Post by DancingFeathers on Aug 8, 2015 1:19:45 GMT
In 2008 I bought a green, barely broke, 4 year old percheron/thoroughbred cross mare named Amber. For the first couple years together we did great. Then we had a nasty fall where she went down and flipped and I got catapulted off of her, and even though it wasn't her fault or mine, it destroyed our confidence in eachother. We spent the next few years in a pattern of doing well for a couple months then falling apart, my nerves got so bad that for awhile I couldn't even get on her and walk, if she even twitched I would panic and get off. I've even posted her for sale a few times, but in the end I could never go through with it because I do love her. Last summer we were doing awesome, I even showed her again at the local fair, first show on her in 2 or 3 years. Then when it turned cold we fell apart again, I just let my nerves get the better of me. So I decided that Amber and I needed a break from each other and I sent her from New York to my friend down in Kentucky on a free lease (Planning to move to kentucky myself a few months later)
Well that time has come, as of last Saturday I am officially a resident of Kentucky, and on Sunday I did it, I got on Amber again. It's been months since I was on that horses back. And I'll admit it felt nice to be back on a horse that has some training under it's girth. The ride started out well enough, We rode from the bottom barn all the way to the indoor, she was forward and happy. Once we got to the indoor she was a little spooky but nothing bad, her spooks are easy enough to sit to. I started trotting figure eights and circles and serpentine's with her and got her nice and relaxed and on the bit. Then I made the mistake of asking her to canter, when neither of us were probably really ready to be cantering together again. She picked it up like a star, we did about half a circle and she did a small "I feel good" buck, and then broke gait back to a trot.
Naturally me being the chicken shit that I am, tensed up after that, and when I asked her to canter again she reacted to my tense body and tight grip on the reins by throwing her heading, jumping sideways and spinning. She hates when I hold her face like that, and I don't realize I'm doing it, its a natural reaction when I'm nervous. So we fell apart for a bit, then I got her trotting figure eights again and got her soft again at the trot. Then we went on a mini trail ride, she was up but good. I know I'm a good enough rider to handle her, I don't know why she makes me so nervous!
Yeah she can be a bit of a spazz sometimes, but with consistent work she really is a good, and fun horse to ride! She used to be fantastic, we used to have such a good relationship, and she never used to be spooky, I was trail riding her solo when she was 4 years old. I know in my heart her spooky behavior is a reflection of my spooky behavior, I really need to decide what I'm doing with this horse, I feel like at this point, after everything her and I have gone through, that it would be stupid to give up now. If I sold her and shopped for something else, I would be shopping for something just like her.
I rode Amber again today! She was really good. I focused on being calm and relaxed in the saddle and we just worked on circles, loops, diagonals, and some legs yielding on a loose rein at the walk and trot. She was relaxed and responsive and I actually had a lot of fun riding her. On the way back down to the barn from the arena the horses in one of the fields started acting up and my first reaction was to tense up and expect her to act up. As soon as I tensed up she started getting jittery and nervous, so I took a deep breath, lengthened the reins and forced myself to relax, as soon as I did that she relaxed and walked happily the rest of the way to the barn.
I hope I'm doing the right thing, giving her yet another chance. Einstein said (supposedly) that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That means that this time I need to somehow do something differently so Amber and I don't keep falling back into the same pattern that we've been in for the last 4 or 5 years. She really is a good horse, and I really can handle her, I just need to learn to have more faith in her and more faith in myself.
Well that time has come, as of last Saturday I am officially a resident of Kentucky, and on Sunday I did it, I got on Amber again. It's been months since I was on that horses back. And I'll admit it felt nice to be back on a horse that has some training under it's girth. The ride started out well enough, We rode from the bottom barn all the way to the indoor, she was forward and happy. Once we got to the indoor she was a little spooky but nothing bad, her spooks are easy enough to sit to. I started trotting figure eights and circles and serpentine's with her and got her nice and relaxed and on the bit. Then I made the mistake of asking her to canter, when neither of us were probably really ready to be cantering together again. She picked it up like a star, we did about half a circle and she did a small "I feel good" buck, and then broke gait back to a trot.
Naturally me being the chicken shit that I am, tensed up after that, and when I asked her to canter again she reacted to my tense body and tight grip on the reins by throwing her heading, jumping sideways and spinning. She hates when I hold her face like that, and I don't realize I'm doing it, its a natural reaction when I'm nervous. So we fell apart for a bit, then I got her trotting figure eights again and got her soft again at the trot. Then we went on a mini trail ride, she was up but good. I know I'm a good enough rider to handle her, I don't know why she makes me so nervous!
Yeah she can be a bit of a spazz sometimes, but with consistent work she really is a good, and fun horse to ride! She used to be fantastic, we used to have such a good relationship, and she never used to be spooky, I was trail riding her solo when she was 4 years old. I know in my heart her spooky behavior is a reflection of my spooky behavior, I really need to decide what I'm doing with this horse, I feel like at this point, after everything her and I have gone through, that it would be stupid to give up now. If I sold her and shopped for something else, I would be shopping for something just like her.
I rode Amber again today! She was really good. I focused on being calm and relaxed in the saddle and we just worked on circles, loops, diagonals, and some legs yielding on a loose rein at the walk and trot. She was relaxed and responsive and I actually had a lot of fun riding her. On the way back down to the barn from the arena the horses in one of the fields started acting up and my first reaction was to tense up and expect her to act up. As soon as I tensed up she started getting jittery and nervous, so I took a deep breath, lengthened the reins and forced myself to relax, as soon as I did that she relaxed and walked happily the rest of the way to the barn.
I hope I'm doing the right thing, giving her yet another chance. Einstein said (supposedly) that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That means that this time I need to somehow do something differently so Amber and I don't keep falling back into the same pattern that we've been in for the last 4 or 5 years. She really is a good horse, and I really can handle her, I just need to learn to have more faith in her and more faith in myself.
