So last week, when I wrote that Marve hasn't bolted or freaked out lately, I spoke too soon.
He bolted again while I was riding him just a few days after making that post. But you know what? It wasn't bad. And I think it actually helped things.
Another horse in the arena spooked, and Marve responded by leaping into the air and then taking off into a bolt. But this time, even more so than in the past, I was super conscious of sitting far back and deep in the saddle. Even though I felt out of control and like I was a goner, I kept thinking sit back back back back. And before I knew it, I had him under control -- before he even made it to the other side of the arena.
As soon as I had a grip on things again, I immediately urged him back into a working trot and then up to canter. This is in contrast to some of his other freak outs, where it was more severe/scary and I ended up shaking after it was over and wanting to cry. This time, it was just business as usual.
The whole thing raised my confidence and made me feel like I can handle him and that I don't need to be terrified. If that was the worst of what I can expect in the future, I have to say it wasn't that bad. I can handle that.
Of course, I'm aware that this particular spook might just have been tamer than others. But the fact that I handled it means for now, I'm not scared like I used to be.
Our rides since then still have been challenging in other ways -- I'm having fun again, which is awesome, but sometimes I still feel like we are moving backwards instead of forwards. But I've been working on my jump position, which is getting stronger, and I've also been getting him rounder in the canter. That's a big accomplishment, because to be honest, at the height of my Marve fear, I kind of dreaded cantering him at all because it made me worry he'd take off. But now I'll canter around and around and around without even giving it a second thought.
As of right now, today, I feel good enough about the lease to continue it indefinitely. We'll see if that feeling remains, but still...it's nice not to be scared. :)
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6 comments:
Wow! Good for you. This whole Marve situation is such a great example of listening to your gut and not rushing into a hasty decision. Kudos woman!
Also, I don't think I said this before, but congratulations on your engagement! Very exciting.
Very cool to see you work through your issues.
Probably the best thing for Marve is lots and lots of work, canter, trot etc. Let him be a horse.
decisions take me forever to make too, but I rarely regret them.
Fantastic! Congratulations on hanging in there...looking forward to the next update.
Oh, that's wonderful! Congrats! I think you're right on both counts, btw - it was a less serious spook because you handled it better from the beginning. Yay!
YOU GO GIRL!! :high five: I don't like scary/hard stuff, but after you work through them you feel so good about yourself. So glad to read this!
I agree with Funder -- give yourself some credit! You handled the situation just right and THAT was calming to Marve. And putting him right back to work after the spook -- way to go! I suspect that Marve no longer has your number.
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