Being daft really....

[madmare1]

but with my 2 mares, I can get on and do anything...I backed them both and know their reactions inside out, can read them like a book...and they don't bother me, even when they are being total arseholes and bucking and pratting and sidestepping up the road...BUT my little 14hh gelding, who has a few 'issues' that we have worked through, namely narrow gateways and standing still, and who is the most loving little horse ever, I am really nervous about working him!

He's a little superstar...forward going, but safe...and I love him to bits. I just get ridiculously nervous when I go to get on him. He does tend to barge forwards when you get on, but so does my younger mare...and she's a lot bigger, and she doesn't bother me!

Is it just me, or am I just a mare person?? I rode him today, and was fine...it's just when I go to get on!

Kind of feels better writing about it!!

Emma xx

[kizi]

Reading that, what came to mind was trust your gut....
If your subconscious is telling you be careful then maybe it might be worth going back a few steps and trying to build a good bond with him? Get to really know him?
Maybe that sounds daft, but I do listen to my gut feeling a lot and find over time it can prove right...one pony in particular, when I had her a little while we worked on a few obvious issues etc, but over a year it became obvious that she had much more serious issues just bubbling away under the surface, long story, but when I had to sell her I believed all was well. Her new owners were very old fashioned etc and not one to listen to the horse etc, she became very stressed for various reasons but that stress morphed her into quite a dangerous and unpredictable pony... It took a long long time to get her back on the straight and narrow... I wish I had knows, I wish I had been able to keep her longer initially and maybe she just needed more time etc, but now in hindsight I can see that there were tiny tiny warnings I never picked up on. Not that I could have without hindsight!
I'm not suggesting yours is like that, but just trying to explain why I now always go with my gut even if it seems irrational at the time! I knew she had a slightly mysterious past, seems it may have been worse than I thought, or perhaps no one ever listened to her before she came here, then wasn't here very long...
It seems anyway tho that some bond/trust building stuff might help... Even if you've already done it!
Sorry if I sound daft...! I do get on a lot better with mares too though!

[rifruffian]

Being daft really.......you got that right.
Any horse that barges forward when you get on.......should bother you.
It's a characteristic that should demand your immediate attention to rectify. If you don't know how, get help from someone who does; before accident.
So you may not be just a mare person; you have identified and described a specific difficulty that's got to be rectified. Then you won't be posting on perfect confidence anymore, about this anyway.

[madmare1]

Think it may be I haven't backed him myself.....I sort out horses with 'issues' for other people, it's my job.....this is half the problem, I'll get on a 17hh heavy hunter that hasn't been ridden for 4 years and will chuck itself about, but my little man, who is an arab (my 'specialist' breed) and only 14hh, has the ability to scare the pants off me!

Will just have to get on with it.....the more I ride him,the easier it'll be, I hope!

Emma xx

[curlytobiano]

i would agree with Kizi, Emma - you are obviously a super rider and if you have a funny feeling there is probably something in it. listen to your instincts :-)

[madmare1]

Am getting a physio to check his back next week, not happy with his behaviour when I get on. Think he's had a bad back at some point or been ridden in a badly fitting saddle, and I don't think it's naughtiness, think it's remembered pain. My saddle fits him, and is light and comfy (memory foam and air flocked) Poor lad has also been over schooled in side reins and draw reins....he locks himself into a shape with the slightest hint of contact on the reins...gizmos and gadgets have no place in my tackroom! 13 years old and I have to undo all the harm that his previous 'trainers' have caused....

Emma xx

[choctaw]

MadMare - I'm with Kizi on this one.

I can think of quite a number of occasions when those around me were predicting disaster, but my gut feeling was, "No, it's fine" - and it was.

I can also vividly remember another occasion when my gut feeling said "Get the hell out of here!", and I didn't, because someone I trusted said I could cope with it. And she was dead wrong. Totally, utterly wrong.

As Kizi said, the warning signs may be so tiny that you aren't conciously aware of them; but that doesn't mean they aren't there. Maybe we still have the sort of highly tuned alarm system inside which pre-dates humanity - and which is still worth listening to. In evolutionary terms, after all, we're only the blink of an eye away from people of the stone age!

[ladyndibs]

I think a lot of it is to do with the fact that you backed your mares, you know exactly how they responded to everything strange thrown at them, you know the exact level of 'crossness' they have encountered, odd word I know but I've been told with Lady I have the patience of a saint but I still get cross with her from time to time and have to use my 'you're being silly, pack it in' voice, not sure if it's for her benefit or mine ;D. Your gelding on the other hand has had a rougher time and no matter how much we love and care for our horses we can't control their memories or what happened to them previously.
Also yes I know any horse can move unexpectedly and quickly but a 14h arab is like a horse on speed compared to a lot of others, I've got a 14h mare who's a mature lady (23yrs) and when the EDT came out she took him completely by surprise bucking and spinning etc, yet the two 15.3's, no problem.

I hope your gut feeling is wrong but it is often there for a reason.

[madmare1]

well we seem to be getting over it! my friend Carolyn has taken the ride on him, and he's being an angel. We have sorted the saddle out, hopefully that will alleviate any problems, physio due again 11th April, we've got over the narrow spaces fear sorted (he had to walk down one at the show, see thread in General Horse Talk Prince's Story..thats the little lad I am on about!)

Now just me to get right after doing my knee in again....hopefully will be back on board soon enough!

Emma xx

[portiabuzz]

ahh i thought it might be Prince, hes been through alot hasnt he

Good luck and i hope you recover soon from the knee injury xx

[dcjovi]

interesting how we tune in to our gut instincts,mine are very rarely wrong! off to read about prince on other thread

[portiabuzz]

How's things mm1 x

[madmare1]

welllllllllll I am riding him! I got a friend, Alan Dawber (runs Hope Horse Whispering and has a lot to do with Shy Lowen sanctuary) to help us last week.....had my lesson on Prince yesterday and OMG..what a pony he is! He may only be 14hh, but by any standards he is truly amazing.....the day after Alan had been, we went out on our first hack together....and I'm showing him under saddle at Barton EC in 3 weeks time. Love my little lad....have definitely got my mojo back!

Emma xx

[portiabuzz]

Great good for you !!!! x