How much fun we had!
I have recently encouraged people to think back on old memories. Among other things, I got a photo from 1974 where a person had a lot of fun at a show, dressed up without a helmet and with rubber boots. It probably would not have been accepted today was the comment and yes, that’s what I want to write about today.I myself grew up in Denmark and I have heard many Swedes comment on the Danes as free and open. I can agree with the risk of being classified as frivolous and reckless, I want to say that I got a slight shock when I entered the horse world in Sweden in the 80’s.
When I bought my first SWB it was because of the color and size and I loved him. That he had a pedigree was just something that came with it, I thought. When I introduced my horse to others, the first question was: Who is he after? I had no idea! In Denmark, when you had a horse, you asked what you wanted the horse for and what it could do, I had never encountered that question before. In the end I got to learn who he was after and I was proud when I had finally learned father and grandfather, but I would soon notice that it was not enough, you should know the whole pedigree and should also know something about the stallions as well. I wondered what it had to do with the horse, he was wonderful as he was. I continued to have fun with my horse! I rode him in halter and halter shaft, I drove him in, taught him that I could play on hunting horns when I sat on his back and had him on High Chapparall so he could also learn to walk along the steam locomotive and hear shots without being afraid . We had fun!
I was eventually influenced by the attitude that I was not serious and started to be so and rode dressage and competed. I must admit that training and competition never became my big hit, with all the work, nervous horse, nervous me, performance anxiety and comparison with others who in my opinion were much better than me.I’m back as frivolous, riding my horse in a halter, riding a lap with him sometimes and having fun.I understand that you have to learn to ride and you also have to have safety considerations (I have always worn a helmet) but who says that the horse feels better from harrowing around on a track with a tight noseband, a lot of scrap in the mouth and do the same thing over and over again, than maybe getting bumbed in the back but getting to do other things?
I hope you can read between the lines and see that I do not mean so bad, but that sometimes you have to think a little about how much fun you really have with your horseI have worked with many people who have seen the downside of trying to be “serious” and then got a worse relationship with their horse. You want to do everything right, you must have the right saddle, you must train for a real trainer, the horse must have the latest new food, blankets, etc. and since there are as many opinions about how the horse should be cared for as there are people, it is impossible to know what is right. In the end it goes crazy, you are lost in, what is right and wrong, become hesitant with the horse and finally scared. Do not forget to have fun!
