I recently received an AMAZING GIFT from @potterheadbook of two beautiful new horses! Let's see them! (Go to the credits to read the achievements) (Each slide has a small paragraph) Near noon, I went out to get a real introduction to Winter Ghost. She was quietly walking around, and stretching her legs. I grabbed a halter, and walked to her pen. She looked nervous, and began to walk back to avoid me. I slowly walked up to her, and she seemed to calm. I needed to make sure not to scare her, because first impressions are important. She looked at my pocket. The clever girl new I had some treats in there! I took them out and let her crunch on them. While she was eating, I began to stroke her neck and she seemed fine with it. I was very happy about this. I tacked her in English and got on. She was not very forward, but she had a smooth trot and canter. She frequently wanted to take breaks, which was fine. She loved a collected trot, so we did it alot. We continued doing patterns, and finding her strengths and weaknesses. She is not good at endurance, but she has great equation and good sensitivity. She was better on her left then right during cantering. Overall, she was great. She was very happy to be back in her pen, just in time for feeding. I then went over to get my other new horse North Star. He was a stallion, so I knew things were not going to be as easy as it was with Ghost. So I grabbed a halter and went into the pen. At first he seemed okay, but he backed up a bit. I could tell he was concentrating on the feed car conveniently parked near the pen. ToT He almost let me put on his halter, then he got distracted by the feed and trotted away. This is not good for his discipline but I basically had to chase him for awhile (Not good parenting XD) Just like Ghost, Star figured out I had treats in my pocket and came trotting over. I didn't want to give in AGAIN but those adorable eyes couldn't let me resist. While he was distracted with the mint, I quickly put on his halter. He seemed a little annoyed, but quite content. Once I tacked him with western saddle, I took him to the arena. We immediately went much faster than Ghost. He has good endurance, and loved a fast trot and canter. A few times he got a little too excited, so I had to lunge him before continuing. After he was fine, but I noticed that while he had spectacular pace, he did not have the same level of Ghosts equitation. We definitely need to work on getting better equitation, especially in right side canter. Overall the two are incredible horses with different talents! I am not sure yet what they will specialize in, so let me know what you guys think! I think they will really like each other, but we will see <3 Thanks for reading!
(Achivements down below) CREDITS: Ghost and Star: @potterheadbook TY SO MUCH!!!! Rider and most bgs: @MythotopianPegasus Rider Modifications: Me SADDLES: English saddle: @Introverted_Keeper Western saddle: @charhorserider Mint candy @Horsegrl248 Me Thumbnail: Me PERSONAL ACHIVEMENTS: (Please note this is irl, so don't be mean or judgey in the comments!) Last year, I was a pretty confident rider. I cantered A LOT and wasn't afraid.... until everything flipped in ONE day. I was on this 30 year old horse named Ginger, and the hot weather either made horses extra tired or extra spicy. Ginger's trot was as slow as normal (prettyyyy slowww) and my coach asked for a canter. That's where everything went wrong. I immediately noticed something different... I felt like I wasn't in control. It's a pretty scary feeling, being on a giant animal that normally follows you.. but then is NOT following your lead. I quickly realized something was wrong, as I felt my butt fly higher than my head. My coach kept telling me to control her, but it was hardly doing anything. She continued to do WAY TO FAST CANTER for me, then a buck. I completely forgot the emergency stop, so I had to improvise and just yank the reigns (great idea, Right :D) The guy that was in the mini arena next to me asked if I knew the emergency stop, and asked if I was okay. I said I was fine, and I said I forgot (Totally not embarrassing at all ToT) I believe I got A LOT OF BRUISES and could barely operate the next day. I believe I took a recovery day next week. I didn't like cry after what happened, but something changed inside. After that, I was scared of riding, even the sweetest horse ever. I kept going through the muck, and slowly recovering from what happened. I got from a confident walk, to a slow trot, faster trot etc. I had some pushbacks, like a situation similar where every time I trotted a horse would canter (caused me to freak out during faster trots) But recently I had a lesson on a older horse named Phara. I never thought she really liked me, and she was quite grumpy. Before she took a couple months break, she once spooked, which caused me to have anxiety for the next few lessons. After people thought she needed to retire, she suddenly was nicer and less lame. So I trusted my coach and her that I will be able to canter off the line safely. After some painful no-stirrups posting trot (don't ask XD) She told me to get to a canter, and I asked for it. IT WAS AMAZING. All the confidence I had lost came back, and I felt great! After doing it on the other side, I gave her many pats and treats to thank her for her amazing behavior! While many people don't say this that much, I am really proud in myself. I decided to make it my goal to recover, and I accomplished my goal! Now I will be focusing on the equitation on the canter! Thanks so much for reading my story <3
