Success stories/encouragement please!

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dreambigpony

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I'm having some difficulties with my horse at the moment and need some encouragement/motivation that things will work out!
I'd love to hear your stories of how you thought about selling your horse/moving on but things turned around and now you're doing well together.
 
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My sister and her gorgeous ex-racer's journey has had a lot of highs and lows. But he is the perfect horse now, and she loves the bones of him.
 
I've got a very forward going mare who loves jumping. When I first got her she grabbed the bit and raced into fences. We did lots of circles before and after each fence to keep her steady. I had no confidence jumping as I'd broken my ACL and had nearly a year of not riding. I booked a private lesson with my jumping instructor and told him I didn't want to jump high as I was scared. He set out a whole course of jumps about 6 inches high and just let me play. Bless him, he must have been so bored! That gave me the confidence to enter our first jumping class at about 1 foot. We did it all in trot but went clear. In the jump-off I tried a bit of canter but my mare decided she knew where we were going and I had to trot again to get some control. We went clear, but oh so slowly!

In our next competition we entered the 1ft and 2 ft classes and came 3rd in both! Since then we've won a 2ft class, progressed to 2'3 and then 2'6, and came 4th in both our first 2'6 classes. We've also done mini xc and WH, which we love. The last 9 months we've been treading water as she's been injured, but she's coming back into work now and I can't wait to compete again. I haven't jumped this year, but I'm not nervous any more. My pony is so honest I know she'll never stop, and I also know it's my nerves preventing us from doing even better.
 
Cowpony said:
I've got a very forward going mare who loves jumping. When I first got her she grabbed the bit and raced into fences. We did lots of circles before and after each fence to keep her steady. I had no confidence jumping as I'd broken my ACL and had nearly a year of not riding. I booked a private lesson with my jumping instructor and told him I didn't want to jump high as I was scared. He set out a whole course of jumps about 6 inches high and just let me play. Bless him, he must have been so bored! That gave me the confidence to enter our first jumping class at about 1 foot. We did it all in trot but went clear. In the jump-off I tried a bit of canter but my mare decided she knew where we were going and I had to trot again to get some control. We went clear, but oh so slowly!

In our next competition we entered the 1ft and 2 ft classes and came 3rd in both! Since then we've won a 2ft class, progressed to 2'3 and then 2'6, and came 4th in both our first 2'6 classes. We've also done mini xc and WH, which we love. The last 9 months we've been treading water as she's been injured, but she's coming back into work now and I can't wait to compete again. I haven't jumped this year, but I'm not nervous any more. My pony is so honest I know she'll never stop, and I also know it's my nerves preventing us from doing even better.
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Lovely to read, great to know you are both getting there again!
 
lelabell said:
Lovely to read, great to know you are both getting there again!
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Thanks. I'd just encourage everybody in this position to take your time, don't feel pressured into doing anything you feel nervous about and do what feels right for you and your horse. It's not a race, whatever your friends are doing, and it's meant to be fun!
 
I have an old thread on here called 'Dangerous mare'. At the time of starting it she wasn't getting sold - I'd been told repeatedly to shoot her. I've updated it since but the upshot is she's my horse of a lifetime and such a friend. It was a long road but such a worthwhile journey :-) x
 
Hey, hang in there.
My horse was a complete nightmare about 9 months ago. I had fallen off him loads, was unable to lead without a chiffney. You name it, he did it. Lost my confidence completely. So I organised to send him away for schooling but before they would take him I had to have a vet confirm he was sound and healthy. Cue 2 vet appointments and 2 stays in hospital he was confirmed to have terrible ulcers and OCD in both stifles. Treated the ulcers and the bad behaviour went completely, so did the lameness. He's been in rehab since march and I'm hoping to start schooling him soon and finally having a healthy & happy horse. It's been a long road with blood, sweat, A&E trips and tears but he is worth it. Whilst I had him off work and in pain, I found my pony in the field with a badly broken leg, so I think I am over due some good luck!
Ps don't listen to the unqualified (ie the vet) when they tell you to give up or in my case PTS just because your horse isn't their ideal.
 
So long as there isn't a physical issue (my current home bred has thin sensitive soles so has to be ridden on a surface) strong willed problem horses are often the best once you get them on side. My old mare napped and reared for England as a 5 year old, once I had convinced her it wasn't a good idea (without violence BTW) she became a real go anywhere do anything mare for the rest of her life. I call them teachers - they force you to learn skills you wouldn't otherwise have to find out about.
 
HollieLD said:
I'm having some difficulties with my horse at the moment and need some encouragement/motivation that things will work out!
I'd love to hear your stories of how you thought about selling your horse/moving on but things turned around and now you're doing well together.
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I bought my mare just over 3 years ago. She was an absolute donkey when I got her (we think she had been ill/depressed when I bought her, hence her little interest in life, work, buddies). When she suddenly started to feel better I suddenly had a horse that had an opinion, and it really did knock my confidence, especially after owning a gelding with perfect manners! I was not use to owning a mare.

She wasn't terribly naughty, never bucked or reared etc, but she was just generally difficult and often questioned what I was asking of her, or ignored me! She had little interest in offering any type of work and was adamant that if she didn't have to go forward- she wouldn't. I am not one for bullying a horse, and I don't like feeling that a horse is working against me, so I felt frustrated that we were not bonding like me and my old horse. I should add that I am an experienced rider, and so could deal with the issues I had, but it just is not a nice feeling when you feel your horse is not happy. I remember at one point riding her, getting totally annoyed at how much of a PITA she was being, chucking her back in her box and telling the YO I wanted to sell her as I was really hating spending all my money on a horse that was getting everything it needed (including back and teeth checked etc), yet was generally moody, with no manners and who I felt was wanting to work against me. She was bargey too, and a horse with no ground manners is one of my pet hates.

It was honestly like something changed over night. Well I say that, but I think that my patience, routine and persistance got us where we are now. Believe me, I was not to about to be the less stubborn of the two of us! I guess the reason I did not end up selling is that I sometimes saw tiny glimpses of what I wanted, and so I stuck with it and kept going. I suddenly had a horse that was enjoying her work, who was starting to offer things and to try, and I suddenly felt we were bonding. It was great as this was the horse that I had tried before I bought.

She is my absolute dream horse. I am a nervous rider, but she makes me feel safe. I know that she will try her heart out for me and that we have a lot of fun together, and plenty of love. She is out on loan at the moment to a lovely home, but will be back with me shortly, and I know that she will make me proud while there.

Saying that, I think it depends what kind of issues you are having? I think that as long as you are making some progress, no matter how small- that is a good sign. If you feel that everytime you ride that you are back to square one, it can be hard to keep motivated. Can't advise enough that a good RI can really help things along when you need a helping hand and confidence boost!
 
Lolo - What a lovely video, really inspiring, just goes to show what persevering and hard work can achieve. Well done to your sister and her beautiful horse.

OP - Keep at it, I almost sold my ex racer, and not just once. I kept at it and although he's not an eventer or competition horse, he has become my dream horse, he's perfect to hack, we do do the odd jumping when we feel like it, but I just have fun on him, he's just a fun horse to ride. 9 years on he's my perfect horse and I have had so many good years out of him. He could have done more, he probably could have evented and been good at it, but in the end of the day I wanted a safe happy hack.

I would sit down and think about what you really want from your horse, we can be pressured to compete and can be made to feel that we are useless if we don't compete, but in the end of the day it's your horse, you pay for him and you should enjoy him.

I would get an honest opinion and get a few good lessons with a good instructor.
 
Lolo said:
[youtube]-1qedQ7xC9E[/youtube]

My sister and her gorgeous ex-racer's journey has had a lot of highs and lows. But he is the perfect horse now, and she loves the bones of him.
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Amazing video.

OP - stick in there, but take it slow. It's all about baby steps and perseverance. It's much more rewarding when you finally see the light with a difficult horse, than plod on with a push button.
 
Oh yes, this could even be a good thing. I have had similar situations and now just try to improve my skill set to improve my weaknesses. It had taken me to wonderful places and people - and some pretty dogy ones as well, but I have learnt from them all.

Places it took me were clicker training - I don't use it any more but it taught me how horses learn and has made training much more reward based (happier for us both), a dabble with Pirelli ( the first five games are good for ensuring you can move your horse around precisely both on the ground and on the horse, didn't like the sideways and circling games though), Philippe Karl - a classical European dressage trainer, very specific on being emphatic with a horses mouth and now another rather brilliant dressage teacher, again from the classical European background and a bit of hypnotherapy and NLP for my brain - and running and yoga for my body and a great wadge of leaning about rider biomechanics (RWYM and mechanical horse).

So essentially my advice is open your mind, don't be limited but other peoples limitations and enjoy the journey. And as far as trainers are concerned be prepared to travel for someone good. The worst mistake I made was going to local people who were just looking for a quick buck. Really seek out those people who really can train and will give you focus so you can be self reliant.

Have fun, it can be a wonderful prompt to get out there and learn amazing thing,
 
I have one!

Bought a nearly-6yo 2 and a bit years ago who was v green, but I hadn't realised how green. Had lots of fun with him (hunting, hacking, fun rides) but when it came to schooling, I got a lot of stuff wrong and it was a major learning curve. Couple that with him turning into Kevin The Teenager when he was 6/ rising 7, getting bigger and stronger, and we had a recipe for disaster. Before I got him he'd only hunted in Ireland, was completely upside down, and generally been allowed to do whatever he wanted. In my first winter with him (I bought him in the April), I wanted to crack on with schooling and it was awful. He has a temper tantrum like nothing I've ever experienced and because I had missed things out in the training, he didn't really understand and he also didn't see why he should have to. Got my YO on board, he had some intensive basic schooling, then loads of lessons and things improved. Around spring/ summer time last year they still weren't brilliant and I'd come to the conclusion that we weren't suited. He was still too green and too sensitive for me, I wasn't a good enough rider for him, and so I wanted YO to get him ready to sell. I don't know what changed but not long after, something suddenly clicked into place. I think it was having my YO riding him so often that he started to realise what he was supposed to do, plus being ridden correctly more often meant he was developing the right muscles and it was all becoming easier for him.

So I kept him, as it became easier for me to ride him too. Fast forward to now, a year later, and he is an absolute delight. He is still sharp, sensitive and can be over-reactive but he tries his heart out for me every day. He's a true all rounder - we've been placed in some BE80s, our first 90cm UA ODE was last weekend and we were 2nd, he routinely achieves 68-75% in UA DR classes (and 33-30 at BE). He is a different horse. He's incredible XC, if I saw go, he goes. If I look back now I can't believe I was going to sell him as I'd never part with him now, I would trust him with my life, he skips over BE100 fences when we go XC schooling and he's just a dream.

So yes it can work out, and this time last year I was really struggling with him. We still have challenges, but isn't that the nature of riding? I've learnt SO much since I got him and while he sometimes still frustrates the hell out of me, I wouldn't change him!
 
Thank you so much everyone! It really is great to hear your words of wisdom!
I absolutely adore my horse and want the best for her. I can't wait to be out there doing well with her and proving my previous YO wrong "You aren't good enough for her" "She'll never be a good horse".
 
I'm saving that video to my favourites for when I'm having a bad day and feel we've gone backwards. It's actually made me want to go and get on the little man now and have a go at some of our demons!
 
Bought a feral pony last August, repeatedly wanted to sell her/give her away as I couldn't even get near her. Took me 3 months to stroke her for the first time, once i'd done that and removed the headcollar which was stuck in her face, she calmed down and the following few months flew by and she improved so so much.

Not only that but she had a surprise foal in April and the pair of them are my world.

Hang on in there, they're worth it in the end :)
 
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