RM is a great mare with loads of potential. She seems to excel in Hunter Under Saddle, and I think with more time and work, would make a great Reining or Hunter Jumper. I've always said that I hate putting horses into shoes they don't want to fill, and Grace wants RM to be a Western Pleasure horse, so we have been going in that direction.
RM is not not NOT a pleasure horse. She is a five or six on the hot scale, and is routinely way more spunky and full of go than either of us would like her to be for WP. Since she mostly belongs to Grace, I haven't really said anything, but it's getting to the point where RM needs to find a good show home, and all of the interested buyers I have seen come to look at her want a finished WP horse. In my opinion, she needs to be re-listed on the market differently.
RM is a tough horse to learn to ride. She is overreactive, sensitive and desperately in need of brain stimulating activity. When I am alone at the barn and have the chance to work with her, I lunge her over cavaletti, make gymnastic lines, and try to spend a lot of time working on lifting her shoulder and driving her into the bit. We work at a medium speed working trot, and at a canter. I refuse to ask her for more than three or four slow lope strides at a time, and don't spend a ton of time getting her to job slow. What I want from RM is a balanced, cadenced trot, and a relaxed and supple lope. I keep trying to remind Grace that RM is not a finished show horse, and she is cripplingly bored with rail work to the point of melting down when asked to only work on the rail. When Grace rides, RM almost always has some kind of meltdown that includes mini rears, copious tail wringing, and general displeasure for what is being asked of her.
In my opinion, there are a few main problems I see when looking at Grace + RM as a pair. The first and most obvious of the problems is that Grace and RM don't have a connection. Grace would like to think that they do, and I know she is emotionally attached to RM, but when I watch them together under saddle, it's like listening to a horrible game of telephone; Grace asks RM to do XYZ, RM doesn't understand what is being asked of her and inevitably someone gets pissed off and has a meltdown. I want to interject here and say that I don't hate Grace or the way she rides. A year ago, I asked her to help me with a pony that my boss owned and wanted to sell, and I watched her and the pony grow and learn together as a team. Grace has a natural talent for providing horses with excellent ground manners and can have a horse completely finished for showmanship in one afternoon. It's crazy. She also has great balance and is able to help any unbalanced horse learn where each one of his feet goes. When she was done with the pony, the pony had a solid 60 days of basic reining, and they were working on slides and spins. The pony was bombproof, ready to go, and we sold her to a family whose 6 year old daughter used her for peewee hunters. It was a great fit. Unfortunately, Grace is heavy handed and fiery, and if a horse doesn't respond correctly to a request, she is hard and fast to retaliate. RM is my kind of horse. She is light in the mouth and super responsive to leg aids and verbal cues. More often then not, she will rocket launch herself into a Speedy Gonzales canter/gallop when I cue her, and I'll have to go through the motions of reminding her that we want light and smooth transitions. I love riding RM because she is such a challenge, but she fights Grace tooth and nail for every little thing, and they aren't making any progress.
This has come into play for potential buyers more recently, and it's been a struggle to show her to people. Grace and I shot her sale video in one afternoon in almost perfect succession. It was a good day for RM, and even though Grace had a few meltdowns during the shooting process, I was able to edit them out. RM has had some time off due to my lack of time/ money, and due to Grace's recent job loss and inability to cope with the situation. She is worried about getting more attached to RM, and is afraid her attachment will make it harder to sell her, so RM is unbelievable fresh. She was ridden western in her video, and looks like she would be really nice for WP, but since she is hot all the time now, has been speedy and difficult for potential buyers to ride. We've had one person pass on her completely, and one person can't get the money in order to buy her, and I think they are about to pass on her too. It's a goddamn shame though, because RM would absolutely make someone an awesome circuit horse with another couple of months of training, and I think it's hard for people to see past her speed.
I have a plan for RM, but I don't know how to approach Grace about it. I want her to list RM as a HUS/ Hunter Jumper prospect, and let her sell that way, but Grace is hyper focused on marketing her as a WP horse that is almost finished, and it's very obviously not working. I have seen so much change in RM in the last month, and she is turning out to be a really sweet mare who is full of energy and try. She will try until one of her legs fall off, and I can see that the need to please is there; she isn't sour when it comes to work, she is just burnt out on her job and needs a career change. When we bought her she was hyper-reactive and spooked at everything; dark spots in the arena, light changes, ground poles, bridges, water, nothing, you name it. Her nemesis was wiggly PVC poles, and she used to lose her mind when they were on the ground near her and if she stepped on one or was approached by one, forget it. She was outta there, snorty, bucky, farty, and tail flagged as high as an arab. A few days ago I rode her on a loose rein and carried a wiggly PVC pole in my left hand with no reaction from RM. It was like a light bulb went off somewhere in her brain, and everything clicked for her. Now, I can WTC her over cavaletti and ground poles. She just pops herself over anything I put in front of her with zero hesitation. I always thought she would be spooky and reactive, and I guess she proved me wrong.
Another potential buyer is coming out tomorrow, but I'm going to be at work, so Grace is going to meet them out at the barn. They are Quarter Horse trainers, and my gut tells me that they will probably pass too but I am trying not to be negative. Hell, WE almost passed on her when we were considering buying her, and to be honest, she never should have come home with us but it's too late now. She was so unbelievably out of shape and spooky when we went to see her, but her breeding was too good to pass up, and I think we found a star in her after all. She is the sweetest thing on the ground. I hate mares, and she acts like a gelding 100% of the time -- even when she is in full blown heat. She is built uphill, moves uphill and since she is so reactive, is catty and attentive under saddle. She does rollbacks, flat spins, backs quick like a reiner, and is generally good natured and does everything I ask her to do.
I guess I'm just blown away that someone doesn't just love her immediately and see what she is worth, but with the way she has been marketed and shown by us, I can see why that is. It will take some time to get her where I think she will show the best, but I'll do it, dammit. Until then, I will just enjoy her, because she is so great.
I mean really, look at that mare:
