by xena_n_joss » Sun Mar 27, 2005 10:25 pm
#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Honestly, If you want something that you can show this summer or even next, I would look at something a little older. Just for the fact that you would be able to ride and train as much as needed and as far as you can go without worrying about physical or mental effects on the horse. And it would probly be more fun. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#What kind of school horses does your barn have? Im using a school horse right now and I have no problems riding one, our barn has school horses of all levels, we used to even have a retired event horse that evented up to prelim... and theres many more examples that I could go on..... There shouldn't be boundaries on what a school horse can teach you... But I realize some places don't have very many school horses.... and some dont have very advanced levels of school horses, but you should still be able to ride and learn, even learning to train the school horse to do something it couldnt do. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Is there a specific kind of show youd like to be doing this summer? Like a circuit or anything? Mabey your coach would let you specifically ride and train with one of there horses? #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Another thing is, that if your in school... I dont know if you mean college, Im guessing though, I really doubt you would have time to train a younger horse as much as needed, go to school and be successful, plus work to support yourself and your horse. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Believe me, this girl from our barn tried it, she went to ottawa, took the horse with her and ended up only being able to go to the barn once a week, so the horse came back to our barn because the board prices in ottawa were ridiculous and there was no point since she couldnt ride enough. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#And that isnt an ideal situation for a 4 year old. Not saying that you would be as busy, it depends on what kind of course you were taking though. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#And most of the time, the younger the horse started racing and the longer the horse raced will decrease there value. Would you want to buy a horse that was raced 4 years since it was 2 or 1 year since it was 3? The longer or younger it was raced the more strain its had on its body and legs. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#
When something goes wrong in a show, it's actually the best time because you learn from it. You ask yourself 'what can I do better?' When everything goes OK, you don't ask yourself that question --- ANKY