Casey76
Well-Known Member
This could get long... sorry!
When I lost Pinto at the beginning of March I had had him almost 8 years (buying Pinto was a rebound reaction to losing my Dad to leukaemia and a whole host of "life is too short" scenarios). He wasn't and ideal first horse; despite being a cob he was ultra sharp and very reactive, though not spooky. He was incredibly strong, and scared me on more than one occasion, towing me over jumps etc. However I loved him to bits, and we would hack for miles. Due to a past accident when I was a teenager although I had 100% confidence in trot I had 0% confidence in canter, and we were still working towards me increasing that confidence and i was at a stage where I was starting to school in canter, rather than just asking for canter then hanging on for dear life. Losing him to peritonitis was absolutely devastating.
Despite having a yearling to take care of, I started to look for a new riding horse almost straight away, and Tartine came home with me at the beginning of May. We have had a lot of teething problems. The first yard didn't suit her at all, and she became hyper reactive, spooking at everything, and although she never unseated me I found my confidence ebbing away. At the beginning of June I moved her to the yard where Blitz is, and she settled down almost straight away. Unfortunately my confidence seems to have done a runner. I'm constantly on the alert for things she could spook at, and it is making me tense and unhappy, which obviously feeds down to her, making her tense and unhappy. I find it a chore to ride. I know that it will take time for me to develop confidence in her, and I know that as I get to know her everything will settle down. But I just miss so much that feeling of "coming home" I got when sitting on Pinto.
So, I have a friend who comes and schools her twice a week, and they have just started having jumping lessons (my friend doesn't need the lessons, but Tartine does
). We are planning on my friend taking her out and competing, in dressage and SJ at first, and aiming towards a small ODE by the end of the season next May/Jun time. I feel guilty that I get excited about my friend taking Tartine out and about when I can hardly summon the motivation to have a pootle around the school.
Don't get me wrong, I do like Tartine a lot; she is a lovely, sweet tempered, bossy mare who is eager to learn, has a great work ethic, and is very honest and generous. She is also a lovely example of the breed, and will make a great mum in the future.
I also like doing the ground and preparation work - we just started long lining this week, and Tartine is much better at it than me!
I know that plenty of people have riders compete their horses, so I'm not sure why I'm feeling guilty, I just do. I think a lot of this was triggered as one of the other liveries asks me every day if I'm riding or not, and it is starting to feel a bit accusing - even though it isn't meant that way at all.
I'm not sure what the point of this post was actually. Sometimes it just feels a bit better to write something down.
Tea and biscuits if you managed to get this far!
When I lost Pinto at the beginning of March I had had him almost 8 years (buying Pinto was a rebound reaction to losing my Dad to leukaemia and a whole host of "life is too short" scenarios). He wasn't and ideal first horse; despite being a cob he was ultra sharp and very reactive, though not spooky. He was incredibly strong, and scared me on more than one occasion, towing me over jumps etc. However I loved him to bits, and we would hack for miles. Due to a past accident when I was a teenager although I had 100% confidence in trot I had 0% confidence in canter, and we were still working towards me increasing that confidence and i was at a stage where I was starting to school in canter, rather than just asking for canter then hanging on for dear life. Losing him to peritonitis was absolutely devastating.
Despite having a yearling to take care of, I started to look for a new riding horse almost straight away, and Tartine came home with me at the beginning of May. We have had a lot of teething problems. The first yard didn't suit her at all, and she became hyper reactive, spooking at everything, and although she never unseated me I found my confidence ebbing away. At the beginning of June I moved her to the yard where Blitz is, and she settled down almost straight away. Unfortunately my confidence seems to have done a runner. I'm constantly on the alert for things she could spook at, and it is making me tense and unhappy, which obviously feeds down to her, making her tense and unhappy. I find it a chore to ride. I know that it will take time for me to develop confidence in her, and I know that as I get to know her everything will settle down. But I just miss so much that feeling of "coming home" I got when sitting on Pinto.
So, I have a friend who comes and schools her twice a week, and they have just started having jumping lessons (my friend doesn't need the lessons, but Tartine does
). We are planning on my friend taking her out and competing, in dressage and SJ at first, and aiming towards a small ODE by the end of the season next May/Jun time. I feel guilty that I get excited about my friend taking Tartine out and about when I can hardly summon the motivation to have a pootle around the school.Don't get me wrong, I do like Tartine a lot; she is a lovely, sweet tempered, bossy mare who is eager to learn, has a great work ethic, and is very honest and generous. She is also a lovely example of the breed, and will make a great mum in the future.
I also like doing the ground and preparation work - we just started long lining this week, and Tartine is much better at it than me!
I know that plenty of people have riders compete their horses, so I'm not sure why I'm feeling guilty, I just do. I think a lot of this was triggered as one of the other liveries asks me every day if I'm riding or not, and it is starting to feel a bit accusing - even though it isn't meant that way at all.
I'm not sure what the point of this post was actually. Sometimes it just feels a bit better to write something down.
Tea and biscuits if you managed to get this far!
