first time in 25 years

it was fun - will do it again right after Christmas...plan is to do a day-long ride and a desert overnight ride

Take and Advil or two now.

It's been 43 years sinse I rode a horse. Only ever been thrown off once. Right on the back of my neck. The lights went out for a short time. Choctaw was way down the end of a field with the saddle under her belly. I really enjoyed riding.

Worked one summer in a teaching stable. I thought I might meet some horsy set chix. But hard to do when mucking out stalls. The owner told us that after work we could ride the horses.
I would saddle the nag, it would make a beeline to the nearest tree and rub me on it until I fell off. The horse then went back to the barn.
This taught me that horses were smarter then you give them credit for. And that I wanted nothing to do with horses.

I've had horses for 50 years and they have been a good influence in my life. I sold the last two a couple of years ago to a good home and I miss them but they eat a lot and go to the bathroom a lot which means moving a lot of weight on both ends. I raced Quarter horses for a few years and even made a little money at it and I got along with most of them very well. They allowed me to live in the country and have enough land to shoot on.

Going horseback riding someday is on my bucket list.

Horses are a huge part of our life. My wife got her first pony when she was 5 and rode mostly western on quarter horses growing up. She works horses full time - from early morning til dark, every day. Our daughter (14) has ridden since she was walking. I don't ride very often, I like to keep my feet on the ground - I feed and hold horses

Here's my daughters latest project - an 18 hand Oldenburg gelding. He's a beast.



In action:

I've been around horses enough to recognize "I am NOT a horse person" and they certainly recognize that fact.

I love horses! Been almost 40yrs for me. Here's a snap from Evergreen, CO back when I was a young whippersnapper. A funny story that afternoon. My hat flew off and when I got down to retrieve it Poco took off back to the barn. Everybody had a good laugh that afternoon when I finally made my way back to the barn

I like horses. Other people's horses. As big pets.

I don't know doodly about riding and horses KNOW that. I don't even have to get on, they just look at me and know.

After a couple of unfortunate experiences in my younger days, I swore a solemn oath never to throw a leg over anything that didn't have handlebars and brakes.

I grew up riding whenever I wanted, and still do from time to time.

I entertained keeping a few several years ago, but then I realized that I'd only like to have them for about two weeks out of the year. The other fifty weeks? No thanks. Too much expense and too much trouble. And, I have a hard time trusting a 1000 pound animal with a brain the size of a softball.

quote:

This taught me that horses were smarter then you give them credit for. And that I wanted nothing to do with horses.

LOL, Yooper, I had one that was partial to low hanging limbs.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
... I have a hard time trusting a 1000 pound animal with a brain the size of a softball.

I am led to understand horses are actually pretty smart, in general terms?

There was somebody nearby that was nearly giving her horse away. She no longer had the time to give it the attention it deserved. Looked like a nice horse, and had been well cared-for. Mentioned to my wife "It isn't the purchase, it's the maintenance."

I think it might be great to have your own horse, much like it was great to have our own sailboat. (That's assuming it turned out me and horses got along.) But, like the sailboat, my guess is the horse would not be ridden enough to justify the ongoing expense.

Animals need and deserve love, attention and care. Me owning a horse, even if I could justify the expense, would be a form of animal abuse.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
And, I have a hard time trusting a 1000 pound animal with a brain the size of a softball.

I think you’re being generous.

One of my mentors, the cowboy who taught me to pack and shoe horses, had a special dislike for Arabians (or A-rabs, as he called them). Hard to get the picture if you can’t hear his voice, but he’d say, “Those A-rabs got uh brain about the size of a ‘humminbird’.”

BamaJeepster. That is a beautiful Oldenberg. We also have german warmbloods. Please tell your daughter that if she wants to ride in a dressage seat that there should be a straight vertical line from ear to shoulder to hip and to ankle. She is in a "chair seat" now which does not have the "power" of a correct active dressage seat.

 
When I first met my wife, in 1991, her personal horse (she also rode horse-mounted police for work) was a Belgian Draft. I had not been on a horse for 35 or so years at that point. She asked if I wanted a leg up just to sit on Tiny, so I said sure. Up I went, and kept going right over the top into the dirt on the other side. I eventually mastered a technique for mounting (using a big rock and flopping onto his back). I would ride him bareback up to the barn to saddle up. Luckily he was very laid back. I enjoyed many hours of trail riding after that.
 

quote:

Originally posted by pony220:
BamaJeepster. That is a beautiful Oldenberg. We also have german warmbloods. Please tell your daughter that if she wants to ride in a dressage seat that there should be a straight vertical line from ear to shoulder to hip and to ankle. She is in a "chair seat" now which does not have the "power" of a correct active dressage seat.

She would kill me for using that pic, I just used it because I liked the way Rumor's mane was flowing in the wind. Trust me, she knows - she had just hopped on with the former owner's saddle still on to give him a test ride. She is about to get her USDF bronze medal, she only needs one more score. She rides third level and was selected to be on Lendon Gray's Dressage4kids team. She won the national dressage pony cup breed award on her quarter pony (also competed in FEI Pony on him), competed in USDF regionals on a horse she trained, and placed 5th in the region in the 14-18 dressage seat finals when she had just turned 14. She trains with a Grand Prix rider and trainer and lived and worked for her for 6 weeks this past year.

BamaJeepster: Congratulations on your daughter's dressage work. It sounds as though she is really doing great. I am sorry if I sounded too critical but so many of the people at our barn ride in a "chair seat" that my comments just came out.

great looking horses

I am of the same opinion - I like horses, just not enough to own one so I will rent one when the urge strikes me to get on one

was very comfortable yesterday - even after the horse bolted for a few hundred yards along the rail - got spooked by something - I went screaming past the guide leading me and it took her a about 10 seconds to catch up and then slow down

my biggest problem yesterday was that Utah continually wanted to graze along the way, and did have this knack of finding low hanging branches in and around the Mesquites

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
was very comfortable yesterday - even after the horse bolted for a few hundred yards along the rail - got spooked by something

Probably got spooked by the rock or bush it has passed 1k times before.

It's been quite a while since I threw a leg over a horse. I enjoy it but I never had *any* desire (or land) to own livestock. I much prefer renting.