Drove all day yesterday to pick up Skate and bring him back. I managed to convince Matt to go with me, so I didn't have to drive all by myself. We did have a few good arguments about which way to go : )
So, Skate is safe and sound at my barn in the stall beside Hobbes. He loaded, hauled, and arrived like a champ. Other than a little snorting and snuffling, he's handled everything really well. He is quite the vocal little guy...and is very social, too. He calls (a bit obnoxiously) when you walk away from his stall. If he's in the cross ties being messed with, he's super relaxed and napping.
I rode them both today...don't know how trainers ride multiple horses, its exhausting. While I had Skate in the aisle getting ready, Hobbes kept staring sadly at me like I was cheating on him. I'm pretty sure it was just a clever ploy to get me to keep shoving treats at him to make myself feel better. As for the ride, Skate was super...not at all concerned about being in a new place. He's a very different ride from Hobbes, much smaller and more forward. He's pretty unbalanced and has no idea how to give to the bit. If you take more than a huntery contact, he inverts. That's annoying. He's also not used to the rider sitting the canter...the hunter perch is preferred. He doesn't do anything, but he seems confused by it all. When I did some sitting trot, he seemed to think I was going to ask for a canter. We need to get used to each other, I suppose. His canter is surprisingly big and suspended for such a little guy. That's nice.
I just putzed around on Hobbes and took him for a canter through the fields...he seemed to enjoy that. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear when i realized I much preferred to ride Hobbes over Skate. Is it that I'm used to him and am so comfortable on him? Or am I really have buyers remorse? Yikes...who knows.
Anyhoo...I'll let you all know how the vet check goes tomorrow.
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5 comments:
YAY! I hope all goes well!
I think at least part of the reason you prefer Hobbes is that you ARE used to him and comfortable with him. That stands to reason...
Yay for Skate! From what you wrote it sounds like you DO enjoy Skate, you're just not as in synch with him. And he's going to have to adjust to you. It sounds like he's got a lot of potential, just got to be a hunter pony and enjoyed it a bit too much ;).
I totally know where you're coming from with trying to find the energy for 2 horses -- I find that my second one tends to get the short end of the stick because I run out of motivation :)
I also sympathize with your comments about enjoying Skate but having feelings about liking Hobbes "better". When I started riding Surf, I could appreciate that he was a neat horse, and I really really liked riding him...but he wasn't Huey. It lasted for a while -- even at our first big show where we had a great outing and one the best xc rounds I've ever had, I came back to the trailer saying "that was great, but I miss being out there on Huey." Now several months later, I've come to appreciate Surf for the horse he is, and realize that I love riding both...they're both VERY different...and that's part of their charm and the education they're giving me :)
It will take time to get used to Skate. He sounds like a great guy. Poor Hobbes, he will eventually get used to you riding them both
Give it some time to get used to him. :) Congrats on his nice canter though!!! A lot of trainers pick horses based on canters, since trots are easier to fix and improve.
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