happytrekker
New User
Hi there,
I suppose I've become quite desperate for some third-party objective advice as I have been mulling this over for what feels like an eternity. I fell in love with horses a year ago when my partner took me on a day long trek across the countryside and I realised just how amazing horses were and the magic they can create. Shortly after, I started some very basic riding lessons at a farm but wanted to learn more and didn't have access to horses. Two months into the horseworld and a friend suggested I meet this dealer who kept the mare I bought off him in what I considered a deplorable state- she was underweight, had terrible hooves, no manners and seemed scared but very, very rideable- at the time. I took pity on her and was determined to look after her, finding myself in a crash course in horse care and ownership. Once she put on some weight, had her hooves treated, she started feeling good about herself and was physically well, we did some training and then I rode her-immediately after three dented unuseable helmets I realised she was a different horse- not a novice ride- and that I was out of my depth. After a year of consistent groundwork training and inconsistent riding (something bad would happen like a rear, buck, spin, fall and I'd be too afraid to ride for a few weeks), she is lovely on the ground but just as tense under saddle and does not make for a relaxing ride. She can relax when tired on a hack and we have an amazing bond, but the majority of the time I struggle on her and cause she's so quick and green, I can't have lessons on her and I haven't even managed to learn anything past the trot. She has started being schooled now in classical riding, from scratch, and she's become very moody with me and our bond is suffering as she sees the tack and she tenses up. Since I got her, I've been a real softie and she knows this, so she's perpetually trying to boss me around-it's recently got worse as we've been riding more and more. Her back has been checked, teeth good and I have spent so much money on specialists and trainers- but I have felt like giving up on several occasions. Now, I am facing a full-time job as of September and I can't picture myself going through all this struggle daily whilst doing an already demanding job in the day. I just want to go out for a nice, long hack and ride after a hard day at work without all the drama that comes from a green rider and a green horse. The issue is she's my first mare, and I love her to bits, she's essentially my baby- but I wonder if as beautiful as she is, with great movements and potential, she wouldn't be better off with a more experienced home whilst I get myself a reliable happy hacker/schoolmistress. The idea tears me apart though...we have such good days sometimes...should I wait for an indeterminate length of time for her and I to click after we've both had schooling and lessons or should I accept what I've feared all along: that she would be better off with someone more experienced? I'm finding the schooling process so hard as she gets more and more moody (not in season)... I want to give myself until September to make a decision but would be nice to know what others think and what their experience has been...Thank you for your time.
I suppose I've become quite desperate for some third-party objective advice as I have been mulling this over for what feels like an eternity. I fell in love with horses a year ago when my partner took me on a day long trek across the countryside and I realised just how amazing horses were and the magic they can create. Shortly after, I started some very basic riding lessons at a farm but wanted to learn more and didn't have access to horses. Two months into the horseworld and a friend suggested I meet this dealer who kept the mare I bought off him in what I considered a deplorable state- she was underweight, had terrible hooves, no manners and seemed scared but very, very rideable- at the time. I took pity on her and was determined to look after her, finding myself in a crash course in horse care and ownership. Once she put on some weight, had her hooves treated, she started feeling good about herself and was physically well, we did some training and then I rode her-immediately after three dented unuseable helmets I realised she was a different horse- not a novice ride- and that I was out of my depth. After a year of consistent groundwork training and inconsistent riding (something bad would happen like a rear, buck, spin, fall and I'd be too afraid to ride for a few weeks), she is lovely on the ground but just as tense under saddle and does not make for a relaxing ride. She can relax when tired on a hack and we have an amazing bond, but the majority of the time I struggle on her and cause she's so quick and green, I can't have lessons on her and I haven't even managed to learn anything past the trot. She has started being schooled now in classical riding, from scratch, and she's become very moody with me and our bond is suffering as she sees the tack and she tenses up. Since I got her, I've been a real softie and she knows this, so she's perpetually trying to boss me around-it's recently got worse as we've been riding more and more. Her back has been checked, teeth good and I have spent so much money on specialists and trainers- but I have felt like giving up on several occasions. Now, I am facing a full-time job as of September and I can't picture myself going through all this struggle daily whilst doing an already demanding job in the day. I just want to go out for a nice, long hack and ride after a hard day at work without all the drama that comes from a green rider and a green horse. The issue is she's my first mare, and I love her to bits, she's essentially my baby- but I wonder if as beautiful as she is, with great movements and potential, she wouldn't be better off with a more experienced home whilst I get myself a reliable happy hacker/schoolmistress. The idea tears me apart though...we have such good days sometimes...should I wait for an indeterminate length of time for her and I to click after we've both had schooling and lessons or should I accept what I've feared all along: that she would be better off with someone more experienced? I'm finding the schooling process so hard as she gets more and more moody (not in season)... I want to give myself until September to make a decision but would be nice to know what others think and what their experience has been...Thank you for your time.
