What type of a rider am I? This is a question I've asked myself time and time again, especially since I've gotten a bit older and, a-hem, wiser. Growing up, my mom coached me in the right and wrong things to do as a rider. My mom being the old school cowgirl type, put up with no nonsense. If the horse balked and tried to turn back for the barn they got a smack on the butt and a good wallop on the sides. If they nipped, bit or became pushy, they got scolded harshly. With that said, my mom was able to turn the worst horses into angels within weeks. I fed off of that, and in turn I never had trouble either. I'm aggressive yet soft, at least that's what I always thought.
Fast forward to my adulthood. Riding Morgans with an actual trainer has taught me many things, one of them being that I'm not quite as aggressive or correct as I once thought. To me it's very important to have a connection with a horse that respects me. I feel that I correct when necessary, but lately I've been wondering if I am too soft. My trainer is a NO NONSENSE type of gal. She wants her horses to be perfect at all times while being handled and ridden. She is not abusive and only punishes when necessary, but sometimes I have a hard time deciphering the necessary time for correction. For instance, while preparing for a show, Trainer wants the horses to never place a hoof wrong. If they balk, buck, are veering around or whatever, they get a wack a smack or a bump, sometimes it's backing quickly, other times it's pressure with a spur or a quick slap of a whip - it just depends on the infraction. But I find myself letting little things slide. If the horse wanders off the rail for a moment, I gently guide them back. I know that sounds fine, but that's one of the tiny things I let slide that has evolved into a big problem.
I know I've written before about this issue, but it's one of my greatest worries when it comes to riding. Bobby's bad habit is my fault. I remember the exact moment he decided he could pull a new stunt of his. He skitted into the center of the ring just a bit at a show a few years ago. Instead of me forcing him back to the rail and blowing the class with a visible correction, I allowed him to cut across the ring as though it were my idea. Well, we won that class, but did we win in the long run? Definitely not. Since then, he's gotten progressively worse, he now veers into the center half way through random classes (western riding too). Any corrections usually result in bucking, bee-bopping around, jigging, and/or head tossing. The worst part of it is that I created this monster, and I don't think I'm rider enough to take care of this issue. That in itself, is very humbling.
Trainer and I have gone on and on about this very topic. I was bucked off of Bobby about 3 years ago, and it took a toll on my once very confident self. That small lapse in confidence has made such a depressing difference in my riding, it's really a sad thing. Getting that confidence back is going to be a long road, but I work on it every time I ride by forcing myself to do something I'm not comfortable with. One of them being cantering Bobby when I KNOW he's going to buck. Of course I sit that buck, feel fine and dandy afterward, but the memory of that fall - it gets me so nervous sometimes. I am DiGrEsSiNg.
What I am learning still though, is that if you give a horse an inch, they'll take a mile. No duh, but really, it took me this long to experience that truth - or at least realize it as one. I always just thought Bobby was just a dishonest kind of guy, about work anyway. Bobby is no dummy, he most certainly has my card and I don't know how to get it back. He is the only horse I've ever shown that doesn't respect me, and that's so huge. Horses must respect their riders/owners/handlers/people in order to have a good working relationship with them. Respect is key.
So, I've had my moments of despair over this, certainly. It took a lot out of me at one show in particular. After that show, I thought for sure I'd never show again. It took about 2 months for that show bug to bite again. I'm also learning that every horse, no matter how perfect, has their moments. Bobby can be so good, for so long, and then BAM he's a complete ass - bucking or being a twerp for no apparent reason. On those days, I relax, try to end on a good note and hope for better next time. It still depresses me, but overall, I know they're only horses and I'm only human - nobody's perfect, nobody!
Fast forward to my adulthood. Riding Morgans with an actual trainer has taught me many things, one of them being that I'm not quite as aggressive or correct as I once thought. To me it's very important to have a connection with a horse that respects me. I feel that I correct when necessary, but lately I've been wondering if I am too soft. My trainer is a NO NONSENSE type of gal. She wants her horses to be perfect at all times while being handled and ridden. She is not abusive and only punishes when necessary, but sometimes I have a hard time deciphering the necessary time for correction. For instance, while preparing for a show, Trainer wants the horses to never place a hoof wrong. If they balk, buck, are veering around or whatever, they get a wack a smack or a bump, sometimes it's backing quickly, other times it's pressure with a spur or a quick slap of a whip - it just depends on the infraction. But I find myself letting little things slide. If the horse wanders off the rail for a moment, I gently guide them back. I know that sounds fine, but that's one of the tiny things I let slide that has evolved into a big problem.
I know I've written before about this issue, but it's one of my greatest worries when it comes to riding. Bobby's bad habit is my fault. I remember the exact moment he decided he could pull a new stunt of his. He skitted into the center of the ring just a bit at a show a few years ago. Instead of me forcing him back to the rail and blowing the class with a visible correction, I allowed him to cut across the ring as though it were my idea. Well, we won that class, but did we win in the long run? Definitely not. Since then, he's gotten progressively worse, he now veers into the center half way through random classes (western riding too). Any corrections usually result in bucking, bee-bopping around, jigging, and/or head tossing. The worst part of it is that I created this monster, and I don't think I'm rider enough to take care of this issue. That in itself, is very humbling.
Trainer and I have gone on and on about this very topic. I was bucked off of Bobby about 3 years ago, and it took a toll on my once very confident self. That small lapse in confidence has made such a depressing difference in my riding, it's really a sad thing. Getting that confidence back is going to be a long road, but I work on it every time I ride by forcing myself to do something I'm not comfortable with. One of them being cantering Bobby when I KNOW he's going to buck. Of course I sit that buck, feel fine and dandy afterward, but the memory of that fall - it gets me so nervous sometimes. I am DiGrEsSiNg.
What I am learning still though, is that if you give a horse an inch, they'll take a mile. No duh, but really, it took me this long to experience that truth - or at least realize it as one. I always just thought Bobby was just a dishonest kind of guy, about work anyway. Bobby is no dummy, he most certainly has my card and I don't know how to get it back. He is the only horse I've ever shown that doesn't respect me, and that's so huge. Horses must respect their riders/owners/handlers/people in order to have a good working relationship with them. Respect is key.
So, I've had my moments of despair over this, certainly. It took a lot out of me at one show in particular. After that show, I thought for sure I'd never show again. It took about 2 months for that show bug to bite again. I'm also learning that every horse, no matter how perfect, has their moments. Bobby can be so good, for so long, and then BAM he's a complete ass - bucking or being a twerp for no apparent reason. On those days, I relax, try to end on a good note and hope for better next time. It still depresses me, but overall, I know they're only horses and I'm only human - nobody's perfect, nobody!
1 comment:
Is that Bobby at the top? He's got a BEAUTIFUL eye. It's so big he looks like a My Little Pony (in a good way!)
Post a Comment