.raindrop. wrote:-.-
I am this close to quitting riding. This close.
I had to ride the devil today. Or, the devil-in-horse-form. I don't think she's a real horse. Or maybe she is. Yeah right.
She's evil. And not funny evil. She doesn't bite or buck... but I hate her. I know you're not supposed to hate... but I hate her. A lot. Enough to make me stop riding.
Her name is Buttercup. Apparently, the other lady in my lesson pays for something for Winnie, kind of like a half-lease, so she gets first dibs on Winnie. So, she was in my lesson today, and she got my baby. D: I had to ride Buttercup. And I did terrible. Even my instructor said that I rode bad.
I HATE Buttercup. She can't bend. EVER. Instead of bending, she swings her head to the outside and puts herself off balance. It's extremely hard to get her to bend, and half of the time I can't. Her owner (who sucks at riding and ruins Buttercup) can't. No one can. I can actually bend her at the walk and trot, but once she canters, I can't. Her canter is terrible. It's all fine and dandy in one direction, but the other she has a personality change. Whenever I get her to bend in the other direction, her bad direction, she like bolts and It's hard to control her and actually stay on. Of course, when she bolts, I can't get her to bend. Or control her well.
Jumping was bad. She has a horrid habit or running out on every jump, because her owner lets her. She almost ran out on every jump, but by then I was angry and didn't let her. But, when we cantered the last jump, she almost ran out, and I didn't let her, but she landed weird and I lost my stirrup and almost fell off. And then she bolted around the ring. And, of course, she was completely off balance because she always is at the canter.
I have to ride her tomorrow, because the lady is in my lesson. I asked my instructor if I could change it so I could ride Winnie, but she said no. She said that I need to bend Butter well before I can ever ride Winnie again.
Why? Why? Why? I'm crying right now. Sobbing. I hate riding Buttercup. She can't bend! Her issues need to be fixed my a professional, not a 13 year old girl who's been riding for two freaking years! I need to fix my problems on Winnie first, not move on to a harder horse!
After my lesson, I had so much fun. But I don't want to type that now. It's hard to type about fun when you're crying.
This is why I want to quit. I can't ride Buttercup for the rest of my life. I can't.
Awww, I'm sorry that your lesson didn't go all too well. I know where you're coming from - in my Sunday group lesson, the new girl to my lesson ALWAYS rides Willow and I get the hard horses that the new girl can't handle. At first, I was kind of bummed out because I ADORE Willow, and although I love the challenging horses as well, I just feel more comfortable on Willow and I can work on more difficult exercises because Willow isn't green xD
I've been riding Lulu in my groups lately, and it can be frustrating. She's very green and VERY energetic, and if I make a single mistake or relax for a second, she shoots off. She also isn't ready to go over 2ft yet, so I do my little course, and then the others get to do 2'6-3ft. >< I talked to my trainer about it, and she told me that Lulu was harder than the other horses, and even though I couldn't jump as high as the others with her, that I was doing a great job with her and that she doesn't think that any of them could handle her, which made me feel better about the whole thing. (:
Lulu has been making me such a better rider because I have to be perfect 24/7. (: Willow is great for schooling over bigger jumps, but Lulu is great for perfecting every move I make.
Your trainer is probably trying to challenge you because she KNOWS you can handle it. She wouldn't put you on Buttercup unless she believes that you could handle her. Although we would all love to stay on the easy, comfortable horses all the time, riding the ones that challenge us as much as we can is one of the best things we can do to improve our riding!
Don't quit because you are faced with one challenge - believe me, this sport is filled with challenges and Buttercup will definitely not be your last, or hardest, challenge. I don't mean this to be rude, and I really think that you should keep riding, but you gotta face it eventually: This sport is filled with challenges. Honestly, this sport is pure challenge - if you ever want to get anywhere in the riding world, you have to push yourself to the limit, even when it's hard and you feel just about ready to quit. If you aren't willing to accept this, maybe the sport isn't right for you.
I used te word "challenge" wayyyy too much there, haha xD
I totally think that you should stick with it, though! We all hit the wall sometimes, and go through rough patches in our riding.
Be patient. You haven't ridden Buttercup before. This was your first time with her!
I have some tips that might help you out, though. (:
Before you ride:
-To help loosen Butter up before you ride so she'll be more supple, do LOTS of stretches!
.Carrot stretches
.Leg rotations, hind and front
.Leg pulls, hind and front
.Tall pulls
Etc., etc. You might also want to try lunging her before you ride to further loosen up her muscles.
While riding:
-For bending...
.Spend a lot of time at the walk. Do 1/2 laps with inside, then 1/2 with outside, and alternate. For example, for an inside bend: Apply a lot of pressure slightly behind the girth with your thigh and calf while pulling straight back to your hip with your inside hand. Do this until you feel her soften her ribcage, and then relax the aids for a few steps, pat her, and resume! However, don't relax completely with your outside aids - they need to act as a steady "wall" that won't allow Butter to over bend.
Do TONS of serpentines and figure eights, changing from an inside to an outside bend whenever necessary.
.Repeat at the trot and canter.
.You may also want to carry a dressage whip. If she doesn't respond to your aids in time, you can give her a light tap behind your leg to remind her to listen to her. However - be sure that you are asking correctly before you go to the whip. You can't expect her to be correct if you aren't.
.For the bolting...
.Don't react. Keep your position the same and don't let her change it! You might want to lean forward and follow the motion, but stay back and wait it out. Sit the canter instead of half-seat, and apply lots of leg pressure. More leg will actually help your horse slow down. Keep your shoulders way back and completely hold your hip so that there is no way that Butter can push through you! Give and take with the rein until she responds. If she is honestly, for-real, out of control BOLTING, then use a pulley rein and consider riding her in a slightly stronger bit.
You probably already know most of this, but I thought I'd try to help. (:
You NEED to keep riding! DON'T quit. You'll regret it. (:
