I bought my mare 4 years and 5 months ago now. She was a bit of an impulse buy if i'm honest. First time I was earning decent money etc etc. I wanted a Welsh Cob and she was advertised as a welsh cob cross. So I traveled 3 hours to the other side of Wales to meet her. Turned out the "welsh cob" cross bit was totally misleading. She was actually IDxTB Irish sports horse (papered), really just a small TB (15.1hh). Anyway I fell in love and bought her. The seller explained that although she'd been backed by a dressage rider, introduced to shows, jumped, hacked, hunted, and shown in hand; for 8 years she had done nothing but sit in a field, with the odd bit of light hacking. She was sold with the intention of someone actually *doing* something with her.
So I brought her home, full of good intentions. I started having a lesson once per week, hacking out as much as possible, and spending time just being with her. But we never really clicked. She's not really a hacker. Just gets nervous, with eyes on stalks, reluctant to walk forward, and in all honesty, more trouble than it's worth to take out. She is not naughty or dangerous (touch wood), just very sluggish and reluctant, and spooky. Schooling on the other hand she loves, but I quickly got bored with. It just felt like I had no direction, nothing to work towards, and got bored with doing the same old figure 8's and circles over and over. Added to which I was (still am) pretty unfit, so trying to get her going, then keeping it up for any length of time was so knackering.
So gradually I lost interest. For the next couple of years we just bumbled along together, the odd hack here and there, schooling once a week maybe. We went on a fun ride a couple of times with a friend from the yard, and that was great. But I don't have transport, or the company, so that didn't happen again.
At the beginning of 2010 I realized my poor horsey was totally wasted. Added to which I was having money problems, and time was short. So after much internal struggle I put her up for loan. My Y/O introduced us to a lovely lady who was looking to get back into riding after an extended break, and a match made in heaven was found. After a few months however, my perfect loaner found herself a horse of her own (she wanted something bigger and more flashy). Fortunately she stayed on the same yard and helped me out still.
A little while later, reluctantly I advertised my mare for loan again, hoping to find maybe a teenager who wanted a horse to take to shows etc, but who wouldn't get too attached. I found TWO!!!:happy: They weren't the ideal I was looking for, having only very limited riding school experience, but they proved to be brilliant. With the help of my former loaner, the y/o, and other liveries, these two have changed my horse's life (and mine!). Their enthusiasm, hard work, and sheer adoration, have resulted in one sleek, fit, happy and pampered princess of a horse:wavespin:
They have had her for almost 7 months and unfortunately can no longer keep her on. One girl is set to get another horse of her own i believe, and the other girl can't afford the loan on her own
So I have decided to take her back and move yards to somewhere closer to me (I moved during the loan). I'm excited at the prospect of having my horse back again, but I don't want to end up in the same situation as before, where I lose interest and have to put her back out on loan. I don't want to mess her around. I also don't want to sell her as I'm unsure where she'd end up, and I'd never forgive myself if she got into the wrong hands. But we still don't "click", I don't have much spare cash for lessons/ shows/ fun events etc, and obviously with such a long time apart (and someone else being her "mommy"), we have virtually no bond at all.
I'd love to make this work, and have a happy, fit horse, fulfilling her potential, and a happy, motivated me.
What we have going in our favour is this:
I've found a potential yard right between work and home, so I can make it there every day before and after work.
The yard is owned by a dressage rider who is actively turning it into a dressage yard and uses the dressage method ridden routine (whatever that is?)
She gives dressage lessons (and other types) for only £20 phr woohoo
I have fully stocked tack, feed, bedding, equiptment etc so no need to buy a single thing
The girl who would be unable to afford a loan on her own will still be coming to help us at weekends when she can. I've offered to let her take my mare to shows through the summer, and ride when she likes, in exchange for a little mucking out.
My lovely other half has offered to forcibly shove me out of bed in the mornings to muck out on those days when motivation is lacking:redface:
Actually reading that back, it's not a bad list... i've got a darn lot going for me LOL.
So even though I've had this horse four and a half years, I'm starting all over again effectively. I REALLY want to get off on the right foot. And I want this to WORK!
What I'd love is input from anyone who can empathize with this story.
How did you start the bonding process with your horse, or rebuild it?
How do you keep motivated when riding i.e. schooling?
How do you find/ prepare for/ travel to/ afford shows etc?
How do you enthuse a horse about hacking, and allay her fears? (I feel she doesn't respect me as a leader, and this is why she is afraid when hacking - she thinks she has to be on watch all the time as she can't rely on me to protect her).
How do I build some kind of fellowship between this mare and myself when it doesn't feel as though we really click at all, and we're not really each other's ideal owner/ horse? In all honesty I'd still like my Welsh cob.. something i can hack for hours, but who is equally happy to school, do some local level shows, all with enthusiasm and a bit of impulse. I can't afford another without selling mine though, and I don't want to sell, so I want to make the most of what i HAVE, as it were..
Well done for reading to the end of this long post........ :redface:
So I brought her home, full of good intentions. I started having a lesson once per week, hacking out as much as possible, and spending time just being with her. But we never really clicked. She's not really a hacker. Just gets nervous, with eyes on stalks, reluctant to walk forward, and in all honesty, more trouble than it's worth to take out. She is not naughty or dangerous (touch wood), just very sluggish and reluctant, and spooky. Schooling on the other hand she loves, but I quickly got bored with. It just felt like I had no direction, nothing to work towards, and got bored with doing the same old figure 8's and circles over and over. Added to which I was (still am) pretty unfit, so trying to get her going, then keeping it up for any length of time was so knackering.
So gradually I lost interest. For the next couple of years we just bumbled along together, the odd hack here and there, schooling once a week maybe. We went on a fun ride a couple of times with a friend from the yard, and that was great. But I don't have transport, or the company, so that didn't happen again.
At the beginning of 2010 I realized my poor horsey was totally wasted. Added to which I was having money problems, and time was short. So after much internal struggle I put her up for loan. My Y/O introduced us to a lovely lady who was looking to get back into riding after an extended break, and a match made in heaven was found. After a few months however, my perfect loaner found herself a horse of her own (she wanted something bigger and more flashy). Fortunately she stayed on the same yard and helped me out still.
A little while later, reluctantly I advertised my mare for loan again, hoping to find maybe a teenager who wanted a horse to take to shows etc, but who wouldn't get too attached. I found TWO!!!:happy: They weren't the ideal I was looking for, having only very limited riding school experience, but they proved to be brilliant. With the help of my former loaner, the y/o, and other liveries, these two have changed my horse's life (and mine!). Their enthusiasm, hard work, and sheer adoration, have resulted in one sleek, fit, happy and pampered princess of a horse:wavespin:
They have had her for almost 7 months and unfortunately can no longer keep her on. One girl is set to get another horse of her own i believe, and the other girl can't afford the loan on her own
So I have decided to take her back and move yards to somewhere closer to me (I moved during the loan). I'm excited at the prospect of having my horse back again, but I don't want to end up in the same situation as before, where I lose interest and have to put her back out on loan. I don't want to mess her around. I also don't want to sell her as I'm unsure where she'd end up, and I'd never forgive myself if she got into the wrong hands. But we still don't "click", I don't have much spare cash for lessons/ shows/ fun events etc, and obviously with such a long time apart (and someone else being her "mommy"), we have virtually no bond at all.
I'd love to make this work, and have a happy, fit horse, fulfilling her potential, and a happy, motivated me.
What we have going in our favour is this:
I've found a potential yard right between work and home, so I can make it there every day before and after work.
The yard is owned by a dressage rider who is actively turning it into a dressage yard and uses the dressage method ridden routine (whatever that is?)
She gives dressage lessons (and other types) for only £20 phr woohoo
I have fully stocked tack, feed, bedding, equiptment etc so no need to buy a single thing
The girl who would be unable to afford a loan on her own will still be coming to help us at weekends when she can. I've offered to let her take my mare to shows through the summer, and ride when she likes, in exchange for a little mucking out.
My lovely other half has offered to forcibly shove me out of bed in the mornings to muck out on those days when motivation is lacking:redface:
Actually reading that back, it's not a bad list... i've got a darn lot going for me LOL.
So even though I've had this horse four and a half years, I'm starting all over again effectively. I REALLY want to get off on the right foot. And I want this to WORK!
What I'd love is input from anyone who can empathize with this story.
How did you start the bonding process with your horse, or rebuild it?
How do you keep motivated when riding i.e. schooling?
How do you find/ prepare for/ travel to/ afford shows etc?
How do you enthuse a horse about hacking, and allay her fears? (I feel she doesn't respect me as a leader, and this is why she is afraid when hacking - she thinks she has to be on watch all the time as she can't rely on me to protect her).
How do I build some kind of fellowship between this mare and myself when it doesn't feel as though we really click at all, and we're not really each other's ideal owner/ horse? In all honesty I'd still like my Welsh cob.. something i can hack for hours, but who is equally happy to school, do some local level shows, all with enthusiasm and a bit of impulse. I can't afford another without selling mine though, and I don't want to sell, so I want to make the most of what i HAVE, as it were..
Well done for reading to the end of this long post........ :redface: