I've decided that lessons would be a good idea, and though initially I thought that having them at a riding school (preferably one within hacking distance of my yard) on one of their horses till my confidence returns, then taking Kels along to carry on (hence a school within hacking distance), I decded to give a local freelance instructor a whirl to see what we can do at home.
So our lessons was booked for 5.30 last Thursday evening, and I decided to take the afternoon off work to prepare. I was completely open-minded, prepared to ride or do groundwork, whatever.
Off I go to catch her and bring her in for a good groom and to worm her and that's when the problems started. She was a complete git from the second I got to the field to putting her back after the lesson. Firstly she wouldn't be caught, but eventually came up to me like butter wouldn't melt (this is quite a rare thing with her, but I usually make out I don't care one way or another while walking round her and this generally works). Then she wouldn't lead quitely, spooking at nothing and generally being an @rse. Didn't want to go in the stable but didn't want to be outside in the wind, didn't want to be groomed, wasn't going to have her face brushed, wasn't going to have her feet picked out and DEFINITELY wasn't going to be wormed (Kelly is a horse that uses her size, ie height, to avoid doing things she doesn't want to do - she just sticks her head in the air where she can't be reached). And it's still only 3.30.
By now, I'd decided that I probably wouldn't be riding, but would play it by ear anyway. The instructor duly arrives and we stand outside the stable chatting about my issues, then we start the lesson, deciding on groundwork. <No, I'm not having my bridle on, thanks all the same>. So after a minor argument, the bridle's on. We did a lot of walking up and down because she was bargy and constantly in my space or planting and refusing to go anywhere, but we eventually got her working well, so we decided to call it a day while we were on the up.
We all walked back to the field, and she starts trying to jog but was easily corrected, but when we got to the gate she nearly exploded. She was still wearing her bridle - big mistake! She so desperate to get away she's running backwards, threatening to rear, you name it. I somehow got her bridle off, and she turned and galloped flat out back to the herd. I've NEVER see her do that before.
I was mortified - here's my lovely placid horse behaving like a prat right under the instructor's nose (though she sometimes kicks off, has done probably three or four times in the eighteen months I've had her). However she was lovely about it, and said that it was good that she'd seen her at her worst, and if she does have occasions in future where she's a bit dangerous I know now how to get her under control. She also reassured me that compared to some she'd seen in her career with problem horses, this was nothing - at least she hadn't kicked, bitten or reared, and apart from the explosion at the gate she hadn't ever got out of control.
Oh well. Onwards and upwards. And I should say that at no time was I ever scared of her or not confident - my big worry at the gate was that she was going to get away wearing her bridle, and she'd tread on the reins and break her neck or something.
So why can't I have that amount of confidence when I'm riding her???!!!
So our lessons was booked for 5.30 last Thursday evening, and I decided to take the afternoon off work to prepare. I was completely open-minded, prepared to ride or do groundwork, whatever.
Off I go to catch her and bring her in for a good groom and to worm her and that's when the problems started. She was a complete git from the second I got to the field to putting her back after the lesson. Firstly she wouldn't be caught, but eventually came up to me like butter wouldn't melt (this is quite a rare thing with her, but I usually make out I don't care one way or another while walking round her and this generally works). Then she wouldn't lead quitely, spooking at nothing and generally being an @rse. Didn't want to go in the stable but didn't want to be outside in the wind, didn't want to be groomed, wasn't going to have her face brushed, wasn't going to have her feet picked out and DEFINITELY wasn't going to be wormed (Kelly is a horse that uses her size, ie height, to avoid doing things she doesn't want to do - she just sticks her head in the air where she can't be reached). And it's still only 3.30.
By now, I'd decided that I probably wouldn't be riding, but would play it by ear anyway. The instructor duly arrives and we stand outside the stable chatting about my issues, then we start the lesson, deciding on groundwork. <No, I'm not having my bridle on, thanks all the same>. So after a minor argument, the bridle's on. We did a lot of walking up and down because she was bargy and constantly in my space or planting and refusing to go anywhere, but we eventually got her working well, so we decided to call it a day while we were on the up.
We all walked back to the field, and she starts trying to jog but was easily corrected, but when we got to the gate she nearly exploded. She was still wearing her bridle - big mistake! She so desperate to get away she's running backwards, threatening to rear, you name it. I somehow got her bridle off, and she turned and galloped flat out back to the herd. I've NEVER see her do that before.
I was mortified - here's my lovely placid horse behaving like a prat right under the instructor's nose (though she sometimes kicks off, has done probably three or four times in the eighteen months I've had her). However she was lovely about it, and said that it was good that she'd seen her at her worst, and if she does have occasions in future where she's a bit dangerous I know now how to get her under control. She also reassured me that compared to some she'd seen in her career with problem horses, this was nothing - at least she hadn't kicked, bitten or reared, and apart from the explosion at the gate she hadn't ever got out of control.
Oh well. Onwards and upwards. And I should say that at no time was I ever scared of her or not confident - my big worry at the gate was that she was going to get away wearing her bridle, and she'd tread on the reins and break her neck or something.
So why can't I have that amount of confidence when I'm riding her???!!!