Sorry for being inactive for so long.
The last few months have been full of struggles with Mythical.
We have taken x-rays of Mythical’s back to see what’s wrong. From then I did a rehabilitation program with him. (Go read more about that in my previous post) After the rehab, Mythical was a totally different horse. He jumped rounder, meaning I had more control after the jumps. I didn’t want to rush going to a show. I took it really slowly with getting Mythical to where we last were. When I finally felt ready to attempt a show, Mythical started to act up again.
I took in slower again because it seemed like his back was sore. My coach and I worked out a new training schedule. Which we’ve tried over the last few weeks. The schedule entails me lunging him on a Monday, as usual. Ride a group lesson on Tuesday. Wednesday and Saturday I’ll just work with his so-called brain rather than physical abilities. Then on a Friday, I’ll ride a lesson again.
It went really well. Until Tuesday. I rode the lesson, as planned. Half-way through it, it seemed like I entered in a bucking contest (Bronc riding). That was the last straw. I decided I wanted to sell Mythical.
It had a bad influence on my riding. I was not riding anymore, I only sat and waited for the next buck. He was scaring me.
While I was looking for a buyer, I rode other horses in lessons. My coach’s son rode Mythical once a week, and I rode him on my own twice a week, flatwork only. Together with that, we cut Mythical’s food to reduce his excess energy. We still feed him enough so that he doesn’t lose weight. We are still following this plan.
I am thankful for everyone supporting me in this decision. It is hard and painful, but it has to.