Riding Lesson # 7 : Could this be the one?

Today I rode Corrie. She is the haflinger I normally drive. She is not much of a riding horse, but I figured that if I was going to start looking for a new horse I should be riding more than just Drew. Not that I am looking yet, not seriously (okay ya all are all going to call me a liar in a few lines but honestly I am not seriously looking, sometimes things just happen). I still get nervous getting on a new horse and Abby is still not sold (but lots of inquires). Anyway Corrie is also for sale, just as an aside.

Corrie is a, umm, heavy set lady like myself. To say she is an easy keeper is beyond an understatement. I think if I didn't feed her for the next year she would still be fat. She was used as a brood mare for several years and has the shape of one. Her last foal, he is 4 I think, is at the barn and is her team mate. So Corrie can be driven single or double. I actually enjoy driving her. She is a bit of a lookie lou, but honestly she has helped me get over a lot of things already.

I was nervous getting on a new horse, but with each new thing that makes me nervous, I am a little less nervous and it goes away more quickly. Actually I want to brag that I have been on 4 horses since my fall. Anyway Corrie started walking, s . . . l . . . o . . . w . . . l . . . y, I mean this girl made the walk into an eight beat gait. lol. Corrie's default is as little work as possible. I used to buy into this until we were driving one day and heading back to the barn. When properly motivated she can move her little buns. Today, not so motivated.

Yet, when I finally got a half way decent, okay maybe more of a 1/4 way decent, walk out of her, we had some fun. Steers like a cow, but has a really nice trot, once we get into it. Talk about the bottom tier of the training pyramid. She needs to work on rhythm. She does kind of know how to move away from pressure. Sort of gives her head, a little, if you really mean it. lol

So why do I say this could be the one? As I am getting her to trot, and she has this wonderfully rolly trot, I was laughing. I mean she needs so much work, but she is not taking off with me. I mean I have to MAKE her go faster. I think I could feel comfortable going outside on a trail ride with her. She just isn't going to say, "screw you I'm bolting." Her attitude is more like, "Really, it means this much to you? I guess, I could try, a little. Or not" Now she has spooked in harness, but really was easy to bring back. I just thought riding her, although hard work, was fun. And not scary at all. She is only going to get better.

Plus I can work with her for awhile. I have already driven several times, but I don't have to make my decision any time soon. I'd only be worried if someone came out to look at her. I honestly don't want to go looking for horses, only to find out that I saw them on a good day. Or that they are not the same when in a new place. I can work with Corrie at that barn for as long as I like if I buy her. And I would board her out there for a few months, taking driving lessons, and working on her issues. Once I get her home, we will already have a bond established.

I say I want a forward dressage type horse, but what I really want is a dependable, easy going, level headed horse. I know she can move forward, I just might have to ride with a whip. I know that she can learn, she is 12, but she can still learn. This the horse I can ride now. Is she the one, I can't say for sure yet, but I wouldn't be surprised.