FMNM Blog Hop

The fears.

I have two. My first was from when I first started riding. I was leasing this palomino mare named Blondie. She sucked. She was arrogant and pushy. But for whatever reason, I adored her. She could have easily been the end of my equestrian life. She was always refusing jumps and being naughty but was perfect for my trainer. There was one specific day that really had me questioning if I wanted to continue the horse life or not.

This photo is STILL on the website of the horse show where it was taken. PS How  cute was I?

I believe I was around 9 years old. I was getting ready for a ride. I had put on my saddle and girth. Normally, my mom tightened my girth for me because Blondie was so tall and I wasn't very strong. I had assumed she had tightened it when I put my foot in the stirrup. Next thing I know, the saddle slid under her belly and she took off. I feel off right then and there. I couldn't stop crying. My mom gathered my horse and adjusted my tack but I couldn't get myself to step foot in the stirrup again.

It was a long battle. I was terrified of saddles and getting on. I couldn't brush her back without flinching. Whenever I had a lesson, I had to go out an hour before hand because I knew it would take me half an hour to manage to put the saddle on.

I can't explain why my 9 year old self was so terrified. It took probably about a month before I was able to be ready in a timely manner. Blondie ended up getting sold (I was leasing her) and then came my saint paint pony, Shiloh, who gave me all my confidence back and then some.

Fast forward to last summer. Riesling was in Idaho, and had been at the barn for about 6 months. But, his attitude and physical ability was deteriorating. I knew it was time for a better barn to board at. I moved Riesling about half an hour away to a quiet, nice, private boarding facility outside of a small town. Its about 35 minutes from my house if I take the freeway.

Ries on his way to Idaho.

But something happened. I let Ries settle in for a few days. He lost his marbles. Nothing was normal anymore. I had had him for about 5 years. This was a completely different horse. My mom was out with me and I grabbed his halter and proceeded to grab him from his stall. He didn't want me near him. Ok weird. I finally got him out and he was a total basket case. He was jigging and crying. I managed to get him to the grass and let him graze. He couldn't care less about the grass and just ran around, jerking me from left to right. He then starting rearing and crow hopping. Uhh.. not normal. Terrified me led him back to the crossties where I attempted to put his tail bag back in. He started pinning me up against the wall. He kept breaking the crossties so my mom held him. He reared up at her many a times. I was sobbing. And cussing. And a mess. My mom decided to let him in his stall and maybe he would calm down again. The same thing. He was pinning me against the wall with his butt. I thought he was going to kill me. I managed to slip his tail bag in between breaths and ran outside. I cried. Hard. I thought my horse was gone. I was terrified of my own horse.

When I first got Ries.

To this day, I have NO idea what got in him. That episode was the worst, and I managed to maintain authority and work him through it. The next two weeks included lots of brushing, grazing, and lunging. I needed to gain my trust and respect back. It happened. And right now, you would look at us and not have a clue about it.

Circa 2010.

Riesling means so much to me. He has gotten me through so much. Those two weeks my whole world turned upside down. Who was I without my horse? It was the scariest moment of my life.