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A day at the stables

diamondlil said:
Woah Nellie! Cathy is not Merlin's owner! Cathy owns Nuts, Joey, Lola and Luna. Loulou is on permanent retirement with her. Cathy is 100% committed to natural horsemanship and always building good relationships with the horses.
I cannot possibly visit him because I refuse to have any contact with his owner, Kim. I did challenge her over how her treatment of Merlin has changed since when she was perfectly happy with him living in the field and just having fun and was told I know nothing about horses and that I was just jealous of her changes in circumstances.
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sorry, mix up :uhoh:
 
More fun with the Crazy gang. I've had the lovely experience of riding Luna in a very naughty mood. Sitting her bareback, she decided to find out what rearing did with a rider on board. Every single move was telegraphed so I could just sit quiet and adjust my weight, wait for her to stand again and ask her to walk on. So she'd stop, wriggle her ears about and have a good think, step forwards then up again! Every time she went up, Cathy and I said 'No', every step forwards got tons of praise, until she finally managed about 6 steps and was told what a clever girl she was! So without any drama or a fight, she learnt that rearing a. feels funny, b. doesn't shift the rider off, c. isn't what we were asking her to do. I was grateful she didn't add in any bucks though!
Last weekend was lashing down with rain and Cathy was unwell, so I got to see to the ponies and get big soggy hugs from them as they were definately missing their herd leader. Joe has a sore eye and being able to 'catch' him in a downpour in a couple of seconds witha handful of blackberries to apply his eyedrops was a real bonus.
 
Remember last year I went on a riding holiday in Andalusia? Well no holidaying abroad this year, but I've stayed in touch with my room mate from the holiday, and went up to visit her in the Midlands for a weekend, and she said to bring riding gear for a fun day out at the stables she uses. I was under the impression that we'd have a gentle hack out, and in fact I'd looked up the stables' website and thought we were going on a horseback pub crawl.
Oh Lord! The reality was 5 hours hard riding, mainly at a spanking trot or at canter. Knowing my love of pied cobs, Lynn had booked a sweet-looking horse for me. However he turned out to be a nightmare to ride, very green and with a mouth like iron. He was a typical 'riding school horse', needing constant nagging to get a decent stride out of him at walk or trot, and as soon as the opportunity to canter arose he'd set his neck and try to bolt into a gallop. Half-halts had no effect at all and I was reduced to sawing at his mouth to stop him taking the bit and to get control over him. It was like wrestling with a bear! He'd try to cut corners to overtake the other horses, swerving into bushes and under overhanging branches.
After 3 hours of this torture we did stop for a lunch, tying the horses up outside the pub. I had a swift gin and tonic to settle my nerves but couldn't face more than a couple of bites of the food. The groom who was with us gave some tips on how to handle my horse when I gently brought up his lack of control and that I wasn't entirely confident riding him at speed. My objections were brushed aside and we set off again, with a long trotting session on the roads before reaching open land again. Into the canter again and my horse got totally overexcited and harder to handle, until finally he tried for the final time to bolt and I had to use a one-rein stop to stop him. After that I totally refused to canter him any more. Lynn's pal who was on a lovely quiet thoroughbred mare confided in me that she'd ridden my cob once before and he'd scared the pants off her!
I've never been so grateful for all the lessons Kim gave me on Merlin and for her teaching me how to deal with runaways, but my shoulders and thighs were a whole world of agony from the ride for several days afterwards.
 
Other than the beastly animal you had to ride, sounds like a great day out in the country :)

My cousin Amy has horses out in Texas; if I get out there next year gonna do my best to get past my prejudice against equines in general lol and spend some time with them
 
diamondlil said:
Remember last year I went on a riding holiday in Andalusia? Well no holidaying abroad this year, but I've stayed in touch with my room mate from the holiday, and went up to visit her in the Midlands for a weekend, and she said to bring riding gear for a fun day out at the stables she uses. I was under the impression that we'd have a gentle hack out, and in fact I'd looked up the stables' website and thought we were going on a horseback pub crawl.
Oh Lord! The reality was 5 hours hard riding, mainly at a spanking trot or at canter. Knowing my love of pied cobs, Lynn had booked a sweet-looking horse for me. However he turned out to be a nightmare to ride, very green and with a mouth like iron. He was a typical 'riding school horse', needing constant nagging to get a decent stride out of him at walk or trot, and as soon as the opportunity to canter arose he'd set his neck and try to bolt into a gallop. Half-halts had no effect at all and I was reduced to sawing at his mouth to stop him taking the bit and to get control over him. It was like wrestling with a bear! He'd try to cut corners to overtake the other horses, swerving into bushes and under overhanging branches.
After 3 hours of this torture we did stop for a lunch, tying the horses up outside the pub. I had a swift gin and tonic to settle my nerves but couldn't face more than a couple of bites of the food. The groom who was with us gave some tips on how to handle my horse when I gently brought up his lack of control and that I wasn't entirely confident riding him at speed. My objections were brushed aside and we set off again, with a long trotting session on the roads before reaching open land again. Into the canter again and my horse got totally overexcited and harder to handle, until finally he tried for the final time to bolt and I had to use a one-rein stop to stop him. After that I totally refused to canter him any more. Lynn's pal who was on a lovely quiet thoroughbred mare confided in me that she'd ridden my cob once before and he'd scared the pants off her!
I've never been so grateful for all the lessons Kim gave me on Merlin and for her teaching me how to deal with runaways, but my shoulders and thighs were a whole world of agony from the ride for several days afterwards.
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You must be a great rider to be able to handle that for so long without any accidents or falls, kudo's for you Janine! I totally know how exhausted one can feel after such a rid, and I did ot ever ride longer than 2.5 hours I think.

I guess your room mate did not know about the cob's riding behaviour....
 
Oh, I am so so sorry to hear about Merlin. There is this perfectly horrible class war going on in the horse world now and it is truly devastating. So many fancy, upper crust trainers are getting away with abuse and neglect while the working class people who love their horses or work their horses for a living are labeled as abusive, like the carriage industry in New York City. Something happens to people sometimes when they come in to money and horses become objects, they lose their empathy and patience for the animals and work them until they need to be replaced. I don't understand it. My horses worked for a long time in NYC, we rode through heavy traffic and they carried kids safely past fire trucks and bouncy castles, now how could I have anything but admiration and patience for them? How could I ever abandon the techniques that made those boys such amazing successes? It lacks logic.
 
I do miss Merlin. more than I can say, but luckily Nuts and the gang are always so loving that it helps to fill the gap. Not much progress with backing Lola and Luna, we'll restart in the Spring. I did manage one good hack out on Joey before Christmas, but really the focus is less on riding and more on just playing with the gang as Cathy does't keep him really fit and ridden much, which meant I've been hankering after saddle time...........
Then Mick had a conversation with a friend of his, a decorative painter who was dying to meet me. Renata has an arab/lippizaner gelding she's owned for 19 years and a 5 year old welsh/arab mare. She had been looking for someone light enough and with spare time to ride Goldie, a pretty palomino princess of a horse who was backed last year and turned away. Some heavy snow delayed our meeting, then last week we got to go out on a wonderful hack out through the woods and open country where she keeps her horses.
It was wonderful! Goldie is such a sweetie! She's still very green, but very light in the hands and responsive, sensible on the roads and willing in the more difficult terrain, popped over fallen logs without hesitation........and goes like a rocket on the gallops! So I'm going to be riding her every week as the weather allows. She is a project horse for eventual sale later in the year when she's had the chance to learn more in the way of schooling and jumping, but until then I'll be helping to bring her on in her education.
I won't be buying her, as I haven't realistically got enough free time to devote to her needs, but this will help me get fit and balanced in the saddle again for working with Lola and Luna later on.
 
Sad to hear that you won't make any trips abroad this year! Didn't you miss out on the plan to go to Az a year or two ago? Now that I am spending a lot of time in Az, it would be great if you could come, too!

That nightmare horse sounded a bit like my very first horse - a 10 year old pinto. She also had an iron mouth, and loved to run! If you tried to double her back, she would run sideways! I still have a "dead spot" on my hip / rear from falling off of her back in the early '70s. We finally put her in a hackamore, and she did much, much better. She also liked to pull and pull on her lead rope when she was tied to be saddled, and broke quite a few ropes before we got one that went around her neck, over the rail, and back to her halter. Choking yourself tends to discourage pulling until the rope breaks! She was quite a learning experience!

It has been many years since we kept horses. Now there are SO many people with horses nearby that it makes me nostalgic for those memories.

Hope you can get over to the US one of these days!
 
I miss Merlin, but from what I get to hear about how he's being kept and what goes on there now I really wouldn't be able to enjoy being around his owner without blowing my top. Curo has been sold too and replaced.
I did feel a bit sore following last week's hack, luckily my seatbone saver has arrived so this week should be more comfortable for Goldie and I! This week I shall try to get some decent photos of her and resize them so they will fit on here,
Kathy, I will get to Arizona, maybe not this year but it will happen! I've put in my leave requests for the year, when I know what holiday I will get from work I can work out my finances and timing for what I'll do. My brother wants me to go on a family holiday to the Canary Islands in late summer......and has hooked me with the prospect of trail riding up the volcano! If I don't get the right portion of time off to do that I'll be looking at riding holidays instead, there's a couple of cattle round-up/ Western riding holidays in Europe with the same firm I used before that would be ideal practice for Arizona.
 
Nanci said:
Sorry to hear about Merlin, J9.
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Thanks Nanci. I suppose because my relationship with Cathy is so strong (best friends since we were 11!) and because we totally agree on how Nuts and the gang are kept, I was quite sheltered from the whole 'horsey world' in general and how casually the relationship you can build with a horse can be pushed aside. When I first met Merlin he was sharing the grazing with Nuts and Joey and I didn't realise that his owner was only using natural horsemanship at that time because she was influenced by Cathy.
I know some people perceive it as just being 'soft' on a horse, but to me it makes as much sense as using NILF with dogs rather than harsher, old-fashioned training methods. You can take shortcuts with an animal but if you want a stable relationship with trust and respect you have to work at it, and that suits me!
So after Merlin was moved and his treatment changed over time, it was gettting harder to spend time with him without getting upset. My questions about the reasons for the changes were brushed aside and my observations on how his behaviour was changing were treated as foolish. As he started biting everyone but me, I was told it was my fault because I was too soft with him, when he bolted with the children he was being used to give lessons, again it was my fault for not riding him in an outline and kicking him on. Hearing about him getting beaten for biting Kim's partner on my last visit, when Merlin got smacked by Kim for getting excited and happy, flipping his head and whinneying as I approached the stable was the last straw. I groomed and tacked him up for the ride with him resting his head against me and leaning in for hugs, and had to say goodbye to him in my heart.
If I won the lottery I'd buy him in a heartbeat.
 
Just wish I had time to ride! I spend so much time trimming hooves of other horses that I rarely have time left to enjoy mine! Gotta do it to pay for them though so a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. It just keeps snowballing though....one more person who needs a barefoot trimmer.....It's going to pay for my vacation to Costa Rica to go snake hunting though so I guess I can't complain!
 
diamondlil said:
Thanks Nanci. I suppose because my relationship with Cathy is so strong (best friends since we were 11!) and because we totally agree on how Nuts and the gang are kept, I was quite sheltered from the whole 'horsey world' in general and how casually the relationship you can build with a horse can be pushed aside. When I first met Merlin he was sharing the grazing with Nuts and Joey and I didn't realise that his owner was only using natural horsemanship at that time because she was influenced by Cathy.
I know some people perceive it as just being 'soft' on a horse, but to me it makes as much sense as using NILF with dogs rather than harsher, old-fashioned training methods. You can take shortcuts with an animal but if you want a stable relationship with trust and respect you have to work at it, and that suits me!
So after Merlin was moved and his treatment changed over time, it was gettting harder to spend time with him without getting upset. My questions about the reasons for the changes were brushed aside and my observations on how his behaviour was changing were treated as foolish. As he started biting everyone but me, I was told it was my fault because I was too soft with him, when he bolted with the children he was being used to give lessons, again it was my fault for not riding him in an outline and kicking him on. Hearing about him getting beaten for biting Kim's partner on my last visit, when Merlin got smacked by Kim for getting excited and happy, flipping his head and whinneying as I approached the stable was the last straw. I groomed and tacked him up for the ride with him resting his head against me and leaning in for hugs, and had to say goodbye to him in my heart.
If I won the lottery I'd buy him in a heartbeat.
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J9, this made me fell so so sad... I almost cried, must have been so hard :(
 
"J9, this made me fell so so sad... I almost cried, must have been so hard."

Me too! Every time I hear about what has befallen him, it makes me feel like I do when I read about abused cats and dogs being dumped in shelters or at the side of the road. Not the same thing, but makes me feel the same way. I hate that!

OTOH, I see ads on craigslist for horses that are "too much" for the present owner, and they wisely (IMO) decide to find a new home in which somebody more able will take on the horse. At least they are being truthful about the potential problems. I think that would be preferable to mistreating the horse and expecting better results than you have been getting previously. What is that old saying about insanity being expecting different results when you keep repeating the same behavior?
 
Goldie today after our ride. We had a 2 1/2 hour hack out with plenty of cantering and a chance of some blistering gallops, then the last part was my favourite type of riding, really difficult, steep, slippery woodland trails. As Goldie was only lightly backed last year and turned away, everything is exciting and new for her, but she is really easy to ride and light in the hands
 

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So how does she do along those slippery woodland trails with a rider on her back? Must be challenging for a green horse! Was she not very tired after the ride? She looks pretty fresh still on the photo! And kuddo's for your braveness teaching her!

Probably riding her feels way different than a gypsy horse, doesn't it?
 
SnakeAround said:
So how does she do along those slippery woodland trails with a rider on her back? Must be challenging for a green horse! Was she not very tired after the ride? She looks pretty fresh still on the photo! And kuddo's for your braveness teaching her!

Probably riding her feels way different than a gypsy horse, doesn't it?
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I'm by no means any kind of expert rider, Bar, but the slippery twisty stuff is something I've had lots of practice at, I really enjoy the challenge and I'm confident at it,,,,so that means I can get Goldie to be brave and sensible! She's never had any bad experiences so all she needs is encouragement and praise. The only thing she didn't like was an area where we had to push through thin spindly brush, so it was a case of pushing her on there with a 'can-do' attitude, fast enough so her fears didn't get the better of her and slow enough so I could pick out the best path for her, telling her just what a brave little horse she is!
She's so different to the cobs, being half arab she really strides out at walk, and in open gallops she lights up to go much faster but without getting strong in my hands, she listens to the tiny half-halts to steady up and her gallop is utterly thrilling!
From this photo you can see just how tiny and fine-boned she is
 

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I have been riding ponies for a long time, they are so exciting indeed! Good that she is easy to control speed wise, if a pony really wants to and decided not to listen they can be stubborn little buggers.

'so it was a case of pushing her on there with a 'can-do' attitude, fast enough so her fears didn't get the better of her and slow enough so I could pick out the best path for her, telling her just what a brave little horse she is!'

Janine, the above shows how good you know what you are doing, riding wise. I think Goldie is lucky to learn this from you! She will carry that with her for ever!
 
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