What type of horse would you absolutely never ride?

Barbara F · Grand Prix

What type of horse would you absolutely never ride?

Queenrider · Advanced

People generally don't tell you ahead of time that a horse rears/bolts! And if they they do, they don't consider it dangerous!Years ago, a neighbour asked for help with her 2 QHs. To make a long story short, the neighbour was limping (again) so I asked what happened and she told me her horse lays down when it is tired and her husband's horse just goes where it wants to. Well, her horse would rear and fall over and that is how she hurt her leg again. I tried lunging her husband's horse and it broke my lunge line jumped over a stone wall and ditch and headed home (a 20' span). (Too bad, as it would have been a hell of a jumper if it ever had any training). I asked how on earth they went on trail rides (I saw them on the roads)and she told me they just let the horses go where they wanted to. These were 2 very spoiled and dangerous horses. After nearly killing both of them, again, both were sent for meat eventually as they were unsellable . Not the horse's fault as they had no training! Of course they bought another horse but this time they had 30 days of training put into it by some pro. It raced home and fractured her leg badly when it ran into their farm gate during a hack on the road. I think they gave up horses after that!

Barbara F · Grand Prix

Good Lord, what a story!
VERY sad for the horses and dumb luck that your neighbours weren't killed!

Figarocubed · Advanced

Yikes! Good thing you never got on those horses, Queenrider.

I'm the same, Barbara -- won't take on a bolter or a rearer, though as QR noted, sometimes folks don't tell you that! I'm not crazy about buckers, but even Figaro will give a half-hearted buck sometimes in cool weather when he's feeling silly, so it's tolerable. He's never trying to get rid of me, just expressing himself.

I'm nearing 60, and the ground is harder now than it was when I was a kid!

Marlene · Advanced

Many horses have at least one "trick", i.e. a test they will put the rider through just to see what type of person they are, how they are going to handle the situation (although I'm pretty sure most horses have you 90% figured out by the time you take up the reins to begin, the test just confirms their suspicions). Bolting is one of my least favorite tricks, I wouldn't ride such a horse nowadays. A proper rearer same thing, mini-rears, I can handle. I really hate big spooks, or spook and swivel, my seat is not good enough for that stuff. Mini-spooks, not a problem. I survived a lot more tricks when I was younger, horses attempting to wipe me off on trees, one would lay down and roll in the water, and one precious one would do huge grasshopper bucks if you made him run. The only solution for these horses (if you are crazy enough to ride them) is to beat them at their own game and make them do what they don't want to do, until it seems simpler to them to just cooperate with their rider. I'm just not that good a rider anymore and I heal more slowly these days, so I need a fairly cooperative horse.