Anyone else ever been attached to a riding school horse/pony

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wowzer22

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My absolute fave at my local stables has just been written off from riding - she's only 12 but she has had constant lameness due to an old injury - she's staying there for now so Its not goodbye yet...but will be going off to stud as her next career - not far but I won't see her much anymore.
My question is...I will really miss her....she's one of those horses that you don't forget....she kind of rather likes me too - as soon as I drive into the yard - she neighs, kicks the door...AND goes mad (doesn't do it to anyone else apparently).
My question is for those of you that did become rather attached to a riding school horse/pony..how did you cope?
 
Yup. I looked after a few horses and ponies during my time at the riding school but one was special - he was a speedy little thing but could be quite grouchy and bit me a few times, but I loved him all the same. He is an old man now, and I know that they gave him away to a forever home with one of their friends - who i know keeps him just down the road from me. I have seen her daughter riding him once or twice, he must be in his late twenties now. I am dreading the day when I hear that he has gone, makes me upset to even think about it! I haven't seen him properly for such a long time but he will always have a very special place in my heart.
 
Lol! I got attached to mine...

Bought her!

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Bred a foal from her before I sadly lost her, wouldn't swop him for the world!

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I worked at a riding school 40 years ago and there were several I got very attached to. The place closed down and it was agony saying goodbye to them all. :(

My favourite went with me though, I had him for five years until my health forced me to part and he ended his days in happy retirement in the care of a friend of mine. :)
 
I used to ride at a very busy, extremely commercial riding school where all the horses were for sale. One day, we went up to the field to see the new ones who had just been bought in, and a little chestnut with a flaxen mane and tail and a funny looking blaze sidled up to me. From that moment on, I knew for certain that he was something very special. On the same afternoon, I booked my very first ride on him. We were out in the field, he was tense, spooky, but so, so wonderful at the same time. Kept booking lesson and lesson with him, and as we gradually we got to know each other more, I kept thinking, and thinking, and thinking about him. We did our first jumps together, had some magical canters out on hacks, and even did some dressage. He was convinced the white boards were pony eating monsters! But we managed to come 6th out of 12 in what would be my first, and last, show with him. I was so, so proud of what we had achieved but somehow I knew that our time was coming to an end. And it was. A few weeks later, I was fb chatting with one of the girls at the yard and she casually mentioned that he'd been sold that day. I was devastated, and I've never really got over that little chestnut pony who captured my imagination on that warm summers day.
I rode there for a while longer but realised that I didn't want to go through that again with a dozen more ponies, so I left. Not a very positive story, sorry, but it's so hard with those ones you feel are 'yours'.
 
Aww Flaxen Pony!!

I learnt to ride on two big fellas at a fairly big RS, about 15 years ago, named William and Bob. William was a grey ID type and Bob was a sort of clydie looking bay (I'm not sure if people bothered about specific breeds in those days!) I am pretty sure they were both 17hh but could be childhood exaggeration, I was pretty tall though so not many my age got to ride them.

I helped out on Sundays for about 5 years and to be honest was attached to quite a few of them! I helped at shows while pining for my own horse which I have only recently got :-) I should think those two are no longer with us but I reckon there might be one or two that are still there.

I still live near and they do some small competitions, I will take my horse back there one day and would be sooo happy to see any of the old ponies!
 
I got mine from a riding school!

He had what I can only call a nervous break down, I loaned him one day a week at the time and was offered him on full loan, loaned him for 4 years and bought him outright last year :D

He is still a massive tit at times but never nasty, I have got him hacking alone albeit with lots of gawping at imaginary monsters in the bushes and he can jump 1m courses but we don't compete as he's scared of fillers :(

Would love to hunt him but I'm too chicken!
 
Yup I bought him too... He's still in my heart the best person I've ever met and it was and is the worst day of my life when I lost him 16 years ago... He was a little **** but he was my little **** and nothing could ever replace him.
 
I used to teach as a teenager at a riding school, there was a pony there that I loves to bits. She was a complete cow and would bite if she could reach you but a darling to teach. She only actually bit me once but did it when I had a terrified kid who definitely wouldn't have got on if he'd known, clever little monster.
She was forward going but if they lost their balance she would slow down and if you said walk she would walk almost immediately.

Some of the staff were scared of her but I loved her to bits! If I hung something over my arm she wouldn't bite, as gettinf to skin was too much effort. Or if you scratched her fetlocks she would let you do anything. She must have been late twenties and I knew her about 5 years and she had been there forever before that. She must have taught hundreds if not thousands of kids to ride with her ridiculously bouncy canter.

I cried the whole way home when I said goodbye, and I never cry.

So yes I got attached to a riding school pony, and at about 12.2hh I could never have ridden her, but loved her all the same. :)
(Sorry if I blabbed on)
 
Yep. Not exactly a riding school horse as he was on working livery and owned by someone else. He got sidebone and his owner sent him to the knackers. I was 16 and never sat on another horse for 25 years after that. He was the first horse that ever whickered to me and the last horse I will ever truly love.
 
Fell in love with a cob at college, I spent every spare second with her, she would whinny if I was passing her door and we got such a bond I was let off lessons to hold her for the vet when she required an endoscopy for a nasty cough. She left before I did due to corns meaning she couldn't be ridden, when I was in a position to buy my own horse I contacted the college to attempt to trace her but unfortunately they no longer had her records on file. But if I had of somehow managed to buy her I wouldn't have met my lovely lass so it worked out well in the end
 
My first share was a riding school horse, shared her for 2 years. Absolutely amazing, she got offered to me to buy but because of her age I said no (being an inexperienced buyer but the YO who owned her was asking for quite a lot of money). I so regretted that shortly after as I went and brought a mare that didn't work out at all and it made me realise how much I missed riding her. She was sold to another lady shortly after. You know if you could turn back time......bombproof superstar jumper, gave me every bit of confidence. Oh how I miss her!!!
 
Yep, bought mine too!! He wasn't for sale but I made an offer that was quite persuasive for his type (though a riding school horse he isn't a beginners ride). I've never regretted it, I'd ridden him loads and hacked him out so felt a safer buy. We've had our moments since I bought him but so glad I did :-)
 
Every single darned one of them!!

Sadly we lost two of them on the same day, a few months back :'(


However, I too ended up getting one of them :D
He was given to me at Xmas by his owner




And this is the first pony I rode at my current yard :)
 
I have lessons on one horse who I just love. When he was first brought out or me to ride I looked at him and thought " you will never win any beauty contests" . He was very tense and we spent the lesson rushing about with his nose in the air and very little brakes, but by the end of the hour lesson I was in love. He has taught me more about riding and myself than all the other horses I've ridden put together. :) a very special horse.
 
From age 13 to 15 I rode a lovely stubborn black 13.2 pony called Candy at my local RS. No- one wanted to ride him as he could bite, and hemwas quite hard to get going. But for some reason we clicked and he went like a little dressage pony for me, just a squeeze and off he went. He was so loving too. Other people couldn't believe it!

Anyway one day I heard he would be sold and was going that day. I was helping lead beginners in the arena and the RS owner told me I could take some photos of Candy after the lesson I was helping with, but as the lesson began, a lorry arrived and took him away. I was so upset not to get a photo of him. The RS owner wouldn't let me run across to see him one last time as I had a beginner on a lead rein.

I did hear afterwards that he had gone to a disabled lady and did very well for her, so I hope he enjoyed hismnew life.
 
I bought mine :) he was an amazing horse couldnt asked for more!

I was attached to another one called Simon he was sold on when the riding school was sold. Always wonder what happened to him, if i ever found him i would buy him back in a heartbeat.
 
Yes! First one was Willow, loved her to pieces and I rode her for 6 years - Sadly she was pts at 32 due to colic and cancer of the intestines I think it was :( Cried for weeks! :o

Then there was Tonto!. I adored him and used to ride him loads! I stopped going to the riding centre though and haven't seen him since :( But apparently he's still there :)!
 
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I Have; i desperatly wanted to buy her and its the ONLY mare i have truly had a decent connection with and really enjoyed riding, i think she was a tb maybe a tb cross couldnt tell you but she was a bright bay, blaze and one sock. Her name was flo ironicly the same name as my nan who i was close too. they sold her i think as she was getting on but my days, she made you learn how to jump! the way she did it you threw your heart over and catch it on the other side even for the smallest of jumps.

best part she would fart at every car with its window open which always put a smile on my face. Meh i do miss her :( even now! and im strictly cobs only lmao!
 
Both my sister and I fell for the same pony at our riding school, a lovely bay called Smokey Joe. We both rode him and pestered our Mum about him for ages. Sadly he was stolen from the stables and we never saw him again. Mum bought us our own pony in the end, a wonderful blood bay, tb cross called Star, he lived until he was 31 and was indeed a star!
 
Yes I have. Three infact..
The first was a gorgeous elderly mare called Rosie, she had arthritis and could not be ridden and I believe she had never been in the riding school but the yard owners companion horse instead. She had the most affectionate personality and I spent many hours just going and grooming her. I remember when I asked why she wasn't in her stable. The yard owner (because of the young children) didn't want to say to anyone that she was going to be put down. I've always wished that I could have spent some more time with her and said goodbye :'(
The second was a 16.2hh gelding who's the typical RS plod and people couldn't get him going, but all 5ft1 of me could :) He got so excited that he'd squeal and try to tank off outside. He's the horse who I miss the most after getting my share horse. Sadly I didn't ride him much because someone else in my lesson needed a higher horse and the others weren't suitable.
The thirds a small (13hh) haflinger mare who was the sweetest thing. I feel I'm starting to ramble now but she sits in a field after becoming too spooky and throwing people off too much. I wish I could go and see what she's like now.
 
Mera, a lovely bay arab mare that everyone else hated, I adored her & got her often as she was too quick for most kids & too small for most adults (who hated her as well, & asked not to have her). Then there was a fire at the stables, Mera was rescued from her (corner) stable, but when let loose (they just pulled them out & ran to get the next one) she panicked & ran back into her stable. No-one could go in again as the fire had spread, & she died in her box. Several horses died that night (some run over on the road as they had escaped the yard) , & one later. Jordy was a cantankerous but loveable old boy, his lungs were damaged by the smoke so they gave him the summer off to see if he would improve, but he didn't so had to be PTS. Very sad time, but they did come back.
 
I used to ride a little golden pony at riding school when I was a kid, he was a little darling and I absolutely adored him. Then the riding stables closed down and all the horses were sold, and this little chap was snapped up by a family in the locality. Which was nice because I still saw him around and so knew what had happened to him, but of course because he now belonged to someone else, I couldn't ride him, just watch from a distance and wish he was mine!

I did get my own pony a few years later; he was a little sweetheart and I loved him to bits. The little golden man stayed in "his" family for the rest of his life, as far as I'm aware and taught all the kids of that family to ride. Even if I had had him, he was only 12.2 so I'd have outgrown him in only a few years anyway, and would have had to be sold on...........
 
Another one here who bought their beloved Riding School horse! He is my first horse & still my horse of a lifetime.

I went back riding in my 20's after 10 year break & ended up having a bad fall, where I damaged my spine, still rode after I recovered but was petrified to jump. My friend spent weeks convincing me to ride this one horse who would buck, squeel & generally give out but he would jump anything put in front of him. Took me ages to be convinced but once I did, I fell in love. I rode him twice a week for the next few months & in a twist of fate, the Riding School closed down & all the schoolies were put up for sale. So I bought him & never looked back!
 
Yes, I bought mine ! I have owned her now for just over 2 years and I love her to bits ! she is now 28 years old and had been a school pony for the past 18 years !! I had her on part loan for a couple of months and then constantly nagged the owner to sell her to me - which , reluctantly , she did ! she worked very hard for the past 18 years and since I have owned her , I now class her as semi retired and she is loving life - totally spoilt rotten now and pampered more than I can put into words - she really means the world to me and has given me all my confidence back again .
 
Not riding school horses, but there were 2 at college.

Hugo was an absolutely massive warmblood, well over the 17.1 he was stated as on his board! Only knew him from September to January but he was a darling and I fell head over heels for him. He was shot due to being cast in his stable..he was 19 and owner couldn't have him home nor did she want to risk it happening again...

The second one was a black sec D mare called Jewell, an absolute spoilt brat with an attitude problem but we got on really well and I had a soft spot for her. She was very misunderstood and had a rep with the students but if you gave her respect you got it back-simple. Apparently used to bite and kick when you mucked her out but I never had an issue. She was only there a few months before her owners took her home, would love to know where she is !
 
I'm very attached to three riding school horses: Two are my own horses which I volunteered for working livery and although I thought I'd die a little death watching people learn to ride on them in lessons, I genuinely enjoy it, they find it more interesting than say going on a horsewalker but don't get hooned about, and they know exactly who it is that is upstairs, it's fun watching their brains work that out. The third is a riding school horse owned by my coach which I love riding, she's really sensitive so tests you out. Some of the best horses in the world are those that can adapt to the level of rider on top and give them that 'next clue'. I'm lucky to have two of those and enjoy riding those others, even though I usually have my own horses too.
 
Two years after I started riding, aged 10, I fell in love with a grumpy little Dales cross. He had belonged to the daughter of a lady who had been involved with a local hunt. I'm assuming he had been outgrown or no longer fit for purpose, so he ended up at a dealer and was then sold to the riding school.

I looked after him for 7 years (including loaning him at one point) before falling out with the yard owner and having him taken off me. I was about 17 at the time and as he'd been the first 'pony of my own', neither myself or my family really understood the concept of loan agreements, i.e. they spat their dummy out, told me to leave and I didn't think I had any comeback. I realise now that their agreement was very one-sided - we never even had a copy! It was the worst 3 weeks of my life. My little guy of 7 years had been taken from me in minutes (all because I stuck up for a friend when they'd had her in tears because another livery said she could ride her loan pony). Seeing him advertised in the adtrader was the most gut-wrenching experience. They'd told us they weren't selling him and that was that. Well, an offer of £200 above the asking price and he was mine. ;) I've never looked back.

He was lovely to ride and such a good little pony, I could take him anywhere, just me and him- though he had a wicked dirty stop and would drop his shoulder and have you off out the side door, should he decide he didn't want to jump that day.

We used to go all over the place. I'd pack sandwiches and treats and the two of us would happily go off for hours and sit happily together. How easy it was back then, eh?!

He's long since retired and I've long since outgrown him. He's 28 and we've been together 17 years now. I hope there are many more years round the corner!

Overly soppy post, sorry!
 
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