Let me introduce my self... but please, don't mind my bad english.
I am dutch, living in sweden.
I am almost 50, so not really one of the yougsters. I've been with horses en big part of my life, but since there was no internet in my days, i learnt everything the traditional way.
A kopple of years ago i came in touch with natural horsemanship and it really facinatet me.
I had a old horse then, but when he died, it ended for a while. I did ride some other horses, but always had to deal with a lot of fear. Since i had an accident with a horse long ago, i had a lot of problems with selfconfidence with every other horse but my old gelding.
At last i just decided i was not going to have horses again, nor ride, but then we moved to sweden and i had this little pasture...
Well... a little pony just for fun would be nice, would'nt it?
So i bought two little pony's (one should be lonely). Little stalions who succeeded to make me feel miserble about my wishdom with horses. Tjeee..... but i learned to cope a little bit with them and then i got this chanse to buy a old horse, used for touristridning and yeah... why not? Just to walk around in the forest with this old guy.
But when he came to me, it became clear that there was a big difference between baring around tourist in a group horses, always the same route, or go out on a strange place, with a women he did not know and all by himself,
On top of that it became clear that his eyes where bad and he always had been a leader horse and he was thinking about taking over (the kind way... he was really patient with me)
Thats when i startet to learn about horsemanship everything i could and i never felt this stuped with horses before.. Tjee.
Why was everything so easy in my old days and when did it become so complicated to handle horses?
My husband, not a experienced rider, thougt it would be nice to go out in the forest together and fell in love with en mare who raced as a trothorse, swedisch coldblod, for 8 years (really succesvol) and did get some foals efter that. She had almost no experiens in riding and she really was a lady with a attitude.
Since i thought i learnt allready a lot about horsemanship and have been around horses so much, i decided to train with her.
O boy... was i in for a suprice.
She made itt quit clear to me that i did not had a clou and bit me really hard. Now i had a hurt shoulder and even a more hurt ego.
So i had to learn even more
Sadly enough my gelding get sick, artros and cancer. I tried to help him, but one year efter i 've got him, i had to put him down becouse he was in a lot of pain. I did only ride him very little when i just had him. The rest of the year i did not, becouse he was not able to ride.-
My husbands mare did not do a lot. I really did not want to work with her and my husband did get a accident and was not abel to work with her. Beside that didn't he had the experience he needed.
I bought a mare, to ride out with my husband att last. A racemare, warmblod trorhorse, 18 years. It became quicly clear to me that this horse had problems. I starded to search up her history and discoverd a sad story from a horse, wandring around from owner to owner almost every year, wich had an accident att the racetrack, was negletigated, misabbused (almost to death), ridden with a lot of pain and did became really dangerous to owners.
I learnd that her back was seriously injured and that she was riden (and jumpt with) for att least 5 years in spite of het pain.
The horse was totaly shut down like an autist.
Now my horsemanship was not enough en looking for a way to deal with her, i came in touch with clickertraining.
The was now way i could ever train this horse again, becouse her physical and psychical problems were to much, but i could learn her to deal with the vet and the man that took care of het hoovs. I learned to handdle the clicker with my shetlandpony's, who where now a days very nice and had a really good behavior. I learned a lot with them and they liked it.
I wanted to give here att least a nice time just wandring around in the pasture, but this year, april, the pain became to much for her and she could'n longer cope with it.
I'm sad to say that around that time it became clear that even my shetlandhorses had problems. One had a genetic problem with his joints that became clear when he became adult. He could barely walk att last, in spite of medicin.
So i had to put him down as well
The other did get problems ... i don't know the name in english - becouse of the gras.
Since he misses his buddy awfull and he couldn't go in our pasture withoud a grasredusere, i brought him to a other shetlandhorse with the same problem. I am glad to say he is much better now.
Bu that time i starded to work with silja with clickertraining and now we starded to get a relationship.
In juni i bought my own horse, a 8 year collblod tror mare.
Het owner wanted to ride dressage. The horse did'nt.
And once again.... i find out i had a horse with backproblems.
(This time a vet looked att the horse before, but he didn't se it)
A fysiotherapeut and chiropraktor did threat the horse and this horse my be understood just in time. It seems that the damage is not perminent (but on the border), but it is really really importent that she gets the right training to stretch her muskles and become strong before ever get back on her back again.
But even silja needs absolutly right training becouse she did not work for a while, is alreaddy 15 and needs time to build muscles before riding.
Becouse i really need to do this right, i search information and came here.
And here i am, almost 50, living in sweden with husband. Thre kids living in holland, two studing in england, 3 dogs, 1 cat and two horses att home and a pony at another place.
For know i have a lot of work reading the stuf you did write down, so it will take a time before i really join activly.
But i will in time..
Fore those who did stand out to read the whole history... thanks...
I was not easy in english.
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It sounds like you have had a bad, sad time with your horses. I hope it gets better now.
Start with the Groundwork exercises for "stepping under" - they helped my little horse a lot with his bad back.
) but she came with me. We workt in the paddock, with just a lose neckrope... nothing else.