finally half-leasing!

[cynthia]

hey, everyone!

so i've finally done it... over the weekend, i've arranged to half-lease a wonderful 17hh (!) TB named Raven! i wanted to share the good news and such with you all. :)

i got in touch with his mom through an ad that i posted on EquiSearch (http://www.equisearch.com) a little while ago, and i went out to the absolutely *gorgeous* barn where she boards him on saturday. the barn is on 160 acres of land... rolling hills, pastoral fields, TWO seperate barns with turnout paddocks, a 90x200 heated indoor arena, cross-country jumps, outdoor arenas with fences, etc, etc... it's just stunning.

Raven himself is just fabulous... he's trained up to 1st-2nd level dressage, and actually used to be an event horse, so he jumps as well. the barn where he's kept is actually leased by the on-site eventing/dressage instructor, who was actually nice enough to give me a free mini-lesson the other day when i visited to meet Raven and his owner! i really think he's going to be a great horse to learn dressage on; his mom took him through lateral movements that he hadn't done in a couple months, and he responded beautifully! i was actually a bit nervous about his size at first, but i was comfortable the minute i got on him... he's so well-schooled that his size was hardly noticeable at all (aside from the fact that it's a looong way down when dismounting!).

the best part about the whole thing is how happy his owner seems to be with me! the fact that she trusts me with her baby (as well as the fact that the dressage instructor thinks i'd be "great" with him) has given me a tremendous confidence-boost!

all this *and* the fact that i'll be able to ride him up to 5 times per week when she's out of town visiting her daughter in Michigan! she'll actually be away quite often during the holiday months, so i'll have lots of opportunities to ride and generally hang out with Raven, which is just fantastic.

i'm so excited i can't stand it... i just wanted to share the good news with everyone! i'm sure i'll have lots of new questions as i start learning dressage and riding so much more often. yikes! :)

-cyn

[SIXTEN]

congratulations! I am very happy for you and jealous. i live in texas and would love to lease a horse but it sems easier said than done!

[Louise]

Cynthia,

Great news about Raven - he sounds wonderful as do all the leasing arrangements and the facilities. Welcome to the BIG HORSE league - I regularly ride our neighbours horse and its over 17hh. Just a word of warning though. You said its a long way down when dismounting. Believe me, its an even longer way up when you're on your own and no mounting block in sight. Made the mistake of dismounting during a ride without checking there was something nearby to stand on. Tried to get up for ages, but couldn't manage it and ended up walking home leading the horse. Most frustrating !

[cynthia]

hey, louise!

no worries here; there's no WAY this boy goes out on the trail. ;)

his mom doesn't want him going out and getting spooked/hurting himself, etc... he was injured a while back, so she doesn't take any chances.

i'm happy enough to be able to ride him in the indoor arena (or numerous outdoor rings), though.

but right you are about being stuck without a means of getting back on the horse... i was on a trail ride not too long ago and had to wander around looking for big rocks and fence posts... not fun!

[Janice Morley]

Hi, Cynthia and Louise:

I just posted a reply to the General/GADGETS
topic about waiting for a few months
before buying aids you may not really
need for a particular horse. I bought
quite a few things for my first horse
that I never used, but have subsequently
used them with other horses. One in
particular might be useful to you and
anyone else needing assistance in mounting
a tall horse.

I bought an EZ-Mount for my English
saddle to help me in "mounting block-
challenged" situations. The EZ-Mount
is like a temporary "stirrup" that
fits into your own stirrup iron, and
gives you about 6 inches of extra
length. I couldn't use it with my
original mare (she had other problems
and wouldn't stand still for mounting)
but it's come in quite handy with
Misha, my current mare.

[Louise]

Hi there Cyn. Sorry about the delayed reply. Just seen your reply in the stirrup length topic saying you are 5ft 2 so I think you are very wise not out hack out on your 17hh leased horse.
A few weekends ago I fell off my big borrowed beastie right in the middle of what must have been the biggest field in Hampshire. It's a cornfield but as it was harvested a while back the farmer lets us ride straight across it. 17hh is a long way down, to fall but, but it seems even higher when you want to remount and are only 5ft 3 tall. It must be even more difficult for you !. As it was so far to the edge of the field I did try to get up, but as expected couldn't even get my foot in the stirrup. Seemed like ages to walk over that field. Was searching along the hedgerows etc at the edge for a tree stump or something to stand on, but no luck. Then I realised the next field was slightly higher so found gap where there was a bank. Was so busy trying to get on from that (but not very successfully) that I didn't notice 2 riders approaching until they had reached me.

It was 2 girls, slightly older than me, both on ponies and they were very sarcastic. One said; Whats the matter little girl. Did that nasty big horsie make you fall off ? They made several comments about small girls trying to ride horses that were too big for them. Difficult for me to contradict this since it was far too big for me to remount. I did say I was riding it for a friend and wouldn't buy a horse this big for myself. One of them did get off and give me a leg up but it was still quite a struggle because she didn't throw me up high enough .

I was wondering if anyone else had met people who make fun of them when or tell that the horse is too big for them just because they have a struggle to mount it.

Janice, thanks for the info about the EZ-Mount. I'll have to give that a try

[Horselover2]

Hi Cyn,
Big congrats on your new boy! Raven sounds like a wonderful horse and I love that name!
Is he black?? May all your rides be good ones! :)HL2

Hey Louise, don't even give another thought to those girls... people like that aren't worth the energy!

[cynthia]

hey, HL2!

thanks! he's just fabulous; i can't wait to start riding. i adore his name as well, and actually, his full name is even cuter - it's "Rant & Raven"! he's very dark bay, with a black mane and tail.

i sign the lease this saturday!

oh yes, Louise... those girls sound ridiculous; don't even bother. i for one don't subscribe to the "big horses are too much for smaller people" idea, anyway... a more petite rider may have a bit of trouble collecting the huge strides of a 17hh TB at first, but when a bigger horse is well-trained (as Raven is, for example), size is of little consequence. so tell those girls that next time, you'll be sure to run over them and their little ponies with your big beastie... er... i mean, just kidding! ;)

-cyn

[~alison~*]

Hi, I just started half leasing a TB horse too. She's great! About 16.3hh We do dressage also. Where do you live? Well, I'm at school, so I gotta go!