Re: Experianced Rider..

 hi there-

just checked out your profile, and it says you have been riding 5 years, now i have been riding 7 years- and i wouldn't class myself as an experience rider- no where near- 5 years is nothing compared to some of the women/men on here- who have been riding 30 odd years- thats experienced, maybe instead of saying your experienced, say novice- intermediate- because if an offer comes up o n a horse who is for an experienced rider- you might be surprised- my old horse, Dusky, was 16.2hh, 8 years old and hadn't been broken in because of a terrible start to life, i thought i would be experienced enough to take him on- but i really wasn't, and i had a lot of trouble with him, even though he was a lovely horse, he was very frisky and liked to bolt- and we made the heartbreaking desicison to sell him- and that wasawful, but i have Shayden now, he is 14,2hh and been schooled and everything- he is arab, but he is sweet as sugar, but he does have his moments- and i even struggle with him sometimes, but maybe just be 100% honest about your ability- otherwise you may regret it,,

good luck in findign your horse,, amy :) x

Re: Experianced Rider..

i might as well give up.

Surely a good heart is important- to actually love and want to care for horses?

do years and months count so much?????

Im speaking as a mum of  4 human children -  they all survived,we all need to learn, i would say 5 yrs is good ?

Re: Experianced Rider..

im not arguing at all - but  5 yrs is some xperience? i cannot wait till i  have that much - 5 yrs - she cannot be a novice?

I am speaking as a total novice of less than 1 yr - i would respect her thats all im saying

Re: Experianced Rider..

Surely the main purpose of this post was to find a horse to share/loan. Has anyone got any ideaas of how Clairey123 can achieve this? If I were you I would think about putting an ad in Chiltern Rider. Also putting ads up on noticeboards at local tack shops and livery yards. It is also worth looking on the websites of local Riding Clubs and Pony Clubs because sometimes ads get put on for members who are looking for someone to share their horse. It is also worth ringing local Riding Clubs and Pony Clubs to see if they know of a suitable horse on the grapevine. Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Re: Experianced Rider..

Deb, ive known people who over estimate their riding abilities, think theyre more experienced than they are and they attempt to deal with a horse who is far from suitable, they cant handle it, they screw that horse up and then they also screw their own health up... i know, i did it! I was missold a 1st horse, told that the exeventer would be a perfect first horse, how wrong were we to buy one... i ended up in hospital more times than youve had hot dinners!

My current mare Gem, i bought her originally, i dont know why personally, but 2yrs ago she was rather wild, and i fell off her, i had physio for one of the falls off her today... i have ruptured ligaments in my wrist and will possibly need surgery. This isnt the only fall off her, now my riding has advanced enough and Gem is a sweet natured mare who is very loyal and whilst she didnt mean to get me off back then, she is very green, and it was her inexperience, and mine(!) which caused my fall.

When youve been riding under a year, you think that 5yrs is a long time, its not. I cant wait til i can say ive been riding 20+ years, that is a long time.

My post, and from what duskyteddys post reads, we are both very concerned that the OP is over estimating her own ability and experience, and she *could* get herself into some real deep water if she ends up with a horse which is too much for her to cope with, physically and mentally.

A good heart is important yes, but what good is that when youre underneath a towering 16.2hh beast of a horse because it felt like standing on you? What good is a good heart when youre in hospital after the horse you took on with a good heart knocked you unconscious? Horses are dangerous animals, we cannot communicate with them in a way in which we can say to another person 'sorry but im your boss, move over!' you need to learn how to interpret that into a language which horses understand. After 7yrs of riding (and my mums ridden for 40odd years and schooled naughty horses, and owned babies, jumped BSJA the lot) i do not feel equipped, mentally or physically, to take on a particularly experienced ride. As my post above said, ive done a fair amount, ive ridden and owned novice eventers, and difficult personalities also, theres no way id cope with one though on a one to one permenant basis! A good heart doesnt always do much good, you can get hurt, and its a worrying factor which crops up way too much in my life personally, so im not going to sit back and watch someone else attempt to make the same mistakes i made.

When i had been riding less than a year i was awing over people who had been riding 5-10yrs etc, but when you actually reach those milestones, you realise that actually, whilst yes they are better riders, theyre still not actually that fantastic (speaking from personal experience, not saying anyone on here isnt fantastic as i dont know any of you personally!) and it really makes you think.

As i said in my previous post, im not in your area clairey so not too sure what youve got down there but we have an admag where theres lots of horsey adverts but youre better off keeping an ear open for word of mouth loans. Tell staff at local tack shops and feed suppliers etc, you'll soon get something, ive owned 5 horses and none of those were actually advertised.