Big Choices...

E.'s lesson yesterday ended in coach A. riding the horse again. He was not behaving and was attempting to buck E. off. He is also is not improving with his head movement when asked to stop and continually pulls his rider forward. And these problems are not rider specific - he tries to do the same things to the trainer! (The educator in me insists that I add something positive about poor Curly at this point! He looks beautiful and also has become much better at offering his feet when we clean them. He's also a sweetie when we're on the ground. Okay, my conscience feels better!)

As we drove home I had a serious talk with E. about the suitability of Curly. She agrees that his training needs may be far beyond her abilities - even given lots of time to work with him. I told her that I am concerned about her safety while riding him. We will be trying our rubber bit regime (as soon as it arrives - next week?) to soften his mouth and improve his response to E.'s cues. If this does not work or improve his behavior substantially, I have told E. that we will have to seriously consider getting a different horse for her. This made her sad, of course, but she understands my concerns.

Another option, of course, is to have a trainer work with him the month we are in Europe. But I'm not sure I want to spend another $400 on a horse that may still prove to be unsuitable.

Testing

Since hubby M. is on spring break, I got to go out to the horse barn solo yesterday afternoon. It was so relaxing to go and do what I needed and wanted without having to divide my attention between the task I was doing and the need to be aware of where the children were. (Shh! Don't tell my kids I had such a good time without them!) :-)

I spent a good 40 minutes with Zane in the arena, practicing turns, stops and just plain ol' control. Our "honeymoon" phase is definitely over! He continually tested me to see if I would truly make him do as I asked. I let him go into a trot (which he would prefer over the walk I have been forcing him to keep to) and I now understand what others have meant when they said that he is really bouncy and fast! I felt like I was being pounded to death for a minute or two! And his forward movement is very speedy - and a little unnerving if you're not used to it. But I did get more used to it and was able to make him listen to my directions even while at a trot.

Coach A. has suggested that I ride him 3 more times and then get back up on Q to compare the two rides. I'm sure that will give me a much better idea if Zane is the horse for me......

As of this moment, I'm not so sure he is.....

I ride again on Wednesday.