Initial thoughts

While I wasn't in the best shape physically or mentally yesterday to test ride a new horse, I went anyway feeling quite optimistic about the little red mare.

The farm is about 15 miles closer than the barn I currently ride at, though it takes nearly the same aggravating route to get there (meaning, I am still stuck in traffic on weekdays on Rt. 42 South). Bonus: I am forced to pass a Wawa convenient store on the way. The drive takes me through scenic Mullica Hill which is a nice change from the barren landscape of Salem county.

The farm is really nothing to write home about...in fact, it shares a driveway with a little house (where I initially parked only to discover a grumpy woman emerging from with a Newport hanging out of her mouth telling me to move my car). It was hard to tell how much space they actually have on the property, but I met up with the mare's owner, "A" and we walked back through the turnouts. Basically a maze of paddocks with less than desirable fencing (not barbed wire, but lots of broken panels). She keeps her two ponies in the back right turnout and they both came over eagerly to come in for dinner. Immediately she told me not to be fooled and that Kayla is notoriously difficult to catch -- unless it's feeding time. Ultimately the place was fine, no glaring issues, a heated 20 stall barn which was divided into 10 stalls with the other half being used as a metal shop. The indoor connects to the barn (which is nice) but was a bit of a disaster. Each corner was filled with detritus. One corner had a pile of old hay stacked to the ceiling that was held at bay with few pieces of old metal fencing. Another corner had serious looking machinery and a third had a John Deere tractor. There were a few jumps set up across the diagonals and although the place was probably bigger than a dressage ring, there was no way to really create a 20 meter circle or cross a diagonal, or use much of the space effectively.

The mare was quite lovely to look at and had a pleasant demeanor. Not really marish at all. She tacked up fine and seemed pleased about working (this was also surprising because she had not been fed yet). A hopped on and walked her around for a bit on a loose rein. She was clearly green, but had a lovely, forward walk. She poked around with her head in the air and then A asked for a trot. She stopped. Apparently this is what she does (I have a humbled opinion of Pia's owner after this test ride, it should be noted) to evade working. She asked her to move forward and she kicked out, she finally gave her a little smack on the rump, she bucked a little and trotted on. After about 10 minutes of trotting like a giraffe, she slowly relaxed her back and dropped her head. She did some trotting in both directions, cantered her both ways (with some protest and bucking) and let me get on. It took about 7-8 tries to get her near the mounting area (the mounting block was currently being used to hold something up) and she kept scooting her hind end away when I would get her settled. A commented that it was important to see how I would handle her instead of holding her while I got on (fine, that totally makes sense). Once I got on she was fine...she stood still and let me get settled. We walked around on a loose rein, again, I thought she has a terrific forward walk. I asked for a trot and she stopped, got stuck behind my leg and I asked her to move forward...she let out a little kick but moved into a trot. We trotted around tracking left for a while and I switched direction. She slowed to a walk and then refused to move forward, I urged her on and nothing. So I turned her, I just wanted some movement. Then, to evade working she twisted her body against my right (inside leg). He face and haunches pointed toward the outside and her belly was pressed hard against my right calf. I opened my left rein and held and pulsed my right rein to encourage her to bend properly but she really gave me a fight. I eventually got her straight but could not get her to trot tracking right. I didn't want to pressure her too much, so I concentrated on forward and straight in both directions and trotted some more tracking left. I didn't even try to canter her because we were still figuring each other out. If I let her walk around on the buckle tracking right she was lovely, soft, and swinging but the second I took up ANY contact she bent her body and refused to do anything but be crooked and slow. Ugh. A told me that she resents the use of a crop but she rides with spurs -- I think I could have gotten a lot more out of her with them too. Her hind end seemed quite weak and later A explained some of this to me. Apparently, last year she got really sick, they eventually found an abscess in her abdomen and because of it her hind end, specifically her right hind, has been weakened. She is reluctant to engage that part of her body. Only time with tell if muscling and fitness will improve her willingness to move forward. I probably sat on her for 45 minutes, but I didn't get a really good sense of what she was about. Plus, since I wasn't feeling good, it was not the best test ride ever.

Ultimately, I think it would take another ride for me to know if she is the kind of horse I want to take on right now. I think she could benefit from some lunge work...and I would like to see how she goes without a rider. I think it would help her loosen up a little if she could get forward, long and low with no weight on her so she could find her own balance. Her owner mentioned that she doesn't really have time for that kind of work with her but she'd be happy if I wanted to do stuff like that with her. I am really curious if she is stubborn or just sore in that hind end.

So, we'll see...we're supposed to meet up again to have another ride in about a week, and I guess I'll make a decision then. Or perhaps, the owner didn't really like what she saw of me and that's that.

I do like that the place is a self care facility. It seems really laid back, a few show horses, two of which are the barn owner's. It would be an easy enough place to ride, but I am not sure I want to deal with something super challenging right now either. A mentioned again that even with grain and treats, getting Kayla to come in is nearly impossible...she doesn't trailer well and has to be sedated and twitched to have her mane pulled. Hm...I feel like I can pull nearly any horse's mane with some time and patience. I got the impression that this mare had a rough few years in the hands of a teenager, at least A alluded to that fact.