[HorseCraze120]

Well I knew it would come to this soon, lol. Ever since I got murphy i've been wanting to do " MORE " such as Dressage/Cross Country/Jumpers. Murphy has the potential to do that, and he use to do Cross Country with his older owner. Hes very quiet over fences but can JUMP. Hes not scared of ANYTHING when he jumps and has never stopped before, he goes through water - over bridges..everything.

Lately i've been getting sick of the whole hunter scene. I need some more "fun" as in i need more to do..I think dressage would be more fun and getting more connected to him.

See the thing is..what am i suppose to do with my current trainer? She ONLY does hunters. My old trainer and this has been also discussed before she does Jumpers/Eventing/Hunters EVERYTHING - But 20 minutse longer of a drive but also $25 cheaper of board.

Any suggestions? Should i stick with hunters because me and murphy are good at it or should i move to x-country??

[OrangeRikki]

Could you do both?

But 20 minutse longer of a drive but also $25 cheaper of board.

That's great! I would try doing somthing different. Wow that makes me think i'm lucky to have a trainer that does hunter/jumper/dressage and everything. Even racking and x-country.

[HorseCraze120]

I could..but i dont want to confuse him to where hes going fast over x-country and slow over hunters? Hes not a jumper horse either - not that fast.

[Stephanie W.]

I think x-country is great for horses. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of it right now , but it's so good to clear their mind. And I think it's great to have an all around horse. I bet you'd really enjoy even schooling x-country (You don't have to show it.)

Tommy's not that fast either but jumpers is what I want to do. I use strategy to replace speed - it works!

I would try something diffrent - what do you have to loose? And you don't actually have show it, just school it.

[Bella]

If YOU want to do something else, then that's what you should do. If you keep doing something that you're bored with, soon you and Murphy will both be sour about it.

You said that your old trainer would be a 20 minute further drive... how far does this make the drive in total? Does the $25 cheaper board cover or almost cover the extra gas it will cost to get there? If it isn't going to break your pocket book, I think a change would be good for both of you.

-Bella

[GeM]

Ashley:
I know exactly how you feel. That's why I did a x-country clinic and a jumper show the other week.
I don't want to stop doing hunters (what I realized after eventing) but it is so nice to have a little break after so many years of being in that 'huner zone'.
Mac is probably just like Murph in that they like doing different things, like jumping logs and cantering in fields without a fence around it!

[CowGirlUp1833]

Do what makes you happy. And don't forget that you can always go back to Hunters if Eventing isn't what you thought it would be. Its never too late to try something new....look at me, I'm 25 and just starting over!

[PaintedRocket]

Do what makes you and Murphey happy If your bored, then go for the change! Seems like the cheaper board will help put gas in the car to go the extra 20min. Dressage is great with horse-rider communications and connection. It's always nice to have a fresh change of pace...it'll keep you and Murphey on your toes and you won't get bored of the same ol' thing. I think you should go for it for the mean time, live a little and try somethin' different! Good luck, Ashley!

[crazy4horses205]

If you want to try more things, then use the 25 dollars you save for gas money to go the distance.

[arabianlvr87]

Ashley, you and Murphy are BOTH have a lot of potential to do well in whatever you chose to do. If YOU want to try Dressage, and you think he could adapt well to a new barn/training routine, then do dressage! It's the same with eventing and cross country. Since he's already been trained/proven to do cross country, and YOU want to try it, I think it would be dumb not to pursue it.

I'm the same way with my horses. No, I can't go from hunters to dressage/x country/eventing, lol, I still get to do hunter under saddle with Mona, along with western pleasure. If I get bored doing those, I ride Felicity who's more of a full-contact, hunter pleasure horse.