First lesson with Susanne

I wish I could say I'm excited to have a new trainer but I'm not too impressed by her.

She's a full-time trainer, it's her only job, and she's got too many clients to be here weekly. And she's expensive - 37,50Euros for less than an hour. I like that she's at least my age, cuz having trainers way younger than me feels weird.

Mag was great today, totally relaxed, and she observed me tacking up and then walked up the street to the woods with me. (He got stung by a wasp as I was grooming him! How rude, he was just standing there tied! I swatted it away, too late, it swelled up, larger and larger....poor thing!)

First thing Susanne said: I lead Mag wrong, I should walk at his shoulder, not in front of him, "Because if he spooks, he'll run right into you." I said, "I'm actually safe up here, and less likely to get run into." I should have warned her about the way I lead before we even left, because it obviously upset her. This was after her speech about how horses need a human to trust as a leader, or else they'll make their own decisions. In my mind, when my horse is following me 1-2 meters behind me, I'm leading in every sense of the word.

She encouraged me that she would never ask me to do anything I'm not comfortable with.

Then a car came and she said the way I lead makes it hard for the traffic and I said, "No worries, we do this all the time, I make eye contact with the drivers and step my horse to the side, and either stop or slow down and nod to the driver to pass." She did not seem to agree with me about that, and got very quiet for a while.

I tried to draw her out again by asking her about her horse, but she didn't have much to say. I doubt very much she gives lessons out in traffic, so this situation was probably new to her.

We got to the woods and I got on and we kept talking, but after a while Mag started tossing his head. I asked her to take the lead rope to reinforce my cue to just stand there, and she did, but then she said it's better to let Arabians go, because they resolve stress through movement. I agree with the second half of that statement, but not the first. It was disappointing to me that she didn't see standing as an exercise that would be valuable.

So we went a little ways, and I told her I often talk a lot when I'm riding because it helps me breathe. Then she said, "Just be in the moment, it's only fair to the horse to be with him now, and not talk about other things." I thought that was interesting and shut up. I don't get it because I'd just told her talking helps me relax, but maybe she wanted me to talk about what was happening right then?

I told her how if a rider were to appear, Mag would probably get upset/excited. She said it's because he lives with a donkey, that the sight of another horse would cause a reaction.   I should have countered that with, "Hikers with dogs might also elicit a reaction, as well as mushroom-seekers" but I was too annoyed to think clearly.

We had some nice conversations about fear in horses and fear in people, she said that especially riders in Germany are forced to hide emotions such as anger and fear. I thought to myself, "If she says to me, 'horses are flight animals'..." and then she said it. *SIGH* Do you understand how insulting that is as a horse owner, to be told that - constantly, by everyone, and in every horse magazine I read? No, REALLY? I thought they were predators, viciously killing mountain lions with their sharp teeth and hooves. To be fair, it seems to be drilled into the consciousness of every German I've ever met, and they cannot NOT say that line.

She annoyed me by telling me I was using my reins incorrectly. Not sure what to do about that. I'm not interested in equitation lessons, but I understand if you're a riding instructor, you cannot help pick apart the rider's use of the aids.

She said Mag is a very attractive horse, (to which I said "that's nice of you to say") and that he's very well muscled. I laughed cuz no, he's not - he has no condition whatsoever from his pasture-strolling lifestyle, and a belly that makes me suspect worms despite my worming regime (time to collect a sample for the vet).

She commiserated with me that this is an awful place to try to ride horses, because so many of the trails are paved, and short, ending in traffic again.  I told her I estimated my longest trail to be 20 minutes before hitting the next town. Search and Rescue does not exist here. (Well, the rescue part does, when your horse falls through a bridge!)

Mag was on his best behavior and nothing bad happened, and afterwards I said, "I'd like your help, regularly" and she said it's difficult cuz she has so many clients. She said I should try to ride every day. Of course that would be great if I could. I'll ask Ani if she can ride more often (Susanne is Ani's instructor, that's how we got hooked up).

I told her it's been a long time since I've enjoyed riding, and I look forward to enjoying it again someday.

To which she replied, "If you don't enjoy riding this horse, you should sell him and get one you can enjoy." Wow, I did not expect to hear a trainer say that.

I'm thinking about giving her a chance, despite all this. She cannot damage the situation, and I'm curious to see if she can help.

Lastly....she never asked me what my horse's name is. (And I know her horse's name, and nickname.)