Monday 13 July 2015

Getting It Wrong


We finally got some rain this past weekend. Take that, forest fires!

Unfortunately, that rain made my quest for decent pics and video of Ginger a little difficult. I wasn't too upset, after all that would only make it harder to make a sale ad for her :)
Pretty girl, but my only decent and somewhat current ad worthy pic of her

The weather cleared a little on Sunday morning, so G and I headed out to the barn. Ginger has been ridden infrequently of late, but has been going pretty well. I was somewhat optimistic we'd get some decent video, and maybe slightly hopeful she'd be so amazing some magic would happen and we'd opt to keep her and never look back ;)

Again, the universe said "Nope, not happening". Poor Ginger was having a bad day, so most of my ride consisted of bolty, panicky pony. I have no idea what was going on and suspect a combination of things, mostly her off and on again schedule. She lunged fine, but was just extra sensitive and silly under saddle. We will just chalk yesterday up to a Ginger day. We all survived to try again, but it did make me realize a few things:

- The infrequent schedule isn't doing anyone any favours.

- I need to move her, either closer to me or to a trainer who can get her back in a proper program.

- I feel super confident in the saddle again, even with Ginger on a bad day. But it still isn't fun.

- And finally, as much as it stinks, I know I'm making the right decision in selling or leasing her. My goal for so long has been to get my confidence back and really be able to ride her well again. I feel like that's happened, but whatever magical thing I thought would accompany that is still missing. Unexpectedly, the Midget pony has quietly stepped into Ginger's shoes and beyond, so rather than the original plan of selling/leasing Bridget and going back to having Ginger as my main ride, we're going to do the opposite. Life is weird sometimes. It's also a little sad, but I do see the humor in it all. There is a sense of rightness in how everything has played out this past year.

I'll leave you with this great photo sequence from yesterday:
Cute pony
ARRGHHH! Monsters!
See ya!
G is under strict instructions not to take photo or video of me falling or dying, so he sensibly put the camera down and these three pictures are all I got from my ride. I think we'll call that an advertising fail, but a funny one :)
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8 comments

  1. Ahh welshies.... I have ridden a few in my days. They are either easy rock stars with a little tude or just plain dirty rock stars!
    But hey, at least they look pretty doing it all.

    Sorry to hear about your frustrations though. I went through something similar with Paloma a couple years ago. I even almost traded her for a made but older hunter mare. Luckily, something felt wrong and I didn't go through with it.
    Turns out Paloma and I are too much alike, personality wise and I didn't even know it and that can do one of two ways.

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    1. Ginger and I are opposites, which actually works ok. Midge and I are very much alike and I'm enjoying that. Love the summary of the cobs - so true. I think they all have a pretty wicked sense of humor, but I'm finding some are much more sensible than others!

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  2. those pictures really do kind of sum it up, don't they? all the same tho it must have felt super empowering to feel that confidence in the tack, even if it still wasn't fun. good luck :(

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    1. Those pictures sum it up perfectly...just going along all happy, then $%%&&!!!, then all happy again. My life with the pony. The incidents of her brain falling out of her head do decrease dramatically with regular work, though, so it's on me a little - she's actually quite a fun ride for the right person

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  3. It is great you are feeling more confident, thanks to Bridget. Very funny how things have worked out, but Ginger is a great horse who I suspect will flourish in a training program or maybe with a really confident rider.

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    1. You're right, she does really well with a regular job. She hates change, so a regular routine and consistent expectations are the best way to manage her. I simply don't have the time or desire to meet those needs right now. It was a little unfair of me to ask her to keep her brain engaged after a week off in the field, but you live and learn :)

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  4. I think you have made a very smart (although very hard) decision. It's supposed to be fun! Things have a way of working themselves out.

    She looks quite lovely in the top photo :)

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    1. She's such a sweet girl, and yes, so pretty. She'll make someone else very happy. I'm sad that she's not a good fit for my life anymore, but I guess situations change, and recognizing that is one of the responsibilities of being a good owner.

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