# A Perilous Journey



## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Welcome!  Excited to hear about your adventures, subbing this.  Hamlet is super cute!


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## Alannia (Jul 29, 2016)

Yesterday I mounted him! Bareback, I might add. He was really good the entire time, except for the initial catching. But he usually comes around quickly. I only had 20 minutes to work with him, as I had to actually drive to my jumping lesson right after, but I accomplished what I wanted to. :grin: My jumping lesson also went very well, so overall it was a good night.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Will be interested to hear of your adventures with Hamlet. Fun to mix other horsey activities into your jumping.


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## Alannia (Jul 29, 2016)

Thank you! Yes I'm really glad to have other opportunities than just lessons. Otherwise I might go a little crazy. 

Today I jumped Raja. He wasn't totally happy with me because I took him away from his buddies, but he wasn't bad. As you can see the owner isn't a regular jumper, so I had to get a little creative with the jumps, haha! The hackamore I use for Hamlet didn't fit Raja, so I just attached the reins to his rope halter. (Raja's stuff is down in the tack room, which is a little bit of a walk from the indoor arena. Hamlets stuff is in the arena.)


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## Emeraldsprings (Mar 1, 2015)

They are both lovely and you ride Raja beautifully. I love how he pops over the ground pole, he seems very athletic and careful about what he is doing. Especially for a horse that doesn't usually jump.

I admire people who ride Arabs, I have never ridden one and they look like they always have plenty of "fizz" and energy bubbling under the surface. Also, I'm very jealous of your indoor arena!


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## Alannia (Jul 29, 2016)

Thank you! He really is the best horse. Always liked to jump on the logs on the trails, too. 

Yes, they can be like energizer bunnies! Unless your Raja in the outdoor arena. Then he's the laziest of them all. 

The last time I worked with Hamlet in the indoor was last Sunday. He was fussy in the beginning because I removed his buddy, but was otherwise fine. I rode him at mostly a walk, a little trot. 

Then yesterday we went trail riding for the first time in a while! He was fabulous, couldn't be more proud. Stood for me as I mounted from a log. Didn't spook once, was only looky at a few things. Listened to me really well. Overall a nice ride. We'll see about next time, haha.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

That's awesome!  He definitely sounds like a nice sweet horse.
Glad he listened to you! Aww, I'm sure the trail was super relaxing.


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## Alannia (Jul 29, 2016)

Yup, it's nice to get a little confidence back. 

But since I have pretty much no pictures of Hamlet, have some pictures of Raja instead! 

Taken at an endurance ride, I forgot where. I was riding bareback and he decided to drop and roll in the nice sand. 









Riding alone around the nearby field.









From another endurance ride, this one I know was 30 miles. 









These two were taken in the outdoor arena a year ago.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Raja is lovely! What is his registered name? I am interested in looking up his AERC record. Always love seeing what other distance riders do with their horses.


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## Alannia (Jul 29, 2016)

Thank you! Raja's registered name is Aladda Rodania. 
Our record of the rides on UMECRA's website: UMECRA Horse History


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## BlindHorseEnthusiast4582 (Apr 11, 2016)

Both very nice horses. Raja looks kind of like an Arabian mare owned by a friend of mine!


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## Alannia (Jul 29, 2016)

Tonight I will be trail riding Hamlet! I'm going to charge my gopro and maybe get some video of the ride. In the meantime, I made a short little video of riding Raja. First clips from endurance rides, others from riding on the road. The last clip was from 2015 I think, but I included it anyways. The grey horse in the one video is Raja's owner's daughter's horse (a mouthful lol)


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## horseylover1_1 (Feb 13, 2008)

Love your posts + videos! I leased a half Arab for awhile.. they're definitely a unique breed with the biggest hearts once you win them over!


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## Alannia (Jul 29, 2016)

Thank you! I think it's funny that Arabians were always my favorite breed as a kid, I thought they were so magnificent and beautiful. And that was before I knew anything about horses, of course. And now I'm riding them!

Friday's ride on Hamlet went well, Saturday as well. He still wasn't too spooky, and we cantered a couple of times too. The difference between Hamlet and Raja is so funny. Hamlet is so smooth and comfortable, whereas Raja is kind of the complete opposite. 

Put together a short little video:


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Love the videos, thanks for sharing!  Looks like such a nice ride. Hamlet is so cute!


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## Alannia (Jul 29, 2016)

These are some late night thoughts I'd figure I'd share. I'm kind of someone who pushes things down, ignores problems and emotions. And when I first got to ride Hamlet, it was all so new and exciting! I love getting opportunities to ride different horses. But this time, it was kind of like going off on a sleepover. Everything is fine and fun, until suddenly the homesickness creeps up on you. And that home, of course, is Raja. Then someone tells you that you won't be going home ever. Being me, I've pretty much ignored it and kept it in. And now it's all coming to the surface.

I just miss being on his back, relaxed and safe (as safe as you can be on a horse). We had a bond, a specific way of communicating. Small little conversations that the young girl riding him now knows nothing about. We were on the same page. Hamlet and I are a hundred pages apart. (I know I know, bonds don't happen overnight) 

I suppose now I have to accept the new reality. But I'm anxious for this summer's endurance rides. Raja and I finally got to where we were making such a great team on the trail. The idea of going through that all over again is frustrating. Yikes, maybe I should go to bed instead of worrying myself to my grave.


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## horseylover1_1 (Feb 13, 2008)

Aw, I'm sorry to hear you're missing Raja. I know it's something a non-horse person could never really understand, but missing your heart horse can be so hard. And you're right, bonds don't happen overnight. I'm sure you and Hamlet have a long way to go yet. (In a good way.. there is room for growth). And who knows? Maybe someday you'll be back to riding Raja.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

I know what you mean.  It's okay to feel that way. You had a special bond with Raja. Nothing can ever replace that, heck, nothing can ever feel 'the same'. 
You never know what can happen though. The world sure works in mysterious ways. Maybe you'll be back on Raja sometime. 
Hamlet is doing well though, try to focus on that and you will be okay!!


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## Alannia (Jul 29, 2016)

Thank you for the kind words, I needed it haha. Last weekend definitely lifted my spirits a bit. The weather was so nice and warm, we rode friday, saturday, and sunday. I think every ride I get a bit more confident on him (hopefully I won't jinx myself saying that). I rode Hamlet bareback for the first time, and cantered! It was my first time every cantering bareback. Any other horse and I might have fallen off, but he's so smooth. I also braided his mane every day which was fun. 






Pictures, of course.


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## Alannia (Jul 29, 2016)

Wow, I haven't updated this in a while, sorry! I've maybe ridden Hamlet 3 or 4 times since my last post. Once in the arena, where I set up trot poles. I took him out to graze on grass for a bit since he pretty much lives in the arena. The other rides on the road have been going well, no real spooks. He can be a little looky at things still. 

My jumping lessons have been going well, after a little hiccup. A few weeks ago we had some trouble with jumping barrels and it shook my confidence for the first time. We have since conquered the barrels though! I didn't have my lesson yesterday because of the weather, so it's rescheduled for Thursday. 

Also, for fun, I was looking at some old photos my mom took of me from my first summer of showing in 4-H almost four years ago! Stressful times, but fun.


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## Alannia (Jul 29, 2016)

I rode Hamlet today and yesterday. Yesterday's ride was...interesting. We started to fall behind towards the end of the ride, the other riders were going really fast and I was attempting to keep a pace. Bad, bad idea. Eventually Hamlet just panicked and took off galloping down the road - thankfully there was no traffic. It was terrifying because all I could think about was how it's going to hurt if I fall. Very grateful all he did was gallop and not buck or do anything silly. 

Today was a much better ride. Brought my gopro along as well. He still is a bit faster than I'd like when we begin to canter. He was acting stupid and spooky while we were waiting for the rest of the riders to get ready (I always try to be early so I have more time to work with him) I was lunging him on dry grass and he spooked, flew backwards into the muddy area, and fell. Got a little dirty but he was fine. Then when I mounted I practiced circles and figure eights and eventually calmed - never spooked on the ride. 

A video of today's ride. He doesn't seem to mind the water which is good, in fact, he like's to play in it :lol:


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Glad you had a better ride yesterday.  I need a GoPro so bad!  
What kind do you have?

Looks like a very nice ride and nice scenery!


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## horseylover1_1 (Feb 13, 2008)

Omg, I love that turquoise bridle.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Not minding water is a good thing! Hamlet is also very brave about footing changes.. he went nice and steady where the road surface changed color. My guy would have been convinced that was the Chasm of Death.


And is the tack turquoise? Looked lime green on my screen. Very sharp against the grey, whatever it is.


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## Alannia (Jul 29, 2016)

PoptartShop - I have the Gopro hero 4 black, it's a lot of fun to use.

horseylover1_1 - Thanks! I'm going to try and find a matching shirt, I think.

phantomhorse13 - The tack color should be a turquoise/teal color, I wonder why it looks that way for you. 

~~~

My apologies for disappearing again, heh. Lots of things have happened though, that's for sure. 

It's been a little up and down with Hamlet, but things are looking up again. Yesterday was the first time we trailered somewhere. He got in the trailer without a fight, but was a little apprehensive. Once in the trailer he became very very nervous, it almost seemed like he wanted to jump out the little window. He reacted the same when we left, got right in but was extremely nervous. 

The ride itself went surprisingly well, I myself was anxious because it was the first time riding him somewhere other than the more quiet roads/arena. The path was right next to the high way, and it was a super windy day too. He did so well though! Only a few spooks, and he led the way a lot as well. He was not too fond of the wooden benches, but by the end of the ride he walked next to them without any issues. Had no problems with bikers or joggers, or the loud noises from the high way. Couldn't be more proud! There was also a bridge we had to cross twice, and I would be lying if I said I was scared out of my mind. Wish I got it on video, but my gopro died right before it. 

I'm getting more comfortable with riding him, which makes me a little more excited about our upcoming endurance ride. 

And of course, a video with some clips from the ride put together. We rode a total of 12.5 miles.


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## horseylover1_1 (Feb 13, 2008)

That looks like so much fun!


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## Alannia (Jul 29, 2016)

I just got home from doing my first endurance ride with hamlet - 25 miles. His score was about what I expected it to be, a 353 out of 400. Ten points knocked off because of his manners. He would absolutely NOT stand still for the vet in his first check in. He was way too freaked out by being away from his buddy. That was definitely the biggest hurdle this weekend - his awful buddy sourness. Constant screaming if he couldn't see his buddy - or even if he was just a little ways away. It was frustrating because I didn't know what to do other than try to keep him still. He was good for the second vetting in at the 50 minute hold, but there were still some issues at the last vetting in (even though he could see his buddy and he wasn't far off- he was still calling)

But really, other than that, he was quite good on the trails. Wary of his surroundings but not too spooky. Didn't feel like I was going to die at any moment, so that's always a plus. I really did enjoy the ride overall. And another actually experienced rider was riding with us, so that made me feel better. The competition was yesterday, but since the trails just opened to everybody, we went for a pleasure ride today. It was nice as well. 

I did wear my gopro and have video, but I haven't uploaded the videos to the computer yet, so I will have to do that later.


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## horseylover1_1 (Feb 13, 2008)

My bucket list is to try an endurance race. What would you say are the best and hardest parts of doing it? I don't think they even offer them in our area... Hamlet sure is a cutie pie.


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## Alannia (Jul 29, 2016)

That might depend, hardest part for us was just getting used to the trails and all the scary stuff on them. Best is seeing the improvement of scores in your horse.

Hamlet and I have been on four competitive rides. The second ride we did terrible, third was a little better, and fourth even better. We've found he is not very good with fly spray, but I'm planning on working on that. He's still buddy sour...but I think a little less so. I took him for his first ride alone (not exactly far, just around the field that's next to the farm, and it goes on the road too) he called a lot and once we got on the road he jigged practically the whole way back, but really wasn't as bad as it could have been. 

And weirdly, Ham's owner was looking at horses to buy for me? I guess I'm using Hamlet just for the summer and then the little girl riding Raja is going to "inherit" him (Raja is getting old) And she was actually going to buy me a horse, but then she had her daughter ride one of her three year olds and said, "oh I guess I don't have to buy you a horse, Stormy can be your next horse!" 

And I'm just...kind of thankful she's not going to buy me a horse, since I would never be able to pay her anything. But also a three year old? Who has no training? She doesn't know how to train a horse, and certainly neither do I. 

I don't know anymore, I'm just taking things a day at a time, haha. Cross that bridge when I get there y'know.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

horseylover1_1 said:


> My bucket list is to try an endurance race.
> I don't think they even offer them in our area...


Assuming you are actually in Indiana as your profile says, there are several AERC rides in your area (AERC is the national governing body for endurance).

Check out this list of rides in your region.


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## Alannia (Jul 29, 2016)

Wow I haven't been active here much at all, and a lot has changed haha. I haven't been riding Hamlet much at all except for the few endurance rides. I also got to ride Raja for a couple rides and it was really nice. (And got my senior pictures with him!)

I've started my senior year in high school. I'm taking hard classes this year so I haven't much time for riding except for the weekends, and my weekly jumping lesson. 

I've been riding a 3 year old actually (this is before school started) named Stormy. He's 3/4 Arab, I believe. And before me, he had only been ridden once, soo it's been interesting. Last weekend we trailered to some trails, it was also the first time I'd ridden him since before school. 

This is my first time on him:









Last weekend:


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