4. A ride that impacted your life
I don’t really know what this means? A horse I was assigned to ride or a single time I rode? I’m going to sort of mush them together.
I rode a horse named Country/Syd in high school. He was a training project so I rode him for free in exchange for taking him from backed lightly to jumping 3’ish. This horse was barely rideable when I started. We’d spend entire lessons cantering in a 20 meter circle (because going straight resulted in bucking/bolting) and trotting was more like jigging. He had to be ridden in side reins (because the trainer told me he had to be ridden in side reins). Looking back, I don’t know if he really did.
I remember the day the trainer took the side reins back to ride another horse with and I had to ride him without them. I know everyone online is like “omg side reins are evil and only people who don’t know how to ride use them,” but I have to say this horse came out beautifully. They allowed him to stretch and fight the bit or collect or do whatever he wanted and learn at his own pace to go on the bit and when we removed them, he was butter. Solid on the bit, not afraid of contact, but not pulling my arms out. Nicely on his hind end, and floating uphill.
I still use side reins although I really only use them when lunging and cannot remember the last time I rode with them, but I’ve always remember that ride and I’ve never been as opposed to training tools as so many outraged internet people are.
Picture of why I’m not riding anything at the moment:
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| Oh, were you planning to ride me? So sorry. |