# My first journal



## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

So I thought that I would make a journal because it seems like other people have started one and I want to be able to look back at our progress. 

So today we went out for "horse camp" at the barn. The filly that they had, baby-horse, is becoming a lot more friendly, she turned 3 weeks old today and she now walks up to people and lets them touch her. How the camp works is that we have to do work at the barn for 2 hours and then we get to ride for however long we want. 

The trainer at the barn is pretty young, about 18-19. As our "work" we had to set up a cross country course around the property. We made them out of tires, logs, palm frawns, etc. The people there were me, the trainer, "Kate", and "kates" 10 year old sister. When we went to ride Kate's little sister, we can call her Stacy. Anyways, Stacy got switched to an appaloosa named Pretty-horse. Stacy has always been very tight, and afraid to do anything on the horses. Now that she was switched it was even worse. 

But she actually did really good. She has been riding since she was 4 and the highest she was gone is 18' crossrails. But I don't know what happened, because today she was jumped the ENTIRE course we set up which included 3 foot jumps. When we were first learning the course we played follow the leader with our trainer. I ended up in the back and Stacy was in front of me. She didn't want to canter so I had to stay at a trot the whole time. On the last line of the course, Pretty-horse picked up into a fast canter inbetween the jumps, J pulled through the bit and followed. I couldn't get him to slow down so we were about a horse lenght away from each other. Once we went over the second jump Pretty-horse jumped to the side and Stacy went flying off, right infront of me and J. Luckily, J was being a good boy and he came to a dead stop immediately once he saw her. She was fine and got right back on and wanted to do it again. We were all REALLY proud of her. 

On my note, J was AMAZING today. He didn't refuse one jump all day and they all had fillers and weird things on them. Afterwards, I gave him a nice bath and a bunch of treats. Then we let all the horses loose in the pasture and we brought out a yoga ball..... That was.... interesting. The horses would jump on it and go crazy, kick it around, bite it and through it around, and run around like maniacs. 

Anyways, I'll update tommorow with updates on my ride with E.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Ok so I guess this is entry number 2. I rode Emily on Tuesday and it was actually very annoying. So we spent the first part of the ride trying to get her to pick up the correct lead on her right side. We found a method that forced her to. So instead of making our arena a circle we make it a rectangle when trying to pick up. So while I'm pulling her on a sharp corner I ask and it forces her to pick up the correct lead. The trainer had decided to get her re-evaluated by a different vet because at this point it has to be something hurting her. Once she picked it up she pulled me out through the whole pasture in a weird fast circle. Ears pinned back to her head. She was going REALLY fast. So we decided to lay of cantering on that side until she got checked out. I'm pretty sure the vet is coming today. 

Anyways, we move on to jumping. Warmed up over a crossrail, everything went fine. But I put it up to an 18 inch vertical and things went terribly. I like trotting her over it the first time to check her mood. Not this time, I asked for a trot and she pulled through the bit and galloped to the jump, while letting out a buck on the way there. Afterwards she quickly turned and ran me under a tree. She stopped right underneath it. I backed her up and brought her back to the jump. I tightned up my reins, and asked for a trot. She tried to speed up to a canter and I pulled back so hard that her head was in her chest while I still was struggling to keep her slowed down. Afterwards I kept tight reins and ran her all the way out to the fence, stopping about 5 inches away from it, and made her stand there. Tried it again with looser reins and she refused the jump. I quickly turned her around and made her go over it. Even when we walked she would go extra fast. Anyways I stopped jumping for the day because I didn't want to keep causing fights. So I got her to do it my way once with no problems and then stopped. 

Anyways, I took advantage of her speed. There is a 14 acre pasture that is all flat grass with no trees. So I brought her into that pasture, loosened up my reins and galloped her the whole way. After galloping around the pasture a few times I walked her back to the barn. She walked very slowly, I guess I tired her out.


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

OK, I know this is your journal, and as such is a 'protected' area..but I feel the need to say something...


Everything in your second post is so scary, you do not FORCE a horse to get the right lead, you do not haul their head into their chest to try and control speed..

This horse is either in pain, or has bad habits, and it is obvious that you lack the skill to recognize and overcome the issues. This is NOT your fault, but you and the horses that you ride are being let down by the extremely poor 'instruction', I use that word loosely, that you are getting. 

You have been advised again and again to get at least one decent instructor in your life, and the reason I am so passionate about this, is because I did not have that as a child, and all those bad habits that I was taught stayed with me for so many years, that I don't think I will ever lose them all. 

PLEASE find one person who can give you some decent instruction, before you get hurt and Justice gets ruined.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

That^. Please, please, please for the thousand'th time, get some decent instruction.


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

@LydiaAndJustice,


Please can you answer me one little question, I REALLY want to know this one.


When you say this 



"The trainer had decided to get her re-evaluated by a different vet because at this point it has to be something hurting her."


THEN after that you move on to jumping...well didn't any alarm bells ring, did you not at any point think "Poor Emily is hurting, the vet is coming, let's stop" 

Again I'm sorry but just read your post again and had kind of skimmed that bit....PLEASE explain how you thought this was OK?


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

"Again I'm sorry but just read your post again and had kind of skimmed that bit....PLEASE explain how you thought this was OK?" 

Your right, this is my "protected area" I actually just got a message that told me about reporting comments. However, I'm not going to go complain to the mods instead of answering. 

My trainer didn't put it like that. She said, "Something may be out of alignment and I should get her checked out to see if she needs an adjustment." It didn't click in my brain because Emily had been acting perfect until I cantered on that side. Have you ever made a decision and at the time it seemed fine but then looking back on it you realized that it was completey crazy. Well thats how it was. 

Now I must ask you a question. How do you think I should have slowed her down? Apprently now there is something wrong with pulling back on the reins? Should I have given Emily her head and allowed her to drag me into a tree, or take off with me? 

Also, how the trainer made it sound was that she was only being bothered when we were on the right lead. Am I saying everything I did that day was right? No. I agree I should have made different decisions, but at the moment it didn't seem as if she was in constant pain considering she was an angel until a certain point. 

Finally, to address the new trainer part. I CAN'T! I have explained this time and time again. My family has known her for 10+ years, the rescue ranch owner and her are close friends. 

Ok, I'm done now. Thanks for the advice, but please refrain next time, if I had been asking for peoples opinions then I would have made that clear. I didn't make a new thread about it because I knew people would just say the same thing, "Get a new trainer", that is just simpliy not in the cards for me.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

A couple things...

ONE - Are you ok with this being an interactive journal - meaning that people can reply to your posts and ask the question as long as they pertain to your current subject or would you rather it be a journal that people read through and only respond to let you know they are following you? It's your choice how much or how little people can become involved in your thread. I personally enjoy conversations within my journal.

TWO - I understand not being able to switch trainers, and even ok with not wanting to switch trainers if you are happy. I do hope you keep an open mind and read through peoples responses to you because sometimes they'll "see" something that you or your trainer might miss.

THREE - Was she taking off on you as in -no control - dead run - kind of taking off? Do you know how the one rein stop works? If you don't, or have never used it then have your trainer show you. It's a really helpful tool for spooks and bolts. Also, you can try to use your seat to slow a horse down and do small circles and serpentines. I remember one of my horses took off on me years ago, I actually took his nose and had it against my knee and he was still going at a dead run straight ahead. I had the reins so short and tugged with everything I had and still couldn't get him to stop. I actually can't remember how I did get him to stop... I just remember that I wasn't terrified, but I also had no idea what to do or how to react.... We worked hard on transitions after that. We only cantered about 5 strides at a time and then went to the trot or walk before going back to four or five canter strides. Eventually, he slowed down but it wasn't overnight.... Not sure if that helps.

FOUR - I have no idea why I numbered these! Keep up the journal. I'm interested in your progress...


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

LydiaAndJustice said:


> "Again I'm sorry but just read your post again and had kind of skimmed that bit....PLEASE explain how you thought this was OK?"
> 
> Your right, this is my "protected area" I actually just got a message that told me about reporting comments. However, I'm not going to go complain to the mods instead of answering. .



Good




LydiaAndJustice said:


> My trainer didn't put it like that. She said, "Something may be out of alignment and I should get her checked out to see if she needs an adjustment." It didn't click in my brain because Emily had been acting perfect until I cantered on that side. Have you ever made a decision and at the time it seemed fine but then looking back on it you realized that it was completey crazy. Well thats how it was. .


Well of course I have, and I have regretted it, but there was nothing in your post that said that you realized it was a bad idea...as a rider you HAVE to be the champion of the horse you are riding, so just think about that as you progress.



LydiaAndJustice said:


> Now I must ask you a question. How do you think I should have slowed her down? Apprently now there is something wrong with pulling back on the reins? Should I have given Emily her head and allowed her to drag me into a tree, or take off with me?


Again, if you don't know that pulling back on the reins is not the best way...then that is not your fault, but rather a lack of training....No you should not let her drag you into a tree, but by using a combination of seat, leg and hand you would guide her around it, or away from it. If she is going to take off with you because you are jumping, then you need to learn the basics of control on the flat first, most things go, seat, leg hands..and again, it is not your fault you don't know, but I so wish that you had someone to set you right. Emily is putting up so many red flags and no one seems to be listening.



LydiaAndJustice said:


> Also, how the trainer made it sound was that she was only being bothered when we were on the right lead. Am I saying everything I did that day was right? No. I agree I should have made different decisions, but at the moment it didn't seem as if she was in constant pain considering she was an angel until a certain point.



I'm glad that you agree that you could have made different decisions.




LydiaAndJustice said:


> Finally, to address the new trainer part. I CAN'T! I have explained this time and time again. My family has known her for 10+ years, the rescue ranch owner and her are close friends.



Well actually I must of missed that, I have never seen you say you can't....






LydiaAndJustice said:


> Ok, I'm done now. Thanks for the advice, but please refrain next time, if I had been asking for peoples opinions then I would have made that clear. I didn't make a new thread about it because I knew people would just say the same thing, "Get a new trainer", that is just simpliy not in the cards for me.



OK I replied because you asked me to, and OK I am out of here, have a great day.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

farmpony84 said:


> Was she taking off on you as in -no control - dead run - kind of taking off?


After she would land from the jump she would quickly turn around, pivoting is the best I can use to describe it. And then take off running. When I pulled back she would just bend her neck more instead of stopping. Is one rein turn when you pull them in a tight circle? The horse I used to ride there was barn sour and I would have to tightly circle her whenever she would try to go back to the barn. The thought of doing this did come into my mind, however I did not feel comfortable doing it. When I say she ran, I mean she full Justify galloped. One of my biggest fears is having the horse fall on me, (which has happened before). So pulling a galloping horse in a tiny circle didn't seem like a good choice. After I got her to stop I would either make her do tiny circles or back her up, although I don't think it had much effect after we stopped.


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## ClearDonkey (Nov 27, 2016)

LydiaAndJustice said:


> After she would land from the jump she would quickly turn around, pivoting is the best I can use to describe it. And then take off running. When I pulled back she would just bend her neck more instead of stopping. Is one rein turn when you pull them in a tight circle? The horse I used to ride there was barn sour and I would have to tightly circle her whenever she would try to go back to the barn. The thought of doing this did come into my mind, however I did not feel comfortable doing it. When I say she ran, I mean she full Justify galloped. One of my biggest fears is having the horse fall on me, (which has happened before). So pulling a galloping horse in a tiny circle didn't seem like a good choice. After I got her to stop I would either make her do tiny circles or back her up, although I don't think it had much effect after we stopped.


So was she turning around, back towards the other horses or the barn? If so, you might want to take a step back from jumping for a bit, and just work her around the jump courses that you were riding on, until she is okay going whatever which way you want her to. You will want to have full control of her body; her shoulders, hindquarters, and middle. This will make it so you can steer her entire body, rather than just her head and neck. Right now, what I'm thinking she is doing, is when she wants to go someplace and you want to go another, you are pulling her head which way you want her to go, while she is ignoring you and instead leading with her shoulder. You need to counteract this, and force that shoulder the way you want it to go, which may work with just more pressure from your outside leg, pushing where you want to go, or possible a crop on the outside shoulder to get her to "unlock" that turning she is doing.

Of course, if you aren't confident or experienced with this type of thing, or you are scared of getting fallen on, it is time for an outside trainer to step in. None of us want you to get hurt here, which is why we are stepping in and offering our advice. If you would be willing to post a video, I could give you more individualized advice, but without that, I would rather not have you following any of our advice without us seeing exactly what is going on.

When she takes off like this, yes, a one rein stop would be ideal to stop the speed, but you need to figure out how to avoid this happening, and when it does happen, how to get your horse refocused on you, and willing to continue working. Sometimes backing and tiny circles don't work for horses, and will just get her more worked up. Have you tried lateral flexion, backing in L's, or doing forequarter and hindquarter pivots? You need things that will get her mind working, rather than panicking.


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## Kalraii (Jul 28, 2015)

I am so glad you are writing your own journal - I write everything down as well including the ugly bits. Being an adult makes my life easier ofc as I am in charge of well... everything. From what I remember your mum does a swap deal? Like she offers her services and you get training at a discount/for free? And I understand it makes it hard as she's a long-time family friend so you/mum might be worried about hurting her feelings which is only natural. You might be worried about coming across as ungrateful if you complain as well maybe? Correct me if I'm wrong. You are also growing up to be an aware, independent young woman and a horse owner. You are learning that not all adults know everything and some adults can even teach you wrong things. When I was a teen I learned all the bad habits too. Commercial riding schools can only take you so far where _some _instructors are burnt out and there just to get paid, having given up on their own riding careers. Some instructors don't even bother to further their own education which kinda prevents students from progressing in turn as well. I learned to kick to go forward, to steer with just my reins and pull on both for halt. Thinking about how I rode back then makes me die a little inside but honestly... that's all I knew. Plus all the pressure to match what the other girls were doing as well to "fit in".

You know what get's me thinking though... horses can feel when a fly is walking on them. Or a feather touch. When you compare to how much we move around, move our legs and hands while riding it seems awfully over the top doesn't it? Horses can read each other from a mile away. They have relationships and conversations. Have you got that one friend that just never shuts up and never let's anyone get a word in? That's a bit like humans with horses - or any animal. Humans are all YAP YAP YAP YAP and horses _give up_ trying to communicate to us because we don't let them even have a say. Have you ever butted in and let the quiet, nervous person get to speak? Maybe someone has done that for you? Instead of just being a jumper girl... don't you want to be the girl that develops a relationship with Justice? To be able to begin a conversation? To eventually be able to get him to lie down on command, bow, stay, recall... ride tackless? When he knows you're listening he can begin to trust you and you can begin to trust him. The other girls at your yard will be green with jealously when they see that you don't just jump - you can recall your horse with just his name, you can make him park himself along any fence with just a word. That he can tell you when he's hurting and you can try fix the problem before it get's out of hand. Before you know it you're listening and conversing with most horses you ride and work with. You wonder why some people are just "naturals" well that's why 

Your trainer saw that something was "off" in your ride - it took her too long to notice it is all. You can be better than that don't you think? I think you can do better than all this. For your self-awareness I think you have a lot of potential. Do you speak another language? I am fluent English but can understand most Welsh even if I cannot pull off half the gurgles haha. Learning animal language requires the same discipline and interest. You might already know of several horse trainers online but I'm gonna link one of my favs https://www.warwickschiller.com/. He runs a 7 day trial where you can watch all this training vids (with real horses!) and discusses how to begin to understand them. You can also learn from there about the one rein stop (lateral flexion) and how to achieve it in steps - for the record my horse does NOT know the one rein stop. I want my horse to have a soft mouth but I can't achieve that if I'm yanking on it. And you know what? It's really rare where I am in the UK for horses to know the one rein stop (that I've met and discussed with). English riding, innit? xD But that isn't going to stop me because it is a safer method and a great way to have an extra brake in an emergency and if you ever wanna try bitless. 

You have so many people here (including me!) that would LOVE the opportunity to sit you down in person or give a lesson real time for no money just to put you on the right path. If a trainer is out of the question then can I suggest that you begin recording yourself? You can buy a bendy tripod like this :https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product...3-4c26-56f6-9ac2-195a7ff6fdbb&pf_rd_i=1104388 

To start with, not jumping OK. Just walk, trot and canter both leads. Post it here or privately to someone you feel you can trust to offer advice. Check out the critique section of the forum to get a feel. The only time people get bashed if if they are concerned the rider is doing too much, risking their safety and/or welfare of the horse. We have some truly top notch equestrians here that you should take full advantage of. People that will give you pointers. 

Anyway sorry for the long post I hope it helps because I do enjoy reading everyone's journals. I think a lot of people here are hoping to keep in you from sliding down a rabbit hole of "bad horsemanship" which is why we can get quite passionate. Check out warwick schiller's website and let me know what you think of it if you do. 

Good luck  x


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

This is happening during your lesson?


I think, not seeing the horse or you in action, I would definitely trot the courses, no cantering yet. I would also practice my downward transitions, ALOT. I would trot the jump and come down to a halt. Then I would pick up the trot and take the next jump. I would change directions a bunch while maintaining my trot pace. I would go from working trot to sitting trot to walk to working trot to halt to sitting trot to working trot, etc. I would throw jumps into the mix so that you are just plugging away and end up in the line of a jump so she doesn't anticipate. Then I would continue on my flatwork with the transitions. I would throw some canter work in, but only a few strides at a time. I would maybe trot the long end of the ring, canter the short end, and go back to trot. I would do serpentines and circles.


It sounds to me like she is being disrespectful, not listening, and wanting to go to her friends. She needs to pay attention to you. By you doing all of the transitions and directional changes, you will end up using your seat more and she will have to pay attention to you because she won't know what is coming, trot? Halt? Turn? Circle? Jump?


I did this with my oldest horse and didn't even realize it was a training technique but when we hit the show ring that summer, the difference was amazing! 


Good luck to you and enjoy.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Just got back from the ranch. I wasn't planning on going today but my mom got off work and offered to take me so of course I said yes! Anyways, today we had a really good day. I bought a bridle and 2 bonnets from a friend who has quit riding, I got all of it for $20! I didn't ride in the new bridle today because I didn't feel like switching the bits. Anyways, Justice was really good. No refusals at all, a bit lazy but thats normal for him. Most of the time I don't get around to jumping him higher then 2 foot because by the time he is all warmed up for higher jumps he is tired and worn out from the heat. 

However, today I took the time to go a bit higher. I'm not sure but I think it was 2'6, check out the pic I'll attach and let me know what you think. For some reason I was really scared to go higher. I have done it before, but I had some MAJOR anxiety before. I was just thinking of a quote I heard in a speech, "Did you come this far to only come this far, or to go farther." Something like that, but it got me to do it. 

The bonnets looked funny. There was this blue one that had ear sockets that were too big for his ears and he looked like a donkey lol. 

Anyways. After we jumped for like 45 minutes, I decided to try something neither Justice or I have ever done before. So I took off his bridle and saddle and put on a halter instead. Then I took 2 lead ropes and clipped one to each side of the halter (We are classy). So I decided to look up and see if anyone has ever done it before and all the stories I could find were like "I had no control, it was a nightmare, etc, etc" But my smart self decided to do it anyways. So I brought him out to the arena and got on. It actually went reallllly well. He was so good and he acted like he still had a bit on. (I tried to take a video that I will link). Then He was so good that I took off the halter and loosley clipped the lead rope around his neck. He was still very responsive and good. We even went over a few crossrails brideless. Anyway.... its not that big of a deal I just thought it was cool that he was good. 

It got even better when I got home! I saw that a realtive sent me an extra early birthday girt in the mail of open front jump boots for horses. The brand for them is Roma. I will put a pic, does anyone have any experiance with these?? Are they good quality. I will put a pic.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

More pics


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Can I make a few suggestion....
Its hot and its humid...when you add the heat and humidity together and get a number of 110 or higher take it easy on your horse or run the risk of heat stroke or exhaustion...both serious complications that can lead to life-threatening illness. That goes for you too...

The red and blue things are bonnets, crocheted to keep out bugs and to reduce noise with how thick the thread is they are made from.

As for the boots...you seem to be good with you-tube videos...watch how to properly place them on the legs.
They must be the correct size for his cannon bones too.
If you are not positive on correct sizing or placement, don't!!

If Justice isn't hitting himself or the jump rails leave them off...any picture you post that horse is clear and cleanly jumping, not hitting anything.

Truly...they could actually create a problem where one not exist for Justice.
They also will trap heat underneath them and the legs are a huge area of cooling for the horse because veins are so surface close...cover those veins and you might have some bad results with how long and how hot he can get during your riding times.
:runninghorse2:...


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

It looks like you guys are really bonding! I love trying new things and feeling like I accomplished something, even something that might seem silly like riding in a halter. I actually rode Cloud for the first time bareback the other day. (He's my 4 year old) I walk trotted him, no cantering but I still felt like I was on top of the world! 

I always thought those bonnets were ridiculous looking but they do help w/ the bugs! I like the red one best.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

*Hmmmm*

Hmm. Just got back from the barn. 8 people there for the horse camp thing. Hmmmmmmm. It was..... Weirdddd. So, we extended the arena by like 30 feet to make it longer. Of course this meant more room for some more awesome jumps. So the trainer was like "Lets set up a triple bar." And at the time I was like "Oh that sounds fun..." NOT FUN!!!! So The highest pole was 2'9ish. I'm not 100 percent sure because we just stacked some jumps on top of each other. But it was wide, like WIDEEEEE. So it looked fun until I actually got onto the horse. Anyways, before we started jumping I was already pretty ****ed at him. He was just annoying me. It was little things like trying to go into the trees, pulling on the bit, throwing his head. So after we had all warmed up and she was like, "Do the triple bar" I was like. Uhhhhhh not today. So only 2 of the other girls there actually willingly tried to jump it. 

One was an 8 year old. She is literally one of my favorite people at the barn, and she thinks that she is invinsible. Anyways the 2 girls did it and then they were like. "Its so much fun you should try it" and I was like nooooo I'm good. But peer pressure kicked in after a while and I was like, ok fine. So I lined us up to the jump and I was like ok, lets do this. And then I freaked out and I literally yanked his head to the side last minute so he wouldn't jump it. Whoops, I know its bad and I didn't mean to, I just got super scared. So I was like, Nevermind not doing it. But at that point the trainer said I had to now that I already tried because we can't teach him to turn out. Ughhhhh. So my hands were literally shaking as I trotted him up to it. And guess what!!!! Refusal. And again, and again, and again. So Eventually he tried to jump it, and he only jumped half of it and landed inbetween the poles. Don't worry my trainer filmed it all. Then I tried again, and he did it. But really weird and I flew like a foot out of the saddle before falling back on his neck.

Don't worry, we got a video of that too. You can actually hear all my teamates cheering in the backround because they were happy we just got over it after like half an hour. Then I was like, ok we got this now that he was going over it. SO I cantered up to it, and refusal. My trainer wasn't sure if it was me leaning forward and my lack of confidance keeping him, so she got on. She took a crop and put 2 horses on each side of the jump. He refused for her too, multiple times. Eventually he did it so I got back on. She told me to look up more. So I cantered up looking at the sky. He went over it. My exact words after we did it were, "I'm done, we did it. We are finished on a good note and I am NEVER doing this jump again." Then I walked him out and that was that. So, of course. The one time we did it perfectly she didn't record it. Anyways, we will do better next time, just a bad day. 

Just a PS, I know I needed to canter this jump, but at the time my hands were literally shaking and I couldn't think of getting thrown off from a refusal while cantering.


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

A good teacher never sets their students up to fail, nor shames them when they struggle.


A good horsewoman never sets her horse up to fail either.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

egrogan said:


> A good teacher never sets their students up to fail, nor shames them when they struggle.
> 
> 
> A good horsewoman never sets her horse up to fail either.


He has done 4 foot triple bars and landed clean, we weren't setting him up to fail. He could do it, he was just being difficult. I have also jumped up to 3'6. I could do it to. If my trainer never pushed me pass my comfort zone I would be doing tiny crossrails and never getting better. I was just having a confidance crisis because it was wider then normal. 
Also, whats worse, bumping into a pole, or teaching a horse that all they have to do is refuse to get out of doing work?


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

LydiaAndJustice said:


> I know I needed to canter this jump, but at the time my hands were literally shaking and I couldn't think of getting thrown off from a refusal while cantering.





egrogan said:


> A good teacher never sets their students up to fail





LydiaAndJustice said:


> If my trainer never pushed me pass my comfort zone I would be doing tiny crossrails and never getting better. I was just having a confidance crisis because it was wider then normal.



There is pushing you out of your comfort zone and then there is overfacing you. You should _not_ be shaking and thinking about getting thrown off as you approach a fence!


When Justice was doing all this refusing, did your instructor ever take the back pole away or lower all the poles to make the jump less intimidating? There were def options that could have made that whole experience much more positive for Justice and for you. I hope this hasn't shaken your confidence jumping.


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

As this is your journal and your journey with Justice I don't want to critique too much, but I think this is a good lesson for you to reflect on. 

You said at the beginning that you were uncomfortable with the size of the jump. No it wasn't too high, but a wide jump looks even wider from the horse - last time I jumped I did a *tiny* oxer, like 2 feet. Looked so small from the ground but approaching it I will admit I had thoughts of "are we really jumping this wide thing??" If you aren't ready and can tell you aren't having a great ride and that this wouldn't be any more productive, you are well within your rights to tell your trainer and your friends "not today". 

All that said, you're right that once you turned him at the last minute, you showed him it was ok to run out, so you then had to take him over again to show him that that's not ok. I do think if you were having that much trouble your trainer should have stepped in earlier to take him over, OR you (rather, your trainer) should have put the jump down to just a single vertical (or similar) that you would have been confident with that you know you both can be successful with. I strongly agree with what someone else said about your trainer should be setting you and Justice up for success.

With the comment about "setting him up to fail", just because he has jumped that high before doesn't mean that he can do it with the way you both felt and had been riding that day. My horse can be cantered around in an open field without taking off, coming down to a trot mostly off my seat, but that doesn't mean that I would do that after not riding him for a couple weeks - *that* would be setting him up to fail because he would likely be very fresh and more apt to take off or some other silly behavior, which would be counterproductive to both of us. Because you were already having a bad ride with him, and were then only going to do the jump because all of your friends/trainer pressured you into it, that is how you set him up to fail. You didn't really want to do it and your body language communicated that to him even though you pointed him at the jump. Those are the things you need to consider when preparing to do something with the horse.

I think you are trying to become a good horsewoman, and trying to learn as much as you can. Try not to take any of these comments personally or as an attack. We are all trying to help you as best as we can from behind our screens. Good luck with your journey together, I hope to enjoy reading of your progress.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

phantomhorse13 said:


> When Justice was doing all this refusing, did your instructor ever take the back pole away or lower all the poles to make the jump less intimidating? There were def options that could have made that whole experience much more positive for Justice and for you. I hope this hasn't shaken your confidence jumping.


Yes, I told her I REALLY didn't feel comfortable with it so she took the front 2 poles down and made it normal so I could get used to the height. After we did that, she made it a normal oxer with the back 2 poles, and after we did that she put it back up. Didn't shake up my confidance. I was in a weird mood all day, seeing that I could do it really boosted my confidance, even if it wasn't pretty the first couple of times!


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Remember it is darn hot out...take into consideration what time of day, the heat that may not bother you but saps strength and endurance of your horse.

_Lydia, you are the only one who can advocate for your horse and your safety_..._cause your "trainer"* is not.*_
Justice tried to tell you he was uncomfortable with that fence as he sensed your fear...
Your horse is athletic and so far getting you out of some dangerous spots you put yourself into, or should I say your trainer is putting you into...
To heck with the other girls and their picking on you..._you are responsible if you hurt Justice..._
Vet bills and a horse on rest if injured are _your problem..._

*Lydia, listen to your gut and gut instinct....*
Those instincts don't normally steer you wrong...:|
You should of jumped the smaller fence and said enough, walked off and cooled down ending on a great note...
Now, you might have a training issue...you just taught your horse to stop and stop dirty!

Learn to stick up for you and for Justice...
You knew you weren't up for this today for whatever the reason...
You could of been hurt and so could Justice...
You _*must *_advocate for both of you, for your safety cause the others in your riding group and trainer don't.
_They don't and *now you know it too...*_

For the record...
_You do *not* need to canter that fence height to clear it..._
_You don't need speed, you need impulsion, there is a difference._
:runninghorse2:...
_jmo..._


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## CharlotteThePenguin (Apr 2, 2016)

Reading through the last few posts about your trainer pushing you too far, and I thought I'd comment. I had a trainer who pushed me too fast and too far, leading me to have panic attacks on horseback about jumping when it came time to jump. She had the mindset of 'having to do things', so anytime I asked to not jump she made me jump regardless. This rarely went well. I have anxiety, and some days I got on that horse and the thought of jumping made me want to curl up and cry, but my trainer would make me jump anyways. If you feel scared, tell your trainer. If she doesn't respect that, you need a different trainer. I know that changing trainers can be scary, I stayed with mine for years because I was too scared to leave. 

What happened to me is I basically taught my horse to run out of jumps. If I wasn't explicitly telling her to jump the jump, she learned to just run away from it. Every time she ran out, my anxiety spiked a little more, and every day of runouts, I started the next day with more anxiety than I started with the day before. My trainer fueled this fire by making me jump. I didn't know how, or that I even could, tell her no. I always treated her like a school teacher, where you have to do what they say. Especially since the few times I did speak my mind she didn't actually care about my feelings. 

Now, I can't jump without anxiety. I've become terrified of my own horse and I hate it. We've been doing better due to getting a new trainer, but I don't think I'll ever be able to jump higher than 2'6" on her. I still can't jump 2' verticals without being too scared to jump them. She doesn't run out on her own anymore, but I just get too scared to even try. Occasionally she runs out, but it's not really her at all as it is me pulling her away from the jump. 

All of this is to say, if you feel your trainer is pushing you too much, tell her. If she doesn't respect how you feel, get a new trainer. 

Also, I've really enjoyed reading about your journey with Justice, and Justice is very pretty! I wish you the best of luck with the rest of your journey!


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

Well...

First of all, I think it's AWESOME that you can be this honest in your journal. You talked about how you were irritated with your horse for doing stupid horse stuff and then you even admitted to your fears and being uncomfortable. I know the world keeps telling you that your trainer is awful and you should rush to get a new one but maybe just listen to your heart. Don't let the peer pressure kick in, if you are not comfortable with something then don't do it. But if you want to do it, then do it at your own pace. Don't let people rush you into it. I doubt your instructor is that awful and I'm sure that she felt like both you and your horse could do this and that's why she pushed you. Just know that you can tell her that you aren't mentally prepared for something if you are nervous.

I think you did great. You pushed through a pretty scary situation and you conquered. I'm proud of you.


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## Hidalgo13 (Dec 24, 2010)

CharlotteThePenguin said:


> Reading through the last few posts about your trainer pushing you too far, and I thought I'd comment. I had a trainer who pushed me too fast and too far, leading me to have panic attacks on horseback about jumping when it came time to jump. She had the mindset of 'having to do things', so anytime I asked to not jump she made me jump regardless. This rarely went well. I have anxiety, and some days I got on that horse and the thought of jumping made me want to curl up and cry, but my trainer would make me jump anyways. If you feel scared, tell your trainer. If she doesn't respect that, you need a different trainer. I know that changing trainers can be scary, I stayed with mine for years because I was too scared to leave.
> ...
> 
> Now, I can't jump without anxiety. I've become terrified of my own horse and I hate it. We've been doing better due to getting a new trainer, but I don't think I'll ever be able to jump higher than 2'6" on her. I still can't jump 2' verticals without being too scared to jump them. She doesn't run out on her own anymore, but I just get too scared to even try. Occasionally she runs out, but it's not really her at all as it is me pulling her away from the jump.


I just wanted to add that this happened to me too. One day my trainer decided we would do some jumping, but the jumps were twice as high as I had ever done, and I was very uncomfortable. I sadly said nothing, and decided to suck it up and try anyways. The horse I was riding was known to love jumping and never refuse, but he felt my anxiety and stopped dead. I flew off and crashed into the rails. My trainer made me do it again without changing the height of the jumps, and the same thing happened. That really bruised my confidence. I was terrified to jump and no longer trusted my trainer. She would try to convince me to do small jumps later on, but I kept saying that I didn't want to. She kept pushing them on me, and I ended up finding another trainer because I felt that I couldn't trust her. I needed to go back to baby steps and basics to build myself back up, but she kept insisting that I was ready for advanced things. Still today I get a bit anxious when I get on a horse, which was never a problem before that day. 

If you don't feel confident doing something, don't let yourself be swayed. Protect you and your horse. If you don't want to say no completely, ask that the jumps be reduced/altered, and progressively increase them as you feel more and more confident. (you ended up doing that after, which is good). When something doesn't feel right, taking a chance and doing it anyways can lead to 2 things. It ends up going really well and you feel a great boost of confidence that you accomplished something out of your comfort zone. Or something bad happens and it brings you a step back. I always think better safe than sorry. It's good to push your comfort zone a little, but with time you will figure out what is a safe "push" and what could potentially lead to a bad situation (ruining your horse, or yourself). It's not always easy to tell, but that's hopefully where a trainer comes in to help. IT sounds like the situation didn't start out so well, but you ended up managing it well, and getting through it with Justice. 

Keep up the great log! I greatly enjoy reading your progress, it reminds me of my teen years when I used to ride, and would write down in a journal about my lessons.


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## Rainaisabelle (Jan 2, 2015)

Horse riding is dangerous but it becomes exponentially more dangerous when you expose yourself to a situation you are yet to be able to control. You are your horses voice he may have jumped that height before but in this situation he wasn’t ready and neither were you. When you’re young you think you’re invincible and everything will end up working out how it should but in reality you could end up in the ICU because your horse wasn’t ready got tangled in a jump and flipped on top of you. Be his voice and say no because in the end who is going to protect him from failure and injury but you? 


I’m not saying these things to be mean or discourage you as I can see you love Justice and you really are trying to be better and learn. None of us want to see you injured ! 


I hope to read more about Justice and yourself smashing goals!


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Lydia, unfortunately there are some... Nasty pasties everywhere. But I hope you don't get put off being part of our... Remote community here because of a few 'bad eggs'. IME most of us here are a rather... Strongly opinionated bunch, speaking - & warning - from much experience, which can sometimes be construed harshly, taken wrongly, but I feel that the vast majority here are a friendly, supportive *& respectful* mob, that I'm proud to be a part of. Us mods work hard to keep ot that way and bullying is not tolerated. 

All of us need to keep in mind differences of experience & perceptions, and read and reply to posts as 'charitably' & respectfully as possible, to keep it that way. 

Cheers!


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

CharlotteThePenguin said:


> pushed me too fast and too far, leading me to have panic attacks on horseback about jumping when it came time to jump. She had the mindset of 'having to do things', so anytime I asked to not jump she made me jump regardless.


This makes me so sad & angry to hear. No doubt trainer didn't kno better... But if she had any empathy & thought about it, she should have done! Its akin to trying to get an arachnophobe over their fears by just forcing them into a room full of spiders! 

I'm also speaking from personal experience where *I* was the one pushing myself too hard, which I think is also so common. In my case, I developed some fear, after having kids, but I felt like I 'should' be able to do something, because I always had, felt stupid & guilty that I couldn't... Made myself so bad(& my horse too) that eventually I couldn't even SIT on him without terror! Was only when I started thinking how I wouldn't treat a scared horse or child remotely how I was treating myself, to see a way to get over it. 

Unfortunately this 'force yourself' or 'just get straight back on' attitude is common too, and I think is one reason horse riding is statistically so dangerous. 

To Charlotte, to Lydia, whoever, have faith in your instincts & be assertive enough to say no. And appreciate(& remind THEM if they've forgotten) that your trainer is employed by YOU to help you *enjoy* riding & be *safe*, not to push you to bigger & better because that's what *they* want to see. 



> I always treated her like a school teacher, where you have to do what they say.


After my own experiences of school... And of life(I only learned confidence & assertiveness later on, _despite_ most of my teachers), I've taught my kids that no, be it teacher, boss or otherwise, they should _not_ follow orders blindly, if they have good reason for not doing something or it makes them uncomfortable, unsafe, they should discuss it with the teacher. Of course, so far as school, there are many times they're then told 'no, you have to do it this way because... ' but it opens the door to them learning to be rational & assertive, and teachers respecting them more for that. 



> We've been doing better due to getting a new trainer, but I don't think I'll ever be able to jump higher than 2'6" on her.


Sure you can! If you want to. But stick to 'baby steps' to get there. Master(I mean confidently) the smaller stuff, before pushing yourself *only slightly* out of your comfort zone at each step. 

And for the record, its not just people pushing people, but its a common thing for people to push horses too far, too fast & *create* anxiety & reactivity too.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Hello! I'm back. I got to ride Emily today. I'm really happy because the trainer invited us out a second time this week. Anyways, it was a pretty fun day. I got to ride Emily for the whoooollllleeeee time. Which is a little thing, but it makes me happy. We only rode for about 45 minutes. We warmed up (Emily picked up the correct lead on the right side INSTANTLY without having to turn her head around the corner) Which is a big deal considering that she hasn't done that since I started riding her. Just a side note, the vet came out last week to take a look at her. He said he didn't anything wrong with her. No pain, or anything. So then the trainer brought out a horse chiropractor. It was our last resort. He said she was out of alignment or something and I don't know what he did, but it worked. 

Then we did some jumping. We only jumped for about 15 minutes because of the heat. Then we all took off their saddles and changed into swimsuits. We put set up all the sprinklers and had a "water day". Emily was the only one that didn't fight going into the water. She walked in happiley while all the other horses through a fit. Then we gave then baths. We scrubbed down everything. She look so clean and pretty. Then it started raining so we put on their halters and ran around in the rain, they trotted. Once the rain eased up we attempted to teach them liberty. That went, uneventful. We made them trot and then let go of their halter and they would usually just stop and eat the grass. Then I just hand grazed her for a while, spoiling her with treats too. It was fun.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Woo Hoo!!!!! Anyone else clean up at end of year awards?? Our team got grand champion in EVERY division we had a rider in. I was entered in 2 divisions and we took grand in both. Our riders got giant trophies, tack trunks, and more! I got a new oviation bridle with a name plate, a Charles Owen helmet, $150, a grand ribbon to hang on the wall, and a grand ribbon to hang around Justices neck. Needless to say, Monday we are having a photo shoot with Justice. I also got a GIANT jar of peppermints and 2 bags of horse treats that we won in a raffle. My trainer entered again this year and got Grand champ in 2'9, 3'0, 3'3, 3'6, and 3'9. I mean, if I had to pick an inspiational person it would be her. Anyways, I was just in a good mood and felt like sharing! The only problem was that 2 days ago I bought a bridle, and it took me 2 hours to figure out how to switch the bit. Now I get to do that again on Monday. 

The only reason that the name plate isn't on the bridle yet is because I don't know how to put it on and I don't want to mess it up. My trainer is helping me put it on tommorow.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)




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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Congratulations on a job well-done. :thumbsup:



A suggestion for you...
Since you now have 2 very nice bridles, take one of them _{this new one would be my choice}_ and make it for your show bridle only, no schooling or riding in it otherwise so it always is spiffy clean and in great shape for the show ring. :smile:
:runninghorse2:...


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## CharlotteThePenguin (Apr 2, 2016)

Great job!!


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Just got back from the barn. I'm trying to type this quickly because I REALLY need to shower. Today was super fun. Justice was a perfect angel. As our "work" for the day we painted jumps. When she first told us about what we were doing I though we were redoing them white. Nope. ALLLLLLLLL the colors. I was scared going into the arena, but I just put all my trust in Justice. For warmup, we took a longer time. There were 9 girls out riding plus the trainer. She made us warmup like it was our flat classes. Except for cantering. For cantering we had to go one at a time on the right and 2 at a time on the left. Justice did really good on that. He didn't break from his canter the whole time. 

Once we warmed up over crossrails and tiny verticals I tried the bigger jumps with the colors and fillers. Of course I was expecting him to refuse but he actually did all of them with no refusals. I was so proud. Then I set up a 2'6 oxer and did that a few times. Since Justice and I were having a much better day I decided I wanted to try the triple bar again. I was 100 times less nervous then the last time. The trainer let me take it at my own pace and let me move around the poles so I felt comfortable enough to do it. She just kinda sat back and watched with a "Push down in your heels" every once in a while. We started off with a smaller version of the triple bar and then slowly worked our way up. The first time I went up to the orginal sized triple bar with the top pole on 2'9 we actually cantered it perfectly. Then we got off and I had a photoshoot with Justice. I gave him an apple, washed him, and turned him out. No drama or problems today. Thats pretty cool.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)




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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Just figured out that the barn that owns Justice is letting me come out on my birthday and ride and hangout all day. Usually I have to do volunteer work at the barn before I get to ride so I can ride for free. Not this time, they told me that I can just come out and ride, and after that the rest of the show team is coming out and we are all gonna hangout with our ponies. They also said Justice has a suprise for me.... either they got me something and are saying its from him, or he laid down in mud and I get to scrub it off. I guess I'll see!


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Today I got to take Justice on an off property trail ride for the first time. He did amazing! He didn't spook once. There were about 8 people on the ride and in front of us we had to cut through some bushes because there was a fallen tree blocking the path that was too big to jump. There was a duck nest hidden in the bushes so when the trail boss walked over it, the duck flew up and hit the horses stomach and then flew away. Every horse there bucked, jumped, or ran off except Justice. To be honest I think is was more of the fact that he couldn't see it, but either way he did good. 

When we got back to the ranch the owner started talking about making me a junior mentor. Its something she use to do at the ranch where high school riders on the show team get to meet younger girls who want to show. I would get assigned someone from the ages 6-8 and I would help them learn to ride. The trainer would be out supervising us but for the most part I would just be teaching the basics of riding. In return I would get 2 free lessons a month. One of the younger girls came out to today so I could have a trial run. She didn't ride, but I taught her how to groom, tack up, feed, fill water buckets, lead a horse, and muck out stalls. It was actually really fun, and it would have really helped me to have a "mentor" when I was younger too. I think it would be a good oppertunity so I think I'm gonna try it.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Heres some pics of the trail ride yesterday. Also can we notice how sweet Justice is with the filly!


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## thecolorcoal (Jan 28, 2015)

cute journal lydia! justice is adorable <3 i'll raise my hand and say i, too, was victim of pushy trainers who didn't respect my limits. it ended up me hanging up my field boots after 18+ years in h/j and picking up a dressage whip... not to say i don't like dressage, but it took one really dumb, uneducated trainer and a bad riding accident that resulted in a crippled leg to ruin my love of jumping forever. now i am an aspiring dressage queen!

be careful please! <3


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Ok here's an update on what I know about Justices feet. I can't go back out until Saturday because my parents won't drive me 1 hour away from their jobs at 6 o clock in the morning. But I convinced them for Saturday. So I was talking to the BO over the phone. I asked her when the last time the farrier came out was. She said about 1 month ago, and he was coming back out next week to trim all the horses. So it wasn't him who caused it. 

Then I asked who at the barn had been messing with his feet in the past week. She said it was her, and her daughter. Her daughter is about my age and she grew up around horses. But I asked her anyways. She said she had just been cleaning them out with water and antibacterial stuff. I asked i she used any kind of knife to pick it out and she said of course not. The BO said she was cleaning it out with water and the antibacterial stuff everyday that I couldn't come down. So neither of them, and not the farrier. 

So then I went to talk to the friend that I had asked to pick out his feet when we only had the cut on his back right frog. She said she used a hoof pick everytime she cleaned it out and she never noticed chunks missing.

So the mystery continues on who did it, now I'll let you know how he is doing. He has been stalled up since Monday. He has a hay bag in his stall, and I hung up a Likit stall toy so he had something to entertain himself. Theres this other volunteer who comes there everyday and his recent job has been to clean out the stall every hour. And in the middle of the day he takes out the mats and washes them off and then puts them back. People have also been handwalking him around the barn where its matted. His feet get cleaned out everyday. So they are staying clean. 

The trainer said that the limp is gone, and his frog is growing back slowly. I'm going to the barn Saturday when the vet is coming out again. The BO and volunteers have also reported that he is acting a lot happier and sweeter, almost back to his normal self. 

If anyone is wondering why he is being stalled up, its because when we turn him out the dirt and horse poo gets packed into the frog. It causes infection, and then when he go to pick put his hoof we have to dig out all the dirt which is painful for him. So if he stays in on the mats then it stays clean and he feels better.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

I'm glad Justice is feeling better, but I would not trust your BO any farther than I could throw her. She hasn't been honest with you about any of this. I guarantee you she knows what happened to this horse. Also, frog doesn't 'grow back nicely' in 2 days. 

Why can't he wear a hoof boot or simply wrap his hoof in a baby diaper and duct tape part of the day and turn him out? Keeping him in is easier on the barn owner, but not that great for your horse. His hooves will heal faster with some movement. If his turnout area is full of poop, that's another issue. It shouldn't be.


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## Kalraii (Jul 28, 2015)

No I think stalling is better for him considering the circumstance. And yes... listen I think even you would quickly spot a chun•k of frog missing  It aint something you see every day. I agree with @SilverMaple on this. Coz I know that any responsible horse person, trainer, BO or otherwise, would be going mental over something like this. :/


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## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

If a frog would grow like mushrooms after a warm summer rain, you'd have the farrier out once a week. Minimizing the problem and going out of her way to (try to) tell you that everything is peachy creates the same suspicions in me as it did in the other posters. How about this for a story:

- "Mom? I think I'm ready to trim hooves! I've grown up around horses after all!" 
- "Sure, child. You watched the farrier many times, and I saw your impeccable soap carving skills with the hoof knife. Go, have a go!"

Now excuse me while I head to the barn. I'm gonna get a lawn chair and watch my horse's hooves grow for a while.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

mmshiro said:


> - "Mom? I think I'm ready to trim hooves! I've grown up around horses after all!"
> - "Sure, child. You watched the farrier many times, and I saw your impeccable soap carving skills with the hoof knife. Go, have a go!"
> 
> Now excuse me while I head to the barn. I'm gonna get a lawn chair and watch my horse's hooves grow for a while.


I'm confused at what your trying to get at. Is this joke? Is this you trying to place blame on the trainers daughter? I don't get it, oh well.


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## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

LydiaAndJustice said:


> I'm confused at what your trying to get at. Is this joke? Is this you trying to place blame on the trainers daughter? I don't get it, oh well.


The trainer, mostly. Two frog tips do not simultaneously, spontaneously or accidentally disintegrate, leaving the hoof sole porcelain white. Nor do they "grow nicely" in two days. Whatever the true story is, I'm not buying the one that you are being sold.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

What we're all trying to tell you is that your trainer and BO are glossing over a serious situation and not being honest with you. Someone 'practiced' on this horse, and rather than admit they screwed up, they're telling you what you want to hear. None of that is good. 

I suspect the trainer's daughter decided to try mapping and cutting the sole out of a hoof, and instead took out a chunk of frog and got into live tissue and lamed the horse. And not on just one foot, but all of them! Rather than admit to it, they're covering it up. Frog does not 'grow back' in a couple of days. It takes awhile. You're being lied to.


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

Ditto. There is no chance that frog is growing noticeably in two days. You are being lied to, plain and simple. 

Whose vet is examining the horse- yours or trainers? Do you own this horse yet? What did your sales agreement say about serious injury during your payment period? Will her farrier be able to touch him without you and your mom there to hear firsthand what he sees and plans to do about it? This is exactly the kind of nightmare people talk about when cautioning against payment plans.


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## Kalraii (Jul 28, 2015)

You have a lot of experienced people sharing the same opinion. Eek. Sorry for the pressure this puts on you- at this age and whatnot you likely feel that even if it's true there's nothing you can do about it. But that depends on you as a person. I always like being straight and receiving straight answers back. No silly conversations going in circles. Right now I'd mainly want the truth of the matter, not the culprit even. No need to name names but it'd be good if you asked the trainer upfront "*I don't care who did it and you don't even have to tell me who - but tell me the truth, did someone try to trim his feet without proper training and cause him to be lame? I need to know so we know better how to prevent this from happening again.*" 

It is done. Unfortunately the one to pay the price in suffering is that poor horse. Hopefully a great lesson for you in hoof anatomy and care etc. I bet you'll not go through life again not double checking a hoof yourself! I know I'm gonna be extra paranoid after this thread. Continue to Justice's advocate in his care and do not let him be worked while lame. Be strong... *have your own opinion*.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Vet came out again today. He is doing better, in a sense. There is no noticable difference with his frog growth. We got these cool things for him. They are like horsey sneakers. The mats in his stall have been pretty troublesome because when there are no volunteers no one is there to clean them when he goes to the bathroom. And when he goes #1 they get slippery and stinky. So we put on the horse sneaker so he can be in the dirt and his feet are protected. We have a smaller paddock thats all fresh grass and the vet said that we should turn him out for at least a little bit with the sneakers on. 

He was getting really antsy. Justice acts like he has horsey adhd. He HAS to be worked or it drives him crazy. I took him into the arena and handwalking I tried to trot him for the vet to see how he was moving. We couldn't get the lazy lump to trot so I had to get on. I didn't feel like tacking him up so we just put a lead rope around his neck and that was my first time riding with no halter/bridle. I got on for 2 seconds and trotted him then I got off. She said that the limp was still present but it was getting better. Once I put him back in the stall he started pacing and freaking out. We think its because he has so much stored up energy considering he used to me riding him 3-4 times a week. 

So I turned him out in the grassy paddock and once the halter came off he galloped around in circles for like 5 minutes straight. During this process he was also jumping random things that were laying around. Eventually he calmed down and walked back into his stall.He was acting sweet and cuddly. 

I decided to school Bee. Then I quickly changed my mind because it was 102 degrees and it was miserable outside. I got on for 5 minutes and after we just finished walking 2 laps I brought him back in. 

I'll but the lead rope video down below. It was under supervision of a trainer and vet. And it lasted about 1 minute at the most. Please don't mind my annoying self in the begining saying it was a super bad idea. Also don't mind my loud breathing and annoying "GOOD BOY" "GO THIS WAY" "GOOOOOD BOY JUSTICE"


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## thecolorcoal (Jan 28, 2015)

you can tell by the head bob he is lame in the video.


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

I must admit to being a little confused...

At one minute Justice is a frantic ball of energy who has to run, the next he is a lazy pony who won’t move...I see either or, but struggling with both at the same time!

I’m glad he is getting better.

Also wondering, you can just decide to go school Bee if you want?


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## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

I am also confused. This is how I read the post:

- Lameness check with vet. Horse walks, head bobbing, showing he's still lame.
- Vet finds this not convincing and would like to see if it still hurts at the trot. Horse declines because he's "lazy."
- After vet left, horse shows everyone the middle hoof and "gallops for 5 minutes" in a small circle.

:confused_color:


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## thecolorcoal (Jan 28, 2015)

mmshiro said:


> I am also confused. This is how I read the post:
> 
> - Lameness check with vet. Horse walks, head bobbing, showing he's still lame.
> - Vet finds this not convincing and would like to see if it still hurts at the trot. Horse declines because he's "lazy."
> ...


Glad I'm not the only one here who gave that post a second blink. :eek_color::eek_color:


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Ok, guess I should clear up the fact that this was all over the course of about 3 hours. She came primarly for Justice but she also had to take a look at a few different horses and give vaccines and check upon the filly. The first thing that happened was she looked at his feet. Then she wanted to see if he was still feeling pain when walking/trotting. When we handwalked him she didn't see anything wrong. So then she asked for me to make him trot and he was acting up about it. So thats when I got on. After I trotted him for a lap I got off and put him back in the stall. That was when she went to go deal with the other horses. The first part I just explained took about an hour. While she went off to look at the other horses I stood by Justices stall and just hung out with him, and gave him apples. 

When she went to start checking on the filly I walked away in case she needed help with something, also because I wanted to see how the filly was doing. When we came back thats when Justice was freaking out and pacing in his stall. So vet said we should turn him out, thats when we let him loose and he ran around.

As for the question about me schooling Bee whenever I want to. Basically, yes. Bee can only be shown in the grass arena because the clay arena hurts his feet when it gets all packed up in his hooves. Bee can also have some behavioral issues and the trainer doesn't think the rest of girls are able to handle him when he acts out. She only thinks I can because I rode him for 6 months straight about a year ago and I'm used to putting up with his antics. So when I decided to show Justice instead Bee had no rider and wouldn't be ridden. When Bee isn't ridden for a while he acts super mean and crazy when you decide to put him back to work. Me and the trainer are working to get to a point where he can be ridden by someone else. He is a really good horse, he just has some quirks. The first I show I brought him to he refused to walk once he got into the ring. Later when I got on him he bucked me off and then landed on me, which led to me being afraid of him and thats when i first switched to Justice. But now I can jump him on a 2'9 course perfectly. So he has come a really long way. He has the potential to go a lot higher, he just needs someone to stick with him and keep working with him. I hope Bee finds a rider who falls in love with him and can give him the attention that I give Justice. He deserves it. I'll add a picture of Bee because he is cute.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Just got back from the barn. We have an idea about what happened to Justice. Our final guess is that he shed his frogs and an abscess formed. Vet estimated 2 weeks until he can be ridden again. 

Other then that he’s doing fine. I left a bag of cheese it’s on the tack box in front of his stall and he finished the ENTIRE bag while I was riding. I tacked up Bee in Justices stall. He was reallllllllly good today. I actually put down my crop in the beginning of the ride because I didn’t need it. 

That’s pretty much it. I get to ride Emily for a private lesson tomorrow.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Hey guys I’m back. I’ve been really busy lately and I kinda forgot about this website whoops. My first 2 ft show is in 2 weeks. 

Justice is better. He can now be ridden and I got back into jumping him 2 weeks ago. Someone told me to put Turpentine on his frogs after I ride so that’s what I’ve been doing. I haven’t seen Emily in weeks because I have been to busy with school and I was going to go back on Friday but that morning her owners mother passed away so it got canceled. 

I haven’t jumped 3 foot and over in MONTHS like before summer. I just have been working on our show height and perfecting the smaller jumps. But yesterday I rode him and I jumped him 3 foot again. He was a perfect little bean. I got 2 videos but in one of them he knocks the jump. 

Anyways, I’m back! Btw I know my 2 point is bad over the jump but I was nervous. I am also working on my release.
https://youtu.be/WySvlGRn0RM

https://youtu.be/WcOR_A2b-cc


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Hey guys! A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks. The day we were suppose to have the show it ended up getting canceled but we were already out so we just practiced at the show grounds. Basically, I got dehydrated, fainted, watched Bee freakout with his little rider, yes they are both ok, and Justice was quite the amazing man. No refusals on anything, even the scary fillers. On Saturday we went out and changed up the jump course at the show grounds since its been the same for the last 4 years. Now I'm nervous lol. Theres a line of 3 jumps that only have 1 stride in between. Theres also an oxer. And now I also have equitation classes which I am TERRIFIED about. So we got back to the ranch on Saturday and I got a lesson. My trainer changed up our arena at the ranch to match up the one at the shows. Justice did really good during our lesson. She had me jumping courses a lot higher then I normally would, and we actually did really good. He didn't refuse anything and he rarely ever knocked a pole down. 

One of the things we were working on was counting strides before a jump. Now that is something I am bad at. I basically had to count down the last three strides before a jump. Then she was teaching me how to get him to take the early stride when I know hes gonna be off timing. Anyways, by the end of the lesson I was a lot more confident. My trainer even decided to move me up into the 2'3 classes instead of 2 foot. I'm excited she thinks I'll be able to do that, because that means I've made progress in the last 2 months, but I'm also kind of disapointed. 2'3-3 foot are all counted as one division so the chances of me even placing at shows is very unlikely, thats obviously not a big deal its just something I have to prepare myself for and not be hard on myself when I don't place well, considering last year my classes were easy for me and I got grand champion at ever show.

Moving on the topic of Bee. The girl I had riding him, her mother doesn't feel comfortable with her riding him so she got moved to another horse. I decided to ride him on Saturday after I rode Justice just to play around and work his mind. Lets just say, riding bareback on a VERY energetic horse is a bad idea. He has a problem with jumping everything really big. He always has at least 1 foot of scope with every jump. He was also super excited, and before and after each jump he would let out little baby bucks in a very non aggresive way. So, me just "living in the moment" I went to jump a 2 foot jump and when he overjumped it I landed on his withers. OUCH. My tailbone is bruised and I can't sit like a normal human being anymore. So that was fun. But my first OFFICIALLY judged show is next saturday. 

Thats all for now sorry this post was so long.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Geez. The world was against me this weekend. I don't even know where to start.

So I showed up to the show this weekend, pretty confident from our practice Friday night before the show. But still nervous. The show manager people changed the course my trainer set up back to the orginal one because it was "too hard". My first class of the day was Hunter 2'3. They called that it was my turn to go in and school before it started but most of the jumps were set up to 2'6 because we had a shared schooling time. There was only one line I could practice over but we made it work. So we get out of the arena and its time for my division to start. They still hadn't put the jumps down and the majority of them were 2'6. My trainer is over by the other arena because another girl is doing her crossrail course and she needed more help then me. I asked her why they hadn't put the jumps down and she asked the show director and she said, "Because there aren't enough riders to make it 2 seperate divisions so we made it a range, 2'3-2'6." I literally just sat there in shock. It was less of the fact that the jumps were higher and more of the fact that we hadn't schooled over the extra fillers in 2'6. So while all of this is happening the only other 2 girls in my divsion had already done their courses. So as soon as I went over to the grass arena they rushed me in. Keep in mind I hadn't even learned my course yet. Both the other girls in my division are a lot older then me and have been riding and jumping in this division since they were ten. So, going against the rich girl stereotype, they helped me. This girl, we can call her Laura, thats not her real name, was yelling out which jumps I needed to go to next. 

So of course, he refused. We ended up getting disqualified from 2 of our classes in the hunter division. The only one we didn't get disqualified from was the flat class. Now lets talk about equitation. Geez. The course was so much more difficult then I could've expected. Round 1, he refused the first jump but on the second try he did it, we got 2nd place because the other girls horse refused twice and knocked a pole. Class number two: we made it around with no refusals at all, didn't knock one pole, so we start approaching the final jump in the course and we got a bad distance. I expected him to take the early stride so I went up into two point, he decided the late stride was the way to go, he hoped over it and the next thing I knew I was on the ground. I was so genuinly confused, and I still am. I should've been able to sit that jump, I have jumped bad distances before with no problems. Luckliy!!! I got a picture of me diving towards the ground. Also we got pulled from the last division because it was in the clay ring and it was bothering his sensitive feet. Anyways, I'll upload pictures later.


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

Rotten day. Everything going wrong. Sometimes there are just days like that. I hope it didn't diminish your confidence.


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## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

As someone who does not compete, may I just point out that most of your frustration with riding is caused by *other people*, rather than the riding itself? As I write this, I am literally dressed to go ride my horse. There will be a few spooks, maybe he'll anticipate a turn or two that I don't want to take today, but overall I'll be having a good time *riding alone*. What's the competition, you ask? I will attempt to have as little drama as possible, and as much fun for the horse as possible. The horse will be keeping scores and tell me how I did.

*shrug* It is what it is, and it's time to put it behind you, but I sure am sorry that an event you were looking forward to was ruined like this.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

I agree. You get frustrated with showing, your horse isn't willing to jump anything marginally more difficult, and your trainer is, uh, absent much of the time. Why not stop showing for awhile and just enjoy being around your horses and riding with no agenda?


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## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

Well, I just got back from my ride. It overall went as I predicted.

Plusses:
- Fresh air, exercise
- Not a single moment of discord with my horse
- Challenging, with the appropriate amount of risk (cantering and galloping through the woods on muddy trails, where you often can't see the muddy spots under the leafs)
- Relaxing (long stretches of walk on loose reins)

Minuses:
- No validation from strangers
- No cheap plastic-and-cardboard souvenir to show others that I did it
- No entrance fee
- No trailering
- No snazzy outfit for others to admire (and judge)

Everybody is in this sport for a reason. You should to a cost-benefit analysis of the way you are engaged in the sport, for yourself and the horse.


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

Hey, I showed quite a lot when I was a teen and young adult. Showing can be a lot of fun and you learn a whole lot too. Lydia had a bad day and wanted to vent in her journal. Correct me if I'm wrong, @LydiaAndJustice, but I got the feeling you just wanted to vent, not question whether or not to show. Some people love showing; some people don't. I used to love it. Now I don't.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Here’d some pics from the show. The first is the pic of me falling off


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Do you remember that very first post I made where I sounded like a bratty jealous two year old? Ahhhhh bc I sure do! Well yesterday I showed up to ride Justice and his stall was COMPLETELY flooded. Like standing water and sinking mud. He was pacing around in the stall. I took him out, and I had to strip the stall and put in new shavings so I didn't have time to ride. One of my barn friends showed up and I was like, "What happened?" and she sighed, shook her head and said "Theres a new lesson kid. Shes going to be on the show team too. I think you know her, her name is *****. She specifically requested to lesson and show on Justice. The trainer said no because your buying him and he would be too tired at the show. So she dropped the hose in his stall and turned it on and walked away." My jaw literally dropped. But I didn't want to start drama so I decided to just ignore her and move on. 

Thank god at least one of us have matured in the past year or it would have been a s*it show when I saw her again. i don't understand how some people function...


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Also just to note because I don't think I mentioned it before, this is the girl who always made me switch off of Emily.


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## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

First of all, bonus point for the correct use of "literally", because so did mine (my jaw - dropping, that is).

Secondly, if others already knew his stall was flooded, what prevented them from helping that horse and clean his stall before doing anything else? Why is it that you still have to discover a horse in discomfort, if not distress? _Is there any amount of compassion in the people at your outfit??_ 

In any case, while I agree that "making drama" probably isn't the right response, I would not leave this unaddressed. Today it's a hose, tomorrow it's a match - who knows. See if you can find a way to respond to this while leaving emotions out of it - it'll be another "growing-up" step to your credit.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

mmshiro said:


> Secondly, if others already knew his stall was flooded, what prevented them from helping that horse and clean his stall before doing anything else? Why is it that you still have to discover a horse in discomfort, if not distress? _Is there any amount of compassion in the people at your outfit??_


That was my question. I asked why no one had at the very least taken him out of the stall. Her answer was, "Well I was the only one here and I tried but everytime I tried to put a halter on him he would yank his head away from me." Which to me is understandable because he was in a pretty distressed state when I arrived and this girl has only been riding for a month or so and Justice can be a pretty intimidating horse. I told her that if something like this ever happened again she should call me, the trainer, the BO, or just close all the gates and open up the stall door for him.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

I get that, she may not have been confident if Justice was intimidating her, but for me, if a halter doesn't work, I just get a lead rope & wrap it around the neck if I absolutely have to let a horse out & they won't cooperate.

It sounds like Justice was freaked out (can you blame him?!), and in a small area like a stall, it may not be the best thing for her to do, not sure if she was calm or not either since it sounds like she was also stressed about it, but she could have called someone...I would have, immediately if I couldn't deal with it myself. Or just let him out like you said, close all the gates & let him go.

The point is, hopefully she learned her lesson & will contact you/the BO/trainer etc...next time...wasn't a smart move of hers!


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

Shockingly... I remember my friends going through awful garbage in their own private barn situations when we were teens. I kept my horse at home so while I was more often jelous of the fact that they had a real ring and tons of friends to ride with... I could not believe the crap they went through. I remember there was a WD-40 incident - A friend of mine had a cribber and I guess another girl decided to be helpful in a nasty sort of way - she sprayed his stall door with WD-40. Then there was the girl that had an arab with a beautiful mane. She made the wrong girl mad and for that... her horse got a hair cut. That went on for a while because I guess no one would own up to it so she retaliated and then the next person and the next. Several horses had chunks out of their manes and tails... I think I even remember someone nailing a baord across a horses stall so it couldn't stick it's head out.

That was a barn full of wealthy kids that had no management but you can see the craziness they endured...

And yet I was still jelous that I wasn't at a "real" barn....


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

farmpony84 said:


> Then there was the girl that had an arab with a beautiful mane. She made the wrong girl mad and for that... her horse got a hair cut. .


This happened with us too! The first day I met Bee my trainer literally almost started crying because Bee always had the thickest longest most beautiful black mane. We went out to the barn and gave me a tour and introduced me to all the horses. While we walked there were random chuncks of black hair all over the barn. When we got to Bee his mane was completely roached. We still never figured out who did it. Anyhow its long as can be now.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Also, should I bring a crop to the show tommorow? I usually don't need one but Justice has been EXTRA naughty lately and I can't don't really wanna get thrown on the ground in front of everyone again. I wonder how he'll react... We have a super long practice tonight. All the girls from the team will be there... God bless my soul... I can't wash Justice tonight because the low is like 40 degrees and I feel bad turning him out in the cold wet. Maybe I'll try out the crop tonight and see how he acts. Happy No stirrups november by the way! I haven't done much because I don't wanna die. But we had a photoshoot a week ago and he was bareback. Maybe I will post them now. Maybe.


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

A show setting will be different than schooling at home but you should practice anything you're planning on doing at the show, so I would say practice with the crop tonight at your lesson. Ask your trainer her opinion as well. Good luck at the show tomorrow! Hope it goes better for you and Justice than the last one did.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Here ya go


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Ughhhhh. This show was intresting... Lets just get right to it shall we?

So during schooling in the morning he didn't refuse anything which made me confident for the rest of the day. So we enter the arena for my first class of the day, it went so unbelieveably perfect. We had the right speed, the right striding, no refusals, just a really well done ride. After this I was ready for the rest of the day because I knew Justice could/would do all the jumps. Second jumping course in our hunter divison, he did everything very nicely again. However he wouldn't pick up the correct lead a couple of times and we got weird striding in between one of the jumps and knocked down a pole. Whatever, thats all fine, at least we made it through the course. So our placings for that division were 1st place in the first course, 3rd place in the second course, and 2nd in our flat class. I thought that was pretty coo considering we were going up against some pretty good riders. 

The equitation division is where everything went wrong. I hate to be rude, but whoever made these courses was downright mean! They were awful confusing courses with some turns that my trainer described as "not possible". I saw them and I immediently wanted to drop out of the course but my trainer wouldn't let me. During the schooling for these courses I only made the turn correctly one time. So its my turn to go into the arena, I'm pretty nervous, I get in and get a very big fast canter in my courtesy circle, I approach the first jump, and the wind blows the filler towards us. Justice slams to a stop right in front of it which ends in me being thrown onto the jump. I knocked over the standards, the pole caught me, and i crashed into the big wooden filler. My arm got completely cut up and was bleeding onto my shirt, which was torn, and I couldn't feel my hip. I got up and my trainer came out and reset the jump. I told her I was not doing the next to courses and I was done riding for the day, I was disqualified from the round anyways but she made me get back on so we could finish on a good note. She made me finish my course, and even though I was angry and frustrated, and my entire body hurt, I was glad I finished it because he jumped the rest of everything beautifully and we finished the course. 

I wanted to drop out of the final course because I didn't think I could do it. I was tired and sweaty and my hip hurt from falling. But guess what my trainer said? You guessed it, I had to do it. So we get in and we approach the first jump which has a really annoying crossy type gate filler and he refuses it. I had 2 more chances before I got disqualified, he refused it again, I went in for my final chance and honestly I wasn't even trying to make him do it. I was so over it and I didn't even want to do the course so I just let him refuse it and we got disqualified. After all the riders were done my trainer brought me back in and made me make him go over the filler just so that we ended on a good note. I then had another hour until my flat division so I laid down on his neck and fell asleep for about 50 minutes. Th flat division went fine.


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

Good and not so good, huh. How are you feeling today?


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## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

LydiaAndJustice said:


> Do you remember that very first post I made where I sounded like a bratty jealous two year old? Ahhhhh bc I sure do! Well yesterday I showed up to ride Justice and his stall was COMPLETELY flooded. Like standing water and sinking mud. He was pacing around in the stall. I took him out, and I had to strip the stall and put in new shavings so I didn't have time to ride. One of my barn friends showed up and I was like, "What happened?" and she sighed, shook her head and said "Theres a new lesson kid. Shes going to be on the show team too. I think you know her, her name is *****. She specifically requested to lesson and show on Justice. The trainer said no because your buying him and he would be too tired at the show. So she dropped the hose in his stall and turned it on and walked away." My jaw literally dropped. But I didn't want to start drama so I decided to just ignore her and move on.
> 
> Thank god at least one of us have matured in the past year or it would have been a s*it show when I saw her again. i don't understand how some people function...


I really hope you told the barn owner. You're not creating drama by telling; whoever did the hose sabotage created the drama by DOING it.

Someone that petty and vengeful, who puts their own ego above the welfare of the animals, is not someone who should be allowed around horses. Someone, equine or human, could get seriously hurt. Also, the absolute lack of decency is appalling.

Was she by any chance around when Justice's frogs were "mysteriously" cut up?


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Shows can be like that, can't they? No matter how much you prepare, once you're there whatever happens happens. It's hard not to be upset by the bads but consider the good things too!  You did very well in the earlier classes and you should be proud of that. Do you feel like overall it was a better experience than your last show? If so, that is a success! 

And, now you know what sorts of things to work on. I'm guessing the difficult turns were very tight? That is unusual for hunters but if it's a possibility at these shows, why not work on tight or sharp turns while schooling? That way when you come across it again you will feel more prepared. As for the refused jumps, it seems like the fillers were a big part of the problem, so could you school with fillers a lot more at home? You could even make some of your own, out of fake flowers or even things like placing a towel or blanket over the pole. Just something that looks different so that Justice is exposed to as many types of fillers as possible. Finally, if you are getting very stressed about the shows, maybe do fewer classes and just do a bit of schooling on the property. Just some thoughts.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

SteadyOn said:


> I really hope you told the barn owner. You're not creating drama by telling; whoever did the hose sabotage created the drama by DOING it.
> 
> Someone that petty and vengeful, who puts their own ego above the welfare of the animals, is not someone who should be allowed around horses. Someone, equine or human, could get seriously hurt. Also, the absolute lack of decency is appalling.
> 
> Was she by any chance around when Justice's frogs were "mysteriously" cut up?


She was not at the barn that I was aware of when his frogs were cut up. I did end up telling my trainer exactly what happened and she said she would talk to her. I'm pretty sure she wasn't allowed to participate at the last show either because I didn't see her there. I'm appalled too, I knew I didn't get along with her, but I didn't think she could actually do something to a innocent horse.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

knightrider said:


> Good and not so good, huh. How are you feeling today?


Today I'm feeling veryyyyy sore. But that comes with the sport right. I mostly just want to get back out and ride again.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Here’s some pics from the show. Don’t mind my face or my eq 🤣


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

I guess this thread is gonna be more about Justice and Chase for now. So I guess I should give him an introduction...

Chase is an 9 year old ottb. He's 16.2 hands tall and very sweet. He had 15 starts on the track and won 2 races. Hes final earnings when he was retired was around 80,000 dollars, and he was purchased as a colt for 45k. He has not only Secretariat in his bloodlines but also Seattle Slew (which I thought was pretty cool.) At the moment he is just chilling in a pasture by himself at Emilys private barn. The plan with him so far is to do some ground work and get him started back under saddle with me. Also just to randomly add, if I end up using him as my show horse his name with be Chasing the Dream in shows. 

Unfortunaley I am captive in school so I cannot be with him during the day everyday, although I was able to miss school to be with him Tuesday and Wendesday, I will be out every afternoon of the week other then Sundays to be with him.

Welcome to the family Chase!


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## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

Awesome! Keep him out of barn drama, use your good judgment about whom to ask for help with him, and you'll be fine.

If he was only neglected and not abused, I don't foresee any adverse lingering effects in as far as his personality is concerned. For feral horses, "neglect" and "suffering" (of shortage of resources) is a lifestyle.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Welcome to Chasing the Dreams....:gallop:


Go slow, build the bond strong so working as a team..Chase knows you and you know Chase.
Won't take much to bring him back into working condition and your riding partner.
I saw the picture you posted on another thread...he is a nice size for you, a good fit.


_So what now happens with Justice?_
Do you still pursue him to own and buy him too?
Lessons on Justice as you condition Chase or are you going to dedicate you and everything to Chase and making him your team partner in equestrian activities?
:runninghorse2:...


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

The farrier came out yesterday and he has been working with horses for over 2 decades. Very smart man and he taught me a lot about this horse. First of all, he does not believe that they gave me the correct horse, he does not think this is the horse that had 14 starts and is 9 years old. He has not one racing injury or sign of any previous racing injuries, he also said that at the most, he is 7 years old. He know the girl that gave him to me and he has seen this Chase before and he likes him.

The thing that scared me is he said the name of some drug that calms horses for 30 days. He said she could have been trying to sell him for a while and couldn't get rid of him so she drugged him and dumped him with me. Basically, he thinks I shouldn't invest anything else into this horse until 30 days is up and we see how he acts then. He said its not for sure but he has never seen an ottb in his entire life that was this calm and non spooky. A feed bag blew into Chase while he was getting his feet done and he just stood there. Farrier said that its not a definate because all of his muscles reacted correctly when he ran his finger along them which apprently doesn't happen with the drug but I should just keep my eyes open. 

He also taught me how to use the chain around his nose to teach him to respect me and pay attention to what I was asking of him. He was a pretty cool guy and I learned a lot from him during his one visit.


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## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

There are OTTBs that have a super chill personality - I helped rehab and train one fresh from the track last summer. All he had was a year of down times on pasture, so definitely not drugged by the time I got him, and he continues to be one of the mellowest horses I know.

He won about $80k on the tracks, so definitely not a slouch.


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

My neighbor and friend had a horse that was flipping out while folks built a day care center next to his barn/pasture. He wouldn't eat or drink but raced up and down his fenceline. It was either euthanize or give him a long acting drug. He did fine with the drug and managed until the day care center got built. I do not know what drug he was given, but it did give me pause, thinking, what if someone was trying to sell a horse and gave it this drug? It lasted for 30 days.

I researched long acting tranquilizers for horses and came up with two: fluphenazine and reserpine. Both have the potential for significant side effects, which clearly Chase does not have. My friend's horse did not have any side effects from his long term tranquilizer. In the event that Chase was tranquilized, there is a good possibility that with regular work and quiet structured schedule, he may do just fine. I have another neighbor who buys up emaciated horses and works with them. By the time they are glossy and healthy, they are so used to regular handling, they normally do not cause any problems.

Hopefully, Chase has not been tranquilized, but even if he has, you probably will do OK with him, with regular handling and riding.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

My 5yr old OTTB has one of those more relaxed personalities. Not every OTTB is a huge spooker or really looky. I mean, my mare has her baby moments, but still.

A lot of track horses aren't spooky because they've been exposed to many things, noises, etc.

I don't think Chase was drugged. Yes, people do that, and it's a horrible thing, but I wouldn't bet on it.

You may not even need a chain...I never used one, I know people swear by them, but my mare had terrible ground manners when I first got her & no chain was needed to get her respect. Just a lot of discipline, I let her know that I was the alpha, not her, & consistency.

Chase sounds like a good boy!


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

Which drug did he suspect may have been given? It's possible he's seen this enough that he may be right. Use extra caution for the six weeks with a new horse regardless. A change of home and scenery can definitely change how a horse acts.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

SilverMaple said:


> Which drug did he suspect may have been given? It's possible he's seen this enough that he may be right. Use extra caution for the six weeks with a new horse regardless. A change of home and scenery can definitely change how a horse acts.


he thought it could be reserpine


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

^^^ I think that’s what it’s called but I’m not sure


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

I went out to ride Justice on Saturday and I am veryyy proud of our ride. About a year ago I had a really bad accident attempting to get him over these barrels. It ended with my head getting stepped on and me getting taken away in an ambulance.
Since then I haven’t gone over the barrels again over lack of confidence. Even my trainer didn’t make me go over them again... I finally built up the courage to do it and my trainer didn’t even force me to!


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

Whoooo hoooo! That is so great! Nothing like getting yourself to do something you've long been afraid of! Good job! If I were you, I'd put that picture in a place where you can look at it when things get you down. Then you can remind yourself of that day when you did what you thought you couldn't do.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Have you ever gotten a blackberry vine caught around your ankle? Because I did yesterday and it sucks. Until I got Chase my legs have never had this many scratches. I can't help feel like I'm neglecting Justice.... Even if he isn't mine, me riding him everyday consistently for the past two years has gotten him to the point he is at now. Now I only get to see him on Saturdays because I have to be with Chase. I'm not complaining about having to be with Chase, I just miss Justice. I also miss being able to feed my horse treats because Chase won't eat anything. 

Every Saturday I bring Justice a donut, LISTEN I KNOW ITS BAD BUT ITS A TRADITION. He expects it at this point and I can't take that away from him. But I brought one to Chase and he wouldn't even sniff it. Candy canes, apples, carrots, oranges, pears, watermelon, store bought treats. None of it.


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

Often when I get a new horse, they won't eat treats. If they see the other horses getting treats, they come around, but it takes time, sometimes years. I would start with feeding his regular feed in your hand and see if he will take that. I know a lot of folks frown on hand feeding, but I always have and my horses do not bite me. They know I would get after them big time if they tried. I have had horses take 2 years to learn to like apples. My Isabeau loved apples until I started giving her applesauce in a worming syringe, trying to train her to get wormed with a syringe. Instead, she quit eating apples for 3 years. But, 5 years later, she eats them happily now. The more different treats they get, the more likely they will try something new. Most horses won't eat watermelon until they see other horses LOVING it. After a while, the new horses start loving it too. Be patient--it takes a while, but it finally comes.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

My pretty boy <3


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

LydiaAndJustice said:


> Have you ever gotten a blackberry vine caught around your ankle? Because I did yesterday and it sucks. Until I got Chase my legs have never had this many scratches. I can't help feel like I'm neglecting Justice.... Even if he isn't mine, me riding him everyday consistently for the past two years has gotten him to the point he is at now. Now I only get to see him on Saturdays because I have to be with Chase. I'm not complaining about having to be with Chase, I just miss Justice. I also miss being able to feed my horse treats because Chase won't eat anything.
> 
> Every Saturday I bring Justice a donut, LISTEN I KNOW ITS BAD BUT ITS A TRADITION. He expects it at this point and I can't take that away from him. But I brought one to Chase and he wouldn't even sniff it. Candy canes, apples, carrots, oranges, pears, watermelon, store bought treats. None of it.



But have you tried chicken strips? Trigger adores them. :|


Also.



THIS is why I invested in a pair of leather ******. Last time I had a chance to ride, I had them all around my legs, Trigger's legs, he even had them all around his ears. It sucked for both of us.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Such a good boy 🙂


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

I’m going to talk to my trainer on Saturday about not doing the equitation division. I’m not good at it and it’s too much for me right now. It’ll also take off an extra $30 from the bill. Anyways here’s a pick of the cute bean


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Soooo. I completely chickened out about asking not to do huge scary jumps and about not doing the equitation division. But for the most part she didn’t give me anything terrible. Until the end of the lesson. 
So I was confused because all the jumps I was doing were around 2’3-2’9 and I knew something was up because normally she makes me school at least 3 foot. And then she set up this one jump. It was an oxer and it kinda looked like a floating crossrail. 

I KID YOU NOT I wasted 30 minutes of my lesson arguing with me saying “I can’t do that please lower it. Seriously I don’t feel confident please take it down. I don’t wanna do that one please” and she kept saying “yes you can. You’ve jumped higher. There is no reason why you should be scared. Your gonna be super proud after you do it.” And I was like I’m not gonna be proud if he refuses and I die. 

So eventually she lectured me because I guess she got tired of listening to me fight back so she was like “You are not getting off Justice until you jump this jump. You have to trust him. You have to at least TRY to take him over it. 

So I picked up my canter and then about 4 strides away I turned him away from it and the arguing began again. So I tried again and he actually did it. Needless to say I felt very stupid because I actually was proud and my confidence was 100% better then it was before I jumped it. 

I don’t want to ever do the jump ever again. But at least I’m excited about riding again lol. Pic are of the jump. Mounting block was for side reference. I believe the tall sides of the jump were up at 3’9 but I’m not 100% sure


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

I love your journal, but I disagree with your trainer. I've taught a bunch of kids to ride, and I do not believe in pushing kids to do things they don't feel ready to do. Sometimes people have gut feelings and sometimes teachers and trainers need to listen to those gut feelings. If somebody really doesn't want to do something, I firmly believe they need to back down and take smaller steps until they feel ready. I don't mind if a kid is anxious or scared but still wants to try. But someone who really really doesn't want to do something should not be pushed into doing it.

No matter how proficient you are at jumping (or any equestrian activity), accidents happen. If Justice had fallen at the jump, or refused and broken your nose or knocked out some teeth, you would not have increased your confidence. It would have just further confirmed in your mind that you didn't want to do that jump. 

As a teacher, I get furious when I hear other teachers say, "Now you see you were able to do ___________, so I expect you to do it from now on." Just because you were successful one day DOES NOT mean that you are ready another day. 

AND . . . to further my point, I just spent an entire weekend with Alycia Burton, who does amazing jumping with her horse Gold Rush. She said her biggest pet peeve about riding schools is pushing the students above their level. I couldn't agree more.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

knightrider said:


> I love your journal, but I disagree with your trainer. I've taught a bunch of kids to ride, and I do not believe in pushing kids to do things they don't feel ready to do. Sometimes people have gut feelings and sometimes teachers and trainers need to listen to those gut feelings. If somebody really doesn't want to do something, I firmly believe they need to back down and take smaller steps until they feel ready. I don't mind if a kid is anxious or scared but still wants to try. But someone who really really doesn't want to do something should not be pushed into doing it.


I 100% agree with you. I should not have been forced to go over that jump. And I would totally go to a new trainer but I am not saying goodbye to Justice, to be honest he’s the main reason I’ve stayed this long.

She asked me why I didn’t wanna do it and for every reason I said she had an argument. “It’s too high” “you’ve jumped higher”. “It’s too wide” “he has to jump that wide to clear it anyways”. “He’s going to refuse it” “You can’t say that if you haven’t even attempted it yet”. 

I only need one more lesson before the next show and then we get the month off from showing so I’m gonna use that time as a break from jumping. 

Also I’m superrrr jealous that you got to see alycia burton she is my role model!!!


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## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

LydiaAndJustice said:


> So I picked up my canter and then about 4 strides away I turned him away from it and the arguing began again. So I tried again and he actually did it. Needless to say I felt very stupid because I actually was proud and my confidence was 100% better then it was before I jumped it.


Story time about gut feeling and "I'm not gonna do that again!": Last summer, at my previous barn, my BO took me on a challenging cross country ride. She built up the height of the fences, but I only had to follow her on my horse and stay on. It was scary at times, but all went well. I didn't even have close calls.

The next day, she took out a tourist couple (who are both quite advanced), and we went on exactly the same ride. I had "confidence" because I knew I had done that ride the day prior. On the last fence, which was probably pushing 4' considering the dip in the ground in front of it, my horse clipped the top with her hind feet, lost balance, and buckled on the landing, throwing me onto her neck. That jump, however, led into a field with a subsequent gallop.

My horse recovered from the stumble before I did, and I found myself in the midst of a gallop, on one of the fastest horses I ever rode (Dita), body-surfing on her neck. My choice was between trying to ride it out or trying to upright myself - I opted for the latter. My ego wants me to believe that I picked the perfect moment - when she was in suspension - to push myself off her neck and upright. Quite clearly, I did not have stirrups at that time either.

Anyway, I survived this one, but on that day, I limited ALL my future jumps to 2 feet. The pleasure of being able to ride, period, far outweighs the split second thrill of a jump.

So, I get you when you say, "I won't do this again..."


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

@LydiaAndJustice, not sure where you live, but if you can possibly get to one of Alycia Burton's shows, by all means, go. She will be 100 times more your role model after you see her show and spend time with her. She is truly an amazing person as well as an amazing rider. She takes the time to listen to every single person who approaches her and treats each person like they are super important. She is a people person as well as a horse person. Her show is two nights and costs only $15 to attend. She really cares. You will not regret it.
https://www.freeridingnz.com/product-category/usa-tour-tickets/

I was lucky to get to see her show, and then several weekends later, I got to come back, bring my horses, and camp out with her for the weekend. She spent a lot of time with us the whole weekend, and as busy as she was, she never hurried past me and my friend, but always stopped to talk a bit.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Soooo I just got back home after spending the day with the new trainer. I LOVE HIM. He talked to me about what he was about and his techniques and wanted to listen to my concerns and what I want to do with him.

He said that Chases weight looked pretty good to him, and he said that he would rather him get more muscly then fatter. However, he did come up with a new feed plan and he is getting a round bale out in our pasture tomorrow. 

He had me tack Chase up and when Chase started throwing his head while I put on the saddle he told me that it was typical ottb behavior and the more I talk to him and we keep doing it he will grow out of it. 

He lunged chase before I got on him and before I got on he was like “If there’s ever a time that you feel unsafe on him then tell me and I’ll get on and work through it.” But Chase was pretty good. We just did walk trot and the trainer had
had walked him all the around the pasture before I got on so he was used to it. He had me working on transitions and getting him to pay attention to me and it all went very well. 

After I rode I got off and me and him had a sit down conversation and talked about our goals with him. He basically said “He green but he’s very well tempered and a beautiful mover. I understand you are a hunter but when we get to the point of jumping we will see if HE is more hunter or jumper and cross that bridge when we get there.” And a few more other things. He said we are going to change our original plan so he is just going to be working with Chase and I 6 days a week for as long as it takes and then once we have him comfortable under saddle we are taking Chase to his property for a few weeks and he is going to restart his training over fences.


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## karens1039 (Mar 26, 2018)

Sounds like you found a good trainer. You needed someone to work with that will listen to you.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

I'm so glad you like the trainer and most importantly...you have been given some confidence in your ability and feel confidence in the trainer that he knows what he is doing...
He listens to you, talks with you not at you and that says much for the person speaking those words.

So...I am going to put this here and you think about it...
Your confidence just zoomed to the sky with one day of working with this person.
You worked on issues you have and have been having with Justice, Emily and now Chase...
The trainer recognized them and already has taken steps to fill in the holes, reinforce the good and change the bad taught to you...
So...forget horse shows for the moment...
Are you going to ride and take lessons with just this trainer or still ride under the instructing of the trainer who makes you nervous and fearful?
Do you see the difference Lydia?
Now, what to do about it is something you and your mom need to discuss...._honest._
Talk to your mom and see what insight she can offer knowing a bit more details of the entire barn, instructor, trainer, boarding and payment schedule as it is...

I will say...good girl and proud of you.
This is a big step forward for you...
To have significant guidance and being watched over is something you haven't had much of...a very new learning experience and one I think you will do great with...
He's also stepped in and given good comment about foods fed and how much to benefit Chase.








Keep us informed and try to keep those happy feet on the ground or at least in the stirrups.
:runninghorse2:...


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

I'm going to hold reservation at the moment. I hope this isn't a honeymoon period where all is rosy until it isn't. I do think you are headed in the right direction though. 



While you do want to put muscle on him in the needed places he needs a fat cushion. He doesn't need an excessive amount but he is under weight. Everyone needs an amount that can act as a reserve in the event of illness so that there is something to pull from. It also cushions areas that could sustain injury. Muscle does as well but the fat layer helps. It could be that putting the round in and addressing his hard feed could build him back up. You'll know if he begins to look better over the next few weeks. You say the trainer will be there working with the both of you. That takes calories, so does the cold snap we're having. You want him to have an excess of calories now not a deficit.


Did you have the vet out to discuss his needs and give him a good thorough going over? Check his teeth? Do a fecal? Check for sand? Address the possibility of ulcers?


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Had a show today and I don’t physically have the energy right now to explain everything that happened so until then enjoy this video of Justice getting awful timing in our line of three jumps during our schooling break. 

https://youtu.be/hJzU9XktY9I


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

LydiaAndJustice said:


> Justice getting awful timing in our line of three jumps during our schooling break.



Actually, Justice had perfect timing...
Justice's rider gave Justice no support or direction nor did they help him to smooth his distances, approaches...
Your horse actually kept you from crashing or dirty stopping like he so could of done...
Justice is actually a gem of a honest horse over fences....
Lydia needs to start taking fault, cause and effect blame as hers...
It is time to become a rider not just the passenger...
Don't mean to dump on your obviously not good day...but put fault where fault is due.
_Sorry..._
When you can objectively look at that video take it to that new trainer/instructor...
Let him view it and give his opinion on what it shows of horse, rider and team ability of strength and weaknesses...
:runninghorse2:....


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

horselovinguy said:


> LydiaAndJustice said:
> 
> 
> > Justice getting awful timing in our line of three jumps during our schooling break.
> ...


I never blamed Justice lol, simply said he got bad timing, I never said why. Previous to this he stepped on my hand, refused a perfectly normal jump, slammed me into a gate, and once I was on the ground stepped on my head. This was our first time doing this line with the three jumps as it was new, so I’m sorry if I wasn’t getting him through it perfect.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

horselovinguy said:


> LydiaAndJustice said:
> 
> 
> > Justice getting awful timing in our line of three jumps during our schooling break.
> ...


I’m sorry I just reread what I said and it sounded really rude.. I’m extremely sore and yes my trainer did tell me that I needed to push him through so he could get the striding right. Sorry.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

I'm sorry you got dumped by the sound of it Lydia.
You were bumped, bruised and then dumped on by me.

In reality though this was _not_ a difficult line of fences to ride...
_Something is not right..._
I don't know what or why...
Yes, you should of ridden it differently but you also have been lacking confidence in your ability and second guessing Justice for some time now. :|
You found out just how much you are affected by that today...
Your instructor also did you no confidence boost with her comment afterward.
It would of been far better if she found and worked you through your confidence issue _*at home*_ and did not make you show when you did not want to... hindsight sometimes is incredible.
_Good lesson for you to learn is stand-your-ground when it comes to how you feel in your riding._
When you feel afraid, unsure, scared and have such reservations as you've made claims of..._listen to your gut!!_

I'm sorry for you.
I took no offense either at your words...I totally get it and understand.

Take a hot bath or shower, some pain medication cause if you hurt now wait till tomorrow morning and it feels like train hit you sore sets in...
:runninghorse2:....


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

Please, please, please find an instructor who is doing appropriate exercises for your skill set... you are going to get badly hurt without the basics in place, or ruin your horse. The bad timing is not due to the horse, but to your skills. It's not all your fault because your instruction, such as it is, is not teaching you how to do things safely and properly and providing the basics that make these gymnastics easy and fun and a learning experience.


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

LydiaAndJustice said:


> I never blamed Justice lol, simply said he got bad timing, I never said why. Previous to this he stepped on my hand, refused a perfectly normal jump, slammed me into a gate, and once I was on the ground stepped on my head. This was our first time doing this line with the three jumps as it was new, so I’m sorry if I wasn’t getting him through it perfect.



That is more information than was given originally, the original post just said that Justice has awful timing.

That statement really sounds like you thought it was down to Justice, when it wasn’t. It is a huge leap for all of us as riders when we learn to take responsibility for our lack of ability, or understanding in our team work. Being able to say, WE messed up, or Justice doing his best, but me not helping, is far more accurate.


Again, like everyone has said, all the way along, nothing wrong with you, but you are severely lacking any form of decent back up.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

On the bright side I now have pictures of me walking back after he threw me lol. What baffles me is that there wasn’t even a filler, we schooled over it perfectly that morning, I actually felt confident going into it, and our timing was going to be perfect! There was no reason to refuse! Anyways, see the stirrup that hanging over the side? That’s broken. My saddle is also ripped up the side.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

You broke your iron....your stirrup iron?
Or did you break the stirrup leather?
Scary and a big difference..


If you broke the stirrup itself...then honey you need replaced in pairs some better quality irons... _new_ please.

If you tore your leathers.... they also need replaced in pairs and when replaced buy quality ones not the cheapest you can find. _New_ please...

Does your saddle have stirrup bar safety releases where your stirrup leathers hang from?
Were they left "open" positioned?

You can lessen the damage seen by cleaning well your saddle then I would try using Pure Neatsfoot Oil on the entire saddle....it seems to really hide blemishes.
Do not soak, use several very thin coats of oil allowing soaking in to the leather between applications _where that mark is_...itt should help.
If you have your saddle dye, and are good with it...now would be the time after cleaning to do small repairs.


Glad you are up, moving about and no comments made of real soreness...aches and pains are to be expected after a unplanned dismount as you took part in...:frown_color:

:runninghorse2:...


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

horselovinguy said:


> You broke your iron....your stirrup iron?
> Or did you break the stirrup leather?
> Scary and a big difference..<img style="max-width:100%;" src="http://www.horseforum.com/images/smilies/eek.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Eek" class="inlineimg" />
> 
> ...


Aha luckily it was just the leather. When I came off it got caught on the jump standard and ripped. Although even though I’m disappointed that it ripped I’m very happy it broke instead of
Him getting caught on the standard and dragging it around because that would’ve been a DISASTER! And I’m happy I get new clean leathers lol. We just switched my stirrups because as soon as I got off my trainer explained how I wasn’t pushing him all the way to the fence so that’s why he refused. And just like that I was back on him and looking at my next course!


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

"I never blamed Justice lol, simply said he got bad timing, I never said why. Previous to this he stepped on my hand, refused a perfectly normal jump, slammed me into a gate, and once I was on the ground stepped on my head. This was our first time doing this line with the three jumps as it was new, so I’m sorry if I wasn’t getting him through it perfect."



This will sound rude but it is something you need to hear. Sorry doesn't cut it.We certainly don't need it and your horse doesn't understand it. You are, sadly, limited by the available resources it seems whether it be trainers that are capable or finances to make them happen or a combination of both. At this point you are also lacking focus because your attentions are divided. Not something that ever really turns out well when horses are concerned. You IMO need to choose. Focus on jumping. Buy Justice and move him, Sell Chase and go forward with a horse that can get you whee you want to be in the show ring if that is your goal for now OR Walk away from the rescue barn and Justice and devote all your energy to Chase if you have a trainer that can get you where you want to be even if it isn't NOW. Considering the barn Justice is at is quite a distance then I would sit down and decide Justice (at a closer barn with a different trainer) or Chase. 



What others are pointing out is the HE didn't get bad timing. HE didn't slam you into a gate. HE didn't refuse a perfectly normal gate. Lydia didn't ride him to the level HE is capable of performing. HE followed your signals, intentional or not. AND you ended up in a position where injury through no fault of his own happened to you. Bad timing was a direct failure on your part. You though are not 100% entirely responsible for your riding as your failure is one of inadequate training. It is something that has been pointed out over and over. As long as you are on this horse, under this instructor, your habits will be reinforced and you will not move forward correctly or at a rate that you could be capable of with proper instruction. He may also have training deficiencies but neither one of you are being served by placing blame on him. This is not his fault. It is a result of the trainer he is under not being able to take him to the level he is capable of either. None of this is the horse in its natural state. We (G) buy, sell, trade horses to get further along in our pursuit of equine activity. If we aren't capable of training we (hopefully) find someone that is. That is lacking for you. Whether it is a by product of affordability or just convenience and stubborn refusal to move on I don't know. 



None of us are eyes on the ground. We are second hand viewing through your filtered lens. 



You talk about jumping higher fences and Justice being capable of more but you need to forget the what was done and focus on the correct way to do things and progress safely. Both you and Justice achieved heights you are capable of but not heights that you are capable of sustaining because the level f ability and skill is not there (yet). While it makes for impressive writing it is nothing more than an accident of fate by design or not. I, too, as well as many of us on here can come up with examples of things we've done through necessity, accident or foolish try but we all reached a point where we realized that that was not a true representation of the then current state. If it was something we wanted we went to the basics and schooled until we got there through hard work and effort at developing the skills we needed to sustain and move forward to even greater achievement.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

QtrBel said:


> This will sound rude but it is something you need to hear. Sorry doesn't cut it.We certainly don't need it and your horse doesn't understand it. You are, sadly, limited by the available resources it seems whether it be trainers that are capable or finances to make them happen or a combination of both. At this point you are also lacking focus because your attentions are divided. Not something that ever really turns out well when horses are concerned. You IMO need to choose. Focus on jumping. Buy Justice and move him, Sell Chase and go forward with a horse that can get you whee you want to be in the show ring if that is your goal for now OR Walk away from the rescue barn and Justice and devote all your energy to Chase if you have a trainer that can get you where you want to be even if it isn't NOW. Considering the barn Justice is at is quite a distance then I would sit down and decide Justice (at a closer barn with a different trainer) or Chase.


As said in this, yes you are right, you are seeing second hand into this situation, you are not on the ground watching me. Chase is in training at the moment and he is going to be a great horse, however, I have been riding Justice for YEARS, I am not the kind of person who is just going to walk away from him. The trainer situation has been explained MANY TIMES. I am so fed up with hearing it at this point I’m about to lose it. The trainer who teaches me on Justice is leaving for college next year and the show team is ending, this is my last year available for me to show on Justice and I am using it!! I am not dropping my barn, trainer, or horse so bringing it up EVERYTIME I post something isn’t going to make a difference. I have been giving more then enough time to each horse so telling me I need to either sell chase or drop Justice is absurd. 

Thanks for giving me advice and stuff for the past year or so, but now that I have the new trainer with Chase there really isn’t a purpose for me to keep posting on here. I can keep track of my progress on paper with a pencil. I had fun while I was apart of this community and I wish you all the best of luck with your horses!! Goodbye 🙂


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

Ok Lydia, I see you have logged in again, so maybe still reading..

Look I know you must get bored with people saying to get someone else, but it is just so very hard for us to watch someone who is so keen, being directed wrongly.

I know you say you CANNOT change anything, but why, have you explored the possibilities, seen what e,she is out there, talked to your parents?

The reason everyone is so passionate about this is that it is important in all sorts of ways. Proper tuition not only keeps you safe now, but sets the foundation for your whole riding career. I nearly had a wreck the other day, because I was in a situation where I was a little nervous, and totally forgot all the great teaching of the last few years and defaulted to the things I did as a kid...those things that are installed at the start just tend to pop up when you least need them.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Golden Horse said:


> Ok Lydia, I see you have logged in again, so maybe still reading..
> 
> Look I know you must get bored with people saying to get someone else, but it is just so very hard for us to watch someone who is so keen, being directed wrongly.
> 
> ...


Yes I have been logging in as I have been pming people. I cannot change things with riding at the rescue because I am not saying goodbye to Justice. I have been riding with the same group of 12 girls my age for years and they are easily considered my "barn family" and I am not saying goodbye to them. I do not want to change everything in my life that has been amazing because of one trainer. I know its hard to understand from the other side of the screen, but the horses and people I have been with mean the world to me. And what do I say to my friends at the barn when they ask why I'm gone? "Oh its because I don't think the trainer knows what shes doing". AGAIN she is my personal friend outside of riding and I'm 100% sure it would get around to her if I said anything negative. You guys usually only hear the bad sides about my trainer, but she has been there for me since I wanted to start riding. Encouraging me and supporting me along the way. Does that make sense?


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## Hidalgo13 (Dec 24, 2010)

LydiaAndJustice said:


> Yes I have been logging in as I have been pming people. I cannot change things with riding at the rescue because I am not saying goodbye to Justice. I have been riding with the same group of 12 girls my age for years and they are easily considered my "barn family" and I am not saying goodbye to them. I do not want to change everything in my life that has been amazing because of one trainer. I know its hard to understand from the other side of the screen, but the horses and people I have been with mean the world to me. And what do I say to my friends at the barn when they ask why I'm gone? "Oh its because I don't think the trainer knows what shes doing". AGAIN she is my personal friend outside of riding and I'm 100% sure it would get around to her if I said anything negative. You guys usually only hear the bad sides about my trainer, but she has been there for me since I wanted to start riding. Encouraging me and supporting me along the way. Does that make sense?


I understand what you mean. We only see glimpses of your situation based on what you tell us, and we don't know the full picture, so of course advice we give may not be absolutely right or appropriate. However, I think certain things that you did mention allowed us to read between the lines, because some of us have lived through something similar, and we recognized patterns/situations. So naturally, we want others to be spared what we maybe lived through. 

Although it may be hard to hear or see, our trainer sounds like an amazing friend, but not a great riding coach. And it's easy to mix the 2. I did, and I loved my previous barn family (from the people, to the horses and barn cats). Until things went really wrong and I realized that although I loved my trainer as a friend, she wasn't good for me. So I left, hoping to find someone who could get me to where I wanted. But that took me a while to realize, and longer still to have the courage to leave. I should and could have left earlier, but I didn't, since I wasn't mentally ready. And that's ok, it made me learn other things along the way. 

It's your decision what you do and where you ride, but I think what most of us want/hope is that you stay at least aware of what you are dealing with, and can act accordingly to make the most of the situation and/or protect yourself. 

I enjoyed your journal, and if you do stop posting, happy riding!


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

My last trainer, my first ‘proper’ trainer, I really liked her, we became friends, even though people on line were telling me that she wasn’t a good trainer..

They were right, I was wrong, her methods and training both sucked, but I had fun. I had even more fun as a kid, and as I said, still trying to fix all the issues!

We get having fun, many of us grew up with little, no, or in my case bad instruction, having the best fun. I can’t change the past...would if I could? Well yes, I think so, because it is so much easier to learn when you are young, and to learn the right thing first time around. If you think you MAY want to be serious about riding then it matters.

So where does Chase fit in here?


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## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

Whatever people here say, what you do remains your decision. But objectively it is better if you make a decision based on all available information. The best leaders surround themselves with advisors who challenge their views. 

Be well!


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Hey guys! I'm very bored right now so I thought I'd give a little update on Chase. 
He is doing amazing-ish!

So we realized that the reason hes been dropping weight and not eating his hay is because hes a cribber. SO I got him the cribbing collar, only to find out he knows how to rub it off. So the vet said he is probably getting stressed out from being kept alone. So I am now in the search for a mini! 

His training is going SO WELL he has turned out to be a well rounded dude and I can't wait to see how far we can go together!

I took it upon myself to try and teach him some tricks. My first attempt was to get him to learn the spanish walk, which led to me tapping his leg with a crop for 30 minutes until I realized that, that was not his thing. So, then I wanted to start him with liberty work, were you like run around and they follow you, and IMO its actually going well! I'll attach a video. We are still just walking, but the fact that he is choosing to walk with me instead of going off and eating makes me feel like we're getting somewhere lol. His one thing is that he doesn't like to stop so when I stop he keeps walking.

He is also getting re-started over jumps and its adorable! He has such a willing soul and I honestly think he likes it... 

Anyways, I'll try and do updates every-so-often Bye for now! (Don't mind my mother offering to let a stranger ride him the riding video lol.)


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

Nice to hear from you again Lydia, I have been wondering how you were doing. Glad to see that things seem to be going well! Are you still working with the new trainer? That seemed like a great opportunity for you and Chase, hope you are taking advantage of it!


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

NavigatorsMom said:


> Nice to hear from you again Lydia, I have been wondering how you were doing. Glad to see that things seem to be going well! Are you still working with the new trainer? That seemed like a great opportunity for you and Chase, hope you are taking advantage of it!


Yes I am still working with the trainer. I have a lesson with him 6 days a week lol. On sundays I usually give Chase a bath or just hangout with him.


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## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

LydiaAndJustice said:


> Yes I am still working with the trainer. I have a lesson with him 6 days a week lol. On sundays I usually give Chase a bath or just hangout with him.


That's really awesome! Glad to hear you've now got someone you click with and who seems to really know his stuff.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Yesterday we took Chase to my trainers property to school him over a full course. Let me just expesss how unbelievably PROUD I am of this horse. He loaded on the trailer perfectly and when we got there he didn’t spook once! That’s crazy to me that he was completely comfortable. He was perfect warming up and we even discovered he was his flying lead changes which is amazing to me! 

Anyways this is what my trainer thinks. We came to a mutual desicion that I am not jumping Justice in shows anymore. He reached out to my other trainer and told her that I can still show Justice but only in flat classes. He said Justice has completely crushed my confidence and he can tell because when Chase is going into jumps I get really stiff and drop my shoulders and stare at the jump. He gave me a long talk about how Chase is not Justice and how we are training him the right way so he isn’t going to throw me into jumps. He said Chase is very willing and happy about jumping and we are going to start from the beginning and not push to hard to rebuild my confidence.

I don’t really know what else to say. I’m excited for my future with Chase but I am really sad because Justice has been there for me for the past couple of years and we grew up together and I don’t really want to think that he could’ve made my riding worse because he’s a good horse and so sweet. Anyways off to the b


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Here’s one of the videos 

https://youtu.be/kYkjAojTNIU


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## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

Just want to say again how happy I am that you found this trainer and that he's doing the right things for you and for Chase! Getting your form and confidence sorted out, instead of bullying you into throwing yourself over large jumps for... no reason that ever made sense to me. This guy sounds like a keeper!

Video is looking really good too! I see improvements in your jumping position already.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Today I went out to feed my boys and i decided I needed to start working Bee. He gets..... saucy... when he isn’t ridden for awhile. So I started today and I just put on his bridle and slide on his back. He was doing amazing until Chase started chasing him (yea he was being a bully). Don’t judge my outfit choice I didn’t expect to ride lol.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Today was Bees first day in the barn. We had a bit of a freak accident. So he was standing on the crossties and he was racked up but didn’t yet have a bridle on. In the past paddock next to us one of the mini horses my trainer has ran up to the fence and it scared him really bad. He was pulling back so hard he fell to the ground and I don’t know how to describe it but it was an awful sight. When the halter finally slipped off his head he was laying on the ground and didn’t get up. My BO saw what happened from the window and came running down to help me. I didn’t know what to do so I was standing next to him just staring and going “Your ok Bee” over and over and over. The girl I was lessening with goes “Omg what if he broke his leg and that’s why he won’t get up!” I just ignored her at the moment but SERIOUSLY!!! Who says that?!? Anyways I got his halter and put it on and got him to stand up. We walked him around the barnyard and felt his legs and he was fine. We introduced him to the mini but I don’t think he was afraid of HER I think he was just shocked bc she ran up behind him and because of the fence that was up he couldn’t clearly see her.
Anyways all is well now. I’m still winding down as it stressed me out a ton. I’m mad because the halter and the crossties should have broken, it’s a BREAKAWAY halter and it could have gone a hell of a lot worse since the halter didn’t break.


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## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

ChasingTheDream said:


> Today was Bees first day in the barn. We had a bit of a freak accident. So he was standing on the crossties and he was racked up but didn’t yet have a bridle on. In the past paddock next to us one of the mini horses my trainer has ran up to the fence and it scared him really bad. He was pulling back so hard he fell to the ground and I don’t know how to describe it but it was an awful sight. When the halter finally slipped off his head he was laying on the ground and didn’t get up. My BO saw what happened from the window and came running down to help me. I didn’t know what to do so I was standing next to him just staring and going “Your ok Bee” over and over and over. The girl I was lessening with goes “Omg what if he broke his leg and that’s why he won’t get up!” I just ignored her at the moment but SERIOUSLY!!! Who says that?!? Anyways I got his halter and put it on and got him to stand up. We walked him around the barnyard and felt his legs and he was fine. We introduced him to the mini but I don’t think he was afraid of HER I think he was just shocked bc she ran up behind him and because of the fence that was up he couldn’t clearly see her.
> Anyways all is well now. I’m still winding down as it stressed me out a ton. I’m mad because the halter and the crossties should have broken, it’s a BREAKAWAY halter and it could have gone a hell of a lot worse since the halter didn’t break.


These safety tie clips are a bit of an investment, but they're certainly cheaper than a vet bill, and using them for cross-ties can save lives! They also help with horses who pull back out of habit (though I'm not saying Bee does, as this sounds like a bit of a fluke) because they can't get any leverage. https://smarttieproducts.com/


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

ChasingTheDream said:


> Today I went out to feed my boys and i decided I needed to start working Bee. He gets..... saucy... when he isn’t ridden for awhile. So I started today and I just put on his bridle and slide on his back. He was doing amazing until Chase started chasing him (yea he was being a bully). Don’t judge my outfit choice I didn’t expect to ride lol.





were you riding out in the same field with Chase being loose? chasing you?


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## NavigatorsMom (Jan 9, 2012)

That is a scary situation, I'm glad it's all turned out ok. I have been in a similar situation with my old horse who pulled back and broke many halters and leads, so I know how horrifying it is to just have to wait it out. We trained it out of her eventually but it was always in the back of my mind that it could happen at any time again. 

For break away safety, you could tie a loop of twine to each side of his halter and attach the cross tie clips to those.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

I feel like I haven't updated in this journal in a while so here we go...

At the rescue barn there is a new trainer that is taking over. It won't really effect me since this is my last season there but I have had one lesson with her so far. She is VERY young, younger then me. And in my opinion she is not ready to be a trainer, which is what every girl at the barn has also expressed to me. She is very sweet and a very nice person, a decently good rider, she is just very shy and she really doesn't know enough to be a trainer. The entire lesson she was just standing there saying, "WOW YOU'RE A GORGEOUS RIDER GOOD JOB". But only 2 shows there and I'm done. I may actually stay there for the summer, just because the summer camp is a lot more laid back and I am friends with the girls that are there. 

Chases training is coming along amazing. He is doing really good and he got a hair cut yesterday by a professional groomer. My trainer thinks we should begin looking for shows in about 2 months. The groomer I met also offered me a job for over the summer. It pays 16 dollars an hour and its at a polo barn. Theres 24 horses and I would be feeding them, grooming, exercising, bathing, turning them out, mucking stalls, filling water buckets, and going around with her helping with body clipping and trimming. She is going to be teaching me how to body clip and the correct way to cut manes. We are starting off with Chase and Bee, shes going to teach me with them. 

Bee is still an issue. Everyone I've talked to says that he's just testing me. Once this issue is solved I have a plan for him. I am getting overloaded between dance, Chase, Justice, Bee, and still having to do homework and studying. So there is a girl from the rescue barn who does not want to show at the rescue barn next year who is a very good rider. She came and tested Bee out and besides the tacking up issue she very much enjoys riding him. So she is going to be coming and riding with me on days I don't have lessons so that he stays exercised and I don't get overloaded. I have also agreed to let her show him so we will be showing them together next season. 

Anyways I think thats about it..... How are you doing?


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## updownrider (Mar 31, 2009)

Is there adult supervision while the young teen is giving lessons? 

Your summer job offer sounds like a great opportunity to further your horse education, as long as you are not the only one responsible for feeding and mucking and the other barn chores.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Make sure you understand _exactly_ what you are responsible for with that stable job, as that could either be a fantastic opportunity for you or else a disaster if they are trying to take advantage of you. 

I am glad things are going so well with Chase.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

DreamerR said:


> We had a bit of a freak accident. ... He was pulling back so hard he fell to the ground


Isn't it Bee that you said had the 'new' prob with being tied up in the barn? If so, I don't get how you can think of this as a freak accident?? It should have been a well & truly expected event(not accident). But maybe I'm confused between your horses.



> The girl I was lessening with goes “Omg what if he broke his leg and that’s why he won’t get up!” I just ignored her at the moment but SERIOUSLY!!! Who says that?!?


Yes, I'd be concerned about injury too. Not sure what you mean by the last bit, but people who are concerned that the horse has hurt itself badly tend to say things like that. And I would still have a vet/bodyworker out to check the horse, as just because there is nothing OBVIOUS wrong with him doesn't mean he's OK, especially if this has happened before - chances are he's at least got a sore, strained neck.



> I’m mad because the halter and the crossties should have broken, it’s a BREAKAWAY halter and it could have gone a hell of a lot worse since the halter didn’t break.


If the equipment suddenly broke when he pulled hard enough, he would likely have flipped or at least bashed himself hard & fast backwards on the ground/whatever obstacles... not sure that would have been better...


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

I had my first fall off of Chase today. It wasn’t bad at all. We had just finished our course and I cantered him into a different area to slow him down, I was leaning too far forwards and completely unbalanced and he spooked so I slid off the front of him. Luckily we got a video! Got right back on afterwards and did it again, with higher jumps lol. 

https://youtu.be/0N5yV_P5FZk


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

loosie said:


> DreamerR said:
> 
> 
> > We had a bit of a freak accident. ... He was pulling back so hard he fell to the ground
> ...


This entry is from a while ago.... when I recently got him and this happened. 

Also I was already freaking out and panicked. I was trying to figure out what to do, obviously I had already considered that he could be injured,
But he wasn’t appearing to be in pain bad enough for a brake he was just casually sitting there. IMO it was unnecessary for her to add on a comment like that when I was trying to figure out what to do. It’s like if you’re watching your kid in a show and they fall off and somebody yells “OMG WHAT IF SHE HAS A BROKEN BACK” when the kid fine. Does that make sense? I don’t know. I’m tired.


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## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

DreamerR said:


> I had my first fall off of Chase today. It wasn’t bad at all. We had just finished our course and I cantered him into a different area to slow him down, I was leaning too far forwards and completely unbalanced and he spooked so I slid off the front of him. Luckily we got a video! Got right back on afterwards and did it again, with higher jumps lol.
> 
> https://youtu.be/0N5yV_P5FZk


Glad you were okay! Watched the video and it looks like a decently gentle landing.  A lot of my falls have looked like that, hahaha. Thank goodness!!


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## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

DreamerR said:


> I had my first fall off of Chase today.


Yup - been there, done that. Rode on a field with a green horse, trotted him, slowed him down to a walk on loose reins - just by slowing my posting. Once walking, I was mighty smug with my skills and...relaxed. That lasted until we stirred up a bird sitting in the grass alongside the trail! It was the exact same fall.

Don't trust them! Legs on the saddle at all times!!


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

Big spook. Understandable that you fell off. Most of us would have.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

This may be a long post, I'm not really sure yet...

So Friday at the barn. I got there and most of the girls were already out riding because I got there later. I tacked up and went out. The trainer instructed me how she normally would, I just smiled and waved when people said hi to me. It all felt completely normal. At the show I just hung out with some other girls from the barn. It was awkward, but nothing crazy happened. 

On to the actual riding part. We got 1st and grand champion in all of our classes out of 15 riders. But I swear I get SO frustrated with that many people in the ring. I got cut off like 10 times per class and I had to circle every 2 minutes to stay away from everyone. 

Onto my horses. So there is this girl who rides at the place that my horses are at. I have started letting her ride Bee because she wants to move up in jumping, I trust her abilities, and it helps me keep them both exercised. I do not allow her to work with him unless I am at the barn. With all the problems he's been having I don't want something to go wrong and somebody to get hurt especially when I'm not there. So she texted me Sunday and said, "I'm getting out at the barn at 11:30 and I know you're not going to be here until 12:15 but can I bring him down to the barn and tack up. " I was busy with something while she texted me that so I didn't see it until 10 minutes later when she texted me again and said, "I'm gonna bring him down to the barn because you weren't responding, but the Barn owner is out here so I assume its fine. See you soon." 

I texted her as soon as I saw that and said, "Please DO NOT bring him down until I get there. You know he has problems with the barn and with tying and I don't feel comfortable with him being in that situation without me there." She opened it. And she didn't respond. I arrived there about 15 minutes later. 

Bee was tied up, standing there fine. I asked if anything had happened and she said, "Oh it was terrible. He had 3 tantrums and with one of them he fell on the ground and his head was hanging on the lead rope and he couldn't breathe but the knot was too tight for me to untie it so we had to run up to the house and get a knife and cut him loose." I was so angry, but I was trying so hard to stay calm. 

Later I texted her and said, "I need you to understand what happened today was not ok. When I say no to something, even if you do not like it, I need you to listen to me. Things could've gone a lot worse today. I can't take chances like that with my horses so I need you to respect when I set boundaries because they are there for a reason. If something like this happens again you will lose the privilege to ride him." With in 2 minutes she texted me and said, "Ok I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

I may have over reacted, I don't know. But IMO thats not ok. He could've died, or injured himself and I refuse to put him at that risk again. Either way, he is my horse, and I said no. I'm still wound up over the situation.


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## ClearDonkey (Nov 27, 2016)

DreamerR said:


> I had my first fall off of Chase today. It wasn’t bad at all. We had just finished our course and I cantered him into a different area to slow him down, I was leaning too far forwards and completely unbalanced and he spooked so I slid off the front of him. Luckily we got a video! Got right back on afterwards and did it again, with higher jumps lol.
> 
> https://youtu.be/0N5yV_P5FZk


I can't tell clearly from the video, but please be careful is those are pvc poles - these have a tendency to shatter into nasty pieces if hit/stepped on the right way. I only say this because when I was first getting into jumping, my parents bought a bunch of pvc poles, and within a few months the sun weakened them, and they began snapping on impact - good way to get either yourself or your horse(s) cut. 

Once that started happening, I asked for wood poles to replace them, and they worked much better - and luckily they are pretty cost effective.


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## updownrider (Mar 31, 2009)

The girl riding Bee, and anyone tying horses, should learn how to do a quick release knot.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

updownrider said:


> The girl riding Bee, and anyone tying horses, should learn how to do a quick release knot.


That’s what we were using. He pulled back so hard that it was tight and wouldn’t come undone


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## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

DreamerR said:


> I may have over reacted, I don't know. But IMO thats not ok. He could've died, or injured himself and I refuse to put him at that risk again. Either way, he is my horse, and I said no. I'm still wound up over the situation.


You did NOT overreact. If I EVER ignored a direct order like that from my coach, even though we get along GREAT and have almost four years of history, I would expect her to ban me from her barn ON THE SPOT. NOT COOL. You under-reacted.

Also, she said "we" had to run up to the house? If she had someone else with her there, why on earth did she tie him? Why didn't she have the other person hold the lead rope while she got him ready? These people need some common sense!!!

Please please PLEASE order those tie-up clips and use them before someone -- horse or person -- gets seriously hurt. Watch the video at the link below and you'll see how they work. 

https://smarttieproducts.com/products/clip/

This package would immediately set you up with SAFE cross ties that would also help to FIX the pulling back habit. It's a bit of an investment, but it's cheaper than a vet bill -- or a lawsuit!

https://smarttieproducts.com/products/crosstie-2/


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

Saying goodbye sucks. I had my final show/ride on Justice today. I gave him a bunch of treats, a big hug, and a final goodbye. I cried on the way home but it’s time for a new adventure. A fresh start with Chase and Bee.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

My pretty boy.


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## updownrider (Mar 31, 2009)

^That is a lot of blue ribbons and a championship ribbon. Congratulations!


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

I know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted on here, but I thought I’d update.

Our first show is in mid September and I’m very very excited. 

Also, yesterday in our lesson Chase landed on the wrong lead after a jump and he did a flying lead change without me even asking him. It’s not a big deal, but I was pretty excited about it haha. I’ve never had the opportunity to ride a horse that had their flying changes and I didn’t think he even had his, but we did a figure 8 with him and he did another flying so I’ve been pretty giddy thinking about it. 

That’s all!


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