![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Learning without that perfect bond
Nov. 9th, 2008 10:15 amI 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? :)
~~~~~~~~~~~
(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? :)
