Learning without that perfect bond

[foalstory]

I posted this as a comment, but figured I'd repost it here because it's worthy.

~~~~~~~~~~~

(question was about whether you and your horse never clicked)

yup! and went on loving the horse to pieces although I knew he'd never be 'my' type of horse (unless I wanted a bum around fun hack).

A new horse came into the barn, vicious in his stall, trying to bite anyone who came by. Trainer asked me to try him out (he was privately owned but needed riding). Being the teenager I was, I did and WOW it was a disastrous ride, the sort where you use the fence to stop at times and never trot in a straight line. I ended the ride and declared 'Someone needs to work with this horse!!'

Trainer called me that night and offered me a lease on him. WHAT? totally NO emotional bond to him, frustrated and annoyed by him at times to say the least. So I said yes of course, cause I needed a ride :)

A year later he was going magnificently, taught me SO much about how to LISTEN to a horse, not just order it around, and while he maxed out at 2'3" at jumping (fat little quarterhorse, he literally could NOT go higher), we had a blast and I was so so sad when he owner moved him to another barn before I graduated high school.

So I knew I never 'clicked' with him until MUCH later, but even then I knew he would never be the 'horse for me' but he was the right stage at the right point in my life.

(and I also got a kick ass college entrance essay out of him and all he taught me about listening :) )



Wings!
started as an off the track (QH racing) western trained, to jumping and trail riding galloping pony to a dressage mount for his owner. All around much? :)

Comments

[julnar.livejournal.com]

hee! Wings! I remember when you were riding that horse :)

[skyhuntress.livejournal.com]

i think horse relationships are much like people relationships. you'll meet people who are brilliant at what they do, but you might not work with them well. you'll meet people who are like your best friends with the exact same personality as you and you can't wait to hang out with them. and you'll meet people that might have an entirely different personality than what you'd consider nice or like yours, but they can teach you tremendous amounts.
horses are the same. you don't need a deep emotional bond to excel. you just need to be willing to work with the situation and learn from it

[thelitas.livejournal.com]

I'm just more laughing at how everyone in the original entry is like "That's me and all mares" or "That's me and all geldings".

Cracks me up (says the person that has basically had all mares- but at least I choose to do it for reasons such as "if she gets hurt, at least I can get a couple bucks out of her as a broodmare")

As for my own experience, I've felt this more when going back to horses I had. Clara, for instance, was my favorite horse when I was actively showing her. Now, I just don't like riding her because I've grown accustomed to much larger gaits and a happier attitude under saddle.

But again, if not for Clara, I would have never learned to ride a majorly opinionated horse or bringing together a horse that is super heavy.

[alwaysregal.livejournal.com]

That would be me and Louie. I probably would have kept him and learned a lot more from him if he had been physically capable of doing what I ask. Although he is one of those horses that even people who love him get frustrated - I've never seen him with a rider when HE looked truly happy so he may just be one of those horses - he doesn't like being brushed and especially after owning Regal, who will follow you like a dog and loves any attention you give him, it was hard for me to enjoy a horse who didn't like being groomed/handled on the ground. Regardless he taught me a lot (more to do with life/what I learned when he almost died than anything about riding) and I'm glad he has a good home.

Contrary to what I'm sure people think Regal and I DID NOT bond instantly or anywhere close to it. Despite how safe he is there were still times when a tiny 15 year old and a 17 hand ex race horse were NOT a good combination. No one who knew us when we were showing in the amateurs would have ever guessed (but really if you can't ride a horse well after 8 years then...) - we've both changed a lot from where we were then and there was a lot of growing up for both of us - in retrospect, despite the loss of athleticism on both our parts (he used to course 3'0, I used to ride more than one horse a day, etc) our amateur years were our best - most consistent and more fun - probably because I appreciated it so much more by that point - each horse show was like a gift that I never expected to have.

[buymeaclue.livejournal.com]

Well done. :)

I think, really, this is what it's all about. I love the warm-and-fuzzy bondedness of riding a horse you totally understand, of course...but anybody can do that. Taking the ones that aren't quite your style and learning how to communicate with them anyway is the part where you really stretch.

[celticravenwolf.livejournal.com]

I agree with skyhuntress in that it's similar to human-human relationships.

Take me and my sister's horse, Ivan. He's a fabulous horse, anyone can ride him, though they find out quickly that he's not the push-button horse they assume - he's a regular lumberjack in the hands of an unskilled rider, powerful enough to negotiate 3'9 (where he maxed out) and go cross country, but still gentle enough to throw a 5 year old on him.

Ivan and I never clicked. I've rode him, competed on him, and done well on him. Now that I think about it, I've placed 2nd in every competition on him. I have the skill to ride him well, he was generous for me when I make mistakes, but we never well and truly got along to the point where he would put his heart into it the same way he did for my sister, or even for my mother. Even in the field, when he's so happy to see my mom or my sister, with me his attitude is much more disinterested.

*shrugs* I don't know why that is, or why the feeling is so mutual. I like Ivan well enough, but I feel the same way for him as he seems to for me. I can be happy with him, have great moments on him, but that feeling of being connected just isn't there.

...I think I might go post this in the equestrian thread too!

[sandwhich-cooki.livejournal.com]

totally OP reply- did you see my reply in equestrian that I will take the mattes pad? I have paypal but don't know how to work it, lol