Rules? I don’t need no stinking rules!

 

Rules? I don’t need no stinking rules!

Originally posted 2018, Edited December 2024

 I have never been one to do things the easy way nor to follow the rules at times. It is just my nature. I always was a contrary little cuss. Just ask my mom!

     One of the biggest rules regarding horses is not to match a green rider with a green horse. Now, one could argue that I am not really a green rider since I spent my childhood riding around grandma's farm on the ponies she had for us grandkids, either bareback or in a western saddle. I had horses of my own that I rode around on the country roads near my home. I exercised a couple of racing quarter horses for a friend of the family who raced at county fairs. I spent a year on the harness racing circuit in Chicago, and while not actually riding, I handled horses with various temperaments. I intended to be a jockey until my right knee got torn up. I flew by the seat of my pants. I never had a formal riding lesson. Riding and horses, for me, has always been as natural as breathing.

But I ended up away from horses for 30 years. And what do I do after only a couple of riding lessons? Buy an un-started 2 1/2-year-old with an unknown background and breeding. I broke another rule here and bought a horse I fell in love with! I was in love the minute I saw his pictures in an online ad and fell harder when I met him. He had come from an auction as a yearling that wasn't even halter broke. Before I bought him, he had put his right hind hoof through the wall of a metal barn at some point. He still has scarring from that.

Pistol the day I met him

Pistol arrived at the barn at the end of August 2014. It became clear in a short period of time that he was going to be a real project. He was afraid of EVERYTHING!! Including his own shadow at times. If something got moved a few inches in the barn aisle from one day to the next, he was likely to spook. If a leaf blew across his path, he would spook. Something drops in the barn aisle, he spooked. You get the picture.

While I don't have much patience in general, I have infinite patience when it comes to working with horses. That is a good thing, as it took a LOT of patience to get him to where he is today. It took three weeks to be able to groom him completely from head to tail, both sides and pick all four feet. He was terrified of whips. I spent three weeks getting him past that, starting with a dressage whip. Then we started over with the longe whip. He now uses whips as play toys if they are left within his reach

I spent a week getting him used to the idea of a stable blanket being on him, then another week with the winter turnout blanket. Those are made from different materials and make noise! As does my winter coat. Yes, he spooked over that.

I did use treats with him. He is a very food-motivated boy, and I decided to use that to my advantage. Not only was I training him, we were un-doing whatever caused him to be so over-reactive and dramatic.

Getting him to accept the bit easily took quite a bit of time. Neither molasses nor any of the other tricks helped. We got there eventually, and he now willingly takes the bit. He learned to longe on a longe line, which wasn't too difficult since he was use to longeing in a round pen. Saddle pads were not much of an issue, but after stable blankets and turnout blankets what is a saddle pad, really? The saddle, especially the flaps, was another issue entirely. Then, I added the stirrup leathers and irons. About that. I worked with him on standing quietly at the mounting block with me climbing onto it and back down. I weighted the stirrup by putting my hands on them and leaning on them just a little, flopped them around, leaned over his back, and other things. When I had him led forward with me leaning on him for the first time, he lost it. I can say that catching the cantle of a saddle in the rib cage hurts! I used sandbags to get him used to weight on his back for a bit.

Over the winter, I just continued to work on basics and desensitize him to things, and try to get him to stay on planet Earth. Come spring, I started to have issues with him not wanting to stand still for saddling. Something was clearly bothering him, as he had always stood fairly still. It took me a bit to figure out that he had filled out and muscled up over the winter. He was trying to tell me that his saddle no longer fit.

I finally sat on his back for the first time in July 2015; we had our first walk under saddle on a lead a couple of weeks later and our first solo ride in October. The longer periods of time came down to when people were around to help me out with him by holding him or leading us. At times, he was still a bit dramatic at that point, so I always ensured someone was around just in case.

First time on Pistol's back

Barn tools were a very interesting issue with Pistol. It was at least six months before the barn owner, or I could come near him with a stall fork, shovel, or broom. Six months before his stall could be cleaned with him in it. If someone used a shovel or fork in the barn aisle when I had him in crossties, he would come out of his skin. That was one that just took time. He still has moments but is mostly over that issue. If he has an issue, it is usually if strangers use the barn tools near him.

Pistol is now a fun little horse to ride and has settled down quite a bit, yet they can still be dramatic and reactive sometimes. I have taken him to a couple of dressage schooling shows in the past, but he is still a bit unpredictable. He does not settle in easily in new places, so that is one thing that we still need to work on.

Pistol under saddle

While I definitely broke two major rules when I got Pistol, I don't regret it for one minute!

Pistol and I after a ride