It's very difficult not get frustrated with this entire process. There are days when Fiona is a perfect girl and her manners or good, then there are other days. She has walked away from me a few times in her stall when I go to halter her. She hasn't done this in months! I know it's not a major setback, but it's just frustrating.
I think I am just being too direct and agenda oriented.
I am starting lessons with Debbie Anderson, the owner of Red Mountain Stables, tomorrow. I have been looking forward to this day ALL WEEK! She knows Arabians, she knows my horse and she is going to be a very good teacher I am certain.
This will be my first ride on an Arabian (other than Fiona of course) and Deb said it's totally different than riding any other horse. I am VERY excited! I will post tomorrow and let everyone know how it goes!
YAY!!
Yay, Stephanie!!!!!! Stick with it.
ReplyDeleteFor years I had been dreaming of a wonderful relationship with a horse. The kind that bring tears to our eyes when we see it with others.
Then I finally got Buster after working my way up through riding horses of various difficulty at stables. And it wasn't what I hoped it would be at all. Buster was distant, aloof, would make me chase him for up to 20 minutes in the field to get a halter on, and worst of all, he would turn away the instant I took the halter off and run to be with his pasturemates without so much as the briefest glance my way.
I was very sad about it, but had made my promise to him that he'd be my "forever horse". So I started to look around for advice and found that good old-fashioned love AND-AND-AND establishing a firm foundation of respect and control were what I needed to do. So, I just kept at it with Clinton Anderson DVDs, long days hanging out while he grazed, advice from experienced friends when we hit nasty roadblocks, and whatever else I could find.
About six months of this passed and certainly the foundation was coming along, and Buster was much easier to catch and handle, but I didn't know if he had positive feelings for me or not. I pulled into the farm one day, got out of my car, and I hear this whinny/nicker. I didn't think much of it at first, but then it hit me like a bolt of lightning - "Was that for me??? Could it be????"
And it was. Buster had called for me when he saw me get out of the car. I could have cried. Maybe I did, I can't exactly recall.
That was the start and we just kept building from there with completing the foundation of groundwork, exercises under saddle, tons and tons of love, food as a reward when appropriate, and TIME. Lots and lots of patient time.
Now, Buster sings like a rock star virtually every time he sees me. And he'll cross a huge pasture to come to me if I am coming to get him and he's way out back. I just yell his name and he slowly breaks away from the other horses and starts toward me.
You can get there, Stephanie! And I might just shed a tear or two for you. The love part is easy. It would appear to me that you already have an abundance of that in your heart. It's the rock-solid foundation established over time with a willingness to be a humble and patient student that holds back so many people who want to build that relationship with their horses.
You can do it!!!!