Today I am going to RIDE my horse

[ASBnTX]

After four months of my greenie being home with me, from a not-so-great training (starting under saddle) experience, it finally dawned on me to just RIDE my horse. Somewhere in my subconscious, and sometimes at the very forefront of my thinking :( , I've been waiting for all the "bad stuff" that the trainer said about him to materialize. I know my horse, and know that it was BS, but I just realized that I haven't been riding with that trust, confidence, and relaxation that I should. Nothing has gone wrong in the 4 months..actually he's been wonderful. He can be a little jumpy and edgy at times, but I bet...just maybe...if I get on and just ride, even that will be 100 times better! I'm atheletic and competed in many different sports over the years, and not one of them was I ever successful at if I was tense, thinking/analyzing the whole time, or waiting for something to go wrong. I always succeeded when I was loose, positive, and trusting my ability (in this case his ability to). So today, I am going to quit "thinking" and ride my horse!

[Hunter Mom]

Enjoy your ride & let us know how it goes.

[slpeders]

Good for you!! I bet it's a great ride too.
I let my brain get in the way too often and last night just RODE the right lead canter without analyzing it, my aids, her response, blah, blah, blah. It wasn't great, but it was better than it's been so far and I think we were both pleased afterwards!

[Poll Evil]

Wow, you just described my ride this morning. Being tense, waiting for things to go wrong and not breathing! Great you've decided to have a positive, happy ride. What helps me sometimes is Sally Swift's concept of "soft eyes"; that is, visually taking in all of your surroundings and seeing all of them there, but not focusing on one certain thing like as sometimes happens when we get nervous. (I tend to stare at the neck or the ears when I am tense.)

Good luck and let us know how you ride goes!

[billiebob]

God, if I had a dollar for every time my instructor told me to shut up and ride I'd be rich. :lol:

My theory is that there's a time for thinking and analyzing and then there's a time to just RIDE. The trick is to balance the two.

[FlashGordon]

I was pondering this very thing the other day...

How, when I was a junior, I just RODE. Intuitively, and without thought.

Now as an adult, I am constantly thinking about the very next step the horse is going to take, and it is Not Fun anymore.

Time to pretend I am 16 and just have fun....

[Ambrey]

Yay! Hope the ride is a good one! :)

[Trevelyan96]

Have a great ride! I'm trying to think of a new schedule so that I can ride mine after work. I don't get home until 7:30, and I don't like asking Mr. T to feed for me, but if I wait the requesite hour or so for them to eat and digest, it's closer to 9:00. But I do have lights, and we're putting sand footing down in the smallest paddock, so maybe I WILL ask DH to feed for me a little early.

[Manes&Tails]

I am going through the same thing with my greenie, I always tell myself why can't I ride my greenie like I do my seasoned horse when my seasoned horse is capable of doing any wrong the greenie can?

My first trainer for my greenie said she would always be a bucking outlaw and in three weeks never made a ride on her, my second trainer was riding her in 3
days.

[Sithly]

I was pondering this very thing the other day...

How, when I was a junior, I just RODE. Intuitively, and without thought.

Now as an adult, I am constantly thinking about the very next step the horse is going to take, and it is Not Fun anymore.

Time to pretend I am 16 and just have fun....

Someone on another thread said that every horse person should have a good friend at least 15 years older and a good friend at least 15 years younger. That's great advice! I occasionally ride with the teenage girls at my barn, and I have an absolute blast doing things that would never even occur to me anymore. :lol:

[ASBnTX]

That is so true! That is exactly how I rode as a teenager..and somehow aging has made my stomach do cartwheels everytime I go to get on the greenbean. When I get tense and start thinking, I look straight at the ears and neck too...ugh! I can play the "what if he does...." all day, but why?? The horse I had as a kid was a lunatic..I didn't care. And now I have a totally calm, sensible, sweet young horse, who really tries so hard! I love Sally Swift's soft eyes technique, but I only remember it when I'm sitting at my desk at work :rolleyes:
Today's ride got postponed by thunderstorms and an abscess that went totally unnoticed and just popped out of his cornary band :confused: He was a teensy bit lame the other day, but it just looked like he may have been kicked (as is usually the case..he's a VERY rambunctious 4 yr old)...abscess never dawned on me as there were no other signs. He's a little tender-footed, but should be fine. But next time..I will remember to just ride and quit thinking ;)