# Had a great ride



## phoenix (Jun 7, 2010)

There is really no point to this post but i had a fantastic trail ride yesterday. A few weeks ago my horse had a bucking/rearing fit on trail going up a hill, he was dangerous and well he put more fear in me that i would have liked.

I worked up my courage over the past few weeks riding other people horses on trail and schooling mine in the arena and yesterday i took the plunge and took him out on trail. We went out with his buddy who is a seasoned trail horse and another young horse who is working on his trail manners. 

Phoenix was a little jumpy at first and did spook at a newly cut down tree but after he calmed down he was great, he eyeballed every cut tree though. Normally he gets anxious when the horse in front leaves him but yesterday his buddy walked much faster than he did and we got left way behind, he kept his slow ploddy walk and didn't even try to catch up. Such an achievement for him. he was good on the hills, walked up like a good boy. Then when we got home a cyclist passed us on the road and he moved away slightly but didn't spook or react badly, i think it helped that the cyclist slowed down and talked to us.

Overall, a great ride! I have a trainer coming out in June and then Phoenix is going to the trainers house for a 2 week vacation in August so the guy can ride him on his scary friday trail ride where they run and jump and go through all kinds of scary obstacles and hopefully get him over his instinct to use the buck as his go to move. He's never really been to a trainer so i figured it was time. 

Here he is all ready to go yesterday, modelling his new breast collar, how long until it's not purple anymore and is covered in burrs?!


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

Phoenix, congrats on the wonderful ride! He did so well, and has shown that he has what it will take to be a safe/sane trail horse. What a great feeling for both of you! 

So , give him as well as yourself a much deserved pat on the back! And I'm glad you posted to share with us this step in the right direction. He will grow leaps and bounds at the trainers. I know when Walka went last year, for just a week at that, he came back a bit more "worldly". :wink:


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## phoenix (Jun 7, 2010)

Thank you. I was having my doubts for a while there. But he has proven that he can be sane, you know what it took? lowering his grain, he went from ADHD spazz to sensible trail horse in no time.

I can't wait for him to go to the trainers, my trainer says he is really smart so i bet he will learn loads and i just hope the guy takes him everywhere and gets him really used to trailering and getting out with walking horses and horses that can actually canter without throwing a fit. 

By the end of summer i'll have a star on my hands! The trainer hosts like competitive trail ride prep classes, doing scary obstacles and such so once he comes back i might sign up for some classes with him. i know my friends horse who had nothing, no steering or manners went to the trainer for a month and he is an angel on trail, i love riding him, he can deal with deer and helicopters at the same time. Such a trooper.


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

Yes, you must go to the obstacle clinic! Each time I took Walka to a clinic, I was always amazed at what a sensible and attentive boy he was. Not something I could measure at home I guess. So, both he and I grew with the clinics you could say! LOL!

I'm also planning on attending, with him, a few more clinics, plus trailering him to the trainers (just a few miles down the road from me) for open invitation night. That's where anyone can attend and get a few pointers from the trainer and work with your horse in a different environment. All for free, an extension from the clinics we, and they, attended. Yes, I love my trainer! :lol:


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## phoenix (Jun 7, 2010)

Yeah those clinics look like fun but i've always been a bit nervy riding Phoenix anywhere other horses might be scared; he tends to feed off of other horses and get silly.

Your trainer sounds great. I'm glad you and your horse are improving every time you go. Mine invited me to the scary friday ride but wow i'm not ready for that yet. Every friday he takes out anyone who wants to go for 2 hours, in the trail behind his barn he sets up a bunch of scary obstacles and takes everyone through them. he helps where horses and riders have issues or just watches everyone succeed. Then they all go running. I could cope with the obstacles, but the running would be awful. Phoenix has the worst canter and it's mostly just him bucking down the trail, not cool!! So the trainer can run him until he stops bucking, that'll work for me.


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

Yes, I think having your trainer take Phoenix on the scary ride first may be a good choice. That way the trainer can guide him and give him the support and correction exactly when needed. Perhaps he has a nicely trained horse for you to ride during that ride. That way, you can work on your emotions for the next ride down the scary path with Phoenix. Just a thought.


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## phoenix (Jun 7, 2010)

Yeah, he probably will have a nice walking horse i can borrow for that ride; i definitely need to get over my anxiety about cantering him, i'm just so used to bracing for the big old buck that i forget to relax and enjoy the moment. I think riding my friends nice calm horse has helped a lot with that, plus my friend doesn't really like riding with Phoenix, shes a bit terrified of him.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

SO happy for You!! Glad to know that you're thinking ahead, too. It should be a GREAT summer! =D


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

phoenix said:


> Yeah, he probably will have a nice walking horse i can borrow for that ride; i definitely need to get over my anxiety about cantering him,* i'm just so used to bracing for the big old buck that i forget to relax and enjoy the moment. * I think riding my friends nice calm horse has helped a lot with that, plus my friend doesn't really like riding with Phoenix, shes a bit terrified of him.


A wise person gave me a nice tidbit of advice after my accident with Walka. I needed to "visualize" the next ride how I wanted it to go. Every step, calmly breathing, and Walka responding. I also needed to be aware, but not put to much energy and effort into the "if this _should_ happen, this is what I will do" scenario. If you know any body builders, they have "visualized" the muscle they are working getting larger and more defined as they work out. It truly works, though sounds a bit new age-ish . 

Try this before you ride him again. Visualize the ride and how you _want_ it to go. Believe it or not, your reflexes and muscles will respond without you being aware, but he will feel the difference. The sureness on your part will give him confidence.

Okay, I'll stop before someone comes to lock me up for sounding nuts. Keep us posted on his and your progress. It gives someone else experiencing similar issues a feeling of validation. No one likes thinking that only they feel that way. :wink:


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

phoenix said:


> Here he is all ready to go yesterday, modelling his new breast collar, how long until it's not purple anymore and is covered in burrs?!


If you're doing it right, not long. In other words you are working his butt off trail riding because it's so **** much fun!


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

Handsome horse, love the tack too!

Lovely to hear you had a great trail ride!! I hope they continue to rock your socks off!


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## phoenix (Jun 7, 2010)

Corporal said:


> SO happy for You!! Glad to know that you're thinking ahead, too. It should be a GREAT summer! =D


Thanks. Yeah if i didn't do something with him training wise i might just give up on him as a lost cause, poor boy he tries but can be very explosive. This summer will be amazing! 



Walkamile said:


> A wise person gave me a nice tidbit of advice after my accident with Walka. I needed to "visualize" the next ride how I wanted it to go. Every step, calmly breathing, and Walka responding. I also needed to be aware, but not put to much energy and effort into the "if this _should_ happen, this is what I will do" scenario. If you know any body builders, they have "visualized" the muscle they are working getting larger and more defined as they work out. It truly works, though sounds a bit new age-ish .
> 
> Try this before you ride him again. Visualize the ride and how you _want_ it to go. Believe it or not, your reflexes and muscles will respond without you being aware, but he will feel the difference. The sureness on your part will give him confidence.
> 
> Okay, I'll stop before someone comes to lock me up for sounding nuts. Keep us posted on his and your progress. It gives someone else experiencing similar issues a feeling of validation. No one likes thinking that only they feel that way. :wink:


That's a good plan actually. On this last ride after he had spooked i gave him a little pep talk, basically i said "i believe in you, you can do it!" i think the pep talk was more for me, but he was great after that. On the way up the hill too (where he has issues) i talked to him through that, more to keep myself calm i think. but it works! On the next ride i'll try the visualization thing, i'll see our ride going great, no rushing, no bucking and no problems with hills. I'll keep you updated, i like posting when it's something good. It feels good to brag about my good boy instead of complaining about him. 



Darrin said:


> If you're doing it right, not long. In other words you are working his butt off trail riding because it's so **** much fun!


Yeah, i figure it'll be clean for a few weeks and then look like he's had it for years. I can live with that! It is fun, i really want him to see how much fun he can have going out and exploring with his buddies, not everything is scary.



Skyseternalangel said:


> Handsome horse, love the tack too!
> 
> Lovely to hear you had a great trail ride!! I hope they continue to rock your socks off!


Thanks. I got it from long riders gear (it's a web store in California), they're really nice and have great customer service. When i got the breast collar it was way too small but regular horse size, apparently my horse needs warmblood size tack; luckily i have a great sewing machine at work so i altered it but they were offering all kinds of help to get me a new one.

Yup, with the trainers help and my friends going on our "old lady booze cruise" style slow trails we'll get to a good trail riding place.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

If he has a clue how nice that purple tack looks, he is bound to act better......................


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## phoenix (Jun 7, 2010)

Celeste said:


> If he has a clue how nice that purple tack looks, he is bound to act better......................


Maybe i should show him a photo. He does look nice! I'm glad i went with purple, i was going to go with teal but they didn't have the bridle in stock.


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## Horse Riding Fan (May 10, 2012)

Once Phoenix has experienced the tough ride with the trainer, hopefully you can bring him out more to explore! Trail riding is always fun and I get different experience even when I ride on the same trails sometimes.


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## Ne0n Zero (Dec 25, 2008)

The "scary trail" with your trainer sounds like a great experience for Phoenix  Also just want to add that the purple tack looks great on him!! I admit I may be a bit biased as purple is my favorite color but especially with the bright blue halter on under it it looks awesome. A+!!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## phoenix (Jun 7, 2010)

Horse Riding Fan said:


> Once Phoenix has experienced the tough ride with the trainer, hopefully you can bring him out more to explore! Trail riding is always fun and I get different experience even when I ride on the same trails sometimes.


I do hope so. He needs a job he'll enjoy and want to do and exploring with friends is fun. We'll never win any competitions (except maybe snazziest on trail) but i hope we can have fun.



Ne0n Zero said:


> The "scary trail" with your trainer sounds like a great experience for Phoenix  Also just want to add that the purple tack looks great on him!! I admit I may be a bit biased as purple is my favorite color but especially with the bright blue halter on under it it looks awesome. A+!!
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


It does, i can't wait for him to go. He needs the trainers firm hand to show him it's not as scary as he thinks it is, i have a firm hand but sometimes his antics scare me a little so it's best left to professionals. He does look good, he's one well dressed boy!

I hope he can still go, i'm having the vet out to check on a possible eye problem he might be having; he seems to be having some difficulty seeing things and is spooking a lot at stupid things like me and his herd members. So hopefully it's nothing or is treatable and he can still go enjoy the trail experience.


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