Why is this so darn hard????

I just realized that I haven’t posted in 3 weeks! Where did the month of June go?  I have a bit of an update on the Hank situation, but it is kind of whiny and long, so sorry in advance! lol

I have been working with Hank a bit over the course of the month.  He is great to handle on the ground and we have no problems there.  It’s the under saddle stuff that is hard for me. First of all, my saddle doesn’t fit him at all. We are ok walking, but the minute I ask him to trot, he pins his ears and tosses his head.  I tried a couple of times to push through it, just in case it was attitude, but he wouldn’t trot out.   I am talkng that as a strong hint that he isn’t comfortable….  A friend has said that I can borrow her dressage saddle to work him for the next few weeks, so I might try that, although I have a heck of a time riding in an English saddle. There is just something about the way they are cut or something that I have a hard time with.

I’m having some serious doubts about whether or not I am ready for a green horse.  Even a green horse with a good temperament seems to be a lot to worry about.  I’m very torn about what to do.  The barn owner was encouraging me to push myself out of my comfort zone and to work at it, because he is a good horse. I value her advice, but at the same time, I am wary, since she is motivated by money to a certain point. I am paying her to half-lease this horse, so it is good for her on two sides – one for the money and two because her horse is being worked regularly.

I am also not so great at ring work.   Hank needs lots of sessions in the riding ring, to work on his steering, brakes and body control.  He is out of shape, but that will come back quickly, since he spent 2-3 years on the track.  Ideally, I would need some lessons on him, but I can't really afford to board one, lease one AND take lessons on top of all that. 

Another problem with Hank for me is that he is tall. I haven’t sticked him, but he is probably 16hh.  And I’m only 5’0”.  He is very narrow, so I have no problem getting my leg on, but if I plan to do a lot of trail riding and eventually endurance rides with him, I need to be able to get on from the ground.  As is stands now, my stirrup is at chest/shoulder height when I’m on the ground.  There is no way I can get my stubby little leg/foot up to chest height to get on…

The friend that I have been riding with has been great at encouraging me and offering very good advice. She has noticed that I have been nervous a couple of times while riding Hank and noted that it might be hard to push out of my comfort zone if I’m nervous and my confidence is low.  I totally agree with her on that point. I tend to be a bit of a nervous person by nature – it’s something I’m working on and my nerves have decreased and my confidence has increased by leaps and bounds since I started riding Rusty out on the trails.  I know that I can trust him not to do something totally stupid.  Yes, I know horses are only safe up to a point, but I know what Rusty’s limits are and what spooks him. 

That being said, I’m ready for a horse with more “go” than Rusty can give, but not as green and inexperienced as Hank. Rusty is great to hack out and have fun with, but he can’t really keep up at faster paces.  His walk is slow and we’ve got him to step out better, but it still isn’t enough.  I’m also having hoof troubles with him – he needs shoes to walk on gravel, but is really, really bad to put shoes on. I’ve done it twice this year and the hassle isn’t worth it.  It takes the farrier over an hour to put to front shoes on.  Horse, farrier and owner all end up extremely stressed. 

It’s kind of bittersweet for me to know that I’ve outgrown Rusty – he is such a good horse. I really wish I had my own property so I could retire him and take good care of him like he deserves.  As it stands now, I’m not sure what I’m going to do with him. I can’t afford full board on two horses at my current barn. I have found a barn with really reasonable retirement board fees that is about an hour away, so I could still easily go visit and ride him once in a while.  I may also try and re-home him. If I am patient, I may be able to find a really good home for him.  I had no idea that the decision to retire or part with a horse would be so hard.

So, all of the above being considered, I’m kind of in a weird place. My head, heart and gut are all mixed up and confused. My gut is flip-flopping on the Hank issue, my heart likes him, but doesn’t love him and my head is swirling with logic and ideas and budgets.  In the mean time, I can still try and ride Hank and still take Rusty out, but I think I’m going to start horse shopping. My budget is low, but maybe I will find something that just might be what I need.

Anyone have any thoughts or sage words of advice???

Hank - the second ride

Yes, Hank is a handsome guy - and to those who guessed a Standardbred, you are correct!  Part of me wishes he was a Canadian, as those horses often have such great calm temperaments...but this guy will have to do for now.

I've decided that I'm going to do a trial with him for the month of June and not make any decisions until then. I'm on the fence about him - he has a lot of pros and a few cons that I seriously need to take into consideration.  I over-horsed myself a few years ago and it ended in a broken arm and I don't want to do that again.

My skills and confidence have grown a fair bit, but I'm not sure that I can handle a green horse.

Hank was raced as a 2 and 3yr old (he was a pacer). He did ok as he had decent speed, but had no instinct to want to win. His trainer said he had too much of a puppy-dog personality to do well on the track.  He often worked hard to catch the other horses, but then backed off as soon as he caught up. He just wanted to stay with the "herd" and nothing they did could get him past that.

Hank in the round pen on Sunday

My barn owner has broken him to saddle slowly over the past few years - he is now 7 - and has a couple of summers of light hacks under his belt.  His "whoa" is decent and he will walk and trot no problem.  The girl that rode him last summer cantered him a couple of times, but I wouldn't say that he can canter well at this point.

I've handled him on the ground several times and he is fine. He listens well and is quite calm for an ex-racehorse.  He is good for the vet and farrier - since they get handled so much at the track, that stuff is all quite solid.  He doesn't seem to be very spooky so far, which is nice. If he is concerned about something, he will snort and stop. With a bit of encouragement, he will just keep moving.

I rode Hank for the second time last night - it was so-so...I think I was expecting more of a "wow! I love this horse" kinda moment.  He was obedient and did what I asked, but there were four things that sort of made me think more seriously about this situation:

1. He is very green and it shows alot in his steering. Sure, I can get him to go where I want in the round pen, but it doesn't have any finesse. He sometimes moves off your leg, but sometimes also moves into the pressure. I'm not sure if that is something from his driving training - anyone have any thoughts there?
   
   
   
2. He is always looking around while riding and it is hard to keep his attention.  He is obedient, but one ear and one eye are always on the lookout. This could just be because he hasn't had much of a life outside his paddock since last fall...  He is also a horse with a higher head-set than I am used to and I wonder if I can ride him well enough to work on getting him to lower his head and use his back more...
   
   
   
3. He feels "wiggly" when trotting (maybe because his head is high?). It feels as if he has a giant spring in his middle and his back end goes one way and the front goes the other.  This could be because he is green and it could also be that I'm just not used to his big stride... Most of the horses I've ridden in the past couple of years have been western trained quarter horses, so that is what I'm comparing him to at this point.
   
   
   
4. I don't think my western saddle fits him 100%.  That bothers me a bit since my saddle is my "safety net" - I'm very comfortable in it and I'm confident of my seat when I use it.  He was pinning his ears at the trot and after I took the saddle off, it was a bit sweaty just in the shoulder area.  I really don't want to try and find another saddle for a horse that I am just trying out... I'm going to have to try and borrow one or something.

Most of these issues are totally "fix-able" and aren't that big of a deal.  The biggest issue that I didn't list is ME.

I don't think I have the skill to train or work with a green horse under saddle. On the ground - no problem. I was working on his back-up, whoa and turn on the fore from the ground and he was getting the hang of it quite quickly.  

I am a bit worried that I won't be able to make progress in his training so that he is more safe and moving properly under saddle.  Even though he will just be used on the trails (and maybe endurance) I would like a horse that has some training in the bridle - if you know what I mean. I want him to be able to flex and bend and carry himself properly as much as possible.

Anyway - enough about my lack of skills - I'm hoping that I can overcome some of that and make this work.  Only time will tell at this point!

Finally! Something worthy of a blog update..!

So, I thought I would do an update to my update, then share a bit of exciting news...

I'm going to make you read the update first though!  ***cue evil laugh***

The cashel pad was a big FAIL.  It was waaaay too thick. I'm not quite sure what western saddle pad makers are thinking exactly when they make their products.  It is a nice looking pad and seems to be well made, but it just doesn't work. It made my saddle too tight in the shoulders and it screwed up my leg position. And the worst part, is that Rusty was off in the back end while riding in it.  I'm contemplating cutting it apart to get the smaller swayback pad that is apparently inside and try that on its own with a regular western wool pad.

As for the biothane tack colours - I haven't decided yet. Lisa asked me that in the comments on my last post...  I have a few favourite colours, but I'm going to hold out for a bit before I decide and order anything...

And that leads me to my news...

Rusty has been doing ok on long rides, but is having a hard time keeping up once we do rides over 8 miles or so.  His speed is also not the greatest at the trot.  He is totally bombproof out on the road/trails, but I just don't think he has the endurance to do more than 10 miles.  He is approx 18-20 years old, so I don't know how much I want to push him and he doesn't do well when it gets hot.  I am also having saddle fit issues as well, so I don't feel comfortable asking him to do longer distances and risk his back becoming sore...

That put me in a bit of a pickle. I don't really have the money right now to buy another horse.

And I am not ready to sell Rusty.

He has been such a huge boost to my confidence, that I'm not really willing to part with him.  It can be hard to re-home an older horse and I would be worried about where he went.

Hmm...what is a girl to do?

I was lamenting over this problem a couple of weeks ago over wine with the barn owner and Endurance Lady.

The barn owner's eyes suddenly lit up and she said "I have an idea!!! You could try Hank!!!"

Hank, I asked?  Really?

"Sure" she said, "Why not?"

I didn't really have a good answer, besides the fact that I didn't think I could handle paying for board on two horses.  She told me not to worry, if I liked him, we would work something out.

One evening last week I met with her daughter to go out for a hack and to work Hank in the round pen. I liked what I saw, considering it was his second ride of the year.  I'm going to leave you leave you there with a picture - any guesses about what breed he is???

More to follow...  :-D