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 Expert
Posts: 1261
  
| I have this little mare I love to death I really do. She's patterned in all the events and is a super pole horse/ gaming horse. Pretty consistent 3D but sometimes 4D horse. I don't want to be in the 3-4D anymore. There's little tweaks and things we could do but I am realizing the bottom line is she's probably a 3-4D horse period. She's well broke and been on the pattern since 2012, but did have a long break while I had a baby and surgery in the middle. I thought I was fine running the lower Ds and just having fun but she's also randomly spooky. We have one arena we run at a lot and she's not spooky 99% of the time there I can trust her to make a run in any event however sometimes when I run some where else she will randomly spook mid run just run sideways or just stop in the middle of the pattern. She's been around seen the sights, desensitized etc etc eyc. She's ten, she's broke, she's knows her job but I can't count on her to do it in a barrel race every time. Maybe there is a banner or the sun is brighter or the tractor moved who knows! And after an incident today where she did this spooking thing at both the 2nd and 3rd barrels after doing two beautiful smooth time onlys I just feel like I work too hard, and am spending too much money to be super disappointed at the end of the day this often. I feel like she is more cut out to be a great little gamer but not a barrel horse. She games at all differs arenas and might spook a bit but can always run her patterns it's just the different environment of the barrel races I guess. I just don't know what to do and hate feeling this way. And I want a competitive barrel horse that just goes out there and works not a horse that's head isn't in the game and is looking at this that and the other thing instead of working! Uhg! |
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 I hate cooking and cleaning
Posts: 3310
Location: Jersey Girl | Sometimes spooking is an indication of pain.
If your goal is to be in the 1D and you have a 3 D horse, then you would have to move on to something else that can take you there. |
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Sock Snob
Posts: 3021
| get her checked by a good vet also maybe let someone you think is a better rider take her thru the pattern to see if they can get more out of her that way if you sell her you will get more out of her. but horses like her that are quiet and safe are easy to sell. i have a nice gelding that had some hcok issues got them fixed he is kinda push style and i like free runners so i had to make a big dicision to sell and i have a baby from my 1-d mare.
Edited by daisycake123 2016-01-24 7:00 AM
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 Just a Yankee
Posts: 1237
Location: Some where I haven't left yet | When you post here ... you've answered your question. I know because I've done basicly the same thing. Great horse, who I loved dearly but who I dreaded taking to a barrel race. In the long run it wasn't because of pain or anything else but recognizing that it was time to move on. My horse went on to be VERY competitive with someone else. I went and purchased one that I love running, riding and just going out and loving on. Hugs, it's hard to let go of a horse you love, but you need to get one that "Fits" - REMEMBER you do this for FUN and when it's not FUN it's time to change up. |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| I am in a similar situation. I have a bang up jackpot 3D/4D gelding. He's safe, my 8 yr old niece runs him in the youth after I run the open and he safety's up beautifully for her. I can trust him and when you watch videos you can point out room we could improve...but...I'm struggling to translate it into faster times.
At the end of the day not every horse is a 1d rodeo horse. Sometimes we have to step back and reassess our goals and decide if we have the resources to keep a horse who won't meet our goals.
I want to see him go to a home where he can succeed. Even though I patterned him I don't think my riding style is aggressive enough to get 100% out of him. Someone with a different more aggressive style may be able to get more from him. Or he's safe and sane to be a little girls first barrel horse and help carry her towards her dreams - I would love to see that as much as anything.
If you like the mare it may warrant some investment into exploring pain related to spooking. If it's always at barrels 2 and 3 I would consider eyesight as well. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Since you are posting this, then you must be ready to move on.. When you dont enjoy what you are doing because you are worried about your horse spooking then its time to fix this and find sonething you can trust.  |
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Expert
Posts: 1261
| I don't think it's pain related. Yesterday it was because the arena lights were not turned on till the start of the race and the walls are white so it was brighter going into two and the tractor had parked off the side near the third. I don't like having to look for things like this and worry. At another arena there's a big opening behind three she always spooks at. It's those kinds of things that result in the spooking. She's just a very highly Alert horse that can't seem to turn off the constant need to look for boogey monsters and focus and trust that I wouldn't put her Ina situation where a bogey monster would get her! I thought that would come with going more places and getting comfortable as she was seasoned but at this point I don't see it happening. She is a very push style horse and I am naturally a very quite rider but do have to ride aggressively with her. I have had my trainer ride her and she can get her by the barrels a bit better when she's being spooky because she's quicker with the Spurs and bat but the mare still spooks and isn't any faster. She's run 20 second poles on her though.
Edited by wishes4kissez 2016-01-24 11:09 AM
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