I've just had a message from a good friend asking if I'd be interested in taking on a part loan whilst I continue my search for the perfect horse. When she started to explain I was amazed!
When I first started looking for a loan, I found an advert for a tb on preloved. It had been there a while so thought it might have gone but it still turned out to be there. At the time I was having riding lessons on a tb so wasn't so worried about having one. This was an ex racer but the owner assured me he was perfect for a nervous rider as he had been retired after only a few races due to being too slow. I went to see him a few times and he was everything she said. I told her it would be my first loan and that I'd been helping a friend with her horse but this would be the first of my own and she said that was fine and he was an ideal candidate for that. I walked, trotted and cantered him in open spaces and very quickly came to trust that - although he looked at things - he wasn't going anywhere wth me. I took him on trial and paid for 2 weeks. In that time I spent lots of time with him but it was clear that there was an expectation that I would ride with the owner's friend. At first I didn't mind but then she began being bossy and controlling and everything I did was wrong (not cantering fast enough, allowing her to carry a hay net whilst leading her horse, holding my crop in the wrong hand) she was snappy with me all the time and one day she drove up next to me as I was leading him around the yard waiting for my time (in 5 mins) to go into to the school and said in that voice people do when they think you are stupid 'errr - what are you doing?' She then proceeded to sit in the car and stare at me through the window shaking her head.
The next day, I was on preloved looking to see if his advert was up to send a picture to a friend and it came up as 'updated' that day. I got myself in a right tizz wondering if I'd done something wrong (all I'd done the previous day was pick up a huge amount of poo from his private paddock). She told me she'd decided she didn't want someone who didn't have experience of owning their own horse and was worried he'd get ill and I wouldn't notice... which is fair enough but it might have been nice to mention before she readvertised him. Anyway she was quite snotty about it and basically told me not to go back up. I was so upset about it all and felt completely useless.
So that was my first loan.
Thankfully, I found a loan much closer to home shortly after with an owner who built me up so much. She always told me what a lovely job I was doing and how the horse responded so well to me and how she was pleased that I asked things when I wasn't sure. I was so grateful for her as she really undid a lot of the self doubt the first loaner put into me. Unfortunately, the horse was a little too much for me and would throw bucks in sometimes on the main roads. I was gutted when I had to tell her one afternoon but I didnt feel capable enough to handle his little tizzys on the roads.
Anyway, that's a little by the by. So it's now 2 years later. And my friend rings me with a little sparkle in her voice asking how I'd like to loan a nice quiet TB that can only really hack in walk and trot. Turns out the lovely ex racer was sold a few months ago to a lovely girl. He has a plethora of issues that were not mentioned by his owner so can now only hack but after she heard my story, she asked my friend if I'd like to take him a few days a week. I'm having a think and will be having a chat with his new owner as I'm concerned I'm a little heavy knowing he has these issues by my friend assured me he already had them before and has done for a lot of years it's just it was either undetected or not mentioned. The other great thing is my friend told her this would be temporary as I am looking for my own horse and she said that's fine too.
How strange is it how things go round like that.
When I first started looking for a loan, I found an advert for a tb on preloved. It had been there a while so thought it might have gone but it still turned out to be there. At the time I was having riding lessons on a tb so wasn't so worried about having one. This was an ex racer but the owner assured me he was perfect for a nervous rider as he had been retired after only a few races due to being too slow. I went to see him a few times and he was everything she said. I told her it would be my first loan and that I'd been helping a friend with her horse but this would be the first of my own and she said that was fine and he was an ideal candidate for that. I walked, trotted and cantered him in open spaces and very quickly came to trust that - although he looked at things - he wasn't going anywhere wth me. I took him on trial and paid for 2 weeks. In that time I spent lots of time with him but it was clear that there was an expectation that I would ride with the owner's friend. At first I didn't mind but then she began being bossy and controlling and everything I did was wrong (not cantering fast enough, allowing her to carry a hay net whilst leading her horse, holding my crop in the wrong hand) she was snappy with me all the time and one day she drove up next to me as I was leading him around the yard waiting for my time (in 5 mins) to go into to the school and said in that voice people do when they think you are stupid 'errr - what are you doing?' She then proceeded to sit in the car and stare at me through the window shaking her head.
The next day, I was on preloved looking to see if his advert was up to send a picture to a friend and it came up as 'updated' that day. I got myself in a right tizz wondering if I'd done something wrong (all I'd done the previous day was pick up a huge amount of poo from his private paddock). She told me she'd decided she didn't want someone who didn't have experience of owning their own horse and was worried he'd get ill and I wouldn't notice... which is fair enough but it might have been nice to mention before she readvertised him. Anyway she was quite snotty about it and basically told me not to go back up. I was so upset about it all and felt completely useless.
So that was my first loan.
Thankfully, I found a loan much closer to home shortly after with an owner who built me up so much. She always told me what a lovely job I was doing and how the horse responded so well to me and how she was pleased that I asked things when I wasn't sure. I was so grateful for her as she really undid a lot of the self doubt the first loaner put into me. Unfortunately, the horse was a little too much for me and would throw bucks in sometimes on the main roads. I was gutted when I had to tell her one afternoon but I didnt feel capable enough to handle his little tizzys on the roads.
Anyway, that's a little by the by. So it's now 2 years later. And my friend rings me with a little sparkle in her voice asking how I'd like to loan a nice quiet TB that can only really hack in walk and trot. Turns out the lovely ex racer was sold a few months ago to a lovely girl. He has a plethora of issues that were not mentioned by his owner so can now only hack but after she heard my story, she asked my friend if I'd like to take him a few days a week. I'm having a think and will be having a chat with his new owner as I'm concerned I'm a little heavy knowing he has these issues by my friend assured me he already had them before and has done for a lot of years it's just it was either undetected or not mentioned. The other great thing is my friend told her this would be temporary as I am looking for my own horse and she said that's fine too.
How strange is it how things go round like that.