SarahandSam
06-03-2008, 09:55 AM
I finished my grading for the day so I have a bit of time to wax philosophical. (: I bought Sam last June, brought him home the 2nd of July. When I tried him, about a year ago this week, I liked that for a four-year-old greenie, he was quiet and calm and slow. He was so sluggish I needed a ton of leg and a crop to get him moving, but since I'd only been riding about a year (and with crappy instructors), I really wanted a quiet, reliable horse.
We've spent a lot of time figuring each other out since then. I found out that while he was slow and sluggish, he also was surprisingly sensitive and reactive at times--if I overreacted to something or was too strong in a correction, he would get really upset about it. Then there was the whole farrier issue, which really made me think about what made him tick--especially when I was told, "Maybe he just has higher standards."
In this past week we've had 5 lessons, from my trainer and from Titania's trainer. Thinking about the difference between the horse I rode this week and the horse I rode a year ago, I am amazed. He has become so forward and energetic he'll fly up into a trot if I even think about it. He spun his haunches around like a pro when I asked him to turn on the forehand. He loves to canter and even happily jumped a stream while trail riding--this is a horse that a few months ago couldn't conceive of going over an obstacle when you could go through it. He tries so hard to do everything I ask of him in the saddle; he's honest and smart and has abilities I never would have dreamed of. Titania's trainer loves him, and constantly yells at me that I better ride him well because he can't tolerate bad riding--and it's true. A year ago I was a worse rider, and he plugged along without objection. Now I feel like I've improved a lot as a rider, and if I do something wrong, he tells me he's unhappy--not in a mean way, but a little toss of the head or a jig or something like that. If I listen to him and lay off on my heavy leg or hand, he softens right up and is perfect.
So I guess I'm starting to get the idea of "higher standards"... instead of what I thought I was looking for, a horse who would tolerate my mistakes, I found that I had a horse who wouldn't tolerate me being anything less than my best with him. As I improve, I feel like I see more and more of his talent and ability... and I want to get better to match what he's capable of.
Though I am slightly convinced he's the next Teddy O'Connor, and I'm scared of big non-collapsing jumps. d;
We've spent a lot of time figuring each other out since then. I found out that while he was slow and sluggish, he also was surprisingly sensitive and reactive at times--if I overreacted to something or was too strong in a correction, he would get really upset about it. Then there was the whole farrier issue, which really made me think about what made him tick--especially when I was told, "Maybe he just has higher standards."
In this past week we've had 5 lessons, from my trainer and from Titania's trainer. Thinking about the difference between the horse I rode this week and the horse I rode a year ago, I am amazed. He has become so forward and energetic he'll fly up into a trot if I even think about it. He spun his haunches around like a pro when I asked him to turn on the forehand. He loves to canter and even happily jumped a stream while trail riding--this is a horse that a few months ago couldn't conceive of going over an obstacle when you could go through it. He tries so hard to do everything I ask of him in the saddle; he's honest and smart and has abilities I never would have dreamed of. Titania's trainer loves him, and constantly yells at me that I better ride him well because he can't tolerate bad riding--and it's true. A year ago I was a worse rider, and he plugged along without objection. Now I feel like I've improved a lot as a rider, and if I do something wrong, he tells me he's unhappy--not in a mean way, but a little toss of the head or a jig or something like that. If I listen to him and lay off on my heavy leg or hand, he softens right up and is perfect.
So I guess I'm starting to get the idea of "higher standards"... instead of what I thought I was looking for, a horse who would tolerate my mistakes, I found that I had a horse who wouldn't tolerate me being anything less than my best with him. As I improve, I feel like I see more and more of his talent and ability... and I want to get better to match what he's capable of.
Though I am slightly convinced he's the next Teddy O'Connor, and I'm scared of big non-collapsing jumps. d;