Too Much Horse for ME
I actually wrote this last year, but decided to put it on my blog today.
Is life in the country complete without horse ownership? Is one truly a country girl if one doesn’t know how to ride a horse? How could I hold my head up in the feed store if I didn’t know a canter from a trot. No, horse ownership and the ability to actually ride a horse is the ultimate symbol that I had become a Country girl.
Before becoming a horse owner I read lots of books about selecting a good horse for a beginning rider. I knew all the rules to follow to make certain I bought a gentle horse suitable for an inexperienced person like myself. (My horseback riding experience was limited to one ride in which I could not even get my mount 100 yards from the stable in the entire hour.) The first rule for beginners I broke was don’t buy a horse younger than 15 years old. The second rule I broke was watch the owner ride the horse before you buy it. The third rule I broke was ride the horse before you buy it. The fourth rule I broke was take an experienced horse person with you to inspect the horse before you buy it.
I gave my new horse over night to accustom himself to his new corral. I couldn’t wait to spend some quality time with him taking him out for a walk. I knew he would be delighted to have the opportunity to graze on the tall green grass. And I also thought he is really going to love me for giving him such a nice treat. Hah!
He is friendly coming up to us. I really like that about him. He did let me halter him as inept as I was at it. I tied him up expecting to have a great time of bonding as I groomed my beautiful new horse. But every time I went to brush him he pivoted away from me. So I followed with the brush. I assumed he was ticklish or I was doing something wrong. I tried a firmer stroke with the brush. I tried a lighted stroke. He just didn’t seem thrilled to being groomed. In retrospect I realize he wasn’t happy being controlled by being tied. Being a very smart horse, he then decided to test the knot I had used to tie him to the rail. He quickly determined I had done a good job with the knot and I had tied him to a really stout rail. After a few attempts to pull back to break the rope, halter, and rail he seemed to give up. I was congratulating myself on my superior knot tying skills and good post judgment. Unbeknown to me, he was working on plan three. I happily went back to grooming. My horse put plan three into action. It went something like this. “If you keep annoying me by following me with that brush no matter how I try to side step away. I will step into you and onto you and make you get out of my space.” Instead of pivoting away from me he pivoted right into me. He kept making me step back to avoid being stepped on or pushed over. Still clueless at this point, I decided to give up on the grooming and lead him down to the meadow. Surely that would be more fun and my horse would look so picturesque standing in the lush green grass. Meanwhile my horse was thinking, “Hah, I made the human stop annoying me with the brush. And I made the human untie me. This human is very easy to train.” While I am still anticipating a nice time with my horse in the meadow and my horse is thinking, “I rule!”
When I led him out to the pasture. He walked nicely on the road because I’m taking him right where he plans to go anyway. But once we got near some greenery he put his head down to graze. (This was an area I did not want him to graze because of the noxious weeds). repeatedly pulled up his head a led him forward. Though I’m annoyed that I have to keep pulling his head up I think I’m mostly winning. Hah! He is just using the time to problem solve. Then he decided he would try to lead me instead so he was trying to push past me and walk ahead of me by crowding me out of the way. Well all my reading wasn’t for nothing. I did remember reading you could slow a horse down by turning their head. I had to turn him in circles multiple times to slow him down. This worked until he realized that space between us gave me leverage to turn his head. He thinks back and remembers that crowding into the human’s space is a good was to show her who is boss. Then he decided he would crowd into me so he could be the leader. So now I’m having to walk very fast to keep from being knocked down because he is walking into me. His shoulder is against my back. And his head is over my shoulder pushing me forward. Now I can’t turn him at all because he is not letting me step back or sideways to turn him. Smart horse!. Once in the pasture he pulled me around a bit to make sure I understood he was in charge, then settled to graze.
I’m actually rather scared of horses which is exactly why I have challenged myself to learn how to handle them! It is a huge confidence booster to over coming a fear or at least facing a fear. And I hope facing a fear in one area will help me face fears in other areas. The rides on my horse were pretty exciting since he loved to trot (which I hardly know how to do!) and he loved to gallop! (something I'm getting the hang of!) We even jumped over a pile of logs! I was rehearsing in my mind the cues for backing up, (since Haldor doesn't back up at all well) , and Haldor decided I must be waiting for him to jump, so he did!
The day when I really decided Haldor was way too much horse for me and needed a much more experienced owner than myself went like this. I was riding Haldor. At first he was doing very well. So the I took him to the far south end of the property near the river. He did not like it there but he did go with my urging him. But right when he got to the place he didn't like, eight kayackers came down the river. Haldor's heart started pounding. I kept him standing there talking to him calmly. But right after they were out of sight he totally blew up rearing. I kept him turning in circles. I stayed in the saddle Praise God! But he was in a panic. Finally I got him under some control and we headed away. I kept our retreat under control although it was evident he totally wanted to run away. After letting him calm down out in the meadow for a short while I made him go back to the same place. Thanks to the Lord that I was able to keep myself in the saddle.
Is life in the country complete without horse ownership? Is one truly a country girl if one doesn’t know how to ride a horse? How could I hold my head up in the feed store if I didn’t know a canter from a trot. No, horse ownership and the ability to actually ride a horse is the ultimate symbol that I had become a Country girl.
Before becoming a horse owner I read lots of books about selecting a good horse for a beginning rider. I knew all the rules to follow to make certain I bought a gentle horse suitable for an inexperienced person like myself. (My horseback riding experience was limited to one ride in which I could not even get my mount 100 yards from the stable in the entire hour.) The first rule for beginners I broke was don’t buy a horse younger than 15 years old. The second rule I broke was watch the owner ride the horse before you buy it. The third rule I broke was ride the horse before you buy it. The fourth rule I broke was take an experienced horse person with you to inspect the horse before you buy it.
I gave my new horse over night to accustom himself to his new corral. I couldn’t wait to spend some quality time with him taking him out for a walk. I knew he would be delighted to have the opportunity to graze on the tall green grass. And I also thought he is really going to love me for giving him such a nice treat. Hah!
He is friendly coming up to us. I really like that about him. He did let me halter him as inept as I was at it. I tied him up expecting to have a great time of bonding as I groomed my beautiful new horse. But every time I went to brush him he pivoted away from me. So I followed with the brush. I assumed he was ticklish or I was doing something wrong. I tried a firmer stroke with the brush. I tried a lighted stroke. He just didn’t seem thrilled to being groomed. In retrospect I realize he wasn’t happy being controlled by being tied. Being a very smart horse, he then decided to test the knot I had used to tie him to the rail. He quickly determined I had done a good job with the knot and I had tied him to a really stout rail. After a few attempts to pull back to break the rope, halter, and rail he seemed to give up. I was congratulating myself on my superior knot tying skills and good post judgment. Unbeknown to me, he was working on plan three. I happily went back to grooming. My horse put plan three into action. It went something like this. “If you keep annoying me by following me with that brush no matter how I try to side step away. I will step into you and onto you and make you get out of my space.” Instead of pivoting away from me he pivoted right into me. He kept making me step back to avoid being stepped on or pushed over. Still clueless at this point, I decided to give up on the grooming and lead him down to the meadow. Surely that would be more fun and my horse would look so picturesque standing in the lush green grass. Meanwhile my horse was thinking, “Hah, I made the human stop annoying me with the brush. And I made the human untie me. This human is very easy to train.” While I am still anticipating a nice time with my horse in the meadow and my horse is thinking, “I rule!”
When I led him out to the pasture. He walked nicely on the road because I’m taking him right where he plans to go anyway. But once we got near some greenery he put his head down to graze. (This was an area I did not want him to graze because of the noxious weeds). repeatedly pulled up his head a led him forward. Though I’m annoyed that I have to keep pulling his head up I think I’m mostly winning. Hah! He is just using the time to problem solve. Then he decided he would try to lead me instead so he was trying to push past me and walk ahead of me by crowding me out of the way. Well all my reading wasn’t for nothing. I did remember reading you could slow a horse down by turning their head. I had to turn him in circles multiple times to slow him down. This worked until he realized that space between us gave me leverage to turn his head. He thinks back and remembers that crowding into the human’s space is a good was to show her who is boss. Then he decided he would crowd into me so he could be the leader. So now I’m having to walk very fast to keep from being knocked down because he is walking into me. His shoulder is against my back. And his head is over my shoulder pushing me forward. Now I can’t turn him at all because he is not letting me step back or sideways to turn him. Smart horse!. Once in the pasture he pulled me around a bit to make sure I understood he was in charge, then settled to graze.
I’m actually rather scared of horses which is exactly why I have challenged myself to learn how to handle them! It is a huge confidence booster to over coming a fear or at least facing a fear. And I hope facing a fear in one area will help me face fears in other areas. The rides on my horse were pretty exciting since he loved to trot (which I hardly know how to do!) and he loved to gallop! (something I'm getting the hang of!) We even jumped over a pile of logs! I was rehearsing in my mind the cues for backing up, (since Haldor doesn't back up at all well) , and Haldor decided I must be waiting for him to jump, so he did!
The day when I really decided Haldor was way too much horse for me and needed a much more experienced owner than myself went like this. I was riding Haldor. At first he was doing very well. So the I took him to the far south end of the property near the river. He did not like it there but he did go with my urging him. But right when he got to the place he didn't like, eight kayackers came down the river. Haldor's heart started pounding. I kept him standing there talking to him calmly. But right after they were out of sight he totally blew up rearing. I kept him turning in circles. I stayed in the saddle Praise God! But he was in a panic. Finally I got him under some control and we headed away. I kept our retreat under control although it was evident he totally wanted to run away. After letting him calm down out in the meadow for a short while I made him go back to the same place. Thanks to the Lord that I was able to keep myself in the saddle.
