Post by christieb on Jul 22, 2013 19:04:33 GMT -5
So, we've been looking for horses for months (one for each of the four of us). We've finally got them. My horse, a mare, is great, but she has some behavioral issues. Basically, she was spoiled rotten by the previous owner. At this time, our horses are boarded at a friend's place, and he said he would work with her to get her better behaved, and he's been doing that. He tells me that she has her good days and her bad days. Yesterday was a bad day, for sure. I asked my friend if my (whacky) hormones could be affecting her (since she's not spayed, and all the other horses I've ridden were either spayed mares or geldings). This was his response "A rider's biological order or lack thereof is an extremely acute influence on a horse's attitude and outlook.... its one of the factors that allows a horse to be very therapeutic for people.... it is their ability to mirror us and what is going on with us that allows them to be an awareness gathering tool for our own well-being!!!" Well, shoot! I'm riding horses (and we bought them), as a therapeutic tool, but not in that way! And I've never had this issue with other horses (regardless of my hormones). I'm very frustrated right now.
A couple other bits of information. I've been riding for a bit over a year. We've been learning a *lot* from this guy about horses, and how to care for them, how to saddle, how to ride, etc. And he helped us find the horses. We got into riding because of my sons getting hippotherapy, and I got a bit, and it was a hugely positive experience. And my hubby is a physical therapist, and he hopes to use the horses for therapy purposes (the guy also knows this, had this in mind when looking for horses for us, and is very supportive of the idea). We bought this horse about a month ago is all. She's new to the guy's place (and then when we're ready to move them up here, she'll have to go through the adjustment all over again!). She's with one other horse from her original herd (we bought both). They seem to depend on each other a lot. Last night, if this is relevant, one other of the horses from her original herd (that someone else bought) was riding with us.
I'm finding myself emotional over this, but I was not emotional before riding yesterday. I was pretty calm and content, actually.
Am I just in a funk (these darn hormones!)? Is she still just settling in? Or is this situation folding out to be a bad one? What are your experiences with the rider affecting the horse? Any thoughts about any of this?
A couple other bits of information. I've been riding for a bit over a year. We've been learning a *lot* from this guy about horses, and how to care for them, how to saddle, how to ride, etc. And he helped us find the horses. We got into riding because of my sons getting hippotherapy, and I got a bit, and it was a hugely positive experience. And my hubby is a physical therapist, and he hopes to use the horses for therapy purposes (the guy also knows this, had this in mind when looking for horses for us, and is very supportive of the idea). We bought this horse about a month ago is all. She's new to the guy's place (and then when we're ready to move them up here, she'll have to go through the adjustment all over again!). She's with one other horse from her original herd (we bought both). They seem to depend on each other a lot. Last night, if this is relevant, one other of the horses from her original herd (that someone else bought) was riding with us.
I'm finding myself emotional over this, but I was not emotional before riding yesterday. I was pretty calm and content, actually.
Am I just in a funk (these darn hormones!)? Is she still just settling in? Or is this situation folding out to be a bad one? What are your experiences with the rider affecting the horse? Any thoughts about any of this?