Sell or Keep?

[OverandOnward]

I used to think I had an obligation to see it through, always. Now I don’t know to who I owe that obligation. Not to me, for sure.

[akhunterrider]

Don’t force yourself to ride a horse you don’t enjoy, regardless of the reason. It’s not worth it.

[greysfordays]

Sell. One thing about this type of ride is that it sometimes causes you to ride in not super correct ways. The horse has your number, so you’re always a bit bracing for something to go wrong. I had that with one. Sold him to a young girl and he doesn’t do any of what he did with me. He also has a lot more turnout, so I think there’s something to that.

But honestly, sometimes it’s just not a match. And now I’m having to unwind some of that wariness in my riding with my two new horses. And it’s annoying! I wish I had sold him sooner instead of trying to be a tough guy about it!

[TatteredDaydreamer]

@summerfield

I’ve reached an age when I now distinguish between what I CAN ride/deal with and what I WANT TO ride.

I’m not a professional, I have nothing to prove, and I’d rather spend my money having fun.

( I also hate push rides)

All of the above, 1000000000%. I also can’t stand push rides.

[atl_hunter]

@TatteredDaydreamer

All of the above, 1000000000%. I also can’t stand push rides.

I used to hate push rides, too. I now own one and at first, I asked myself why on earth I did this to myself? It was so incredibly frustrating.

Then I took dressage lessons and learned how to use my body to make the horse go forward and voila! Game changer. My trainer also schools my horse 2x/week for dressage and we started competing this year. It’s been a huge improvement and he’s a lot sharper now as well.

I love that I can enjoy a broader range of horses by expanding my skill set. But for me, every ride is a joy - even the challenging ones. I had too many years of no rides at all after losing one, so now even the simple walk rehab rides are rewarding. I think it depends on why people ride and what they want out of the sport?

[TatteredDaydreamer]

@atl_hunter

I used to hate push rides, too. I now own one and at first, I asked myself why on earth I did this to myself? It was so incredibly frustrating.

Then I took dressage lessons and learned how to use my body to make the horse go forward and voila! Game changer. My trainer also schools my horse 2x/week for dressage and we started competing this year. It’s been a huge improvement and he’s a lot sharper now as well.

I love that I can enjoy a broader range of horses by expanding my skill set. But for me, every ride is a joy - even the challenging ones. I had too many years of no rides at all after losing one, so now even the simple walk rehab rides are rewarding. I think it depends on why people ride and what they want out of the sport?

That’s fair too and I never said that I can’t ride push rides, just that I don’t like them. IMO, life is too short not to enjoy the horse you’re riding. It’s all very personal and everyone likes something different!