In our area of the country the riding seasons are just about finished and winter is almost on us. I hope everyone had a chance to get some good riding time in this year. It seemed the weather did not want to cooperate very much. With the wet spring and hot summer there were lots of challenges when riding and extra care needed to be taken.
Some of you had a great season and some did not. For those that did not it might be wise to evaluate your skills and those of your mount and began making plans now for next year. Which leads me to the question - do you have the right horse for your skill level?
I have talked about the older horse before in other articles, but I think it is time to bring the subject up again.
The older horse has the experience and depth of knowledge to help the less experienced rider stay much safer and they are far more forgiving in most instances. I have helped numerous riders find that more mature, seasoned horse and have found that now you cannot get that horse away from them, even when they have moved on to another mount. Those riders will tell you that had they not started or moved to their older horse they would not, most likely, be riding today, or have horses anymore. The horse took care of them, educated them in a safe manner, and kept them safe when they made mistakes. The older horse is truly worth their weight in gold, diamonds and silver.
Older horses may have slight physical issues, but many times those issues can be dealt with through correct nutrition, supplements and shoeing. Today’s older horses are much healthier and have a far longer life span than in days past. Many of these horses have received excellent care and have a good number of years of riding left on them. When taken care of an older horse can become practically new again!
Here is another way to think about this - when you need advice on something important are you going to go to someone young, with no life experience, or are you going to go to someone with some age and with years of life experience? Who would you have the most confidence in? The same thought pattern applies to the horse and though they may have a few aches and pains, they still like to work and enjoy life, it may be at a little slower pace, but for the less experienced rider that is really the pace they probably need themselves.
I will always tell someone when I believe they have the wrong horse, not because I know everything, but because I am that older individual who I would hope you would go to for advice, and when it comes to horses I have seen a lot. As a trainer I feel a heavy responsibility to keep you safe. Not everyone wants to hear that I think they have the wrong horse, but if I feel this is the case, and I don’t say anything, then I don’t feel I am doing anyone a favor and I feel responsible if something happens. If an individual decides against my advice, well, at least I have done my job and forewarned them. I want people to be safe, enjoy their horses and stay in the horse industry.
If your experiences over this riding season have not been what you had hoped for than spend some time over this coming winter to reevaluate and give some serious consideration to what your skills are and if your horse is right for you. If you feel you need help with this whole process that is what we, and most other trainers, are here for, or at least should be here for. At Redwood Stables we do numerous horse and rider evaluations throughout the year and take great pride in matching up the right horse with it’s riders skill level.
If I could get one thing across to people to have them take seriously, it would be this - Horses are wonderful and you can have that dream horse experience that you have in your imagination, but if you are new or inexperienced in the world of horses you are going to need help. Help with learning to ride, help with finding the right horse, help with how to learn to care for the horse and help with understanding the training aspects of handling a horse.
You may have already gotten a horse and it is getting you into trouble or you are getting nervous or even scared. Then it is time “to take the time” to evaluate the whole situation and make some decisions. Do you need more education, do you need a different horse, do you understand what the horse you have is telling you or why it is doing the things it is doing that make you nervous or scared? Do you know what your body language and posture are signaling to your horse? Are you the problem? Is the horse the problem? What is the age and experience level of this horse? You need to ask yourself all of these questions and if you are not sure of the answers you need to find a more experienced individual or trainer to help you reach the correct answers.
One other thing, if you are at the point where you are having situations that make you nervous or scared and you have already been asking your self some of these questions, then there is a very strong chance that you need to look at what the main topic of this article is about and give very serious consideration to looking for that older, well-seasoned horse, as well as getting some training and education for yourself.
We want you to have the horse experience you have always dreamed about, but you have a big part to play in accomplishing that. And starting with the right horse is a huge part of that.
Stay safe and happy trails,
Dennis Auslam
reprinted from Horse Digest
0 comments:
Post a Comment