I am running out of time to decide what to do with Buddy. Buddy is my three year old quarter horse gelding who is currently in Consort training with Grant. At the end of the month Buddy either needs to come home to continue his life with me, or be put up for sale. Part of my problem, and the reason he went to Grant in the first place is I'm not supposed to be riding right now.
You see, I'm waiting to hear from a specialist and according to my GP I'll need surgery on my sinuses. How does this impact me riding? Well, my sinuses are putting pressure on my Eustachian Tube causing fluid to build up in my inner ear. The ear is where your balance center is located. Hence riding not such a good idea. Another reason for not riding is my physio wants to eliminate any potential jerks or irregular movements with my in rehab shoulder.
Another issue surrounding Buddy involves Whiskey. Whiskey is still lame. I'm waiting for it to dry up a bit more before taking her to the vet for x-rays and potential injections. (Yes, the vet has seen her already.) There is an outside chance she may never be sound again. This means I would be without a riding horse. If I kept Buddy I'd have something to ride right now.
With an eye on the roping arena I know when Buddy matures he'll have the size, athletic ability, cow sense, and speed to make an excellent head horse. But to give him a chance to grow and mature he wouldn't be roped off of for another two years.
Another consideration is I have the feeling Buddy and I will have some personality conflicts. Based on his personality profile and conversations with Grant I wonder how much pleasure I'll receive in working with him (and vise versa). It's not particularly fair to either of us when another human might make him a better partner. But on the other hand, there is the potential for the two of us to develop a great working relationship.
A huge part of me hates to give up on a horse so early in its life, but I've also hit the age where I don't feel the need to prove my ability anymore. I believe Buddy is a stunning horse with an abundance of potential - or I would have never bought him in the first place. Ack! What do do?! Thoughts?
Stories about living on the farm training dogs and horses.
The Dogs
Tessa Working
Tessa (RIP)
Ryder
Diva
Bella
The "Babies"
The Horses
Marnie
Whiskey
Posts
5 comments:
Tough choice....if you are even hesitating than I would say, that in your heart, you want to let him go to someone else who could love him right now. Maybe he isn't the horse for you and, Andrea, that is OK!!!
As Buddy's principal rider and trainer (if you keep him) your and his success will depend on your working relationship. You didn't specify why you think Buddy and you may have personality conflicts, but those can usually be overcome with mutual understanding and respect. It's going to take a lot more work and dedication of course than working with someone you naturally 'click' with.
Not an easy decision!
I want to do some natural horsemanship with him because he is one of those busy horses. I've decided to give him a "trial" and see how we work together. I realize he's used to having his primary rider as someone else and it make take a bit for him to understand what I'm asking. When I've worked with him on the ground (prior to training) he did things I found aggravating, so now I need to see if he'll revert to those traits or if he's growing up.
Have you looked into using SATS with him? If you want more info on this you can go to my blog. And no, I'm not getting paid to say this - LOL - I just think it may work with Buddy.
The SATs looks quite interesting, something I'll do some more investigation on.
Post a Comment