When I started hunting, it was on my grey horse, whom I bought as three year old and raised (with a trainer). She was 10 at the time, level headed, brave, and able to be reasoned with. I thought this would be a piece of cake.
It was not. Our first season was largely disastrous. Second was better, but we would get out into the hunt field and she was a different horse–angry, excitable…NOT fun. We whipped in for the third season and she was an excellent whip horse–really loved the job and the hounds. But I was hurt quite badly (not on her) and decided that I didn’t want to risk life and limb every week.
I also knew that it was not going to be fun to take her back into the field. After much soul searching, I decided that I needed another horse to hunt. I am lucky enough to be able to afford two–I know that’s not an option for everyone. So I bought my bay mare, who is so damned pleasant to hunt. Who knew you could be out there for hours and not spend them fighting to stay in your place in line or doing mad circles at checks? The grey used to come off the trailer a fire breathing dragon, all sweated up and ready for action. Tacking her up was a nightmare. The bay comes off cool as a cucumber, looks around and says “Oh, cool. We’re hunting today.”
I love my grey horse down to my very bones. It felt like a betrayal when I bought the bay. But I finally just realized that the grey was just not suited to the job of field hunter. We are both happier for the decision.
It might be that your horse just isn’t suited for the job you’d like him to do…is it fair to ask him to do it anyway? I’m not saying you need to get rid of your horse…just that I discovered that having the right partner in the field is a whole lot more fun than coping with the wrong one and sharing the process I went through to get there.
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