In times of horsey need - what keeps you going?!

Trewsers

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Oct 13, 2004
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Whenever I'm scared / wibbling / being carted off with out hacking or schooling come to think of it - I always rely on the wisdom of my old YO! Through one particular hairy ride she bellowed "sit up tall" and "stop looking at the floor":p:D And its kind of stuck with me:eek: She always instilled confidence into me and made me feel far braver than I really was and still 5 years on when I feel it all slipping away I think about what she used to tell me to do!!
So, question is, what advice keeps you going in times of horsey need / trouble?
 
Firstly engage my brain to think rather than panic, then think calmly.

Relax and breath deeply or Grace will wonder why Im scared as well.

The fact that I can get off if need be, she has never carted me off to date, just jumped around a bit:)
 
i think i am just plain stubborn, and self preservation kicks in, but i am a great one for worrying after the event. ie. when i get home, my legs start to shake, and later i will have a dose of the "what if's" my times of horsy needs are more in the line of " how am i going to afford to keep going" or " i just dont have the energy " and again, it is sheer pigheadedness that keeps me going, and sure enough, it always improves. ( hope i'm not tempting fate )
 
"where you look is where you go" was my very first RI's mantra. She used to ask me if i wanted to visit the floor as i'd a bad habit of looking down!
 
similar to eventerbabe. With mine it is a case of, 'where you look is where you go' as well as,.... 'how you think, is how you get there'

My guy is very much in my head and emotions of how I feel, and he responds instantly, so I watch my thoughts and feelings very closely.

e.g. If I look up and think of speeding up, he is on the other side of the field at flat out gallop instantly, and if I feel tired and want to slow down, he stops instantly and I nearly go over his head. If I think of going home, he turns round on one back foot and heads for home. So I guard my thought and feellings very carefully, this had happened with old RDA mounts who havent galloped for years as well.

What is is about my mind that makes them start, stop or turn sooooo quickly??

In terms of horsey need, his or mine, just the pure love for each other, keeps me getting there no matter how ill I may feel, or cutting corners for myself to provide for him, as a mother does for kids, etc. Just have to visualise that little face and I find strength in abundance.
 
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Here are some of the things I think and HAVE THOUGHT, lol, when in Horsey or Riding strife:D

1. Hang on in there

2. The floor looks HARD

3. The floor looks MUDDY and I am about to be covered:p

4. I promise if you STOP I will never shout at you again

5. I really should get a handle welded on my saddle, like the donkeys have!!!

6. Time for a Western Saddle, lol, I am sure they 'hold you on' better.

7. Time to sell this Horse.

8. Time to loan this Horse.

9. I HATE this Horse, lol..

10. I wanna SHOOT this Horse

11. I CANNOT come off, I don't bounce

12. Please don't let me come off in that massive puddle looming ahead.

13. Oh Bl**dy Hell, I am about to 'eat dirt' again

14. Why do I do this, I am a Grandmother, lol, I should be taking up KNITTING

lol, I think the one thing that really 'keeps me going and has kept me going' is
a sense of humour about it all;):p

The one thing that sticks in my mind after a particularly bad 'jumping' lesson, with my loopy TB Mare I owned at the time, and after hitting the
floor for about the 5TH time.......I looked at my RI, who was a Police RI, and said 'what am I doing so wrong?', he looked at me with
a particularly P'd off look and said 'You made the imperative mistake of NOT smothering your saddle with super glue before you even
climbed aboard' lol.
 
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Here are some of the things I think and HAVE THOUGHT, lol, when in Horsey or Riding strife:D

1. Hang on in there

2. The floor looks HARD

3. The floor looks MUDDY and I am about to be covered:p

4. I promise if you STOP I will never shout at you again

5. I really should get a handle welded on my saddle, like the donkeys have!!!

6. Time for a Western Saddle, lol, I am sure they 'hold you on' better.

7. Time to sell this Horse.

8. Time to loan this Horse.

9. I HATE this Horse, lol..

10. I wanna SHOOT this Horse

11. I CANNOT come off, I don't bounce

12. Please don't let me come off in that massive puddle looming ahead.

13. Oh Bl**dy Hell, I am about to 'eat dirt' again

14. Why do I do this, I am a Grandmother, lol, I should be taking up KNITTING

lol, I think the one thing that really 'keeps me going and has kept me going' is
a sense of humour about it all;):p

The one thing that sticks in my mind after a particularly bad 'jumping' lesson, with my loopy TB Mare I owned at the time, and after hitting the
floor for about the 5TH time.......I looked at my RI, who was a Police RI, and said 'what am I doing so wrong?', he looked at me with
a particularly P'd off look and said 'You made the imperative mistake of NOT smothering your saddle with super glue before you even
climbed aboard' lol.

Very funny :D

The main thing that keeps me going is that I love my horse and for me, there is no better horse.
I'm not saying she's the best horse in the world (although she is :p), just that I've never had a horse that suits me so well :D
 
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