Project: Making our young horse into a good riding horse

Another project of this summer coming to an accomplishment. Our young horse Lilla Gubben really became feral and dangerous during our first years with Timmy-baby. No time, zero energy for him. After a bad fall last year in summer (I fell on the asphalt and the horse jumped on my leg) ending with a muscle rupture in my right leg and weeks on crutches I didn’t dare to sit on him again, even though I have been horse riding from a young age on. I just didn’t have the physical and mental resources, he was like a second child, became a huge burden. Instinctively I knew not to try anything without some real good help (which I was absolutely willing to invest in), which seemed impossible to find here (and I was absolutely against training him in the „traditional“ way).

Even though my leg healed quickly, I spiritually felt like in a wheel chair, like I lost my wings…

One day I told Jan heartfelt: The first thing that appears I will go with: Either a really good person who offers to buy Lilla Gubben, or someone who will help me train him.

And then he ran away, after we had brought him over to a neighbor´s land, where he had fresh grass and company of two other horses and we had really tried to make it perfect for him and to have no work and worry with him for some weeks… And he was not to be found for 3 days! I was at the end. I was so close to selling him, decided to end everyone’s suffering and deeply let go… And suddenly help was at the door. Take one step towards God and he will take 10 steps towards you.

I was introduced to Rui, who was known to be very good, but in a holistic way, patience and friendly firmness instead of cruelty, force, strong bits and ropes around the legs. He is in his late 30s and had started to help horse owners train their horses since he was a kid. Like me he himself was still going through the grief of having had to sell a very dear horse some years ago. I also for the first time met the people from Graciosa´s horse riding Association.

He had a super nice place, but we were not meant to find our comfort zone here, pushed for more development

The summer of 2024 Lilla Gubben spent 3 months at the Picadeiro on the other side of the island (amazing how patiently they got him to climb on this old squeaky trailer, without even a ramp!).
He had a lot to learn just concerning basic handling. Back then in 2021 he came to us with not the best foundations and experiences…

And suddenly teachers and trainers came to Graciosa, for the first time in years! Horse riding teacher Filipa unfortunately left Graciosa in 2022. What blessed synchronicities…

In the riding hall I had a safe space to start sitting in the saddle again, got good tips for equipment and just was not all alone anymore, met some interesting people I haven’t known before here on this little island.

In the end, Rui didn´t have so much time for us like planned, but he gave the initial sparks for me to find my courage again. It was not easy with little Timmy, now 2,5 years old, but I used the time windows and the focus I could find, and it was actually really healthy for me to leave the house around 2 to 3 times per week to go OUT for a hobby, also while our house was under construction.

Then finally I was ready to safely ride Lilla Gubben through the middle of the island, from the north to the south of Graciosa, 1h45min, back to our farm. I was so proud, felt like coming home after a marathon!

Day after day they still didn´t manage to organize a trailer – so I decided, despite nervousness, to ride him back home myself

And he was soo happy to be outside again (unfortunately he could only be in the box in the Riding Club, at least with an almost daily free run in the riding hall), and we are so happy to have him back and have a good riding horse now! Big thanks to everyone who has been part of this! And we will be back, for sure, when we need a break, a boost or just good company! So good, to have the horse riding association and its people now as friends and a new resource❣️🙏🌈

I think it is a good strategy, to have him in the Picadeiro in the hottest season as well as in the late winter, when there is almost no grass and we would have to buy some hay anyway. We got so used to being lone fighters here, knowing so few people and resources, but if we feel we start to suffer and burn out, we just have to change something and reach out for help. The bigger this whole project becomes, the more we learn to do it (hard to change ingrained habits!). Again, thanks again for every helping hand.

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