The story

Backing up, let me give the run down of what was going on with Elle.

The winter went great, and the spring started out amazing. We were picking up the left lead (the one that used to be harder), and just having a grand time. We had just started our first small courses (!!) of 4 or 5 fences in succession, including lines and roll backs. Then the bucking started.

The first time it happened, I think I hit her on the flank with a crop and she didn't like that. It was totally unsuspected, as she had warmed up great and never bucked before, but oh well. I got unbalanced, lost both stirrups, and she bolted. I made the conscious decision to bail, and I was hurting after that!!

Got back on, went to work, everything seemed good.

Fast forward 2 weeks, she again bucks in the middle of a beautiful canter, with no wrong doing that I can tell on my part. And this one was DIRTY - nose on the ground and feet straight up like a bronc's before I knew what was happening. I was off before she came back up again but then I guess she went REALLY up - straight up - and that's a big no no.

Now, it's been 7 years since I've been bucked off a horse. And the last time I broke my collarbone. So, I think my ego got more bruised than my body did, but none-the-less, I've been scared to ride my horse since April.

We did a lot of roundpen work for a while, which probably only solidified the idea that there was something to be afraid of. When we finally started riding again, it was in the roundpen, and then on a big breakthrough day, the full indoor! I wasn't afraid to ask for the canter in there, but I was NOT about to ask her to keep GOING when she wanted to break to trot. Finally, one day, I asked her to keep going (with my leg and seat, but no whip - we weren't there yet), and she did, and I was happy and called it a day.

In the meantime, we were doing a lot of walks and trots in the field with me telling myself it was to get us comfortable again - but I was already completely comfortable in the field, as the mare is super sensible and doesn't have a true spook in her (what a difference from Harl!) We DID accomplish walking and trotting through muddy water, though, so I guess it wasn't all for nothing.

Working in the outdoor was another story, though. The outdoor is where both bucking incidents occured, and even though correlation does not imply causation ... well, you know where my mind went. Our first works in the outdoor consisted of us going out there and having NO form of forward whatsoever. And then she got weird about the gate...anywhere near it and we would get forward, alright, straight to the gate. If I turned her away or pushed her past the gate, that was cause for rearing (do geldings do the silly things mares do?)

So we finally get where we can walk and trot around the outdoor, successfully getting past the gate most of the time, and took Elle to her first show! We opted for a dressage show, as it would give me a chance to get in the ring with her alone and see how we both acted under pressure. It would also give me some helpful feedback, whereas in a HUS class we'd just pin (or not pin) somewhere and that would be that. It wouldn't be a learning experience, and I thought that that was important for our first adventure.

She was great, absolutely a star. She loaded and rode wonderfully, trailer tied, and warmed up without any yahoos at ALL. The judge's tent was the only thing that was a cause for concern, but by that I mean she wanted to stop and look at it for a minute, and then pooped by it and that was that. She kept offering the canter in the warm up but we got through that and everything was great.

At home after that, though, we decided to bring her back up to a canter again. Then she started bucking again. At that point, I had started riding in the Aussie saddle, and that helped things as far as me coming off (hasn't happened again), but the bucking was still very much there. It seemed to be in the outdoor exclusively, and a couple of strides into a canter SHE would offer. She isn't and never has been back sore, and the saddle fits great. Just a training issue?

The bottom line is that I really felt like I had to get someone else on her, and that's where Michael came in. Marty won't ride her, which is fine. It's frustrating, but fine. I have a hard time taking advice from people that won't put themselves in my position. I knew Mike would ride her, and so we made the plan to do a month's worth of training together, and see where we got.