Featuring: something special
You know how two weeks ago my sister and I bought this amazing horse?
Caven is young, healthy, energetic, lovely and adorable. He learns fast, he tries hard. On top of that he is a really stunning horse with a beautiful white coat and a lean and muscular body, that exactly everyone at the barn had to make a compliment on.
No horse is perfect, however. Every horse has some kind of flaws, some kind of bad habit or to put it more affectionately: a special feature.
The thing is, you only get access to these special features once you get to know your horse better. Like when you try to mount them for the first time after two weeks of working on the ground, building up stuff like trust and a bond.
And this is what happened a couple of days ago. After we had given Caven enough time to settle down, adapt to his new owners, surroundings, neighbors and daily routines, for him to feel at ease and happy in his new home, we made an appointment with a saddler.
Because when you want to ride, you need a saddle. And when you want to ride, you also need to mount your horse. Simple enough. Almost boring, isn't it? That's what your horse's special feature is for! To spice things up a little!
Turns out, Caven's special feature is denying his rider access to his back. In other words, you can't mount him. At least not easily, not in that boring way that every other rider mounts their horse. Nooo. You have to put in some real effort and invest a lot of time if you want to mount this horse.
Every time you try to put your foot into the stirrup to mount Caven, he either dodges to the side or takes a few steps backwards to make it impossible for you to climb up. He can't stand still. He doesn't wait for you to actually mount him before he gets moving.
Last time that I did manage to mount him on my own, he dashed off before I even had my other foot in the stirrup. Apparently I'm a badass rider as I didn't fall and instead quickly got him back under control. Riding Caven isn't the problem at all, he is actually rather easy to ride. IF you can mount him.
It would be funny, if it wasn't so damn frustrating.
But let's be real. In the end, this is the result of poor or neglected training and can be fixed with regular and accurate training. Right now, my sister has to hold Caven by the reins so that I can mount him safely and without trouble. We will have to do this repeatedly and for a while now before he understands what he's supposed to do.
So we've been training to mount since Friday, and today we could see a first, tiny progress. It'll take time and patience, but it feels really good to see we're getting results and to know it will get better. Caven did well today and the saddler probably didn't even recognize our horse's special feature. The three of us as a team managed to appear completely normal!
And as of today we also have a fitting, secondhand saddle that will be replaced by the same model in brand-new when it's deliverable around mid-November. Exciting!
Caven is proud of his special features. He's also proud of his new home. Check it out, it even has a window!
Caven is young, healthy, energetic, lovely and adorable. He learns fast, he tries hard. On top of that he is a really stunning horse with a beautiful white coat and a lean and muscular body, that exactly everyone at the barn had to make a compliment on.
No horse is perfect, however. Every horse has some kind of flaws, some kind of bad habit or to put it more affectionately: a special feature.
The thing is, you only get access to these special features once you get to know your horse better. Like when you try to mount them for the first time after two weeks of working on the ground, building up stuff like trust and a bond.
And this is what happened a couple of days ago. After we had given Caven enough time to settle down, adapt to his new owners, surroundings, neighbors and daily routines, for him to feel at ease and happy in his new home, we made an appointment with a saddler.
Because when you want to ride, you need a saddle. And when you want to ride, you also need to mount your horse. Simple enough. Almost boring, isn't it? That's what your horse's special feature is for! To spice things up a little!
Turns out, Caven's special feature is denying his rider access to his back. In other words, you can't mount him. At least not easily, not in that boring way that every other rider mounts their horse. Nooo. You have to put in some real effort and invest a lot of time if you want to mount this horse.
Every time you try to put your foot into the stirrup to mount Caven, he either dodges to the side or takes a few steps backwards to make it impossible for you to climb up. He can't stand still. He doesn't wait for you to actually mount him before he gets moving.
Last time that I did manage to mount him on my own, he dashed off before I even had my other foot in the stirrup. Apparently I'm a badass rider as I didn't fall and instead quickly got him back under control. Riding Caven isn't the problem at all, he is actually rather easy to ride. IF you can mount him.
It would be funny, if it wasn't so damn frustrating.
But let's be real. In the end, this is the result of poor or neglected training and can be fixed with regular and accurate training. Right now, my sister has to hold Caven by the reins so that I can mount him safely and without trouble. We will have to do this repeatedly and for a while now before he understands what he's supposed to do.
So we've been training to mount since Friday, and today we could see a first, tiny progress. It'll take time and patience, but it feels really good to see we're getting results and to know it will get better. Caven did well today and the saddler probably didn't even recognize our horse's special feature. The three of us as a team managed to appear completely normal!
And as of today we also have a fitting, secondhand saddle that will be replaced by the same model in brand-new when it's deliverable around mid-November. Exciting!
Caven is proud of his special features. He's also proud of his new home. Check it out, it even has a window!