JustMe22
Well-Known Member
I did it because I couldn't afford something fancy. I love my horse to bits, but for a while we had some full on clashes. He's an ex-racer, my first horse (though I full baited another crazy ex-racer for a year), and he's very good quality for what he cost.
We had a year that involved him pulling every trick in the book to chuck me off. He'd rear, buck, spin, get all 4 legs in the air, and just explode like I've not seen before. There'd be squealing and kicking..lunging him he'd be terrible. Farriers wouldn't work with him unless he'd been lunged hard before.
I honestly don't know how I managed to not get hurt now that I think about it, and I'm pretty sure my mother was on the brink of just selling him.
As is, we switched yards, somewhere with an owner who has a whole host of knowledge about racehorses, and it's like having a different horse.
I've been there 18 months now, and he's gone from barely rideable to a lovely horse. He has "moments" occasionally, but few and far between..still have issues at shows, but he's happily working at Novice dressage at home. We sorted our saddle fit, and the plan is to go affiliated Elementary this year and jump our first affiliated 1.10m (first for both of us!), and I honestly think we're on track to do it
He'll never be a novice's horse, but I trust him much more now. He trusts me too, and I honestly wouldn't have wanted anything else to learn from.
We had a year that involved him pulling every trick in the book to chuck me off. He'd rear, buck, spin, get all 4 legs in the air, and just explode like I've not seen before. There'd be squealing and kicking..lunging him he'd be terrible. Farriers wouldn't work with him unless he'd been lunged hard before.
I honestly don't know how I managed to not get hurt now that I think about it, and I'm pretty sure my mother was on the brink of just selling him.
As is, we switched yards, somewhere with an owner who has a whole host of knowledge about racehorses, and it's like having a different horse.
I've been there 18 months now, and he's gone from barely rideable to a lovely horse. He has "moments" occasionally, but few and far between..still have issues at shows, but he's happily working at Novice dressage at home. We sorted our saddle fit, and the plan is to go affiliated Elementary this year and jump our first affiliated 1.10m (first for both of us!), and I honestly think we're on track to do it
He'll never be a novice's horse, but I trust him much more now. He trusts me too, and I honestly wouldn't have wanted anything else to learn from.