I have now had 2 separate horses from Avril and the initial story for each has been the same. As a mum returning to riding 20 years after my last serious experiences with it, and then not very good, I have all the usual associated problems – not fit, not competent, and not confident. And even today I have little confidence and need a horse I am sure will not bolt, reverse into a ditch or spook into the oncoming traffic. I also carry my own neuroses – that any horse I will ride will not be as good for me as it is for Avril; that I may “ruin” a horse; and that I am not good enough to tell the difference between a horse that is testing boundaries and one that doesn’t understand what I am asking – because I am not asking correctly or mis-reading what it is telling me.
This background lead to the arrival of Oxo – one of Avril’s own ponies about whom I have written previously. It has since been followed by the arrival of Puzzle who’s role is to temporarily cover Oxo’s role while Oxo is resting from some surgery.
In both cases I have approached them with both terror and excitement – excitement that this might be the pony that will take me on quiet, gentle, peaceful hacks around the farm, allowing me to watch the swifts insect-diving in the ripening wheat. But the terror has been the prevailing emotion – and of course the one I share with the horses, and for which they end up having to take responsibility, in looking after me.
The first obvious consequence of this terror, combined with the horse being in an entirely new environment starts when I try to get on a pony which has not moved off from the mounting block without its rider in 10 years but because I am telling it so strongly that this is highly dangerous, it chooses to do so. Oxo did this for my first 4 or 5 rides, and on our first ride went marching out of the yard the minute I was on. For Puzzle, where I was slightly less terrified but not much she did this for our first ride. But as a (nearly) old hand at this I realized that I had to a) get a better grip on my nerves and b) just keep, patiently telling her that I needed her to stand still. After 5 or 6 circuits of the mounting block she stood still, including once I was on, and sorting out my stirrups. On our second ride she stood perfectly still straightaway and there was less fuss. Whether this was because I had reduced my fear after a lovely hack the day before, or because I had insisted the day before I don’t know – but of course the minute it happens then the virtuous circle on the confidence front commences. Since then we have had a couple of times moving off, usually after I haven’t ridden for a couple of days, but as my confidence in her, and in asking her to stand has grown it becomes less and less an issue. Certainly with Oxo it is an issue I had forgotten ever existed after a year of riding her.
My second challenge has been that both horses are perfectly patient and will wait while out, if you chat to a passer-by, want to let a dog be caught etc. Except that neither will with me – they want to pace a bit – I think because standing still is dangerous, especially when your rider is telling you there is trouble out there. With Oxo this was more of a problem because I was (even) more of a novice. So I started by asking her for 2 or 3 second stops on the outward trip and over time built up to 5 or 10 second stops, and then added in doing these on the way home, including even within spitting distance of the yard. Now she stands without me thinking about it – this is not something I have taught her because when I first rode her at Avril’s she stood perfectly when out – it is something she has now understood is ok to do with me even though I am exhibiting fear. For Puzzle exactly the same experience has emerged – and again I rode her a couple of times at Avril’s and it was not a feature there. So I know it is something about me which is making it happen. For Puzzle I now know enough not to just pull on the reins if she tries to walk on, so I ask her to walk round in a circle and then stand which has worked. I am also confident that as I relax the issue will go away – but until we have got to know each other I wont ask her to stand at road junctions etc.
For Puzzle the other manifestation was initially a real marching walk – not a run, and no hint of a jog, but a striding out that was the most purposeful I have ever felt. But again, literally by day 2, Puzzle had settled her walk (though it is a naturally very forward going walk, but I now also know it wont speed up or break into a trot, even when ridden on the buckle). It was the same with her trot – which the first time was more of a run, the second was less so and now is a very ground covering trot – which is the norm for Puzzle but with no hint of speeding up, and instant downward transitions (which also caught me out the first time I experienced it!)
After this the two ponies are different – Oxo has done the odd spook but only when she has been caught by surprise – a herd of deer moving through the woods when she could only catch glimpses of them was the most extreme – it involved a leap to one side and kicking out with her back feet. Initially this completely threw me because I thought it was a buck – even though it didn’t unseat me at all, and has never been seen since. This was in our first week and since then she has mostly just muscle twitched if something, like a pheasant, has leapt out of the hedge. But even then its only if she is caught by surprise. Now her muscle twitching is her only real spooking.
Puzzle told me of her nerves in a different way – she called and called the first hack we did together. I found this disconcerting but knew to keep her head straight and just tell her that we were going to continue out all the way until we got home. On our second hack she called twice and I haven’t heard her call at all since. Again this is not something I heard her do at Avril’s, and isn’t typical of her.
So I guess what I have taken from these experiences is that if we show our horses a lot of nerves they will show us some back – because they would not be remotely tuned into us if they didn’t and they are animals which survive on reading the body language of those around them. And that has lead me to conclude that with a new horse the first week will not necessarily be like the subsequent weeks and they may well show some small lapses in their perfect behaviour in the face of being at a new yard, different routine, different companions and a nervous rider.
With both horses I have done things in a way some would describe as particularly hard – I have spen my first few weeks hacking out alone. I have done this because I know that is what Avril’s horses are used to, and also so that I don’t have to worry about their reaction to any other horses, or the behavior of any other horses, and can just concentrate on me and my horse. I also feel that if I can do that then everything else will be easier later, including that I wont have to worry about finding a riding companion – and that is how it has proved to be. For me there is little that is more glorious than being on a horse, on my own, on a long rein, watching the wildlife ignore me!
