First Solo ride...

[pattir7]

Whew... I just got back from my first solo ride on the horse I am leasing. This was my first time tacking him up all by myself without anyone to check me and first time lunging and riding...just me and him. No one else around.

It was kinda scary... a little... mainly cause absolutely no one was there or even withing earshot and I had never ridden him alone. So, we walked for a while...did some of the normal exercises my trainer has us do in our lessons. He was a bit fearful of the big door leading to the outside...not bad...but I could feel his uneasiness about it...so, we just walked past. I was able to get him to trot a little in a circle at the end of the arena without the door...but I could not get him to trot the other direction....and the more I asked, the more his ears layed back and he'd start stepping sideways. I know that I shouldn't let him get away with not doing something I ask for but at the same time, I didn't want to push him too hard. Still, I'm wondering what I did wrong? What was it about that direction that he just refused? The other direction was fine...

I thought we did ok for our 'first time'...but am wondering what I should do differently next time. If I continue to ask and he continues to refuse, he'll learn that he can get away with it. At the same time, if I really do push him, I'm afraid he'll do something I'm not prepared for...

He never does this in our lessons (with the instructor there). Anyone have suggestions for me? SAFE things I can do to get him going in the other direction? Or should I just consider this a successful first solo ride and just realize we have things to work on?....

Patti

[SupaTania]

He might've done it the first time simply to test you, perhaps deciding he was done working, found out he could get away with it, then decided he could be a jerk.

Bomber, a horse i frequently ride, often times tests me. if i let him gegt away with it, even just once, he will do it for the rest of the lesson. But if i am firm from the beginning (with the occasional bribery before lessons, a carrot before lessons always puts him in such a good mood), then he is a charm. But with Bomber its hard to tell, he's always making faces.