The events leading to this weekend were not so pleasant, though. On Saturday evening (2/14), Wayne called me and said he'd had "the best ride on Cricket ever....except three things." I immediately asked him what those three things were, of course. He then reported to me that in the course of 45 minutes, Cricket crowhopped from underneath him while he was mounting (putting him in the dirt) and bolted with him twice, both of which he was unable to stay astride for. I was beside myself angry, of course, and couldn't understand why this had been "the best ride ever." He said that after Cricket had done these things, he re-mounted and rode him around in the arena and that he was a perfect angel. Although at that moment I kept my mouth mostly shut, my brain went into high gear and started winding up pretty quickly. This is when I came to a few conclusions.
1. Cricket is not necessarily a bad horse. He has always been more of a jerk in the arena than he is on the trail. However, I solidly believe it is only a matter of time before he gains enough confidence on the trail to start acting like a jerk out there, too.
2. Wayne is way out of his league. I had hopes for he and Cricket at the beginning, as they seemed to steadily progress and get along. However, from what I've seen, Cricket has been now getting worse as he's either figured out Wayne doesn't know what he's doing or has just decided he is officially "done" with the arena. I'm leaning towards the former as he's started misbehaving more on the trail.
3. For Wayne's sake, I want Cricket gone. Wayne absolutely unequivocally refuses to sell him. Enter huge problem number 1.
Although I've listed Cricket on endurance.net, it was before Wayne had agreed one way or another on Cricket's future for us. Yes, maybe it was a little premature and selfish to list him without permission, but I wanted to gauge and see what reaction he'd get. So far, I've only gotten email and comments from those who know his history wishing me luck. I know his asking price is a little high for what he is, but like I said, I was gauging the reaction. I firmly believe that with the right rider, Cricket will blossom and become an amazing distance horse. He just needs someone with confidence that isn't going to deal with his baloney "scare" tactics. Despite all this, he's a sweet boy that loves people and is very personable and easy to be around. It's only when he feels pressured that he starts to lose it and try to get away with things. His flight mechanism is a little too tuned up.
So here I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, I'm ecstatic my husband wants to join me in the sport I love so dearly. On the other, I'm beyond terrified he's going to become seriously injured or worse because he's gotten in over his head. I blame myself, of course. Cricket wasn't selling last spring and Wayne asked if he could give it a go with him. I should have put my foot down and said absolutely no way, no how. But I conceded, as some endurance friends (a couple from Canada) of ours got to me and convinced me that the husband member had formed a bond and learned to ride on a very difficult horse. He and Wayne get along so well, I thought him having a mentor that was in so similar a situation would work out swimmingly. Of course, without all of this icky situation, I would have never met Jasper, who has made me a very happy person.
We've been back and forth and up and down about this, with no real agreement or conclusion other than I absolutely am against the idea of him continuing to ride Cricket and he is absolutely not going to get rid of Cricket.
* Sigh *
2 comments:
You are just concerned for your husbands, and Crickets safety. I think that is natural. Maybe if finding a Cricket a new home isn't an option, you could suggest that hubby get some professional instruction to help Cricket and him get in sync? Sounds like Cricket isn't necessarily a beginner horse at this point but maybe with some time and the right help , they would be a great team. That's a tough one either way you look at it.!
Thanks, Jonna!
Yes, we're trying to figure out a way to make it all work, but that's good advice. I'd like to get him and Lacy together since she knows Cricket so well and can give him really good advice as far as dealing with his idiosyncrasies.
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