Ran my Horse into the Mud. Unconditional Trust? Check.

The more you ride, the more you will learn the difference in the way they act when they are afraid of something silly as opposed to something that may endanger you both. When your horse acts UNCHARACTERISTICALLY afraid, it should cause you to think twice. Like getting off and double checking the mud prior to pushing them on. That is all I am saying. Trust their instncts a bit and listen to them. It will save you more often than not. I also am older and wiser, but a not a green rider. Yes, accidents DO ahappen, and they will, but the more you pay attention to your horse and tune in to both them and your surroundings the better you will be.

I will! Thanks for the good advice. :)

[QUOTE=franknbeans;968092]The more you ride, the more you will learn the difference in the way they act when they are afraid of something silly as opposed to something that may endanger you both. When your horse acts UNCHARACTERISTICALLY afraid, it should cause you to think twice. Like getting off and double checking the mud prior to pushing them on. That is all I am saying. Trust their instncts a bit and listen to them. It will save you more often than not. I also am older and wiser, but a not a green rider. Yes, accidents DO ahappen, and they will, but the more you pay attention to your horse and tune in to both them and your surroundings the better you will be.[/QUOTE/]

I agree 100% and thank you for the advice. I will absolutely be listening to my horse more on future rides.

:The whole situation just worries me because as a green rider, taking on things that are that new to you can cause trouble when your horse says no and you say go...You could end up with pulled muscles broken legs or complete exhaustion where you would have to put your mare down, which would break your heart.
Please be safe

This thread is some what old.

I know I just wanted her to know we all care :)

Also I didn't know there was a "time limit" that was being policed by random ppl such as you. I guess everyone has to live up to their self appointed titles

TBTrailrider, the general rule is over 30 days and unless you have something MEGA important to add then you don't ressurect old threads.

That said I'll now add my say. I too have ended up with a pony up to his belly in mud, I pointed him down a bridle path and he didnt even hesitate, then we sank. I ended up making him use the power of his back end (he had an enormously powerful back end) to essentialy jump his way out.
He was fine afterwards, I was shaken. This was a fully prepared and maintained bridle path that should have been safe.

Glad to know everyone was safe and it ended well. We all have moments where we kind of shake our heads and go 'well that was a dumb idea'

I was riding in the river near my barn one day and thought it would be alright to mount up from the opposite bank of where I normally get on when in the river. But it turned out the sand underfoot was too soft and my gelding and I both took a dive into the water. Luckily neither of us was more than wet, but when he stumbled into the water he dumped me literally under another horse. It could have been much worse, but thankfully we seem to have a lot more good luck than bad.