Riding mid life crisis - long but pls read & advise...!

[Madali]

I have a lovely young Maesmynach Welsh D and am a member of the Maesmynach 'owners club' (there is such a thing!!). My young mare is not 'spooky' or 'silly' at all - she has been entirely straightforward to do with the caveat that as Welshies generally can be sensitive, sharp and quick learners you would not want a complete novice to take one on as a starter. But you are far from a novice!! As a 4 year old that I have produced on my own my Welsh D has proved a quick and eager learner, really 'fun' to ride (so lively - certainly not a kick-along) and has coped entirely intelligently with every new experience. I feel like we may be able to achieve more than I anticipated tbh. She has a wonderful walk and canter which is interesting and potentially signals that more challenging flat work may be possible.

She is also extraordinarily cheap and easy to keep; no sensitivities (well only to amounts of food lol), great feet, suprisingly athletic and I feel as safe as houses with her. My other horse (and several of our horses) are Arab x and I also like to ride (but not keep) a tb. My Welsh is different to both of those but her intelligence matches the Arab types and she somehow feels very 'versatile' albeit at not an Advanced level. I don't think we will reach dizzy heights (advanced dressage, 1.20 jumping or beyond novice eventing) but you never know and I do feel very confident that we could do quite 'normal' sorts of competing if I put the work in; dressage at Ele would be as much as I would want to do as would BE100 (if I had the finances which I probably don't!!). She is 15'3 and reminds me more of Iberian types that I have ridden in the past but is more 'rugged'. There is plenty of 'heat' and 'temperament' there but in a very amiable pony kind of way. The other Maesmynach Welsh D owners that I know personally have similar experiences; there are many competing in dressage and eventing quite happily as well as hunting. I would have loved a Spaniard in some ways but I was sold on the completely Welsh charm (not that Iberians don't have plenty of that!!) and I wanted something that was not 'specialist' in any way - been there done that!!

The only question mark I have over my Welshie at this point is that, in comparison to the blood horses we are used to, she is terribly, almost laughably slow in terms of speed!! She is only 4, has never been asked to gallop yet and there is plenty of time for her to speed up but I do find it a bit 'odd' tbh. I don't need a particularly fast horse though so that is pretty immaterial to me. Something that I have noticed about Welsh Ds though is that people either love them and 'get' them or they don't so you may find yourself in one or other camp. I would love another one now...!!

One of my Maesmynach girls is as fast as any horse I have met the other one is so slow.
I wonder if it is because I hunted the fast bold one when she was 4 and she learnt to move freely forward.

 

[rabatsa]

I have enjoyed local level TREC and training.

 

[palo1]

One of my Maesmynach girls is as fast as any horse I have met the other one is so slow.
I wonder if it is because I hunted the fast bold one when she was 4 and she learnt to move freely forward.

That is interesting - I had hoped to introduce my mare to trail hunting this season but Covid put paid to that. Hopefully next year I certainly think she is getting faster tbh but my other riding horse is probably the fastest horse I have ever ridden for some strange reason so she feels particularly slow in comparison! In any case it takes a young horse time before they are truly confident to properly gallop, in my experience. The speedy one I have certainly wasn't quick as a youngster and it was hunting that enabled him to find all of his gears!!

 

[McFluff]

I’ve ridden and known lots of D’s and none have been bad spooky. Their spooks are more about drama and (it feels like) having a laugh.
If you use their intelligence and energy they are great fun, but safe.
One I knew could outrun a TB. Mine is a bit more leisurely than that (thankfully!).

 

[Starbucks]

Seems a bit of a jump for either, happy hacker OR 1.20/advanced dressage horse.

I would focus on thinking about what kind of horse you like and enjoy riding generally, while keeping in mind your current abilities and what you are willing to deal with. It might be that you can deal with a sharp competition horse but don’t really want to be doing with that, or you might find a steadier type a bit dull? Only you can answer that.

then just go with the flow and do what you enjoy.

 

[charterline]

Speaking having been in a similar situation. Do you want to keep riding? Assume answer is yes. Why do you want to keep riding, just to enjoy being in the school and with your horse, or because you want/need to be going to competitions?

if it’s the second answer, I’d suggest you feel that way as that’s what you’ve always done, and what you feel you need to carry on with. What you actually want is the first answer.

find a horse you like riding and that can hack/is good in the school and go from there

 

[catembi]

Well, for anyone who is interested, I contacted my aunt who contacted one of the family who also breeds horses, & he is best friends with the person who runs Maesmynach, and also has another friend nearby who breeds Welshies. I am not sure that one would be right for me, and for the time being I have got a lot of saving up to do, but in the spring it might be lovely to have a trip to Wales, catch up with family, see some horses & try out my Welsh, which I have been learning since a big family reunion a few years ago. Covid permitting.

 

[palo1]

Well, for anyone who is interested, I contacted my aunt who contacted one of the family who also breeds horses, & he is best friends with the person who runs Maesmynach, and also has another friend nearby who breeds Welshies. I am not sure that one would be right for me, and for the time being I have got a lot of saving up to do, but in the spring it might be lovely to have a trip to Wales, catch up with family, see some horses & try out my Welsh, which I have been learning since a big family reunion a few years ago. Covid permitting.

If you decide to arrange a trip to the Maesmynach stud, regardless of whether you buy or not, you will find it a great experience and you will be given a very warm welcome! A day looking at Welshies will certainly be a fun day out

 

[Lipglosspukka]

I have not read all the replies, however I would get yourself a nice native or native x. Join a local low level riding club who do it just for the fun without the pressure and start enjoying riding again.

 

[Alibear]

Your plan sounds great and if you can whilst you're saving. Go out and have some fun on horses, not just lessons, but hacks if any stables to them anymore, trekking days/ weekends are definitely a thing, western lesson, horseback archery, polo lessons etc. Just go and have some fun on other peoples horses for a while. Its great for getting your confidence back and highlighting what you enjoy. COVID permitting of course.

 

[DirectorFury]

Well, for anyone who is interested, I contacted my aunt who contacted one of the family who also breeds horses, & he is best friends with the person who runs Maesmynach, and also has another friend nearby who breeds Welshies. I am not sure that one would be right for me, and for the time being I have got a lot of saving up to do, but in the spring it might be lovely to have a trip to Wales, catch up with family, see some horses & try out my Welsh, which I have been learning since a big family reunion a few years ago. Covid permitting.

Your family member who knows Nic doesn’t breed under the Maesnewydd prefix by any chance?

 

[Annagain]

Da iawn ti ar ddysgu'r Gymraeg! (well done on learning Welsh) If you ever want to practice I'm happy to help.

I've just skimmed the whole thread and what I don't quite understand is why it has to be Foxhunter and Advanced dressage or hacking - there's such a huge amount in between. I think in your shoes I'd start with a nice been-there-done-it riding club allrounder and take it from there. If you find you get the bug and you have the right horse you could step up to BS/BD (although BRC goes up to 1.10m and Advanced Medium), if you decide you hate competing you haven't "wasted" a horse (I don't believe a horse is ever wasted if it's loved, cared for and doing the job its owner needs it to do) or you might find that riding club is fine for scratching that competitive itch. I have no ambition to do any more than my local riding club stuff and BRC qualifiers (although I'm not sure I really want to go to championships as they're all so far away and I do everything on my own. I don't think I could do a 5 hour drive and then all the competing even with staying overnight. I think most of the BRC champs would be fairly close to you though?

In terms of Welshies, they are marmite but get a good one, build a good bond (if they're on your side they're brilliant, if they hate you they'll make your life hell) and you'll never look back. Mine would do anything for me but hated my best friend. She couldn't catch him or lead him anywhere. He was very fizzy and forwards but she'd get on him and he'd barely move. It was definitely calcualted and he wanted to show her up. I had another friend who was suffering depression at the time, she was quite novicey and had lost all her confidence riding so would just come to help look after the horses as it gave her a boost. He adored her so I persuaded her to have a sit on. This crazy ball of energy turned instantly into a quiet, responsive school master. In 14 years, the only time he spooked with me was when a squirrel jumped out of a tree and landed on his neck and the first time he stopped at a fence (aged 24) I took him straight to the vet. He had arthritis in his knees that was so bad on x-ray, the vet was amazed he was walking, let alone just not jumping. He slowed down after that but was still in work (we tried retirement and it didn't suit him) when I lost him unexpectedly to colic at 27 and still never took a lame step.

ETA - "hate" might seem strong above but everything is an extreme for Welshies. They really do either love or hate you. They're either 100mph or backwards, spooky or rock solid, brilliant or terrible. Mine was crazily excitable, his full sister was an RDA pony. There is no in-between. With ANYTHING!

 

[Archangel]

You get some very good (as in stunning) Welsh Ds at Llanybydder horse sales (hopefully they will restart in 2021) - the sale is very close to Maesmynach Stud so you could combine the two. There is a very good Arab stud at Llandysul as well or Michael Harris Combe Farm Arabians (in Devon) are good and not overly big. -

 

[JGC]

I had a similar story to you, Catembi.

I had to retire my first horse in 2010. We were working Ad Med in dressage and jumping round 1-1.10 metres. I bought a four-year old. Started having problems riding. I was sure it was physical, all the professionals told me it was my riding. I tried to push through and ended up coming off and breaking my ribs. She had massive adhesions on her ovaries and needed to have one removed. Was fine afterwards but I never got confidence back on her, as she also had to have masses of time off for a bleeding growth on her sinuses.

Next try was my gelding, who I'd ridden as a sharer years before, but in the meantime, he had got ulcers, but we struggled to get on top of it, as I think there was an underlying health issue we never got to the bottom despite thousands of pounds worth of test, including at two leading vet hospital. He died in the field three weeks after I retired him. This was seven (long) years after retiring my first horse.

I just couldn't face going through it all again. I took a few months off, just doing some trekking on holiday, beach rides, rides in the snow, ski joering. A time to heal. Then I took time looking about me for a share horse, found a fab schoolmaster at a stables that had regular dressage and jumping clinics. Helped friends by getting catch rides when they were on holiday. Really got back into the swing of things without the stress of waiting for the next thing to go wrong. This period was about a year.

Just over a year ago, I saw an ad for a cob mare (a grand 156 cm unshod - I am 5'7) from a riding school that was closing down for the grand total of 2000 pounds. On the basis of a video of her popping round 60 cm, I went to see her. She was completely the wrong way up, dead to the leg, but I felt so safe and happy on her, and she felt so much like my first horse to ride, I can't explain it. Everyone thought I was mad. I figured if she'd withstood a riding school all these years, she must be pretty solid (and like you, the expensive mistakes were the ones I'd had vetted to within an inch of their lives, my first mare I didn't vet (although I'd know her at the stables for over a year) never had a lame day).

Since August last year, I have been having the absolute time of my life. With good care, she has completely transformed physically. She has a beautiful trot and now understands lateral work. We hack at least three times a week and have a lesson either jumping or flat once a week. We've been to clinics, jumped logs, galloped for miles and miles, done picnic rides, jumping clinics, we're jumping at about 80 cm while we learn the ropes but having got it wrong a few times and had her help me out, I know there is a lot more in there! The pony brain and the ability to add in an extra stride is beyond useful.

I needed the time out from horse ownership to try different things and really understand what I wanted. It meant that I absolutely knew what I wanted when I saw my current horse's ad. It might not take you that long, but I think it would be great to try your hand at as many different horsey activities as possible while you are saving up. I think it would focus your mind.

 

[lme]

Can’t you get something could do both? It doesn’t have to be either / or. My favourite horses have always been well bred competition types that are happy to be family ponies.

 

[catembi]

Your family member who knows Nic doesn’t breed under the Maesnewydd prefix by any chance?

AFAIK, the person who breeds that my relative knows is called Eric?

 

[palo1]

AFAIK, the person who breeds that my relative knows is called Eric?

Eric owns the stud but Nicola, his daughter is absolutely intrinsically crucial to the operation too.

 

[Starbucks]

Just to add, I had a Welsh D when I was a teen. He was ace! Completely different to any other horse I’ve owned or ridden. Very lively, extremely stubborn!! He was so much fun and safe but by no means easy.
If you want fun and talented but challenging then I think it would be a good match.