[brodieluver26]

that you try so hard and nothing seems to work. This is a sort of a rant but lately I just haven't enjoyed any rides and I hate the feeling. When I first got my horse he was 10 and never really trained to do a certain discipline. Long Story short we are now doing english and we are jumping. He is a 15.3 hand black quarter horse, the cutest little thing. However he is heavy on the forehand, clumsy, pasture horse dependent and such.

He is a great jumper when he wants to be but he is never consistent. Ive done many things to help improve his jumping, grids, poles, and lunging! It never seems to work, he always seems to forget what he has learned and rides like he doesn't know.

I love my horse but he can really be a downer. I see my trainer with her 17.2 Thoroughbred jump 4 ft and have beautiful movement, another ladies paint, a warm blood, and then my daisy cutter trotting horse that takes hours to warm up just to get to where my friends horses' normal gaits are at. I KNOW my horse can be gorgeous, he just doesn't seem understand or use his hind end.

What Im really trying to say is that I feel like some-days my horse is holding me back. I could be jumping higher, moving up the ranks in shows, and actually moving forward with my riding career. Not trotting poles, working on flying lead changes and being un successful when he keeps cross cantering all the time. However the one thing that keeps me going is that I love him and Im too attached, and that I hope to become a better rider working with a green horse than just riding a push button and not really learning anything. its just that sometimes I feel like Im not enough and that I am running out of things to do and try with him. I feel like we arent making progress and we are moving back instead of forward.

thanks for reading I really needed to get it out

If you have a rant please feel free to share.

 

[Mythilus]

Let's rant together! :lol:

I have the same problem with dressage. My mother has a 21 y/o Andalusian/Throughbred Prix St. George trained gelding who we ended up with for free because he has a huge scar on his hind leg. (The DQ who owned him just wanted him gone). Mum isn't a competitive rider, and she rides for fun, and Bajo loves it. But I see her getting him to do flying changes and half pass, and pirouettes, and all sorts of fun things, while I'm struggling to get my mare to leg yield, let along half pass! She has a great temperament and movement for dressage, but she will not co-operate! My old intructor had a hissy fit when even SHE couldn't get the girl to do as she is told. My advice? Keep at it! Maybe your horse doesn't like to jump? Maybe he is getting bored? Perhaps let go of jumping and try something else for a bit and come back to it. If you do jumping every day, the same exercises, he will get bored! Take a break, do some trail riding or barrels or something to perk him up and have a good time (not saying he isn't having a good time jumping), and go back to jumping after a bit and see if he's any better.

 

[brodieluver26]

MadamKing, its good to know that i'm not the only one! you horse sound beautiful from what you saying! my horse had trouble with that stuff too! And i know why you would think he wouldnt like to jump, he loves to jump he just hates flatwork. What I meant to say was that I try toimprove his jumping style like his knees and strides and roundness. And I would love to do barrel but my horse would probably break a leg knowing him! He is a quarter horse thats horrible at western! haha

 

[ChingazMyBoy]

I know exactly what its like. I have one amazing ride & then for two weeks it feels like I'm just making us go 'backwards'.

Though, with time Chinga and I have both learnt more and become more consistent and I'm counting down the hours till I ride and being excited to see his newest progression at shows!

 

[Joe4d]

Sounds like you have a good trail horse, maybe he just isnt suited for what you want to do.
You are probably correct that your horse is holding you back, sounds like you would be much happier with an OTTB rescue.

 

[BarrelracingArabian]

Definitely know what you are feeling. I've been working on my boy retraining for barrels but he tries to rush and forgets how to stop. Some days he stops at the slightest shift in my weight and others he will take off and i have to continuosly one rein him. Some days he will run and turn perfectly, others he blows every turn and takes off. Its touch and go with my boy but I love him and know he has great potential its just going to take awhile to break his bad habits

 

[brodieluver26]

Joe4d. Some days I feel like he holds me back is because I need to train him to be at my level. However, when he is trained he will be very good. He is built like an appendix gelding and has great scope over jumps. Yet he trots 3 foot! Haha and I would love him to be my trail horse also becausse I like to mix it up...but everytime he goes on a trail with somebody he comes back without a rider! Lol he is a quarter horse that is scazred/hates trails.

And barrel racing arabian, we probably have the closest story, we just have to keep trying, they just have the potential but they just like to be little poops haha
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[Joe4d]

Perseverance is a virtue, and we all like the satisfaction of not giving up. But sometimes you just have to cut your losses and move on. I learned this lesson the hard way dealing with my appaloosa, had trainers over, coaching help, a year later he was still exactly the same horse.
After walking him back to camp one day becasue I couldnt get him to slow down, a friend said, "You know joe, you havent had a good weekend since you bought that horse" That struck a nerve he was on craigs list monday.
Look at what is really your hobby. My hobby was trail riding and sharing good wine, Not training a hard headed cant relax on horse.
Some people like training horses,
What do you like ? Remember this is a hobby. It is supposed to be fun, if you aint having fun get a new horse or a new hobby. Just aint worth it.

 

[kitten_Val]

I'll join the ranting crowd too...

While I can't really rant about my qh at the moment (as she pleased me a lot at the last show), I rant every other day about my paint. We've been progressing and now it feels like going backwards. The worst part when I take her to the lesson it's usually nice. Back home - different horse. I tried music thinking may be I'm on too much, but to no success. I'm trying to analyze whats so different between home and lesson, and just run out of ideas.

 

[iridehorses]

maybe he just isnt suited for what you want to do.
You are probably correct that your horse is holding you back.

Not every horse is suited for what we want them for. It's no fun when neither you or your horse are enjoying the lesson. Sometimes you just have to admit that you have the wrong tool for the job and get the right one.

Can you drive a nail in a board with a pair of pliers? Yes, but a hammer is the right tool. We all love our horses and they can have so many redeeming qualities but there is no point in making them do what they can't or won't.

Your horse may be the ideal mount for a WP rider or for team penning. He has a right to enjoy going to work just as much as you do and will probably excel in what he is a natural for.

 

[Horsesdontlie]

This is a very hard thing to get passed. At one point I almost retired Jake permanently. He was spiraling down faster then I could keep control of. He went from being very light on the bit all the time to heavy enough to make my hands bleed. He started rearing, bolting and overall being extremely dangerous. He flipped over once, ran my leg into a metal pole (I still can't feel in that part of me leg 1+ year later) was continuously hurting himself and me. I couldn't ride with other people because he figured out the best way to fight me was to rear and jump at other riders. His arena rides where he is normally great went to the low point as well. He wouldn't canter consistently for more than two strides before jumping into the bit, slamming to stop, rearing and then jumping forward, bouncing like a rabbit. I was at my witts end, I was angry and scared, I didn't want to ride, I didn't want to be in horses anymore. Vets and Chiropratics didn't find anything wrong with his teeth/back. I just just moved him to a new stables before the issues started.

I don't know why I stuck it out, I was 100% lucky that I didn't get more hurt and was lucky enough that sticking it out actually worked. (Sticking it out does not always work...) Some 6 months later he is like a dream to ride. He is softer, and willing to work for me. Some days are amazing and some days I have to take a step back and realize its an off day for him. Every now and then I can barely get him to trot (he side passes jumps around canters in place) I just enjoy his antics and save training for another day, since he doesn't act out that much at all anymore, I just aim for a calm trot and once I get it I call it a day.

If your horse likes doing what your doing, keeping going. STOP looking at all the other horses that have different body types. You don't own a lanky TB or warmblood. You own a QH. don't expect him to move like one of them. If you do you will be continuously disappointed. Aim for him to move the best that HE can. Not what you want him to be. If you want to go high in the jumping/dressage world yes you bought the wrong horse, I would suggest selling and getting a TB or wamrblood.

 

[mls]

Your horse sounds like he is not built for what you want him to do. You aren't going to take a sumo wrestler and have them do ballet.

If you want to jump and this horse can't do it, you may have to find another horse. If you want this horse, you may have to try new things until you find what he excels at.

It's tough but if you want to do that well, you have to realize the current limitations. It's not the horses fault.

 

[brodieluver26]

thank you everyone for your responses and yea i need to realize that he isnt a TB or warmblood but he is BRODIE and i should love him for him. However he DOES love to jump and he jumps well. He isnt stocky or downhill he is just fine. I mean when i stick it out and my trainer helps we succseeds and does well. Its just some bad days really get me down because we work so hard. Ive gotten many compliments on him but im just a perseon that has to have everything perfect and i know i shouldnt be but its in my nature. I dont plan to sell him, i asked my trainer for her advice and she says he is a great horse for my level and he loves his job. All im saying is that we have a bad day and it makes me upset, not that i dont think he can do his job. If he couldn't do it, i would be running barrels which i cant because he HATES it. Plus i only had him for 2 years and he has been in REAL training for less than a year. I will wait and see but thank you so far for the posts

 

[mls]

i asked my trainer for her advice and she says he is a great horse for my level

Didn't you say you wanted to advance?

 

[brodieluver26]

Yes but for now I'm. 2'6-3ft and my horse could go 3' but I'm not ready. But if I wanted to advance above novice I probably cant
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[brodieluver26]

*3'3
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[Eclipse295]

I know how you feel I had a big black beautiful quarter horse gelding out of zips chocolate chip, I loved him and he was a great trail horse but put him in the arena with anybody who doesn't know every little button to push and he was a monster, bucking, rearing, bolting, etc. I had the ability to go far but I was stuck at walk/trot scared out of my mind to ride him afraid he would throw me again.

We sold him and adopted a 13 year old appy of questionable liniage and a 3 year old haflinger cross pony. I am now cantering, running barrels, riding english and western, trail riding, going to start jumping next year, training the pony to ride and drive and having a lot of fun.

I had the wrong horse for me and was overfaced with a ring sour horse who needed work and a lot of it.

Morale of the story sometimes you need to give in and face the music. The horse could be wrong for what you want him to do or could be just the wrong horse for you

 

[zurmdahl]

I've been having the same feeling, I bought a thoroughbred in June and he's been trained in exactly what I want to do. However, I feel like we just haven't been clicking lately :/ everyone tells me how pretty he is and that he's such a nice horse and my trainer loves him and I feel like I don't do him any justice, it's very frustrating. I feel defeated after almost every ride and just totally lost, it's so frustrating.

 

[MyBoyPuck]

My rant pertains to my own 44 year old body. It's brain knows what everything should look like, how the position influences the horse and how to get it to happen. The stupid body just won't cooperate!! I can't even bring myself to post video for critiques because I hate watching my own riding. Combine that with every time I take a lesson with a different upper level clinician, I am told that what the other person taught me was completely wrong and I need to go back to square one. I'm 44, my horse went from 5 to 9 in the blink of an eye, and we're still jumping 2'3". I have a super sweet TB with some solid talent, but I know I'm holding him back in terms of eventing. I'm a patient girl, but at this pace I'll be retired before I'm eventing beginner novice.

Head...desk...head...desk. Ranting is good sometimes!

 

[iridehorses]

Just as sometimes we have to come to terms that our horses are not the proper ones for the job we want but that our bodies aren't either.

I wish I was still 44 but I turn 65 in a few weeks. I can remember when I used to do things on horseback that I shutter at now. There are things that I would love to be doing but physically can't so instead of pushing my body into something that is unrealistic for me, even though mentally I can see myself doing it, I change that passion to a different discipline.

There will always be something in life, some path we didn't take, that will haunt us forever; but I've come to channel that into something I can do that is more realistic for me at this stage, physically. I've come to accept my own limitations and now enjoy a different path with my horses that I didn't envision 20 years ago.