Poll: How long have you been riding horses, around horses, and training horses? What got you into horses?
This is NOT a competition or a bragging session, I'm just bored and curious. I have only asked one other question today (not in this section), and I normally ask a good three or four LOL. So I feel the need to get asking!
Anyways... give as little or as much details as you please. It's just a poll, and will help me get to know everyone better.
Me: I've been riding/around horses for 14 years, primarily western for the first 10 years or so, but now I'm primarily english, and love eventing... mostly XC. I've been training horses for 6 years, but not consistently. I've only trained like 6 or 7 horses myself, ever. So it's not like I have a project to work on all the time. I've loved horses since birth, LOL. I dragged a horse stuffed animal around with me since I had the motor skills to pick it up, and when I started walking I had a stick horse with a stuffed sock for a head and button eyes. I wore my red cowboy boots and red cowboy hat EVERYWHERE. Never took them off. I even wore my boots to church. Embarrassed the hell out of my parents, but I refused to take them off! LOL
Anyways, how about you???
gallop2009-11-19T21:42:45Z
Favorite Answer
I started out riding and training dinosaurs, and then as horses evolved and grew large enough, I began applying the principles of natural dinasaurship to training them, with pretty good results. I guess what got me into horses was the mass extinction of my whole herd of dinosaurs.....a tragedy, really.
1. How long have you owned your current horse: I've had him for about 2 weeks. 2. Western or english and what discipline: English and hunters/jumpers. Occasionally dressage to. 3. What's your least favorite thing your horse does: He can be really skittish. Like one time the mail man came and he opened the back, I was leading my horse and he was rearing and bucking. He's just scared of everything because he's a baby. 4. What's your favorite thing your horse does: He's the sweetest horse ever and can learn very easily. He has already learned flying lead changes with my trainer in one day. 5. How old is your horse: 3 6. What's your horses name: Wesley is his barn name and Love the West is his show name. 7. What color is your horse: Very dark bay with three white socks and an irregular star. 8. What breed is your horse: Thoroughbred 9. How tall is your horse: 15.3 10. What made you get this horse, and what's the story behind it: I saw him online and went to try him without my trainer and when we got there, we instantly connected. When my trainer saw him she said he doesn't even have good balance, why won't you get an older horse? I knew he had potential and could be a great hunter. 11. What age did you start riding: I started at six but had to stop at 7 1/2-8 years old because of allergies to horses. Just started riding when I was 11 and now am 14. 12. How long before getting a horse did you take lessons: 5 1/2 years 13. What's your favorite part about riding: How it takes you someplace different and you're one with another being. 14. Your favorite name and show name: I like wesley, never heard it before and thought is was original. 15. Has your horse, or someone you know horse ever gotten colic, or foundered, or came down with any other serious ailment: No. 16. Do you believe in natural horsemanship: Yes 17. What bit do you use on your horse: Not sure. lol but some type of snaffle no mid-evil torture device no worries :) 18. Is your horse stallion, mare, or gelding and what's your preference in general: Gelding and usually gelding. 19. On a scale of 1- 10 where is your horses temperament and if your horse is jumpy, what's he most jumpy about: He is very jumpy, maybe an 8/10 but is very loving and sweet. He' scared of anything weather its the cats, to the mail man, to the grass :) 20. What's your horses registered name: Love the west 21. Picture of your horse: Sorry I don't have one on this computer.
I have been riding for about six years. I started off "western" (it was more english in a western saddle, I think), then switched to english about two years in. Since, I have done a little bit of dressage, a lot of jumping, and, now that I live somewhere where there are actually XC course, I want to start eventing.
I have never formally trained a horse - don't think I'm ready for that! - but two years ago when I bought my horse he was four and knew walk and trot. He now does training level dressage, jumps, and went out on a trail alone for the very first time today! He is kind of an ongoing project.
I have always loved horses. I remember being at my mom's work, under her desk, playing with my toy horses and neighing. I always wanted to write the grocery lists so I could be like "milk; eggs; oranges; a horse" Every vacation we went on had to include one of those touristy trail rides. Every time we passed horse property, I would stare and think "I want to live there...". I guess I still do that though.
I've ridden for 35 years. I think I always liked horses when I was really little, and we'd see them every summer when we camped at Assateague (back when they didn't give you a hard time for petting them). When I was 6, we moved right next door to a riding stable and my sister and I started taking lessons (she was 10). My sister quit at 14 but I kept going. I got my first horse at 11 and haven't been horseless for the next 30 years! I started training horses next door at 11 since I was light, fearless, and had enough years of riding under my belt to be somewhat effective. I rode the bad ponies no one else wanted to ride, and was the first one on a few 2 or 3 year olds. When I was in high school & college, I was hired to break all the young horses that were born on the farm. I joined Pony Club at 14 and stayed in until 21. As a single mom with a full time job and a long commute, I don't have as much time to ride consistently as I used to so haven't evented my mare in a few years, but still ride regularly. My main mount this year was a 12 hand pony I'm training for my son. I'll answer this question for him, too.
My son had pony rides from a very early age - 18 months or so. Once he was about 2.5, we'd go on the trails with him riding and me leading the pony. I started really trying to teach him when he was 3 or 4, but he didn't get too far until he was 5 or 6. He joined pony club when he was 7 and is now almost 9. I hope he sticks with it.
HI :) The first time I ever rode a horse I was probably 3 years old and I loved it! It was only a trail ride and I had to ride with my mom but I didn't care, it was so much fun. I wanted to be around horses all the time. I didn't ride again until I was probably 11. I went on a girl scouts field trip and learned all about grooming and we got to ride, that day I fell in LOVE! I begged my mom for riding lessons but didn't get them. Then my brother got married that year and my sister-in-law to show and she knew a lady who owned horses and would let her ride, so she took me out there a lot and I would ride, muck stalls and just have a blast. I begged for actual lessons though. Turned out the lady was an insturctor at a barn so for my 12th birthday I started lessons with her. I was there for about a month and then the barn and horses went downhill. The other people turned mean and I quit that barn and got very discouraged and the lady moved. I stopped riding for a year and was searching for the perfect barn everywhere I FINALLY found it 3 years ago when I was 14, and I've been riding there ever since. SO i've been riding for about 4 years, I ride English and last season was my first show season in the hunter ring and I'm now looking for my first horse :)