Post by Ivy Winterfall on Jun 7, 2018 7:03:58 GMT 10
So, I've been going to lessons in this one small riding school. The horses are kept nicely, they can go in and out when they please and they are one big herd and come along well together. However, I suspect at least one horse has ill-fitting tack.
I went riding today and I was assigned this nice mare. She was very charming, and I scratched her itchy places and she was curious about everything I did. But when I took the saddle and prepared to put it on her, her whole attitude changed. She pinned her ears back, made these "warning bites" and was irritated. I put the saddle on her and as I was trying to find the place where the saddle should sit properly, I noticed that it felt a bit tight on the shoulderblade area. I slid my hand on the front from top to bottom, and the top part, around 3-5 cm length, seemed really tight. Otherwise it was loose. The saddle pad had "correctional pads" as well.
While riding, she was really reluctant to go forward and didn't bend properly on the right side. Her canter was way off, and at first she didn't even want to canter. I said to the teacher, that she feels stiff on the other side and when I try to gallop on a circle she falls out with her outward shoulder and drops to trot. The teacher just said that I'm not fast enough with my aids and I should be stronger with my legs. It could be that, since I've been taught a very different way to ride, but that way to ride emphasized how the horse feels when you ride it and to feel the pacing. So I felt something was odd.
After riding, I took the saddle from her back and noticed that the part that felt tight around her shoulders left a 5 cm wide pattern in the fur from the saddle pad. That pattern wasn't visible anywhere else. So something could be off with her saddle?
I think the horse is stiff and her saddle doesn't fit her. I'm thinking of mentioning this next week to the teacher, but she's a professional, shouldn't she notice these kind of things? I've begun to question my 14 years of horsemanship skills. I was taught how to check if the saddle or other tack fits, horse biomechanics, horse behaviour, feeding, health checks etc. This is the first time I ride in a riding school.
At the end of the lesson, I thought is this worth it. Why should I pay 45 euros per lesson where I ride a stiff horse with ill-fitting tack? Maybe I should wait until I have money to buy my own horse, at least then I could make sure the horse I ride has a good life.
I went riding today and I was assigned this nice mare. She was very charming, and I scratched her itchy places and she was curious about everything I did. But when I took the saddle and prepared to put it on her, her whole attitude changed. She pinned her ears back, made these "warning bites" and was irritated. I put the saddle on her and as I was trying to find the place where the saddle should sit properly, I noticed that it felt a bit tight on the shoulderblade area. I slid my hand on the front from top to bottom, and the top part, around 3-5 cm length, seemed really tight. Otherwise it was loose. The saddle pad had "correctional pads" as well.
While riding, she was really reluctant to go forward and didn't bend properly on the right side. Her canter was way off, and at first she didn't even want to canter. I said to the teacher, that she feels stiff on the other side and when I try to gallop on a circle she falls out with her outward shoulder and drops to trot. The teacher just said that I'm not fast enough with my aids and I should be stronger with my legs. It could be that, since I've been taught a very different way to ride, but that way to ride emphasized how the horse feels when you ride it and to feel the pacing. So I felt something was odd.
After riding, I took the saddle from her back and noticed that the part that felt tight around her shoulders left a 5 cm wide pattern in the fur from the saddle pad. That pattern wasn't visible anywhere else. So something could be off with her saddle?
I think the horse is stiff and her saddle doesn't fit her. I'm thinking of mentioning this next week to the teacher, but she's a professional, shouldn't she notice these kind of things? I've begun to question my 14 years of horsemanship skills. I was taught how to check if the saddle or other tack fits, horse biomechanics, horse behaviour, feeding, health checks etc. This is the first time I ride in a riding school.
At the end of the lesson, I thought is this worth it. Why should I pay 45 euros per lesson where I ride a stiff horse with ill-fitting tack? Maybe I should wait until I have money to buy my own horse, at least then I could make sure the horse I ride has a good life.