Ziggy_
Well-Known Member
....And your horse just isn't right for you?
This is a difficult post for me so I'll try and keep it short.
My horse has really come a long way since I bought her last August. Now shes schooled, fit and well and in theory we should be getting out and about enjoying the summer. Umm, no. I've just lost interest in her. I still enjoy handling her and grooming her etc but as far as riding is concerned, all the enjoyment has totally gone out of it.
Don't get me wrong she is a fantastic horse and we have a really good bond- for a fiery TB she is almost bomb proof out hacking, she is well schooled and a brilliant jumper. She has never reared, bucked or bolted and is mostly a pleasure to ride. I feel confident on her and everyone says she is a stunning horse and we are well suited. The thing is it so much effort to ride her, it is mentally exhausting! In the school I am constantly thinking of new exercises to keep her mind occupied, or she gets fed up and nappy. I can't hack on the same route two days running or she will find things to spook at. Every tiny little flaw in your riding she will pick up on and take advantage of. Ditto jumping, you have to sit dead still and not interfere or she will get strong and stroppy. Get it right and she will pop 4' like its nothing, get it wrong and she will refuse point blank at a cross pole. I have to work her every day or she is impossible to handle.
I see other people at the yard hop on their ponies and cobs and have fun, bomb round the school a few times then go in the jumping field and pop a few jumps. They can give them a week off without thinking twice then jump on and go out for a hack and to put it bluntly, I'm jealous!
I've though about loaning and sharing but the financial temptation is there to sell her and buy a nice uncomplicated horse for myself intead. I was working at a nightmare yard which ruined my enjoyment of horses and I thought i would get it back when i left, but 2 months on and we are at a brilliant yard with a really helpful instructor, and I have no desire to ride at all but i could spend hours sat in her field watching her.
On the up side:-
1. She is safe and doesn't rear, buck or bolt
2. She is always fun to ride and loves her work
3. When she is going nicely she looks and feels amazing
4. in 10 months she has never once touched a pole jumping and is unbeatable against the clock
5. you wouldn't get another horse like her for £1500
6. she genuinely has no hang ups or vices, is excellent to load, clip, shoe etc, and travels brilliantly
On the other hand:-
1. She needs regular hard work
2. she is very difficult to ride
3. she costs me a fortune in rugs and feed and loses weight if not worked
4. she wont be easy to sell as not many people who want to do local shows and have fun want a highly strung competition horse, myself included.
So What should I do?
How did you decide your horse was really the one for you?
I used to have lessons once a week and would turn up in any weather and ride any horse and I would love every last second of it. I remember jumping in torential rain, shivering with cold and slipping all over the saddle and thinking it was the most fun I'd ever had, I never missed a week even when I broke my collar bone. Really all I want is to get that feeling back but it seems like such a distant memory now.
This is a difficult post for me so I'll try and keep it short.
My horse has really come a long way since I bought her last August. Now shes schooled, fit and well and in theory we should be getting out and about enjoying the summer. Umm, no. I've just lost interest in her. I still enjoy handling her and grooming her etc but as far as riding is concerned, all the enjoyment has totally gone out of it.
Don't get me wrong she is a fantastic horse and we have a really good bond- for a fiery TB she is almost bomb proof out hacking, she is well schooled and a brilliant jumper. She has never reared, bucked or bolted and is mostly a pleasure to ride. I feel confident on her and everyone says she is a stunning horse and we are well suited. The thing is it so much effort to ride her, it is mentally exhausting! In the school I am constantly thinking of new exercises to keep her mind occupied, or she gets fed up and nappy. I can't hack on the same route two days running or she will find things to spook at. Every tiny little flaw in your riding she will pick up on and take advantage of. Ditto jumping, you have to sit dead still and not interfere or she will get strong and stroppy. Get it right and she will pop 4' like its nothing, get it wrong and she will refuse point blank at a cross pole. I have to work her every day or she is impossible to handle.
I see other people at the yard hop on their ponies and cobs and have fun, bomb round the school a few times then go in the jumping field and pop a few jumps. They can give them a week off without thinking twice then jump on and go out for a hack and to put it bluntly, I'm jealous!
I've though about loaning and sharing but the financial temptation is there to sell her and buy a nice uncomplicated horse for myself intead. I was working at a nightmare yard which ruined my enjoyment of horses and I thought i would get it back when i left, but 2 months on and we are at a brilliant yard with a really helpful instructor, and I have no desire to ride at all but i could spend hours sat in her field watching her.
On the up side:-
1. She is safe and doesn't rear, buck or bolt
2. She is always fun to ride and loves her work
3. When she is going nicely she looks and feels amazing
4. in 10 months she has never once touched a pole jumping and is unbeatable against the clock
5. you wouldn't get another horse like her for £1500
6. she genuinely has no hang ups or vices, is excellent to load, clip, shoe etc, and travels brilliantly
On the other hand:-
1. She needs regular hard work
2. she is very difficult to ride
3. she costs me a fortune in rugs and feed and loses weight if not worked
4. she wont be easy to sell as not many people who want to do local shows and have fun want a highly strung competition horse, myself included.
So What should I do?
How did you decide your horse was really the one for you?
I used to have lessons once a week and would turn up in any weather and ride any horse and I would love every last second of it. I remember jumping in torential rain, shivering with cold and slipping all over the saddle and thinking it was the most fun I'd ever had, I never missed a week even when I broke my collar bone. Really all I want is to get that feeling back but it seems like such a distant memory now.
