quote:

Originally posted by pony220:
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.

No offense taken, I've been around trainers for so long now that it would take a lot more than that to ruffle any feathers!

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:
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’.”

Our daughter had a great Arabian when she was little. My wife had grown up training quarter horses and it took her a while to learn how to train Johnny Cash. They are very smart, but you can't handle or train them like a quarter horse. He was very sensitive and the techniques that work on most horses would not work on him.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
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.

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
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

Very astute observations. I see people obsessing over the purchase price of a horse and chuckle. That's the easy part - doesn't matter if someone even gives you one. The expensive part is the feed, vet, farrier, boarding (if you don't have your own facility), tack, truck, trailer, etc, etc, etc. It adds up quick!

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 - 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

That's impressive. Staying calm is definitely the key - horses, being prey animals, feed off of your vibe - if you are nervous or scared, they will be nervous, scared and jumpy. If you stay calm, they tend to settle down - more or less, depending on the horse

That’s terrific. It was always my favorite therapy for a hard week. Enjoy!!

quote:

Originally posted by KMitch200:

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.

My wife use to call that fabric mesh they use in landscaping projects the "universal horse killer". Her police TB was especially unfond of those inflatable jumping pits for kids, which I always heard called a Moon Bounce. Since she was a Park Police officer and often did festivals in the parks, Moon Bounces were frequently encountered. In this pic, she is trying to coax Willie up to a Moon Bounce before it got inflated, to show there was nothing sinister about them.
 

 

I agree with the Advil comment, I've been on a few in my life and never could master the riding technique. Always a sore couple of days afterwards. My father in law owns a thoroughbred farm back in Kentucky. Amazing and beautiful animals, I would never get on one of those as they are way beyond my riding abilities.

Was at a small Christmastime get-together, yesterday. Mentioned going on a horseback ride was on my bucket list. Turns out one of our friends used to ride & knows a bit about horses. Recommended I try to find a Tennessee Walker to rent, as, she claimed, they have a very easy gait, are generally relatively even-tempered, and, being bigger horses, are more suitable for my 6'4" frame?

I like that horses can keep an eye out and can protect a rider, but I also like that I'm in total control of a motorcycle and it won't do anything stupid that I didn't make it do.

I used to specify "Streak" on trail rides at Boy Scout camp. Streak tried to peel me off under a low limb and the limb ended up on my lap. The limb was about 3-4" in diameter and it makes my head hurt thinking about it. The local hillbillies who ran the camp stable were amused.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Was at a small Christmastime get-together, yesterday. Mentioned going on a horseback ride was on my bucket list. Turns out one of our friends used to ride & knows a bit about horses. Recommended I try to find a Tennessee Walker to rent, as, she claimed, they have a very easy gait, are generally relatively even-tempered, and, being bigger horses, are more suitable for my 6'4" frame?

Fact check: True!

I don't know about generally being larger - there are large and small Tennessee walkers, but the part about the ride being smooth is correct. You don't have the bouncy motion of non-gaited horses when riding a TN walker. Here's a video of the different gaits - notice how you don't see the rider bouncing up and down regardless of the gait:



They are great for trail riding. At the barn where my wife works there are several older ladies - in their mid to late 70's - who still load up their trailer and spend a week or two out trail riding on their TN walkers at one of the many places around here where you can rent a cabin and a couple of stalls and ride to your heart's content.

I love to ride but usually have to find a Percheron or draft horse or mule to ride.

Then comes finding a saddle that is comfortable...

We ride Tennessee walkinghorses. Gave up trotting 3 walkers ago. Other gaited options would be a Missouri Foxtrotter, Peruvian Paso, Paso Fino, and some others. Slight differences in how they achieve their gaits but the effect is a smooth ride. Tennessee walkers also achieve their flat gait either in a 'big lick' style, very exaggerated front end movement for show horses, and a flat gait for trail horses, etc. One description of riding a walker in a canter is like sitting in a rocking chair.
As has been stated multiple times previously buying is the least cost owning a horse will involve! Last vet visit here was for choke on my walker, $850 for the initial treatment, and over $150 for antibiotics due to asperation pneumonia, and subsequent following up visit after trailering the horse to the vet. We administer vaccinations ourselves (depends on state laws for certain vaccines). Feed and hay costs varys where you are, but not inseconsequental. Tack costs dependant upon horse type, use of horse, etc. Then barns, trailers, training, can go through the roof!