VCT
Sep. 4, 2009, 01:55 PM
This is just a celebratory post!
This spring I started back to work with my 5 yr old, after him having the winter off. He did well this spring for the few rides he got, but I noticed the saddle didn't fit well anymore so I had a saddler out. He said nothing I had was quite a good enough fit for him and he would not ride him in the saddles I had for the normal reasons and especially since he's young and green. Don't want him to associate being ridden with being in discomfort.
So I got in touch with Trumbull Mtn and we tried some different saddles on him but eventually figured out he needed one made to template. Well it arrived about a week ago and it fits, he loves it, I love it and we're back to work.
I'm just so proud of him. I've had him since he was 1 yr old and done pretty much all the training myself. Had a few sessions over the years with my trainer with working him on the lunge and a couple lessons under saddle, etc. But I'm so pleased with him. He's still very green and gumby-like but his attitude is just so great. Happy, mellow, willing, brave.
I'm just looking forward to the coming year so much. We have not done a lot of serious work with him as he was very slow to mature physically and he is still growing a bit now.
He tests sometimes, can I drift over here? ... can I fall behind your leg and go down to walk? ... but he has never done anything really bad and once he learns something he remembers it forever. It's just so thrilling to finally have a level-headed mellow horse to ride, even if he is so green.
My other horse who is 10 yrs, who I do enjoy very much, can be very tense and anxious and a bit of a handful. So it's a nice change between the two. I just went to one of Denny's Adult camps with the 10 yr old and while we were not as prepared as I would have liked (unavoidable trainer switch this summer and also had saddle issues) and we had some difficult times there I came away with a feeling that there was a lot of stuff to work on yes, but that I felt I could actually go home and work on it alone now. That is really important for me because there is a lack of trainers in my area and I can't get lessons as regularly as I would like. So that was great and we have been making progress since we've been back!
Anyways, just a happy post, trying to help keep myself motivated to keep going with them both. I ride alone all the time and sometimes it gets lonely/boring... so I wanted to take note of how good things are going to try to keep myself energized. :)
This spring I started back to work with my 5 yr old, after him having the winter off. He did well this spring for the few rides he got, but I noticed the saddle didn't fit well anymore so I had a saddler out. He said nothing I had was quite a good enough fit for him and he would not ride him in the saddles I had for the normal reasons and especially since he's young and green. Don't want him to associate being ridden with being in discomfort.
So I got in touch with Trumbull Mtn and we tried some different saddles on him but eventually figured out he needed one made to template. Well it arrived about a week ago and it fits, he loves it, I love it and we're back to work.
I'm just so proud of him. I've had him since he was 1 yr old and done pretty much all the training myself. Had a few sessions over the years with my trainer with working him on the lunge and a couple lessons under saddle, etc. But I'm so pleased with him. He's still very green and gumby-like but his attitude is just so great. Happy, mellow, willing, brave.
I'm just looking forward to the coming year so much. We have not done a lot of serious work with him as he was very slow to mature physically and he is still growing a bit now.
He tests sometimes, can I drift over here? ... can I fall behind your leg and go down to walk? ... but he has never done anything really bad and once he learns something he remembers it forever. It's just so thrilling to finally have a level-headed mellow horse to ride, even if he is so green.
My other horse who is 10 yrs, who I do enjoy very much, can be very tense and anxious and a bit of a handful. So it's a nice change between the two. I just went to one of Denny's Adult camps with the 10 yr old and while we were not as prepared as I would have liked (unavoidable trainer switch this summer and also had saddle issues) and we had some difficult times there I came away with a feeling that there was a lot of stuff to work on yes, but that I felt I could actually go home and work on it alone now. That is really important for me because there is a lack of trainers in my area and I can't get lessons as regularly as I would like. So that was great and we have been making progress since we've been back!
Anyways, just a happy post, trying to help keep myself motivated to keep going with them both. I ride alone all the time and sometimes it gets lonely/boring... so I wanted to take note of how good things are going to try to keep myself energized. :)