Hey everyone,
I Bought my new mare on the 27th of July. I was unsure when I first met her on rather or not I wanted her. At the time I was very miserable. I was having issues with my current job and my current horse was unable to be ridden due to being older and having hip problems. It was all very sudden and I was trying to wrap my head around the idea that I had to quit my job as well as retire my best friend.
I love my new horse though, shes stunning and everyone at the barn loves her, but I'm finding myself comparing her to my old horse a lot and in the end getting frustrated to the point that I get home from the barn in tears.
To start my new horse has a few quirks. She doesn't stand well for mounting, she gets rude and tries to bite when you tack her up, she's very spooky, is scared of jumping, and I feel that she puts up with me instead of being glad to see me.
I've talked to my instructor about some of these "quirks" and she's told me to calm down and take things in stride. For example I had a lesson with her and was scared to mount as my horse leans into me and I lose my balance. Was told to calm down and put my foot in and pull myself up without thinking of anything but mounting. I did so after many tries and minutes.
Today I went back to that thinking but ended up breaking down after an hour of trying to mount. My horse was annoyed with me by then and I was a mess of tears and anxiety so I untacked her and left the barn feeling like a complete idiot.
I'm at a loss as to what I should do. My instructor has a new job and I'm unable to talk to her face to face as she's been working crazy hours and my mom, who helped pay for my new horse, doesn't understand my struggles.
I spent a couple days doing ground work with her but she won't listen to me unless I have treats in my hand, I want a good bond with her but I'm too stressed out to think straight.
I feel awful when I don't ride as she loves being ridden but I'm too scared to get on her.
I need help and advice on how i can calm myself down or what I should do.
Thank you
I Bought my new mare on the 27th of July. I was unsure when I first met her on rather or not I wanted her. At the time I was very miserable. I was having issues with my current job and my current horse was unable to be ridden due to being older and having hip problems. It was all very sudden and I was trying to wrap my head around the idea that I had to quit my job as well as retire my best friend.
I love my new horse though, shes stunning and everyone at the barn loves her, but I'm finding myself comparing her to my old horse a lot and in the end getting frustrated to the point that I get home from the barn in tears.
To start my new horse has a few quirks. She doesn't stand well for mounting, she gets rude and tries to bite when you tack her up, she's very spooky, is scared of jumping, and I feel that she puts up with me instead of being glad to see me.
I've talked to my instructor about some of these "quirks" and she's told me to calm down and take things in stride. For example I had a lesson with her and was scared to mount as my horse leans into me and I lose my balance. Was told to calm down and put my foot in and pull myself up without thinking of anything but mounting. I did so after many tries and minutes.
Today I went back to that thinking but ended up breaking down after an hour of trying to mount. My horse was annoyed with me by then and I was a mess of tears and anxiety so I untacked her and left the barn feeling like a complete idiot.
I'm at a loss as to what I should do. My instructor has a new job and I'm unable to talk to her face to face as she's been working crazy hours and my mom, who helped pay for my new horse, doesn't understand my struggles.
I spent a couple days doing ground work with her but she won't listen to me unless I have treats in my hand, I want a good bond with her but I'm too stressed out to think straight.
I feel awful when I don't ride as she loves being ridden but I'm too scared to get on her.
I need help and advice on how i can calm myself down or what I should do.
Thank you