We have had quite a few horses and ponies for our daughters over the years, but if there is one thing I could say to my younger self it would be “get a school master”. We wasted so many years on naughty and young horses and ponies when we could have been happily whizzing around pony club or just hacking and having fun on a steady old neddy. Instead we were too busy trying to keep a lid on young and excited animals, denting confidences along the way.
I have really learnt to ride what I call “properly” in the last 10 years. Again, most of this knowledge has been gained on a “tricky” horse. I won’t count the even trickier TB before him that spent his life trying to bury me. There appeared to be no reason, he’d never raced and had been owned by the women I bought him from since a foal and I’d had everything checked out. Oddly I think he would have loved racing….
Master Finnigan ( the next one) was 4 when I bought him and although he has come a long way he will always have the brain of a 4 yr old. He is a very clever but utterly frustrating horse, he is capable of so much but as my friend often said “he’d rather be playing football with the boys”! His head is rarely where you want it to be and if it had been in the right place at the right time we could have gone places. He has now gone off to hunt with my husband and absolutely loves nothing more than watching the hounds and tearing around the countryside. Dressage and riding club wasn’t for him, but all that said, he has an amazing extended trot!
Photo: Finn discovering how much he loves hunting with his friend Jack
Professionals that ride for a living adapt a different approach to keeping horses. They don’t put up with half of the nonsense we do. If the horses are talented and their temperament allows them to go on, they stay, if they are too much trouble and haven’t the right brain, they are out. Usually sold to us, the slightly less knowledgable, who fondly think that we can turn that pigs ear into a silk purse – but the truth is very few of us can…
Choosing a horse that suits you and your needs is the the key. That sounds easy enough, but it isn’t is it? And unfortunately for most of us that takes time to sink in.