him.
But have regular lessons so you ride him as well as you can.
Your nerves will get better as you do more with him too, and try some comeptions for fun when you feel ready.

 

[ladyt25]

Horses do not think "god she's cr*p, wish someone else was riding me!". DON'T compare yourself to other people, enjoy your horse and have fun and do things at a speed that feels right for you.

I would get yourslef some lessons to improve your overall confidence in yourself though. It's always nice to be able to 'feel' when things are working how they're supposed to.

 

[Booboos]

99% of horses never reach their 'full potential' anyway as only 1% of us are the Ankys and Whitakers of this world!! Don't worry about that and just enjoy him. As for competition success I would say that you need to give him about a year to grow in confidence and ability, by all means play around at local shows but don't beat yourself up if you don't leave with a rossette every time!

 

[Sooty]

What a bizarre post! I hope you are feeling less woeful this morning. Of course you should keep him! So what if you only ever hack him and never go out of walk? (Not saying that you do of course!) I am sure he is perfectly happy with his lot, and doesn't have some sort of sceret yearning to be in Beijing at this very minute. Maybe if you relax a bit about your abilities, you will get more out of your schooling. Or just stick to hacking for the summer, and pick up the schooling again when the nights draw in. You can also school on hacks, and keep the sessions short.

 

[M_J]

ahhhh do not feel bad and don't feel he's wasted, horses evolved to roam the wilds so anything more is a bonus isn't it, they haven't a clue what's what!

Now I tell you, I've been told that a horse I gifted has issues because he was left in a field til he was 6....! ROFLMAO so the fact they used to leave horses that long and even longer years ago is irrelevant, crikey they were all riding loons, LOONS I tell you..psycho's from being turfed out til such a ripe old age.....hehe, sorry, it makes me laugh (long story lmfao but safe to say person talking out of their rear ends...as usual! LOL), but then he just wasn't handled well at all

all on his terms you see..noooot, fact is person who got him just couldn't handle him PROPERLY and blamed it on how had been handled by moi, funny, I had zero probs leading him through two revving hgv's on the road in a 2ft gap like, sheesh, badly handled guy bless 'im....

some misinformed peeps seem to think if horse doesn't get ridden...horse becomes bored...horse then has issues that need 'ironing out' LMFAO

well I say...LOL! If they think ridden work is the ONLY way to keep a horse occupied then they really don't know as much as like to bleat, me personally, I like doing 'get used too' stuff with mine, my weanling was out on the roads from a very early age, in-hand hacking I guess...did he care wasn't on him when was 3, pfft no! LOL

sooooo, bearing that in mind don't take what ANYONE else says about neds, YOUR thoughts are what matter, if you enjoy an odd pootle about once a month/2 months and you're both happy then who has the right to say otherwise - do they pay the livery, do they look after the horse, nope, then do one, tell them when you want their opinion you'll tell them what it is....! LOL

no horse sits there in a field saying 'wow I could be at olympia if that lazy moo would get off her butt and ride me more' LOL if you're getting someone saying is wasted/ruined just laugh as I do, because in that one single comment they prove how much knowledge they really have because when boils down to it it's us humans who put pressure on ourselves - not our horses

Pandora is 7, she's being backed this year, is she ruined for her years of languishing barring a 2 week stint of light backing at 3....is she heck - in fact I'd say she's BETTER now as she's more physically and mentally mature than she was at 3/4/5 years! did she stomp around stating she was a show pony and she'd been backed so get on and ride...you're joking, she'd be happy to slob for life in a field being 'wasted'....

incidentally one of the most laid back horses backed by emw happened to be 19 years old, never been sat on, bred one foal...and had been a field ornament for her life, gosh golly...she should've been mad...mad I tell you from sheer boredom - and she's not the only late starter who's ended up being fantastic neither.... LMAO

 

[happihorse]

What makes you think you are ruining him or the other one?

It sounds like the two of you are having a great time together and as long as you are happy why worry about anything else?

Do you have regular lessons? I'm sure with time and experience you will be able to progress together.