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This is a small personal journal to track my mare's progress :) Backstory:
Emma comes from a supposed drug bust, and was in a field with 2 other horses. She was the only one who didn't go to the auction house. The lady we got her from knew nothing about horses, but her husband knew enough until they could find a buyer. Cue my grandmother and I. We saw Emma together, did a bit of looking over, and paid a whopping $300 for a horse I felt confident in. She did great and we clicked. I was so excited to be moving up to something bigger, progressing in my riding through my own efforts until an accident on a ride left me scared, then we moved a bunch and she fell out of work. Goals:
I aim to bring my confidence back and start riding again. Here are some of my goals/issues to get over by the time school starts again: - Getting a decent circle with speed while lunging. Emma has a tendency to rear/face me when I ask for anything other than a walk. She also refuses to give her shoulder to me to send out properly.
- Handling a buck/rear in the saddle. It is a big fear to be bucked off and kicked once more. I know it is a part of riding, but I still struggle with mounting up after some bad experiences.
- Avoid getting in my head. Probably the root of my problems, I need a way to calm myself. * I do not want to give up on my horse and I want to better myself. I apologize if this makes me seem like a bad horse owner, but while in her off period she had nothing but love and care from my family. I ask that you only leave respectful help/tips, nothing negative :) |
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Day 1, Tuesday June 22
Emma and I worked on my confidence and her aversion to riding. We opted with working without a saddle and focused on instead ignoring my horrible efforts to jump on her back. After about an hour, give or take, I managed to finally sit on Emma without much fear for a few minutes. This is an extreme difference when considering I struggled with even tacking up without fearing something bad. Emma stood like a champ the entire time, and dare I say almost fell asleep. There wasn't any issue with her threatening to bolt like she has before when attempting bareback, so it's a step.
I learned that the outcome may be better than I think. Although I still am a bit fearful, it's steady progress and patience for not only myself but my horse as well to get to a better spot.
Goal of the week: Be able to take a few steps bareback without much issues -----
Day 2
Emma took a step back in her progress. She is struggling with standing still and has a tendency to back up even with no pressure on any sort of reigns/lead. My mom suggested hobbles, but I don't want to spend money on something that could possibly not work or end up dangerous.
Otherwise, she will have a little bit off and I can see if a family member doesn't mind working with her while I am gone visiting a friend. Until then, I am debating on bringing out the saddle for today and just jumping into it anyways haha |
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Bright Sunshine with a few High Clouds
