Poll: How long have you been riding horses, around horses, and training horses? What got you into horses?

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 :)

I started riding about 17 years ago, first bareback then when I was 15 I got into lessons (with a crappy trainer) and when I was 22 I found a GREAT trainer that I am still with that taught me how to ride.

I've ridden bareback trail, western, hunter, jumpers, eventing and am now officially a Dressage rider.

Apparently I have been obsessed with horses since I was old enough to say "horse" and I can't remember a time that I wasn't madly in love with horses. So I don't know anything specific that got me into horses, it's just always been there.

I have been training horses since 2005 under the instruction of an Olympic level rider. :)

I've loved horses since forever, and I've been around them practically my entire life. My aunt and uncle used to breed halflinger/thoroughbred crosses, and my cousin used to show ALL the time. I was a little afraid of them when I was really little (2 and under) and when I turned 3 I got over it. I was only scared cause they were so much bigger then me. Other then that, I loved to be at the barn. I've been taking lessons for about 5 years, but had spent time prior to that trail riding and being led around on my aunt and uncle's horses, plus the occasional day camp here and there. I've always been into them. Ever since I was 5, I've been asking for a horse for Christmas or my birthday. I'm 13 now, and loving my riding. I'm really sad though because I cannot ride until at least Christmas because I fell off during my lesson and got a concussion and I'm really bored. I basically trained the horse I love, but will never ride again (leaving the barn). He was a green horse, trained under saddle and jumped up to 3 feet but very inexperienced, and I worked through his issues and made him into the best lesson horse that farm owns, and I got no thanks for it, which really makes me mad. I'm really serious about my riding. You'd think after what happened to me last week I'd be afraid to get back on, but honestly, I just want to hop back in the saddle and start jumping again. I too have had horse stuffed animals for years, as soon I could ask for them. I got all sorts of horsey stuff from my aunt and uncle. They buy me horse stuff for Christmas every year. My other aunt always buys me 1-2 Breyer model horses for my birthday or Christmas or both and she's been doing that for maybe 4 years. I pretty much spend all my time thinking about horses, and when I'm hiking or in the woods, I'm subconsciously going "That would/would not be a very good cross country fence." I guess you could say I have a 1-track mind.

I got into horses when I was 8 years old. I remember it so well...

My aunt and cousin took me for a trail ride in the Blue Ride mountains. It was sooo beautiful and I just found that I had a knack for riding...I just sorta clicked right into it. I loved it immediately!

I started out western, for the about the first year to year and a half. I took lessons every week, went to horse camps every summer. Then I tried some english. I rode english for about a year, did intro to jumping and started getting excited about jumping. The I went on a western trail ride again in the Blue Ridge...and then I got into western again. I went to do lessons at a team roping farm. But I didn't learn roping, I learned Barrel Racing.

Ever since then I have been bonkers about barrel racing and I never went back to english.

I went to a summer camp at a different barn and learned how to appreciate getting dirty and working for horses. After about six months there, I went back to the roping place where I remain today with my horse. This is the barn where I leased my horse, and eventually bought him. (My first horse! I love him sooo much.)

I have never trained a horse. I have watched my trainer train young horses before, but never done it myself. That must be a very rewarding experience.

I have a lot of horse stuffed animals, and my room is covered wall-to-wall with pictures and ribbons from shows I competed in at a couple barns I rode at.

I love horses! And I know I always will.

Thanks for asking this question!

i like this question :)

i've loved horses all my life. when i was little, there was a stable down the road from my house with a bunch of friendly little ponies. my parents knew nothing about horses, but we would go down there and feed them grass through the fence (i now know this was probably a bad idea, but i was like one and my parents didn't know any better). then we moved when i was 4.

for most of my childhood its just been playing with toy horses and galloping around on my hands and knees. when i was 9, i got my first riding lessons, but it wasn't a good stable and we had to stop after a few lessons. a few months later i started taking western lessons, but they weren't fantastic, it was a group lesson and all we did was walk in circles for an hour. then i stopped riding for a few years, but i was desperate to get with horses again, so after a week horse camp, i started lessons again at a peruvian paso farm. that was fun, but for financial reasons, we had to stop again.

about a year and a half ago, we found a barn closer to home and it was something we could afford, so i started with my first english lessons. it is the best place i've ridden at by far. i've come really far and in the past month have started jumping, and i've been getting into horse shows this year (i have one on saturday, wish me luck!). i can't imagine my life without horses. this will be my 5th or 6th year riding horses.

Always been around horses, even when I was a baby we had a horse in our backyard. My mom said I used to crawl into the paddock and stare at the horse. XD My grandparents own a boarding stable. It's primarily a dressage barn but we welcome all types of riding, we have plenty of space for everyone to do their thing.

I've been riding since I was about 3 or 4. I started on one of those rare well behaved shetland ponies and they just left me riding the little guy bare back around the yard! So like 10ish years, I'm 14 now. I decided I wanted to be a dressage rider when I was 8, started showing when I was 10(?). I went to my first championship when I was 12, won it the next year. I skipped showing this year to really sharpen up everything, no distractions. So next season we will be on fire I think :)

My first pony... She had never been ridden before or even seen tack (and I was only 7), grandma was definitely thinking of my safety buying that one... Then 5 years later I got my TB Kiwi :) He was an awesome horse, not the prettiest guy but sweet and willing. He unfortunately had to be put down, but I don't want to get into that. Then I got my current horse, Rivvy. She was a gift from a lady in my pony club and I think all the luck I'll ever get in my life was used getting her, so I will never have a "it's all down hill from here" moment :P

There's always been training going on with just about every horse I've ridden really. My first pony and my current pony boy Mysterious were both unbroke when I got them (Misty is Mysterious mom) so I trained them from scratch I guess. In about a year I'm going to buy a 2-4 year old to train up since we can't afford a school master.

Side notes: I've started eventing, I am a C1 pony clubber, going for C2 in April, me and Rivvy are getting into western and the saddle fitter okayed our side saddle so yay!

I've been riding all my life. (I'm 13 almost 14)

I've been around horses, again, all my life.

I've only trained 2 horses. I havn't saddle trained/broke any horses to ride. My horses are lower level dressage horses that I'm working up with.

Volunteered at one farm since I was 7...

quit there earlier this year (HORRIBLE farm owner. complete bizzatchh)

Now I'm involved in this other place with much more to offer.. amazing trainers, great atmosphere, *sigh* looove it.

Wow, thats an amazing story of yours. Haha, thats really cute, wearing those boots everywhere... and the stick horse. LOL.