Lesson Stallion?

I went to the barn around 11ish this morning. I wanted to ride a few horses including Wynter. On the way there I texted Jenny who had asked me earlier this week is she could come and ride. She said she’d be an hour. Perfect I thought then I could ride Arlo before she got there. I get to the barn pull Arlo from his room bring him over to the big barn and grab a brush when I get a phone call. Someone interested in the Haflinger’s. Good I though, it was a Sunday after all. She says she wants to come out in about an hour or so to look at them. Fine I thought sounds good. I hang up and walk to Arlo grab my brush yet again… this time touching him with it when yet again I get another phone call. Another lady wanting more info on the Haflinger’s. It really must be a Sunday today! I spend at least 40 min on the phone with this other lady who wants to come out next week sometime. In the meanwhile Jenny arrives and I have her pull Toccata from her stall via sign language. Once off the phone we get the horses ready to ride. I was able to have an k ride on Arlo he needs a lot of work but it was ok, Jenny had fun on Toccata and I made her jump up on Arlo after I was done. By then there was at least four other horse in the pen with us. Which was a lot considering it was a Sunday. Anyway Jenny gets on Arlo and has a heck of a time trotting him. Every time she was unsure she would stop every time she was off balance he would stop. It took a while but they moth got enough confidence in each other to make it around a circle sit trotting.

After we were done with those two I wanted to have Jenny ride Wynter. I think she just thought I was going to work him. I don’t think she really expected to ride him at all. Once the other two were put away we went and tacked Wynter up. He is so grossly out of shape, it sickens me. He is also way way to hairy, I gotta get my mom over here to body clip him as I can’t body clip. Ask Arlo he would know…. We tack or rather Jenny throws the saddle on him and we bring him to the round pen. Today he was a tad bit more spunky than Friday. She unclipped him halter and he tossed him head squealing but in typical Wynter fashion he just walked off not bucking or bolting. Lazy beast! Jenny trots and canter him around in the round pen when Liz shows up on her Arab mare Diva. Liz texted me board so I told her she could come ride Marz for me. Wynter had to whinny at her a few times but then got board with that.

After he was semi warm we brought him into the pen today I rode him with a stick just because I hadn’t been on him in a long time. We go into the pen and the trainers are in there with a mare trying to get her to lay down. I found it amusing when they were going to taker her headstall off before they noticed I had Wynter. Jenny also thought that was funny…. ‘Oooh stallion’ be careful they are psycho!

Wynter was obviously not into the whole work today idea. He was light to begin with but was really heavy considering how light I normally ride him. He really wanted to throw his weight into both reins but more so the left one. I found it odd and bent him a little. We also did a few stop and goes because he was going his freight train thing. Kinda like plowing through my hands and muscling his way forward. On top of all that he wanted to carry his head super low today. I could not check him up, he had it locked down. Imagine the lowness of a quarter horse with the arch of an Arab. Yup that was Wynter today. I figure it is just because he is out of shape. With all that considered, he was very straight today. Every time we halted and trotted off again he was going straight he really didn’t drift much.

I backed and bent him several time to try and get his weight off of that left rein or even weight of my hands but I really wanted my left rein. He wasn’t to happy or for any of that. After a bit of trot enough o start a sweat on him I went to the canter. Staring on the right lead he decided to take the left lead. I feel like I took a massive step backward with him. He was just not wanting to take that lead. I think it came down to condition. He just doesn’t have the muscling to drive himself forward and to elevate his head… my bad. I had to really pick up his inside shoulder to get him to canter on there correct lead going right. Left was rather different. It took him a second to figure out his feet but he did do it. We even did a few tight circles on left side. I fished with more trot circles to try and get him a tad bit softer. I started to walk and back him which he didn’t like. He did get a smidgen softer but not how I like him. I think I need to call out vet out to do his teeth. I should have did that when I wasn’t riding him…. Smart very smart.

Before I get off I tell Jenny she is going to ride him. She was like no, I can’t he is a stallion and a green one at that. I tell her the worst he is going to do is stop stand still and whinny at Marquisse. She just so happened to be the only other horse in the pen at the opposite end. Now Jenny is a novice and has heard all the stallion stories. She was very very tense and nervous to get on him. Getting on him she tries to get him to steer and low and belong he does what I told her he was going to do just stands there. He didn’t whinny but he wasn’t moving. I tell her to keep kicking him, she then says ‘maybe I should get off’. No, kick. Still he was like nope. She was also very afraid that if she kicked to hard he would catapult her out of the arena. I then went about putting my spurs on her boots and she was really ready to crawl off of him. She had never used spurs before. Telling her to use them lightly at first and build on pressure she gets him to walk. Yay! Still Jenny was super nervous but the longer she got him to walk around with out him killing her the more she to got trust him. Trot…. It takes her a second but she gets him into his trot and Wynter loves to work. He was really easy for her to keep in a steady sit trot around the circle.

I watched her ride around when I realized I could give lessons off of my Stallion. I was very impressed with him. Here Jenny was bouncing up and down very very off balance with her hands fluttering about and he just kept trotting in a pretty good rhythm. I then go into trainer mode, keep your hands down and steady sit your butt in the saddle. She was able to get a lot more done on Wynter than she was Arlo as Wynter would trot and let her get the feel of it. By the time she was done she was raving about how much she liked riding him. He was so easy to ride and to sit on. I laughed telling her she could not throw him in her car and take him home.

Over all good day filled with horses! On an ending note here is a quote I found on line and thought it was very fitting.

The quest for the "perfect horse" is more about learning to be the "perfect rider", or the "perfect partner", than it is about the horse, because the horse itself is already perfect. It's about learning to communicate in such a way that the horse understands; it's about establishing the respect and trust essential to a partnership created of love, language, and leadership in balanced doses.

Ohhkay maybe not look at this! I am speechless!