Quote:
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Originally Posted by paisjpq
damn nicole...you OK? I remember when I first bought my horse...it was january and after a very mild december the temp dropped below zero and stayed there for 3 straight weeks....Needless to say I did not ride during that period...but when I did start up again my sweet (if hot) horse was a whole new animal...and he totally had my number...I didn't know him well enough to anticipate the bad behavior and I loved him too much to really get after him and make him behave...We went through a long period where riding him was no fun, I only came off once but every ride was like getting on a wild animal...finally I had my friend Scott (who outweighs me by close to 100 pounds and used to ride saddle bronc on the rodeo circut) get on him and piss him off...and school him for me...(I needed someone who could ride and had no affection for the horse so wouldn't forgive him for any bad behavior)...after an hour both horse and rider looked like they could be wrung out, they were so exhausted....neither one wanted to give it up...it was a long time before Oscar and I came to an understanding...but now I rarely see that beast from that winter...
I guess I don't really have a point except don't give up riding cause it will get better...  |
Thank you for the encouragement, Bethani; it's much appreciated. Today I'm trying to figure out if my knee is bad enough to need a doctor-- I can stand and put weight on it and squat without pain, but I can't lift my leg and bend my knee in front of me, if that makes any sense-- I can't bend it if my foot is not braced against the floor, in other words. And I'm trying to decide if I need to switch to another riding stable, which will add an hour onto my commute time to my lesson (each way).
After I came off last night-- the horse took off at a full gallop and leaped into the air, according to my classmates-- the teacher asked, "What did you do?" and I told him, this time, nothing-- no stick, and I'd actually been pretty clear in my canter signal-- one of the other instructors taking the lesson with us said, "Oh, he does that sometimes." Great. Thanks. She added that he's more respectful with heavier riders, and I thought, well, then what the f*ck was up with putting a 115 pound novice on him, you know? I can only ride once a week (all I can afford) but at this point I'm not progressing as I should (I look like an old lady hunched over at the canter) and I think it's a combination of not feeling safe on half the horses there, and of the other horses, most of them you have to really work at to get to do anything, and then I don't learn how to give clear, consistent signals. Which I blame on A) it being a not-ideal situation for the horses (no outdoor turnout) and B) the owner buying cheap, cheap horses- either they are sound and crazy or sweet and unsound.
And I see the other instructor get on my recalcitrant mount and work him for the next 15 minutes and while I know she's been riding for 14 years, and I can see she's half-halting him every two seconds, I'm still frustrated that he doesn't take off with her because I feel like I'll never, ever get to that point. Sigh...
But no, barring any serious injury to my knee that would prevent me, I'm not stopping.