What is your/ your horse's biggest hurdle to overcome?

L

Lolo

Well-Known Member
Joined
19 August 2008
Messages
10,267
Visit site
I hardly ride any more after my horse was PTS last year and I went to uni that September, but recently was allowed to ride a lovely SuperCob and realised exactly what I did wrong that my old horse helped me with so much!

My biggest hurdle is my nerves. I had a nasty fall that I couldn't control which resulted in me being stepped on and kicked about a bit and after that my already fragile nerves were shot to bits. As a result I tend to tip forwards and panic kick resulting in a lot of fences being taken like we were hurdling!

For Reg, I'd say it is currently his lack of focus! His dressage is slowly improving (now consistently at 62% with listed judges, but hopefully getting up to 66% in the next outings!) and he's fab XC but he does lack focus SJ... For Al, I'd say she's super critical of everything she does which means that although she makes a lot of accurate observations and does work on them quickly it also means she thinks she's a lot worse than she is!

What about you? And do they have positive aspects, but are they all a bit negative? AND how do you try and combat them?
 
mine is to keep working on my general riding, building up the strength in my ankle (after surgery)

Micah 2 minor things really he needs to learn to not get so excited when cantering and that water will not kill him :D

But things are improving so much so fast for both of us and it is wonderful :D
 
ooh, good question.
my horses: Ellie is a natural coward but also a natural athlete so she needs to overcome her cowardice and be able to use her talents! i've taken her very slowly and the bravery is coming along...
Daisy has had her 'issues' but she's had a year off and is now back in work and feeling good (and most importantly being good!) so i'm praying she'll stay fine and we'll be able to get on with it, finally.
Katy's got a few more months of being a mum before her super foal is weaned and she comes back into work, i'm praying that the time off has given her feet enough time to come right and that she can get back to eventing. she's challenging on the flat and very hot-headed sjing but awesome xc, never sat on anything so bold and straight (and careful xc, wish she was that careful sj!) so if she will work with me on the other bits we might get somewhere!
my personal issues - umm, my sometimes-erratic eye for a stride needs a lot more work, my natural tendency to tip forward needs to be eradicated if possible. other than that it's just money, but i hope promising things at work will come off, in which case should be fine!
 
BIG list for me but starting with the simple stuff first :) We've decided to retire Mags from harness racing. So as threatened for the last season she's now being retrained as a rider with the aim of doing some low level bimbling about with me. Our list starts with:

Learning that working in trot and canter is allowed and even encouraged - she's 8 and up til now done very little ridden work, and in harness is only allowed to pace - which she does naturally - so we've spent the last week learning to go from walk to trot on a circle, she can and does trot but usually works in pace on a half mile circuit so a 20m circle is a big ask for her.

This could take us some time before we even start on the rest of our list :rolleyes:
 
For me it's nerves as well and lack of self belief.

It's me that holds us back, I'm the biggest issue.

Jaes biggest issue is me. Poor boy. He can be sharp in the warm up which can a problem but I think it's me being tense that causes that anyway.
 
Our biggest hurdles I suppose are negative but in a way they aren't.

At the moment A needs a lot more muscle but that will just come with work and time. Also he must learn to jump ditches!!!
 
Last edited:
Yup, nerves for me too. And have a weak left hand which am working on rigorously!

For Charlie... carelessness SJing, and his very weak flatwork.
 
Ditches.
I have recently overcome nerves and feel very happy Andy is less of a psychotic pony so now feel confident enough to go eventing but my boy has a large fear of ditches so need to overcome this. :)
 
Well, my biggest thing to overcome is lack of talent!

Billy's biggest issue would probably be his lack of respect for showjumps :p But then that goes hand in hand with my poor ability to showjump, so it appears to be a lose lose situation atm! He is also quite a worrier and you can never raise your voice to him, it just makes him more upset. So being quite sensitive means that even having a different rider on him can upset him! Tbh his strength though is that he is very genuine and honest, so even when duf on top stuffs it up he will still attempt things :)
 
Mine is remembering with pops that less is more, keeping still and quiet is the best way to ride her. Also she knows better what stride to go on so from 10 strides out leave it too her.

Her biggest hurdle is her tension in dressage arena's she has all the ablitiy but it appears not the right mental frame of mind to relax in the white boards!
 
The horse needs to learn to snap with the front legs I think it will come and is a combination of not using his neck enough at the moment and strength in the canter.

Me - its all about my elbows and shoulders. Working really hard to get them solved but in times of stress I revert. Elbows become tight and shoulders are too fast over a fence.
 
With me I need to just get better at everything - just generally rubbish! :o

Wibbles - I think at the moment it's his conformation (still a bit bumhigh, so we struggle to get 'lift' in the front end) and his neck muscles - no topline whatsoever, and still a bit of a slab underneath the neck, so even when he's beautiful and soft in the mouth (as he was today, good pony :D) and consistently on the vertical, it doesn't look half as nice as it would if you could just fill in the dip of the neck... Then I think he'd find it easier to snap up infront over fences too...
 
BronsonNutter said:
With me I need to just get better at everything - just generally rubbish! :o

Wibbles - I think at the moment it's his conformation (still a bit bumhigh, so we struggle to get 'lift' in the front end) and his neck muscles - no topline whatsoever, and still a bit of a slab underneath the neck, so even when he's beautiful and soft in the mouth (as he was today, good pony :D) and consistently on the vertical, it doesn't look half as nice as it would if you could just fill in the dip of the neck... Then I think he'd find it easier to snap up infront over fences too...
Click to expand...

Is he for sale now? I think I saw him on HorseQuest the other day and whilst I was thinking "Ohh, he's pretty" it clicked that the horse looked very like yours?
 
Mine has to be a combination of my elbows, hand position and lack of lower leg strength,
Horses has to be his WB laziness, he is so frustrating as he has such lovely paces and when he decides to go forwards properly feels amazing. I am sure some of it is me nagging etc but he is perfect for a beginner friend to sit on as given a choice, he will just slow down!
 
Pony needs to stop throwing tantrums that lead to a pulled muscle and over a week off :rolleyes: To learn that fillers dont kill yellow ponies and that they are to be jumped on the first attempt, arguing with your mum doesnt get you any where as I am just as stubborn as him :cool: and to be a good pony when he gets to jump the ditch next week for the first time and not repeat the performance we had at the water. A pair of brave pants would be nice for him to as he is a bit cautious and needs to look at every thing.

I need to stop being so blumin critical!! Stop getting nervous for dressage, I have issues with the being judged thing :o but no nerves for jumping and many other things that I wont bore you with ;)
 
Er for me it's pretty much lack of any real ability :p

For pony it's just experience.. And that's easy to fix
 
Mine is *i think* where i dont sit and wait for a jump, if i dont think ill make a stride or i cant see one I panick and rush and kick and it usually looks really awful!

Horse's humm probably if he throws a tantrum he wont fight he will just put in a rear or a buck...not the type of thing to try and get me off...just a little hey mum I dont want to do that...he does it alot lot less now but its still annoying. It's like a child going ' I can't', its like yes you can if you try! hahah but i love my pony!
 
Mine is certainly to loose weight (lost a bit but still a long way to go before I look as good as you lot in white breeches!). I think I sometimes dont get taken seriously as a rider as I am overweight and it certainly isnt good for me or the donkeys. I have my old sixe 10 kentucky jacket and pikeur breeches in my wardrobe and they are the only thing that has been saved from my recent ebay selling spree because I WILL fit into them for the start of the next eventing season. Also my hands (ironically, the only bit of me that isnt fat... I have very small hands... wierd!) - I always look at riders and are fixated on good hands and am hyper critical of my own. They are getting much better though, so they are a hurdle that is work in progress! I just get very tense in the elbow that I smashed when I was a kid and so I have one stray hand. I think I will always have that weakness, as I did a right proper job of shattering an elbow and breaking my wrist multiple times, but I am learnign to work around it.

Pippin's hurdle... she is perfect? No - no horse is perfect, but this little mare is damn close! She is the apple of my eye, but with her it is balance and tension. She just needs to learn to relax and realise that she can be good at poncing around in circles and this helps the fun times of jumping. She is a natural jumper and finds the flatwork physically more challenging, but she is getting so much more loose and swinging - I'm sure we will get there.

And Big Bird's biggest problem is certainly me and her owner! She is a dressage diva and we want her to event. So we are not made for eachother. But there will be someone who wants a big moving loving horse for dressage or hunting or hacking.
 
My horse's biggest problem I would say is either his lack of focus, or more likely, his sensitivity. Not physically but mentally. He loses confidence very quickly, stresses at shows and starts standing up on his back legs, get tense, and gets upset if he's in trouble and generally seems to worry. Very odd!

For me - I don't know. Lack of talent probably :) And making my stupid right hand do as it's bloody told (especially when it's the outside hand). After my elbow surgery and subsequent break, it seems to be on it's own little mission. So annoying!
 
Good post, makes me feel less alone with as my issues seem the same as lots of peoples!

Me - lack of confidence and self belief, I am extremely self critical which can also result on me being harder on the pony than is reasnoble, this absolutly crucifies anything we try and do as before pony will think we can do it, I need to! We are working on it with lots of lessons with an absolute legend of an instructor, and I do try to think positive! I'll get there in time, though I think will always tend rather more towards the lily livered side of things! We are taking a comp break because of this as I get panic attacks in the lead up - really misses the point that we do it for fun. Endless comps every weekend didn't help, I just got thoroughly exhausted from the stress, so now no comps and remembering to enjoy lessons and riding is the approach!

Pony - can be a bit of a brat! Generally submission is her biggest prob - just quiet plugging away at it and we are getting there! She is slowly (oh so painfully slowly some days!) coming to realise that we won't finish a schooling session until she does as she is asked. A controlled/non slug like/no stupid work evasion spooks 20m circle in trot is a perfectly reasnoble ask and we will keep at it until you and your attitude give over! Also, her confo doesn't help her out tbh and I do understand that this will always make collected work extra hard for her - at 9 she is still bum high (and I think now, likely to stay this way!), a little long in the back, and due to this she is very prone to being on the forehand. Virtually all of our work is based on her carrying her weight and being light and responsive - we are getting there and she is an absolutle delight to hack now and going really nicely in the school when she remembers to try! If we could just fix the bloomin head shaking then all would be fab!
 
Mine, nerves and a constant worry that I'm going to 'ruin' my very talented 3yo. I'm also constantly anxious about him and our other horse getting injured or sick, so I drive my OH and the trainer up the wall!

His - the fact that he will have the occasional totally obnoxious day when he just wants to argue and you have to work him far longer than ideal to persuade him to give in. At which point he reverts to being lovely again. He's totally overconfident and pretty arrogant at times, which I reckon is going to make the next two years interesting :D
On the upside, his total lack of fear of things that would terrify most horses is starting to make me a lot braver, even with the other horse who is a spooky madam!
 
Mine: Crikey I have lots! Actually I don't know which is my biggest, and perhaps I should have given it some thought before now. Probably my inexperience to be honest, and the fact I am useless at asking for help so I struggle on by myself slowly, making mistakes. I don't mean not having lessons, as I have lots of those, more just generally failing to ask for help.

Bill: Probably his nerves. He still likes to check scary things out before jumping them, which sometimes includes water, sometimes not (perhaps crocodiles are only in some water jumps, but not all?). Also he still maintains a strong belief in the "pony-eating monster that lurketh in hedge". Which resulted in some mighty impressive (but thankfully not painful) bruises from when he shipped me out the side door and left me to walk home alone last week. Getting over his nerves would be a huge step in the right direction.
 
Lolo said:
Is he for sale now? I think I saw him on HorseQuest the other day and whilst I was thinking "Ohh, he's pretty" it clicked that the horse looked very like yours?
Click to expand...

Yes, he's up for sale :( He has made it very clear that he does NOT want to leave though - basically refuses to move when people get on him - naughty pony :rolleyes:
 
Me - Show jumping, it has always been my main problem (aside from being a very average amateur rider!).. I have improved over the years, and a lot this year but I still struggle with just letting my horse get on with it!

Andy - Also showjumping (the two must be related, yes?! :o ) He is very spooky, and very incosistant with the way he spooks/what he looks at. The improvement in my riding has brought about a massive improvement in his way of going but it is still a work in progress.. Out of 4 BE SJ rounds this year, we have had 1 clear, 1 4flts, and then 2 rounds of clocking up 40+ pens! (not in that order though.) But I think we are finally starting to get to the stage of more good days, and less bad ones.

I always say, by the time he is ready to retire we will have finally got it together!! ;)
 
Me - The list is endless. But at the moment it is probably learning to ride a horse that needs leg. I am so used to sitting quietly on nutters I don't know how to ride her. Fingers crossed lesson will help

Holly - Be a little less laid back! I am hoping fitness (and maybe oats) will help this. Also she needs to be more balanced in canter, but she is only 4 and has had time off through injury.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top