GrungeEquestrian
04-18-2011, 07:38 PM
At the barn I board Trouble at when I'm out of school, since she comes with me during school, one of the boarders there has asked me to exercise his horse for him over the summer. He is an older gentleman, just a really nice guy...let's call him John. A few days ago he had hip replacement surgery and won't be able to ride for three months. We are good friends and I go on trail rides and team penning with him. He is pretty new with horses but had enough common sense to get a level headed, been there done that 12 year old QH gelding. His horse was previous owned by a talented young horse woman who did endurance, reining, gaming, trails, and team penning with the gelding.
John was all ears when he was really new. But now that he has taken some lessons, watched some videos, read books, and has gotten more experience (been riding for two years now) he is a little set in what he think is right. However, he does respect me as a good rider and has given the OK for my sister to ride his horse too. He hasn't asked for anymore advice from me though after the first year of owning his gelding.
Anyway, I rode the gelding last week when I was home. This is the first time I've actually ridden the gelding in about a year. I found that the gelding has a lot of bad habits. First and foremost I found out from the BO that John spends a lot of his time cantering the straight ways stopping, and spinning the other direction and going at the canter again. He does this constantly, which I know is not good for his gelding's joints. Also the gelding is horribly stiff, at the canter breaks down to the trot even doing the largest of circles, didn't want to round his corners, delayed with leg cues, wouldn't bend, had difficulty flexing, hollows his back, drifts towards the inside of the arena and only uses his hind end at the stop and while backing. He is ridden in a curb and on a loose rein. On the straight ways he stays at a constant speed on a loose rein and neck reins well, but with all his issues I feel that going back to the basics is needed.
I plan on putting him back into the snaffle and get him supple, flexible and working his hind end again. When I talked to John before even getting on his horse and he said I could do what I liked with him. Trail rides, even showing and showed me where all his tack was. When he first bought his gelding he actually only rode him in a snaffle. His only criteria was not to let him get away with anything and not let him get lazy. Which is ironic since it seems his gelding has gotten away with a lot.
I think it would really benefit the gelding to refresh the basics. However, I feel that it will be a not a complete waste, but disappointing to do all this work and than his owner putting him back to where he was before. I know his owner has no idea on rounding of the back, flexing and things of that nature. We are pretty good friends and I think he would take it better than me than from some of the other boarders that he occasionally bumps heads with. I just don't know how I should approach him on this. Of course I'm not going to go up there and say, "Oh by the way you gave your horse a lot of bad habits that I had to fix." But honestly after talking him about riding his horse, he doesn't think his horse has anything to work on. The gelding is digressing instead of improving since John bought him. When I rode him a year ago he was a completely different horse.
I'm kind of stuck here. How should I mention this to his owner? Or should I just not bother? Will I be stepping on toes?
John was all ears when he was really new. But now that he has taken some lessons, watched some videos, read books, and has gotten more experience (been riding for two years now) he is a little set in what he think is right. However, he does respect me as a good rider and has given the OK for my sister to ride his horse too. He hasn't asked for anymore advice from me though after the first year of owning his gelding.
Anyway, I rode the gelding last week when I was home. This is the first time I've actually ridden the gelding in about a year. I found that the gelding has a lot of bad habits. First and foremost I found out from the BO that John spends a lot of his time cantering the straight ways stopping, and spinning the other direction and going at the canter again. He does this constantly, which I know is not good for his gelding's joints. Also the gelding is horribly stiff, at the canter breaks down to the trot even doing the largest of circles, didn't want to round his corners, delayed with leg cues, wouldn't bend, had difficulty flexing, hollows his back, drifts towards the inside of the arena and only uses his hind end at the stop and while backing. He is ridden in a curb and on a loose rein. On the straight ways he stays at a constant speed on a loose rein and neck reins well, but with all his issues I feel that going back to the basics is needed.
I plan on putting him back into the snaffle and get him supple, flexible and working his hind end again. When I talked to John before even getting on his horse and he said I could do what I liked with him. Trail rides, even showing and showed me where all his tack was. When he first bought his gelding he actually only rode him in a snaffle. His only criteria was not to let him get away with anything and not let him get lazy. Which is ironic since it seems his gelding has gotten away with a lot.
I think it would really benefit the gelding to refresh the basics. However, I feel that it will be a not a complete waste, but disappointing to do all this work and than his owner putting him back to where he was before. I know his owner has no idea on rounding of the back, flexing and things of that nature. We are pretty good friends and I think he would take it better than me than from some of the other boarders that he occasionally bumps heads with. I just don't know how I should approach him on this. Of course I'm not going to go up there and say, "Oh by the way you gave your horse a lot of bad habits that I had to fix." But honestly after talking him about riding his horse, he doesn't think his horse has anything to work on. The gelding is digressing instead of improving since John bought him. When I rode him a year ago he was a completely different horse.
I'm kind of stuck here. How should I mention this to his owner? Or should I just not bother? Will I be stepping on toes?