I’ve cried in public (unlike me), I’ve cried in private (more than usual), been punched in the stomach (or is it hooved?), spent quite a lot of time (hours in total) standing in the middle of fields as if anchored to the grass (he liked to stand) and I’ve been dragged halfway across a field while half mounted (I think that was a killer pigeon).
All of this and more shenanigans and frustration has been outweighed by the joy and sense of achievement from taking on this brilliant if clumsy (I don’t think dressage will be our thing) horse.
After some tricky early years Pablo found his way to me after some extraordinary rehabilitation from Lisa and all the great people at CHAPS. Pablo had a reputation for scalping the stable staff and kicking out before he started work with CHAPS. There wasn’t a sign of that stuff when he got to me, BUT I was entrusted with the challenge of a young horse (at 5 years), untested in the saddle and with a few remaining issues.
I start this blog at a milestone rather than at the beginning of the story.
This picture was taken last week, about a year into taking on Pablo It’s Pablo and my dad. My dad is in his eighties, hasn’t ridden in thirty years and has never been taught, in fact he hasn’t got a clue what he’s doing (!), luckily Pablo does...most of the time (see clumsy)!
Pablo has taken three non riders on long hacks and one expert rider who had lost her confidence. In short amongst lots of other things Pablo seems to be shaping up to be a bit of confidence giver, a kind pony who loves the countryside and seems to sense when he has a delicate load.
In this blog Pablo and I will take you through the good times and the bad as he grows and develops. I’ll dip into his past life, how he got to Lisa and the help we received to get to where we are now.