MAIL CALL?
Letters
to the Trainer
Topic
"New Plan Needed"
I have chosen to post this particular piece of mail as it addresses several concerns which I encounter regularly in my training practice.
Although this writer does not intimate that she is an apprehensive rider. She is like many of my clients who have returned to riding as a mature person. The older returnee to riding and the older beginner rider can be a more intellectual and less spontaneous rider. An intellectual rider is very realistic about the frailties of the human body and as a result become more cautious. Even the old adage of "Seasoned rider to green horse and green rider to seasoned horse" can fail in an instance where the rider is overly cautious and unable to be assertive as needed. Once the rider is aware of how their timidness is hampering their enjoyment, they often feel frustrated. I recommend timid riders of all ages to "get on with riding". They MUST keep within their comfort zone, stretching that zone gradually over the course of many lessons. The rider or instructor should set realistic goals for a particular lesson and stick to the goal even if it is achieved fairly early in that lesson. This allows the goal to be met, and the lesson to end in success, instead of pushing on until the rider reaches an obstacle to big for them. I feel it is important that the apprehensive rider keep their mind busy on tasks that require much concentration so as to not allow their thoughts to drift to all the possible pitfalls on their way.
I applaud this writer’s ability to see that training of green horses is best done by people with experience. The careful evaluation of the trainer should not be understated however, it is, in my opinion, VERY IMPORTANT that a trainer evaluate the owner to see what their level of riding is in order to properly train to that rider’s needs. If the rider is a novice it is important that the trainer make it clear that for this green horse to be ridden by a novice rider in the most timely manner, that novice rider will need to improve their riding WHILE the green horse is trained. The trainer must make sure that the owner understand a green horse requires much training to be made ready for a novice rider. Cost needs to be realistically addressed. I think any plan that leaves the horse owner out is a bad plan. Conscientious trainers can take talented horses beyond the needs of the owner.(this too is problematic) example: A novice rider in a full Reiner’s spin.
I have encountered many "LESSON HORSE GONE BAD" stories. Plainly put...lesson horses that are making money are not often sold. Therefore they should be scrutinized carefully. If all physical concerns are ruled out, I suggest you look to mental health issues. Many times these horses get "RING SOUR", or "WORK SOUR" which can present itself in passive refusal to work (sluggish, unresponsive) or aggressive refusal to work (brushing, bucking, rearing) The sluggish unresponsive horse may seem ideal for a novice owner. The horse is very often ridden without incident many times before purchase. In its new environment the former lesson horse enjoys much-needed down time, turnout and social interaction. The novice owner will delight in the fact that their horse is reacquiring a personality. Improved mental health brings alertness, which can result in shying issues. Increased stamina from rest can result in extra energy, and the happy buck. In many cases these lesson horses gone bad merely need more regular work to keep them in line. A happy medium can be obtained by half leasing to a handy rider or permitting your horse to be used occasionally as a lesson horse buy a reputable instructor.
I hope this has addressed some issues readers had thought of asking, I welcome your comments and suggestions. PEACE
"NEW PLAN NEEDED"
Ok. Here goes. I grew up with a donkey and rode it. I also rode quite a few neighborhood horses. I always wanted a horse but my aunt had had a serious head injury when she was young and the best my parents would do was a donkey. I still think about getting another to this day. Instead, at around 48 years of age I bought a 6 mo. old colt. I was green and he is very intelligent; luckily he does not have a mean bone in his body. He did learn a lot of how to push humans around, though. He was gelded at a little over a year old. I sent him to training at two for ground work and possibly the beginning of driving. He flunked out and came home with a rearing problem. I sent him to a different trainer a year later who said he could help with the rearing problem. He did. By paying a different trainer to come in, we got him under saddle and he was ridden at a walk by an instructor at my local boarding facility a few times a week. I had been taking riding lessons for a year at that point. I decided I would try to ride him. He bucked me off; I may have made 8 seconds, probably not. I took him back to training and the trainer worked a couple of weeks and told me he would always be a fighter and he was lucky that I bought him or he would have been dog food by now. I took him home. The year after I bought ***., I had also bought his brother who is a year younger. He was taken to training at two for ground work and again at four for riding. He has done well with an experienced rider. But it has now been a year with no rider to ride him. (Both ***. and *** are Arab/paint.) Knowing I would not be able to ride the two I had, I decided to go to the ads and find a nice calm seasoned quarter horse. I found *****, advertised as a child's lesson horse, 10 years old, in {Upstate}, NY. I took a very experienced rider friend of mine to check him out with me. We both rode him. You had to mount him carefully because he would skirt to the side, we were told, if you got your toe in his side. He was such a sweetie. I bought him and rode him 5 or 6 times and then he bolted. I stayed on but became afraid. He was not the child's lesson horse I was told. I worked with him on the ground because he would shy when you approached from the side, he couldn't tolerate a rope on him, other than for a lead. He was afraid of the lunge whip. He was afraid of the trimmer. He would pull back if you touched his ears. I also paid an experienced rider at the barn to ride him. He did great with her 5 or 6 times. Then he bolted and went into a buck- bucked her off. She wouldn't ride again. He has not been ridden either. That was two years ago. None of my horses are mean; in fact, they are all very sweet. **** is extremely athletic, wonderful smooth gaits. Smokey loves children. **** was said to be the best trail horse in the barn when he was trained.
I am a good rider but I am also 53. Now you can see why I need a new plan.
Most of my mail this month has been questions relating to fear of riding or riding anxiety. I have encountered more and more riders who have complaints, that although once accomplished riders, for various reasons, they now experience a fear of riding, or an apprehension that has reduced their riding enjoyment. This fear can come from a fall, but is sometimes present without an identified cause. Solutions which seem to have been tried, with limited success, include sending the horse off to be retrained, with hopes of getting a more steady mount. Other’s have gone back to basics concentrating on their riding skills. Structured lessons, being the most common format applied. Finally some have purchased equipment expecting it to offset their uneasiness. My feeling on this subject is that it is often not a "fear of riding", that needs to be addressed, but just plain "fear". I am the first to agree that training horses to be steady mounts is always a good thing, as is the structure of riding lessons. I agree that some equipment can provide a rider with a more secure seat and find wearing chaps myself very reassuring.It is important to evaluate your fear. If your fear is debilitating I would be wrong to suggest you do anything but seek professional help, so you can recover, and get back in the saddle. If however, you could call your fear, "annoying", or "frustrating", I recommend you do more of it. I am not being cruel. Make sure that you ride, as many times a week as you can. Get someone to supervise you in the beginning if that makes you more at ease. Ride on the end of a lounge line at first if necessary. It is not important that your rides be long, or rigorous, just regular. If possible keep a journal of your riding to be honest with yourself as to how often you get up in the saddle. Remember...it doesn’t count to just play with your horse. If your fear is riding...you must ride. NO EXCUSES. It is my experience, that if you force yourself to do this, in time your anxiety will be replaced by repetition, and eventually allow you to return to the confidence you once enjoyed. Keep in mind, that your recovery from this fear may not come right away, it may have taken years for your fear to have developed to where it is today. PEACE.
Cindy Hackett