When
someone asks me what kind of horse I want my first response is typically “a
tall one”. This is usually followed by
the asker saying, “Why?” and me responding with, “I just like tall horses”.
After
finally gaining a ride on Stan the other day, I know why I want a tall horse.
I’ve spent all my time since February riding horses that might reach 15hh – if they’re lucky – and time riding ponies. Riding Stan, who is a solid 15.3hh, and may
even be 16hh, the other day was uh-mazing. (I scored a hack on a thoroughbred mare a
couple weeks back and was astonished at how her strides just ate up the ground,
but tossed it aside as a thoroughbred thing.
Silly, Liz, its just the nature of a typical taller, longer legged
horse.) Stan’s trot was huge and flowing
and better than I remembered. It absolutely
gobbled up the ground in front of us. I
have no difficulty realizing why he was so talented in the LD race we did years
ago.
After
conditioning Orion this summer and attempting to get him to pick up the pace
and trot faster to make better time, I realized this past Sunday that it wasn’t
that he wasn’t putting out effort; he just didn’t have the stride that Stan
does. I wasn’t accustomed to a horse
with a shorter stride after years on Stan.
Stan barely puts out, and he’s eating up the ground. Its AMAZING.
I guess
I’m just a little addicted to the thrill of speed. ;-) But not like I used to be though. In five years and time of owning my own
horse, I have learned a LOT. I have made
a lot of mistakes, but I’ve learned from all of them. I’ve become a better horse person for all of
it.
I could
tell Stan was a little baffled by my new altered riding style and behavior
towards him while riding. Our ground
interactions are very similar to the way they’ve always been, but riding? Big difference.
Difference #1: All my tack is different. New saddle, new saddle pad, new breast plate,
different bit. The girth and headstall
are the same.
I’ve self-taught
myself a LOT about bits over the past months.
I used to just ride horses in whatever bit their owners deemed necessary
– or not necessary in the stead of a hackamore or bitless bridle. Having a horse of my own meant I had to start
making decisions and learning though.
Looking into what I’d ridden Stan in for all those years I’ve discovered
it was an Uxeter Kimberwicke with a port.
The information I could dig up on this bit revealed it to be a very
harsh one in the hands of someone inexperienced, though multiple sources stated
how it is often a bit chosen for small riders on large horses they may need
more control over. I feel this last
reason is probably why it was the chosen bit I rode Stan in most often all
those years. Now I have him in either a
simple stainless steel broken snaffle or a sweet iron French d-link. He’s not half as responsive to the light
pressure I’m used to giving him with these bits. By the end of our ride though he was responding
a bit better – but I still had to ask more than I am accustomed.
The
Wintec saddle and Toklat breastplate probably don’t make a huge difference for
him, but the saddle in particular does for me.
My beautiful, wonderful, amazing Crosby is really in disarray –
something else I’ve learned over the past few months via the internet. The flocking is pretty much shot, not giving
poor Stan much padding against my bony butt all those years. He never had back soreness though – which I
would like to attribute to my riding ability a little bit since people have
noted how centered I am through the years (another concept I didn’t get until
recent months). Mostly it probably just
helped that I’m a featherweight and he’s a big boy. No matter my riding ability, I’m more
comfortable in my Wintec now. And the
Toklat breastplate, with its fuzziness (and awesome bright redness) is probably
a twinge more comfy than the simple leather one of past.
Difference #2: I’m much more aware of my seat,
my hands, and my communication to Stan.
Riding
such an unbalanced horse – Orion – for most of the summer really screwed with
my seat. A lot. People had noted previously how centered I
rode. Then I took a centered riding
lesson on Orion, learned more about centered riding in general, and realized
how poorly I was now riding in comparison to former days. I was still leaps and bounds above beginner
riders, but I was over-compensating for my horse’s poor balance and killing my
form in the process.
I’ve
noted since riding balanced horses as of late, how much more comfortable and
improved my seat is. How easy and
instinctual it is for me to keep that imaginary line shoulder-elbow-hip-heel no
matter the gait. How posting is suddenly
not this awkward dance between horse and I, but this magical ease of
movement. How with my seat alone I can
really adjust how the horse moves beneath me.
I’m more
aware of my hands. Of contact or lack
thereof. The bulk of my horse-related
upbringing involved western-style riding, but the English side of it all is
something I have looked into and practiced lately. I’m incorporating it all into the way I ride
dependent upon my situation and I think its really aiding my communication with
the horse better.
Both my
improved awareness of seat and hands helped Stan the other night. (I’m now riding with blunt spurs instead of a
crop as well which helps as the tiniest of nudges with my heel brings a greater
response from him than the crop ever did – and I feel SO much more attune with
this aid than the crop.) The ride began
with him being very hesitant and very resistant to the less harsh bit. By the end though, through my seat
especially, I had him calming back down from a canter (which eats up the ground
even more awesome than the trot, oh. my. goodness! *squeal*) with 60% less
effort than I’d had to put out at the beginning of the ride!
I still
have SO much more to learn though about myself and about the horses I will ride
in the future. I’m more horse-obsessed
than ever before though. All this new
knowledge that was left unturned under a rock somewhere pre-horse-ownership has
sparked my love of all things equine so much stronger than before! Aaaaah, its not healthy! lol
What
kind of horse do I really, really want though? A
leggy desert horse. (Yes, I'm more than aware these horses don't reach outrageous heights; they have so many other attributes I'm fond of.) You know, the “hot-headed”
type. Except that stereotype of being feisty
is something I admire. I mean…I’m a
redhead I share the same stereotype, haha!
But seriously, as an experience horse person, I understand how to
adequately care for and understand an Arab, and I really, really, admire and
love how finely-tuned they are to the world around them. Flighty and feisty? Maybe, but that’s fine with me. It will make me so much more attune to myself
and my actions and communication. And
the bond these horses have with their owners is something more that I think is
amazing. One day in the next couple
years I’ll find my Arab. We’ll start
slow and work our way to the top as our bond builds. Definitely something to look forward to.
 |
| Maybe a bond like this redhead has with RB Cavalier (more here) |
