I thought I had a real find. Still underweight and on the road to fitness, he was very amenable, seemed to know his stuff with regard to reining, even went well in a snaffle and was generally not a difficult ride.
That came later when he was worm free, vaccinated, gnarled feet trimmed, fed and fit. Then I might've begun to question myself. When he wouldn't stand in the middle of the pen without stressing about a transition or a spin, when he started grabbing the bit and not letting go, when after a couple of months he still couldn't hold himself on the right rein.
Every day I would ride with my trainer. I had the summer to prepare for my exam by becoming a good enough western rider. However first of all, I had to work out this little bundle of not so much joy who would happily throw in a bucking fit in place of a canter transition and might hold on to the bit so much in trot he wouldn't come back to walk, no matter how many circles and eventually jerks in the mouth I did, yet another time he'd throw a fit on the firm pull on the mouth, like I was ripping his head off. I was baffled. I was a good rider, and my trainer was right there, coaching me through the problems, but I felt like a complete idiot. His tensions and anxieties were like nothing I'd ever worked with before, and there was nothing familiar about the way I needed to ride him. He was still full of stallion attitude and strength and didn't trust his rider. I didn't trust him. I was always shortening my reins without thinking about it, English habit, and he would fight more, wanting his head. But I didn't trust him enough to give him much. Endless circle of stress!
