Losing weight dilemma - what would you do?

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tangoharvey

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I usually get good advice on here so here goes...I have lost 2 stone in weight, and its still coming off and I probably want to lose another 3 stone. Last year I bought a 16.2 Clydesdale mare (in sig) as I needed a good weight carrier, and confidence giver. Well now the weight is coming off I am looking at other liveries who have say, nice section D crosses at 15.2 or something like that and thinking did i buy the right horse?
Pros = She is 110% safe on roads, very loving, but walk is really her favourite pace and she is just a happy hacker. Now my confidence is growing I can see myself wanting to get back into lessons, and maybe even pop a small cross (my mare has never learnt to jump, but shes only just 7).
Cons = she is huge, a real tank with lots of feather, massive feet and has been compared to Ellie the mammoth from ice age!!
At the time of buying I saw her as home for life material but am now just starting to think maybe less horse might just be better? Please advise.......xx
 
I would say that if she is no longer the right horse for you, then sell!

She is 7, plenty young enough to find another more suitable home, and there is absolutely no shame in changing your mind about what you want.

Owning a horse is too expensive for it not to be what you want!

Congrats on the weightloss btw! :)
 
She sounds lovely - and if she is no longer the right horse for you then sell her. There will be a larger rider out there looking for a fab weight carrier who will snap her up!! :)
 
It might be right to sell - but let me pose you a few questions which might help you think about whether this is the right decision at the moment. Are you sure she can't do more? Having a safe horse that you feel confident on is a great thing and hard to find. It doesn't sound as if you have really tried to do much else with her up to now. Perhaps try upping her game first and see if she responds? If it doesn't suit her then think about selling her. Just because other people put mental restrictions on what you think you can do by calling her a mammoth then maybe you are not giving her the chance to do more.

Have you ridden anything else recently? Just because you feel confident on her doesn't mean you will on another horse. I've done this myself and I've seen other people do it too - you ride a well-behaved laid back horse and suddenly you feel like you can ride anything or at least something more - then you get something a bit sparkier and realise that perhaps you are not as confident as you first thought.

Just don't rush into anything - its so hard to find a genuine and sound horse that you can feel safe and have fun on. Best of luck with whatever you decide.
 
I agree with sussexbythesea, I've seen people think their ready get something more then go backwards in the way of confidence and the poor horse just left in a field to do nothing because they are affraid of it.

I would try uping her game and see what happens there.

God luck hun.
 
As a yo-yo dieter who lost 8 stones then slapped 4 back on, I would be careful of selling the weight carrier! Have you pushed her to see what she can do? There are Shires etc doing dressage and a Percheron eventer on here, so there's no reason you can't do tons with this girl. A horse that gives you confidence is worth it's weight in gold. Stick with her for a bit and see what she is capable of.
 
Hi TangoHarvey

Its totally upto you what you do of course as a horse is too expensive a thing to keep if it isint what you want and luckily shes only young with years ahead of her.

I definately think the suggestions on here from others regarding giving her more to do first and see how see manages is a good idea. After all a horse you feel safe and secure on is worth its weight in gold. The number of people ive seen over the years riding 16.2 WBs etc that were far too much for them just because its what they felt they should have is amazing!

Many years ago i keep my old pony on a livery yard where a guy had a lovely young clydesdale gelding. He was 17hh, so a real imposing horse and stunning to look at (IMO)
He loved to jump and could clear a fairly big course easily, he had a real turn of speed as well, much faster than i would have believed a heavy horse could go. As well as that he had the gentlest, kindest nature, just an allround lovely animal.

Oh and take no notice of people calling her a mammoth! that sort of attitude really annoys me, some people really need to shut up.
 
Clydesdales can jump! I jump against a part bred one in 1m30 classes! So i think as she is so lovely why don't you get someone to school her for you over fences and more advanced flatwork so its more established and ready for you to go on a try jumping etc with her?
That would be a win win situation as even if you did sell her after she had been schooled and worked on you might get more ££££ for her ;)
 
I rode a 17.2hh shire recently, his favourite gait is canter and he can keep it up as long as you like. If his owner had not told me to change rein, I would have got giddy going round the school so fast :D

I think you'll find she can raise her game to meet your growing expectations, give her a chance to show you.
 
Why don't you give her a chance to show you what she can do? you might be pleasantly surprised. My clydie cross loves jumping and in her younger days was even known to jump out of the field! get out there and try some different stuff with her, they really are very versatile horses. A horse you love and who gives you confidence is worth it's weight in gold.
 
yup, I'd give her a chance first. maybe change her feed to something with a bit more ooomph, and/or add Naf energy or propellplus... and get some lessons on her to see how she gets on.

Horses can get stuck in what they're used to, it may take a bit of time, but she's young and needs a chance to shine. If after putting all the effort in and still no good, then consider selling her - but I would have lessons on the type of horse you may want first.

She looks totally lovely btw ! I'd have her like a shot :D

sm x
 
Aww I think you should give her a chance she is gorgeous, can I have her tho if you don't want her, I'll have her :D

I am sure you could find her niche if you wanted to. Make her into a jumping machine or dressage diva :)
 
I would definitely try and see what she may be able to do as, if you trust her and are confident then there's no reason why she can't and wouldn't enjoy doinga bit more. Just cos seh isn't jogging and wanting to canter here there and everywhere doesn't mean she is slow/not capable of going up a gear.

Young horses (especially if you've not asked them) often do not get canter and gallop etc as why dod they need to? Maybe you need to just take her somewhere and have a go at something different - try a bit of jumping, maybe take her hunting etc etc.

if indeed ultimately you decide she doesn't really want to do it and you really do want something to take you further then I certainly do not think you'd have any difficulties selling her as dafe, reliable horses are always wanted.
 
I feel like I am merely echoing the comments of about 10 people above but I think you should stick with her, for at least another year!

At 7, she is perfect to start schooling and jumping. What she lacks in speed she will make up for in power. I think you should get back into lessons and jumping on her; a safe, trustworthy mare. You could learn together and have some great fun at local shows. You'd also increase her value so if you sold her in the future she could go to a really great home!!

I think you need to ask what you really want to do longer term. Do you want to do local shows? Or is your aim BSJA/BE/BD? If it is the former then she could do that as well as any horse!! The thing with the sharp, flashy sorts is they can get very strong and switch off and then they have poles; I've seen big, 'slow' horses win the classes because they were well ridden and careful always achieving double clears!! You definitely don't need a flashy WB for hacking and local shows!

How fit is she? How well fed is she? If she isn't fit and isn't on the right feed she won't have energy! My trainer has been great at telling me when I need more umph!! I also have done good fittening work with mine - lots of trotting up long hills. I do interval training with him at times too - round the block trotting up hill - walking on the flat & downhill! He does one 10 min block 3-5 times.

As for her looks - everyone has different taste and if people make comments about her looks don't be afraid to say that you're offended. I'd be gutted if a 'joke' I'd made resulted in my friend selling her beloved horse. You can to some extent change her looks - you could trim/clip her feather and her legs would look much finer. I've used to ride a shire x and she looked great without feather! But even that is your personal preference!!

I have a KWPN Warmblood, 10yo, 16.2hh.
Pros: He is beautiful and excellent Dressage (lowest score ever 65.22%) and SJ (Careful & turns well). He has been placed in every class I have entered in him since I got him in Apr.
Cons: He naps when hacking and will rear, he won't walk through puddles, he is very spooky and the other day he spooked when I was leading him, knocked me over then trampled over me - I have whiplash and bruises like you have never seen. If I reduce his feed then no energy & loses weight, feed him properly and he is a pillock. Just remember every horse has its pros and cons.

Please stick with your mare until you reach her limits - a good instructor will let you know when you are ready for the swanky Sect D cross types!! Imagine if you sold her and couldn't get her back when you realised you'd a mistake!!
 
sorry, I went off on a totally different subject then, so edited.

Hmmm. I think if you get on well with your current horse, there's no reason why not to keep him, but if you want to now do more than he will do then maybe get a lighter model. It's quite a difficult personal descision I suppose.

We had a shire x, who was one of the best horses we ever owned and he was the complete allrounder. He was a heavy, but his looks were decieving. He'd jump huge fences and hedges out hunting when his adrenelin was up. So I do have a soft spot for them.
 
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When I lost my lovely old mare I believed that she'd taught me to ride. I loaned a TBX and scared myself witless! I then realised that my mare hadn't really taught me to ride, she'd just looked after me very well. God Bless Her. I'd urge you to think twice, it might be really wonderful for you and your ned to learn together.
 
Having had 2 Clydesdale mares, I suggest getting some lessons with a good instructor and teaching your horse to do the things you want to do, there's no reason why you can't do RC type stuff with her, although I agree that she is unlikely to go round Badminton!
There again if you do decide that you want to move on, you can send her to me, I'm another who thinks that she's gorgeous!
 
Personally I would be inclined to keep your mare and get some lessons to school her on.

Lots of people think that the heavier breeds are not capable of achieving high standards well, Tim Stockdale had a fantastic mare called Bridget who was 1/2 shire she was a fantastic prisance (sp) horse (know her well as fell in love with her when I saw her at 6yrs old) and I have seen many cracking dressage horses at the higher levels that are heavy breeds (can't remember names and riders off top of my head at the mo - sorry).

At the moment you feel safe, happy and secure. Why not test your boundaries with a horse you trust rather than a speedier looking one? You never know as life gets more interesting your mare may start to come up a level and get excited about things!

Ignore the mamoth comments. My old boy was known as "Donk" for a while after the charicter in Crocodile Dundee!
 
I have to agree with everyone else. Why not give her a chance and see what she can do. My instructor took on a happy hacker that didn't really like going out of a walk (and walked like a cow after living with cows all her life!). The owner felt she wasn't capable of doing anything else and wanted a speedier model.

We started making work for the horse more interesting and it was a bit trial and error with what feed worked well for her. For a few months she didn't change, but horses get a bit stuck into what they have always been asked to do. One day she just clicked and a couple of years on is now BE eventing.

If you feel safe on your mare then why not get lessons on her and try asking her to up her game, she is only 7 so could possibly have potential to do the things you want to do. It can also be fun to learn to do those things together!
 
Bless you all...and huge thanks too - I never really thought about trying to get her to up her game. We have great instructors and professional breakers/schoolers at our yard so I might just have a word and see what we can do - I havent jumped for about ten years and thought that doing it on a horse that hasnt done it either might be a recipe for a disaster...but I will give it a go! Warm chocolate muffins for you all! xxxxxxxxxxx
 
Becki1802 said:
If in doubt get your instructor to jump her first - don't want you losing all that newly found confidence!!!
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Agree, and also if you haven't jumped in a while then maybe take some lessons on a nice jumping school master type just to get you back into the swing of things without having to worry about the horse not having done it before!
 
tangoharvey said:
Bless you all...and huge thanks too - I never really thought about trying to get her to up her game. We have great instructors and professional breakers/schoolers at our yard so I might just have a word and see what we can do - I havent jumped for about ten years and thought that doing it on a horse that hasnt done it either might be a recipe for a disaster...but I will give it a go! Warm chocolate muffins for you all! xxxxxxxxxxx
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Slightly off topic, I have recently put on a lot of weight, what are your secrets to weight loss, ( yes I know eat less excersise more, doing that and nothing happening)I am really struggling, WELL DONE you though
 
daisydo said:
Slightly off topic, I have recently put on a lot of weight, what are your secrets to weight loss, ( yes I know eat less excersise more, doing that and nothing happening)I am really struggling, WELL DONE you though
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Thanks ;-) I have just cut out rubbish, and am eating breakfast - bowl of shreddies and skimmed milk (never used to eat breakfast and then you grab any old rubbish) Lunch is usual 4 rivetas with 2 laughing cow light, with sliced tomoto, and chicken salad for tea or something small, I try not to have bread/potatoes too often, and have just swapped to skinny lattes, smaller portion sizes, and only eat when I really reall y feel hungry. Thats it in a nutshell! ;-)
 
tangoharvey said:
Thanks ;-) I have just cut out rubbish, and am eating breakfast - bowl of shreddies and skimmed milk (never used to eat breakfast and then you grab any old rubbish) Lunch is usual 4 rivetas with 2 laughing cow light, with sliced tomoto, and chicken salad for tea or something small, I try not to have bread/potatoes too often, and have just swapped to skinny lattes, smaller portion sizes, and only eat when I really reall y feel hungry. Thats it in a nutshell! ;-)
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Will give all of that a go, I cannot be bothered with calorie counting so that sounds perfect :), thanks
 
Daisydo - I don't 'do' calorie counting either but decided about 5 weeks ago actually I shall give it a try. I aim for 1200kcals a day (as per that ch4 show a while back) it has worked well so far and I've lost a fair bit but steadily. I cut out any alcohol during the week (I do have some fri and sat - it's rude not to!!) and I basically eat 3 meals a day and, if i have a snack i make sure i add it to the calories so have a healthier dinner. t's actually not that hard.

Aaanyway off topic - tangoharvey good luck with your lessons!!!
 
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