@fromjumpingtodressage #3

OUT IN THE FIELD

(Scroll down for English version)

Jeg har i mine tidligere indlæg dækket hvem vi er og hvordan jeg fandt Sambuca (du kan finde de her og her), og nå tænkte jeg at fortælle lidt om den første tiden efter at jeg fik hinde hjem. Og med hjem mener jeg Dalb y ride klub, da det er her Sambuca er opstaldet. I forbindelse med valg av opstaldning var det rigtig vigtig for mig at finde et sted hvor Sambuca ville få meget fold tid, og at stalden havde store, lyse bokser med god udluftning. Udover de fysiske forholdene for å sikre at Sambuca ville få det godt, ønskede jeg tilgang på ridehal for å kunne træne hele året, og så skulde det ikke være for langt fra hvor jeg bor. Dalby ride klub var således et naturlig valg, og det var også her jeg gik på rideskole frem til jeg fik Sambuca. Eller, jeg har faktisk valgt at fortsætte i rideskolen, da jeg trives så godt med midt hold.

Nå havde jeg altså endelig fået min fine dressur hest, og Sambuca virkede til at falde hurtig til i sit nye hjem. Fra sælger havde jeg fået at vide at Sambuca elskede at være ude på fold, og at hun var vandt med at være ude fra morgen til kvæld så længe vejret var godt. De anbefalede også at hun skulde få en foldmakker, og kunde forsikre mig om at hun var den nemmeste hest der kunde med alle på fold. Men der gik altså min grænse, nogen foldmakker kom ikke på tale. Jeg var ret og slet for bekymret for at noget skulle ske hinde. Med til historien hører det jo også med at jeg måtte aflive min første hest, da den brak benet, og den oplevelsen gjorde nok at jeg bekymrede mig lidt ekstra. Faktisk var jeg ret stresset den første tiden, og hver gang jeg fik en besked fra min træner var jeg sikker på at nå har Sambuca kommet galt af sted. Og så viste det sig at det bare var noget praktisk der skulde afklares, og jeg kunne puste lettet ud.

Til min store overraskelse kunde Sambuca slet ikke lige at være på fold. Hun ville ind efter kort tid, og vandrede urolig frem og tilbage imens hun var ude. På mig virkede hun ret og slet ulykkelig. Noget som selvfølgelig påvirket meg meget. Tak og pris havde jeg et godt netværk omkring mig i form av min træner, der godt kunde se at noget måtte gæres. Hun foreslog så at Sambuca kunde komme på fold med hindes hest. Jeg husker faktisk ikke rigtig om hun fortalte mig planen før eller efter, men det hele gik i hvert fald godt. Og inderst inde vidste jeg jo godt at jeg ikke kunne la mine bekymringer og dårlige erfaringer stå i vejen for at Sambuca skulde få et godt hesteliv.

Jeg kunde mærke en forskel på Sambuca umiddelbart efter at hun havde fået en foldmakker. Hun var igen en veltilpas hest der elskede at være ude. De weekenderne min træner er på stævne med sin tophest uden at Sambuca er med kan jeg faktisk mærke på hinde at hun savner sin foldmakker, og jeg synes jeg kan se at hun ligesom hænger lidt med skuffen. Så hvad ønsker jeg egentlig at sige med dette indlægget, jo at heste har sine individuelle personligheder og behov, og det er vores ansvar at lydte til dette og tilpasse omgivelserne så de kan få det bedst muligt. Det havde ikke været ok om jeg lod mine behov for tryghed gå foran Sambuca’s behov for selskab på folden. Og jeg er virkelig taknemlig for at min træner gav mig et skub i den rigtige retning slik at jeg så dette.

Som i sikkert har forstået så er min træner rigtig vigtig for mig og Sambuca. Så i midt næste indlæg vil jeg præsentere hinde lidt nærmere og fortælle hvordan vores samarbejde foregår.

Følg os gerne på Instagram @fromjumpingtodressage.

Tidligere indlæg:

#1 – Meet us

#2 – Finding Sambuca

Bedste hilser fra

Hanne

In my previous post I have covered who we are and how I found Sambuca (you kan find them here and here), og in this post I will share some more about the first time after I got Sambuca home. And by home I mean Dalby riding club, which is where I keep Sambuca. When choosing what stable to locate her in it was important for me to find a place where she would be allowed out in the field a lot, and that had large, bright boxes with good ventilation. Beyond the physical requirements I also wanted access to an indoor arena, so I could train all year round, and the stable should of course not be located to far away from where I live. Dalby riding club was in that sense a natural choice, and it is also where I have attending riding school up until I got Sambuca. Or, I have actually chose to continue in the riding school also after I got her, because I like it so much.

So, I had finally found a fantastic dressage horse and Sambuca seemed to settle in well in her new home. The seller had told me that she loved to be out in the field, and that she was used to being out from early morning until late if the weather was good. They also recommended me to find a nice horse for her to go together with in the field, and they told me that she got along well with any horse. But that was a hard stop for me, putting her together with another horse in the field was just to risky. And I was just to worried that something could happen to her. I think that my history with having to put down the horse I had before due to a broken leg, came into play here and made me worry a little extra. Actually, in these first few weeks I was quite stressed out, and every time I got a message from my trainer I was sure that something bad had happened to Sambuca. And every time it turned out to be just some practicalities that needed to be sorted.

But Sambuca did not like being out in the field at all, which came as quite the surprise. She wanted to go in after a short amount of time, and wandered back and fort while she was out. To me she seemed totally unhappy, which of course affected me greatly. Thankfully I had a great network around me in the shape of my trainer, who could see that something needed to be done. She suggested that Sambuca could go together with her horse in the field. Her top dressage horse to be more specific. I actually can’t remember if she told me before or after, but it all turned out great. And deep down inside I knew that I could not let my worries and bad experience get in the way for giving Sambuca a good horse life.

I noticed an immediate change after this. She was yet a again happy and loved being out in the field. The weekends that my trainer is away with her top horse on competitions, I can really see that Sambuca misses her companion. So what do I want to say with this post, namely that horses have individual personalities and needs, and it is up to us to listen and try and accommodate them. It would not have been okay if I had let my need for security go ahead of Sambuca’s wants of going with another horse in the field. And I am truly grateful for that my trainer helped me see this.

As you have probably understood by now, my trainer is really important for me and Sambuca. So in my next post I will tell some more about her and how we collaborate.

#1 – Meet us

#2 – Finding Sambuca

Best regards,

Hanne