As my work in the equine rehabilitation world continues, I gain more and more faith in the horses that I am working with. Having got two horses in for rehabilitation at the moment, I have to say that even the worst habits are slowly disappearing.
Even for me, there is the occasional moment where you think, oh my god is this horse ever going to become a safe, sane and sensible ride, usually in the first week or so of getting a new project in. However, I always have to remind myself that most horses are not innately mean or out to get you and they can learn and un-learn equally well.
I hear stories all the time of horses being put to sleep for behavioral issues and I always find it depressing, but at the same time I understand that some owners just don't know what to do or where to turn and when faced with an animal that appears dangerous and unrideable, this seems to present as the only option.
My mission is to provide an alternative and a bit of hope.
One horse that I have in at the moment came with a very serious rear, even I thought about making a quick exit out of the saddle on the odd occasion, but, with time and finding what the horse needs in his mind, his behavior has made a huge turnaround and he has behaved impeccably for a few weeks now.
Now with his more settled behavior, I can see his true potential, not only can he jump amazingly well, hunt like a gentleman and be handled on the ground like an angel, his flat work is great. For me, dressage is one of those super difficult things, give me a badly behaved horse any day than sit me in a dressage arena. However, this naughty horse has made dressage understandable for me so much so that I can actually say I enjoyed my flat lesson.
I am loving the fact that a horse that was close to being off to the otherside is now not only behaving like a saint, but he has a huge amount of talent to boot, what a lovely surprise.
Even for me, there is the occasional moment where you think, oh my god is this horse ever going to become a safe, sane and sensible ride, usually in the first week or so of getting a new project in. However, I always have to remind myself that most horses are not innately mean or out to get you and they can learn and un-learn equally well.
I hear stories all the time of horses being put to sleep for behavioral issues and I always find it depressing, but at the same time I understand that some owners just don't know what to do or where to turn and when faced with an animal that appears dangerous and unrideable, this seems to present as the only option.
My mission is to provide an alternative and a bit of hope.
One horse that I have in at the moment came with a very serious rear, even I thought about making a quick exit out of the saddle on the odd occasion, but, with time and finding what the horse needs in his mind, his behavior has made a huge turnaround and he has behaved impeccably for a few weeks now.
Now with his more settled behavior, I can see his true potential, not only can he jump amazingly well, hunt like a gentleman and be handled on the ground like an angel, his flat work is great. For me, dressage is one of those super difficult things, give me a badly behaved horse any day than sit me in a dressage arena. However, this naughty horse has made dressage understandable for me so much so that I can actually say I enjoyed my flat lesson.
I am loving the fact that a horse that was close to being off to the otherside is now not only behaving like a saint, but he has a huge amount of talent to boot, what a lovely surprise.
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