November 10 Questions

Thanks again to L for sharing!

How old is the youngest/greenest horse you’ve ridden?  I was thrown on a BUNCH of fresh off the track thoroughbreds when I was like ten. I was in a round pen and have NO idea how anyone thought this was ok. This was when my mom and I were looking to buy a horse.

How old is the oldest horse you’ve ridden? I'd probably say Czoey (because I have terrible memory) and she is 23.

Were you scared of horses when you first started riding? Not initially, but basically when I started getting more serious (wtv, weekly lessons). I cried 24/7 and I have NO idea why I was still so obsessed with wanting to ride and being around horses.

Would you say you’re a more nervous rider or a confident rider? Recently I've turned into a confident rider, but BY FAR most of my life I've been the nervous rider. Probably within the last few years and riding some problem horses I've gained confidence.

Biggest pet peeve about non-horse people around horses? The fact that they just don't get it. They don't see how hard it is and what makes it so worth it. A lot of people I know compare it to golf because it appears easy and is super expensive. Or explaining to people why you still take lessons. Sigh.

A time you’ve been scared for your life? (horse related) I'm thankful I've mostly forgotten all of them but the one that sticks out in my mind is the accident I had with Blondie. I was so terrified constantly. Other than that, I'm sure there was some but I don't remember what they were.

Have you ever fallen off at show? What happened? At first I didn't think I had, but one I remember distinctly was at a schooling show. I was riding my mom and I's new mare, Scarlette. She was a HUGE, GORGEOUS thoroughbred mare. Unfortunately she just was too much horse for me, and absolutely terrified of shows. Couldn't figure out why. We had constant schooling shows at the barn growing up so I was getting ready to enter a class and was standing outside of the arena. We had borrowed an old girth from someone because ours were all too small. Out of nowhere one of the elastics snapped and she LAUNCHED into the air. I fell HARD on the nicely compacted dirt outside of the arena. It hurt like hell. She bolted and ever since that incident I REFUSE to use old girths. I just don't trust the elastic. I had a friend get on her and try and take her into the next class and she at least made it a few strides into the arena before the mare reared and crowhopped her off. We sold her after that.

What’s a breed of horse you’ve never ridden but would like to ride? I really want to ride like a cob or Fjord or something. I've also never ridden an Arabian.

Describe the worst behaved horse you’ve ridden?  Well that would be the mule-headed-thighmaster. It isn't that he is super hot or flighty, he is just SO DIFFICULT. The first few rides were absolute torture. He has so many aids and is so lazy and dead-sided. I was trying to pick up a canter the first time I rode him and ended up doing tempi changes for a few strides. He always requires a whip and the rowel spurs. But now that I am more schooled, he respects me and is fairly easier.

The most frustrating ride you’ve ever had? This whole year I had a lot of really frustrating rides on Riesling. He was super flighty and wanted to buck. He was nearly always pissy about something. The other half of the rides he would be lame. They were by far the hardest times for me. But the most frustrating ride I had was my first USDF show two summers ago. We were really well schooled and I was PSYCHED to be showing off my guy. We even hauled to the arena a week prior to school and he was fantastic! The Friday before the show he was super hot and I couldn't lead him or ride him. We switched up his tack and tried checking for body soreness. He just could not horse. I gave him bute and had body work done the morning of the show and he seemed calm as a cucumber when I walked him to the warm up arena. However, as soon as I got on he went straight up with me. This horse had NEVER reared before this show. I instantly dismounted and cried. I was so devastated that we couldn't show after all that hard work. He spent the weekend just hanging out at the show (we already had paid for the stall) and relaxing. I did manage to get a quick catch ride so I only lost one test entry! Overall the weekend redeemed itself but that definitely was the most frustrating ride for me.