"Playing the Hero" -- when to 'stick with it' & when to realize it's time to move on.

^^The phrase "bump it up" refers to posting a new post on a thread so that it will show up at the top of the 'new posts' page.

If you are interested in reading about the views of the slaughter issue, it may be better for you to do a search for older threads or browse the 'horse protection' section. It has come up several times and usually ends in a very heated debate that degrades to the point of the thread being locked. Slaughter is one of those things that is very controversial and most people feel very strongly about it, one way or the other.

Great Post! Thank you.

I just read How Good Riders Get Good: Daily Choices That Lead... by Denny Emerson and this is one his main topics. The horse you choose if the most important piece of the puzzle. Great book on how to make appropriate choices in your horsie life (and life in general for that matter.) I bought it to support the True Prospect Farm barn fire. The author is donating 50% of his profits until December I believe. It was a quick read. 2 days.

Might I just say, regarding getting rid of your 'soul mate' - the BEST thing that EVER happened for my riding was losing my bolter. He was a bolter because I made him that way through my own lack of experience. I got over my head, gave him to Mum (who fixed him) and when he was ready for me and I was ready for him we started to work together again. But I was struggling with a green horse that I didn't know how to train, that just wasn't going to be ready to show any time soon, and I wanted to show (still do, but I'm not going to until my coach says I'm ready).

Now, I have a horse that HAS the training. He's a challenging sort (being an anglo arab with a history of abuse and neglect - I got him from the lady who rescued him) but he knows what he's doing and so I can learn and start showing as soon as I have the confidence again, instead of having to train/re-train my horse to do it. My anglo is also making me a much better rider than I ever was before, because if you ask wrong, he doesn't respond.

Yes, Monty's the best thing that EVER happened for my riding. Monty's also the catalyst that made me pull my socks up and get a new coach, so although we've had our difficulties, we'll get there. And had I not lost my bolting idiot, I wouldn't have got my gorgeous anglo arab, and I wouldn't be anywhere near ready for a foal. Without my amazing support network, I still wouldn't be anywhere near ready, but I have multiple extremely experienced horse people RIGHT behind me supporting my decision, and will be organising weekly lessons with a groundwork coach who can guide me with my girl's training right from the day she gets here. Groundwork lessons which my extremely experienced mother (who has worked at multiple thoroughbred studs doing yearling prep) will be watching, and which she will be reminding me of if I do something not-quite-right. My mother will be watching me every time I handle my girl, so I definitely have a coach hanging over my shoulder every step of the way (she used to run riding lessons for kids on the 12.1hh welshie we had, but when I outgrew him, and we sold him, we decided not to get a bigger pony. Ponies are a pain to manage!)

Someone once told me that a horse dominant over the owner is like a rabid dog. It takes a while to set in but once infected, it is only a matter of time before you are attacked and possibly killed.
That image has saved my butt a couple of times. I wish every potential horse owner was made to read this post.

What if you are "over horsed" because your horse has gone blind? My 12 year old boy was a great walking horse, though I only had him for 6 weeks before he got sick, after a month of vet visits, his sight was gone. Since that time he became "spooky" and landed me in the hospital from a hoof in the torso. (luckily it was just a severe bruise, and it was not a kick, but when he turned to run I was in the way!) Now he drops to a roll every time I ride him and I only ride for up to 30 min!! What option do I have, wholesale? As stupid as this may sound, I believe in him and at 50 any injury could be BAD! I’m becoming spooked also and I know that’s NOT a good thing for either of us. I am a novice rider although I have ridden on and off my entire life. This challenge has to be one of the hardest, both in the option of keeping him in hopes he will settle down and at least give me the pleasure of riding him again, and the unspeakable other “option”. What am I to do?

In my opinion, you may want to look at finding a trainer to help you work through your issues. A blind horse is still a horse that can be trained, the world is just a bit different for him now. Rolling under saddle is a no-no. Are you able to feel when he's about to go down? If so, get after his hiney!
His issues may stem from him going blind, but they are still training issues.
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I could feel it the 1st time as he has always "asked" by pawing the ground and then dropped, the second time I was waiting for the signs, pawing, shaking back legs...but nothing! He dropped to roll MID WALK. I didn't even have time to get my feet out. I did however get back on the 2nd time. (the first he sent me home crying and with a bruised pride) Next time I will be ready!! I have all the plans to stop him...we shall see!!

If you don't feel confident dealing with the horse on your own - you said it yourself, you're overhorsed - it's time for a trainer to come and work with the both of you.

Totally agree! Two years ago my mum bought me a lovely grade c showjumper as a first horse, and for a while he behaved perfectly, but then when he got fittened up, he tried to kill me. Hahaha. He kicked me in the small of my back, bit me all the time and one night bucked me off headfirst through a wooden fence, leaving me concussed with severe muscle damage to my right hip. I still tried after that, purely for his ability to jump, knowing he could take me far, but it took one more psycho fit from him that really pushed my mum to sell him. Both my mum and my yard owner refused to let me sell him, even though I knew he was far too much for me right from the beginning, saying I wouldn't get another pony if he didn't work for me. When my yard owner ended up in the A&E as well as me after riding him, my mum finally bit her lip and sold him, and now he is happily jumping around registered 1.20m tracks, and I am jumping round 80cm tracks and loving it! It turns out Cruise (Cruising bloodlines, who in fact was a mental case himself) was a rig, which explains some of his behavioural issues, I'm so glad I finally won my mum over to sell him, although its a shame it took two hospital visits to convince her in the end! I wish I had read this article before, it would have helped me and my mum a lot, so thank you for writing it!

Wow great post JDI - I read the first umm 5 pages then skipped to the end so may have missed some points

I get frustrated reading the posts of people either obviously over horsed... or people that have brought good horses but then they have become "bad" horses.... (No fault of their own just they don't know)

One thing you can't beat is a GOOD trainer! My trainer has been amazing with me and my young greenbroke horse.... I have learnt SO much - but you need the horse there to start with... (Which I have)

Awesome post JDI so well writtn