I rode a new horse on Friday!!

[Wobblydeb]

What a change to my usual lesson horse! (15.2hh+ ex-racehorse). I switched this week to a rather lively, shorter, wider, more wiley hairy cob. Oooooooo he was funny to ride! :)

"Wriggly" was the word my instructor used, and by heck was he ever! I think he could happily put any bit of his body in any position relative to the rest of him just for fun :) And he could change paces within a pace. And I'm sure at some points his front and back legs were travelling in different paces. And not on the same line. :p

There was so much to get accustomed to. I usually check and shorten/lengthen my reins quite a lot, but whenever I did it, he didn't like it and his paces went all quirky (very quick lesson to Wobbly to STOP FAFFING WITH THE REINS!!!).

Giving with the reins also gets my usual horse to stretch down and reach for the bit, but with hairycob he just slowed down. And if we slowed down too much in trot, he occasionally popped into canter stride because it was easier for him. Very different to what I am accustomed to!!! ;)

He obviously has a bright (mischevious?) mind too ;) Giving him a rest and a long rein didn't work for more than one circuit because he started to look for diversions, and decided pretending to be scared of the sound of a hoover would make me pay more attention to him... bless :rolleyes:

All in all, a fun ride, but I can see why he might have ended up with my instructor because his owner's couldn't handle him. I'm only riding him after a lot of work with a very good trainer!!! Lord knows what he was like before....

[kedwards]

It sounds like you did a nice job with him. It's fun to get to ride horses of very different shapes and temperaments, isn't it?

[sadie01]

Hi

Sounds like you enjoyed him, I should think he would be good fun to hack out on as he sounds a bit of a character. I went for a short hack on a new 4 yr old cob at our stables - he would forget I was there and wander off into the bushes to smell the blackberries - whenever I gave him a nudge to get him back onto the track he would jump out of his skin. I wasn't brave enough to canter out on him (I have in the school) that time, but I can't remember a ride when I laughed out loud more!

Soooooooooo good for the soul!

Keep us posted - it would be nice to hear how you get on the better you get to know each other.

[Trixie]

Changing to a different horse opens such a different can of worms! Just as you think you're getting the hang of it again and managing passable riding, you're either plonked on a horse with the shape and mobility of a housebrick and fewer brains than God gave sawdust or you end up on one that's scared of sand and spends the entire lesson trying to heep its feet off the ground incase the nasty, scary sand attacks it. Then you yearn with all your heart for the little shopping trolley which you couldn't steer, but which at least moved at a speed between zero and 200 mph. Oh and didn't end up closing its eyes and wandering into a wall!

I think there's a horse telepathy network and they share ideas for great wheezes to play on riders.

"Hey guys, try this one, turn on a sixpence and head straight towards the rest of the lesson - they scatter like frightened rabbits and your rider will get off, suddenly and with a high trajectory".

"Last week I waited until my rider thought she was in control, then gave an almighty sneeze. What a laugh, her feet were out the stirrups and she was half way home by the time the second sneeze happened"

"Wait until you're in a flat-out canter, noisily break wind then make out that you can't pooh and canter at the same time so you stop dead. As soon as you're finished take off from halt to canter again. Rider will depart reasonably soon after this."

[Snowflake]

Well I think you are very brave Wobblydeb. Hairy con sounds a bit of a handful but probably very good for you.

Seems ages now since I used to have lessons at riding school and often would end up with the "worst" horse - either the one doing as little as possible or the other sort bolting around the school when asked for canter!! Makes me glad I'v got Bounty!

Trixie's comments had me howling with laughter - oh how true .....


Snowflake
:D

[Wobblydeb]

I don't know about "worst" horse. I've ridden a few of them in my time, and neither of them at my instructors place are in that league! Both are forward going, which makes life a lot easier for me while my balance is not all it could be!

Hairycob gets used for dressage instruction quite a bit - I guess because he is intelligent and will try and do as you ask - and will also wriggle through any door you leave open. He also seems to be much more on his hind quarters naturally than the TB.

I think the difference in personality would show up quite dramatically if he tried what TB did last week, which was walking out of the school before being asked (it only has a foot high border on one side, with a couple of big gaps for getting in and out).
I stopped her, and reined back until she was back in the school, then continued. I think if he managed to get out, he would be dancing around avoiding going back in! ;) Maybe. My instructor does have them very well schooled.

The personality differences have me totally fascinated because I am getting to know them. The strange thing is that TB doesn't argue back, is very easy to handle on the ground etc. etc., but is boss girl in the herd. Meanwhile hairycob is bottom of the pack and gets bossed around :( Actually that has me wondering, if I were really strong minded with him (not cruel, but decisive) he would behave better? He actually seemed to work better with a stronger contact on the reins than TB [Note to self - must check this theory with instructor before trying anything out!]

Next lesson not until a week on Sunday - and I cannot wait!