Am I Ready

As I mentioned in my first post, Elvis has taken me down paths I'm not sure I would have explored in my quest for dressage knowledge. My husband and I first saw Elvis one hot summer day five years ago. It was pretty clear that he was very green which wouldn't be so unusual except that he was 9. He was pretty unstable in the bridle and pretty nervous. But, when he put it all together, he looked amazing.

The owners were asking way too much for what he was but there was clearly talent there. I didn't bother to get on because it was obvious that the horse was on his last nerve. I politely told the trainer to keep me posted on the horse's training because I liked what I saw. When we got back in the car and before I could make a comment, my husband said "Don't even think about that horse. He's for a professional." But, I replied, no professional is going to want him because he's too much of a project.

We kept looking and had 3 horses vetted that didn't pass but I kept thinking about this horse. Fast forward 4 months. It's Dec 30, I'm convinced I will never find another horse and am feeling pretty sorry for myself. I come home to a message from the trainer telling me that the horse is still available if I'm still looking. The owners want him sold by Dec 31 and will take any reasonable offer. OK, I'll play. No promises, but I will come and take another look.

To shorten the story, within 12 hours we bought the horse. At a very reasonable price. With no vetting, because the trainer was insistent that the purchase take place that day. The poor trainer didn't stand a chance against my husband, who negotiates with insurance companies all day long. He made a crazy-low offer stating that we didn't have to buy the horse, they had to sell him. And that the low offer was the amount we were willing to lose in case the horse didn't pass a vetting that we would do with our own vet later.

I know what your thinking. How many red flags did we need to see to walk away from this horse? The rational side of me couldn't agree more but I kept thinking of what it felt like to sit on all that power. And he had a sweetness to him that intrigued me. I kept him at the trainer's barn for the month so he could help me get to know the horse better. I mean, he just needs more training under his belt. How hard could this be? One day, when I was longeing Elvis, he was so electric that he was just exploding off his feet at the trot with his tail up over his back and kept wheeling around on the line. All I could think was "Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it."

A good friend of mine, who is an equine massage therapist, offered to come and give him a massage while he was still at the trainer's barn. I was so excited to show off my new horse and see what she thought because she has worked on some really nice horses. So, I bring him out of his stall and she carefully and quietly starts to pat him and lightly work on him. "I'm having a little trouble getting into his muscles. He's pretty tight" she tells me. "I know!" I proudly say. "He's in such good shape that his muscles feel like you can bounce a quarter off off them". "Well, no. He's so tight because he's holding himself so much because of his nerves. It's like he's doing isometric exericises all the time" my friend tells me. Here is the first hint of what is in store for us.

At the end of the month, I took him back to the barn where I had boarded my previous horse and gave him a week to settle in. I would longe him lightly every day that first week and just let him get used to me and his new surroundings. It was during the second week that I realized that I indeed had a training project on my hands but not the one I had expected. I knew he was nervous and unsure of me but discovered that his reaction to any perceived pressure, a light leg aid, asking to go into the corner, flexing to the left, would result in either a stop or, much worse, a rear. Not my favorite thing to ride. Ah, I thought. There's the hole in his training....

After about the third time that this happened, I thought I had gotten myself in way over my head. He was so nervous and so quick and strong that I wasn't sure I was up to the task. And so began our exploration of different approaches to his training needs. This is still an ongoing process but I hope to chronicle in the next couple of posts what the past 4 years have taught us.