dear heather, i recently stumbled accross your notes on new rider. on reading them i could not believe how they were so true to my feelings. i have owned a horse for 5yrs, and am ashamed to say apart from grooming him and loving him ive done nothing with him ( although we do show him in hand and he does extreemly well) my husband runs him around. the truth is i was scared of him, well horses in general,i let my huband do all the bits with him,while i stood back and watched.hes owned horse for several years. he was also a stallion( the horse that is !) untill last year, that didnt help. but now hes gelded and on a stables, i HAVE to look after him now and ive totally overcome my fear of him......well ....on the ground anyway! i did have about six riding lessons when i first had him but on my first lesson they made me canter i was petrified! i lived in fear of my lessens and soon gave up.i am a person who likes to know WHY i am doing this and WHY i am doing that, is my foot in the right place how much contact do i have with reigns etc, so because of my fears maverick hasnt been rode much so i suppose we are a bad combination.i allowed my fears to get the better of me. but now on the yard i watch all the other women tack up with envy. nowing that i couldnt be like them (i'm 42,but there are women as old and older than me, so whats wrong with me!) getting back to the beginning of this letter.......then i stumbled across your notes, you described my fears, my doubts,all my problems and EXACTLY how i am feeling. you've given me a new lease of life someone out there finally understands AND these fears are felt by lots of people, i was astonished when i read you clear simple instructions on how to do things, mavericks been on his new stables for two months now and in that time i have been reading numerous magazins, books from the library, and i chuck most to one side, by the time i have got to the end of a paragraph i'm totaly confused by the technical terms they use and do not bother to explain. you use they same terms but explain what is meant by them........i'm certainly going to try again now with a different attitude.......and strangely enough not so much fear thanks so much.....keep up the good work! julie (and maverick)
words of comfort from heather
- Thread starter julie biggs
- Start date
Hi Julie,
Glad to hear that HEather has helped to give you the confidence to ride Maverick again. I see from your profile that you are from teh West Midlands. Mike who runs the site lives quite near you and rides at a fantastic place called Court Equestrian. This school is listen on this site as a place to go, but i wonder if Claire who teaches there might be able to give you some lessons on Maverick. I have no idea if she teaches lessons for people on their own horses, but she is a brilliant teacher, it might be worht a call just to see.!
bye!
Glad to hear that HEather has helped to give you the confidence to ride Maverick again. I see from your profile that you are from teh West Midlands. Mike who runs the site lives quite near you and rides at a fantastic place called Court Equestrian. This school is listen on this site as a place to go, but i wonder if Claire who teaches there might be able to give you some lessons on Maverick. I have no idea if she teaches lessons for people on their own horses, but she is a brilliant teacher, it might be worht a call just to see.!
bye!
What a good idea Sarah, and hello Julie. Mike rides very well indeed, especially as he is a riding school rider and doesn't have his own horse, so this is a driect reflection on Claire's teaching. I am extremely pleased that Claire is coming on our first Enlightened Equitation Teaching Workshop too.
I think that you should contact her. I will be coming to the Equine Event in November at Stoneleigh, bringing with me the Equisimualator horse movement simulator, which it woudl benefit you greatly to have a lesson on the machine. Do try to get along. If I am I your area sooner,I will let you know. If you wanted to come down to Oxfordshire the week after next to be a guinea-pig on the machine for the teaching workshop, you would also be very welcome- email me privately if you would like to come.
About Maverick, what is his breeding, age, height, temperament etc?
Heather
I think that you should contact her. I will be coming to the Equine Event in November at Stoneleigh, bringing with me the Equisimualator horse movement simulator, which it woudl benefit you greatly to have a lesson on the machine. Do try to get along. If I am I your area sooner,I will let you know. If you wanted to come down to Oxfordshire the week after next to be a guinea-pig on the machine for the teaching workshop, you would also be very welcome- email me privately if you would like to come.
About Maverick, what is his breeding, age, height, temperament etc?
Heather
You can find contact details for Court Equestrian on this page. Depending on where you are I'm sure Claire would be able to sort something out if you wanted.
I've been to many of the South Birmingham riding schools over the years and without doubt Court Equestrian is one of the best. Not large, but they do have a good range of horses which are not your typical riding school plods and most importantly have a very friendly atmosphere.
[Edited by Mike on 10th Apr 2001 at 09:36 PM]
I've been to many of the South Birmingham riding schools over the years and without doubt Court Equestrian is one of the best. Not large, but they do have a good range of horses which are not your typical riding school plods and most importantly have a very friendly atmosphere.
[Edited by Mike on 10th Apr 2001 at 09:36 PM]
Hi Julie
Stick with this board. You can say or ask anything and nobody will criticise or poke fun if you are nervous or feel you lack experience. I think many of us have been in that situation (and many of us still are!).
I've recently started taking lessons at another yard (because of F&M) after nearly 30 years of mostly self taught riding and owning my own horse for 12 years. I was absolutely terrified at first, but after just 5 lessons I feel I am making progress. I have a great instructor who is giving me real confidence on both the school horse and my own.
Best wishes
Sally
Stick with this board. You can say or ask anything and nobody will criticise or poke fun if you are nervous or feel you lack experience. I think many of us have been in that situation (and many of us still are!).
I've recently started taking lessons at another yard (because of F&M) after nearly 30 years of mostly self taught riding and owning my own horse for 12 years. I was absolutely terrified at first, but after just 5 lessons I feel I am making progress. I have a great instructor who is giving me real confidence on both the school horse and my own.
Best wishes
Sally
replies to all and heather
thanks everyone for your replies.....especially sally m for your encouraging words.
HEATHER.........maverick is a black section d welsh cob 14.2 and quite solidly built due to him being a stallion until late. his temperament is quite good, but i've noticed not as good as the other horses on the stables, the other seem like robots to me having no minds of their own, but having said that i have never known any better than a dancing prancing stallion. he has quietened down tremendously since being gelded ( 1 YEAR NOW) i wish he was as well behaved as the others but stallions are a little bit more bolshy i suppose and it takes along time for that to come out of their system after gelding late...so i'm told!
the only real problem i am having at the moment with him is he tends to think he can go where HE likes. for example, if i'm walking him around the yard or taking him to have his legs hosed off or somthing and he spots a patch of grass or somthing he wants to investigate he just drags me off over to it. i shout at him and he knows he's done wrong and its quite easy to get him back on track, but he does it a lot and its very annoying. i posted a letter in the training horses forum and ive had a few replies telling me to use a special halter. i'm going to give it a try because i want to nip it in the bud as soon as poss. it really is my own fault, he's never had so much attention, and i'm expecting a lot from him..i realise that now so i will be taking one thing at a time and getting everything as good as possible on the ground with him first, before i attempt to ride him and besides it will give me time to read your book and watch your vidio and also save for the your saddle because although im not that experienced the stirrups did'nt feel in the right place to me, from the word go......julie
thanks everyone for your replies.....especially sally m for your encouraging words.
HEATHER.........maverick is a black section d welsh cob 14.2 and quite solidly built due to him being a stallion until late. his temperament is quite good, but i've noticed not as good as the other horses on the stables, the other seem like robots to me having no minds of their own, but having said that i have never known any better than a dancing prancing stallion. he has quietened down tremendously since being gelded ( 1 YEAR NOW) i wish he was as well behaved as the others but stallions are a little bit more bolshy i suppose and it takes along time for that to come out of their system after gelding late...so i'm told!
the only real problem i am having at the moment with him is he tends to think he can go where HE likes. for example, if i'm walking him around the yard or taking him to have his legs hosed off or somthing and he spots a patch of grass or somthing he wants to investigate he just drags me off over to it. i shout at him and he knows he's done wrong and its quite easy to get him back on track, but he does it a lot and its very annoying. i posted a letter in the training horses forum and ive had a few replies telling me to use a special halter. i'm going to give it a try because i want to nip it in the bud as soon as poss. it really is my own fault, he's never had so much attention, and i'm expecting a lot from him..i realise that now so i will be taking one thing at a time and getting everything as good as possible on the ground with him first, before i attempt to ride him and besides it will give me time to read your book and watch your vidio and also save for the your saddle because although im not that experienced the stirrups did'nt feel in the right place to me, from the word go......julie
HI Julie,
Be very, very careful with those halters- in inexperienced hands they can do a lot of damage. My friend, horse behaviour specialist Mike Peace could tell you some awful stories about them.
If at all possible, you ought to get Mike lout to do a home visit for you. He is not cheap but is the best i have ever come across to teach you how to correctly handle the horse and gain his respect. I think you would find it a worthwhile investment.
Look up his website to find out moer about his work http://www.thinkequus.com
He will be at the Equus event in London next weekend demonstrating if anyone is interested.
Heather
Be very, very careful with those halters- in inexperienced hands they can do a lot of damage. My friend, horse behaviour specialist Mike Peace could tell you some awful stories about them.
If at all possible, you ought to get Mike lout to do a home visit for you. He is not cheap but is the best i have ever come across to teach you how to correctly handle the horse and gain his respect. I think you would find it a worthwhile investment.
Look up his website to find out moer about his work http://www.thinkequus.com
He will be at the Equus event in London next weekend demonstrating if anyone is interested.
Heather
G
Gwenllian
Guest
Halters
Julie, Heather is right about the halters, and causing a lot of problems in inexperienced hands. I bought myself what appeared to be a lovely quiet, bombproof cob,who was exactly that,to ride, but in hand,she behaved exactly as your Maverick does,carting me off exactly where she wanted to.She wasn't nasty...never, but rude and bossy......always! Lots of people on this site, including Heather, have read my posts of complete despair,I was even contempleting letting her go, at one point.Then I pulled myself together, and thought that if she was so good in the bombproof department, then she had to be worth some extra investment. So I sent her for some schooling, from someone who knew what they were doing.In your case,you could be taught to manage it yourself, I'm not completely able-bodied and would probably have done myself some mischief trying to argue with Rosie from the ground...she is a Clydesdale X after all.However, the lady who schooled Rosie for me, also told me some horror stories about the use of pressure halters and Chiffney bits...and I was about to try one, all alone, hip replacement and all.But you know, after hearing Sian's stories, I was more upset at what I could have done to ROSIE had I gone ahead with my plans, not what could have happened to ME! So, if your budget will stretch to Michael Peace, then go for it, if it won't, at least get somebody who knows what they're doing, ask around,....don't just take their word for it.I got several recommendations for Sian, and boy, it was worth every penny.Rosie is a different horse altogether.The blacksmith is now charging me normal rates.Before he was charging me lots more, because Rosie was taking so long, and flattening him in the proces!! She is much more pleasant to deal with now. It's worth it, honest!! GOOD LUCK!
[Edited by Gwenllian on 14th Apr 2001 at 10:28 PM]
Julie, Heather is right about the halters, and causing a lot of problems in inexperienced hands. I bought myself what appeared to be a lovely quiet, bombproof cob,who was exactly that,to ride, but in hand,she behaved exactly as your Maverick does,carting me off exactly where she wanted to.She wasn't nasty...never, but rude and bossy......always! Lots of people on this site, including Heather, have read my posts of complete despair,I was even contempleting letting her go, at one point.Then I pulled myself together, and thought that if she was so good in the bombproof department, then she had to be worth some extra investment. So I sent her for some schooling, from someone who knew what they were doing.In your case,you could be taught to manage it yourself, I'm not completely able-bodied and would probably have done myself some mischief trying to argue with Rosie from the ground...she is a Clydesdale X after all.However, the lady who schooled Rosie for me, also told me some horror stories about the use of pressure halters and Chiffney bits...and I was about to try one, all alone, hip replacement and all.But you know, after hearing Sian's stories, I was more upset at what I could have done to ROSIE had I gone ahead with my plans, not what could have happened to ME! So, if your budget will stretch to Michael Peace, then go for it, if it won't, at least get somebody who knows what they're doing, ask around,....don't just take their word for it.I got several recommendations for Sian, and boy, it was worth every penny.Rosie is a different horse altogether.The blacksmith is now charging me normal rates.Before he was charging me lots more, because Rosie was taking so long, and flattening him in the proces!! She is much more pleasant to deal with now. It's worth it, honest!! GOOD LUCK!
[Edited by Gwenllian on 14th Apr 2001 at 10:28 PM]
G
Gwenllian
Guest
Rosie
I've cut Rosie a LITTLE bit of slack since we've known she was pregnant, but only a LITTLE.It's back to routine now,handling wise.And William just has to learn from mum and I, what I'm prepared to tolerate and what I'm not! And flattening me is not an option.Funny,but William,though he occasionally goes up on hind legs, if he's not keen on having a lead rope on the end of his collar, he seems to know that to do it facing me, is a big no-no. I really do believe that he senses this and that it's not a coincidence.
I've cut Rosie a LITTLE bit of slack since we've known she was pregnant, but only a LITTLE.It's back to routine now,handling wise.And William just has to learn from mum and I, what I'm prepared to tolerate and what I'm not! And flattening me is not an option.Funny,but William,though he occasionally goes up on hind legs, if he's not keen on having a lead rope on the end of his collar, he seems to know that to do it facing me, is a big no-no. I really do believe that he senses this and that it's not a coincidence.
halters
oh my god!......i'm not going to try them, ive been reading plenty books and ive just started reading about pirellies horse games. i'm going to start very slowly and i'm not going to use any gadgets, i know i'm not expeirienced enough. apart from dragging me off where he wants to go, he's not that bad. he's golden for the farries, dentists.vets.shows etc. he just doesnt realise i'm boss yet.......but little does he know...i'm working on it. what have you been doing with rosie to help your situation ( apart from having her schooled) does she treat you with respect or is she still boss? love to here your story its so reasuring to know your not the only one having these sort of problems, all the horses on my yard seem so well behaved i was starting to get paranoid........julie
oh my god!......i'm not going to try them, ive been reading plenty books and ive just started reading about pirellies horse games. i'm going to start very slowly and i'm not going to use any gadgets, i know i'm not expeirienced enough. apart from dragging me off where he wants to go, he's not that bad. he's golden for the farries, dentists.vets.shows etc. he just doesnt realise i'm boss yet.......but little does he know...i'm working on it. what have you been doing with rosie to help your situation ( apart from having her schooled) does she treat you with respect or is she still boss? love to here your story its so reasuring to know your not the only one having these sort of problems, all the horses on my yard seem so well behaved i was starting to get paranoid........julie
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