Are you and your horse well suited?

[starryeyed]

Yes, definitely! Everyone says she has a screw loose but I worship the ground she walks on.. I just love her attitude, she's very "go go go" and always so keen and excitable, I could go into her stable at 3am with a bridle and she would be up for a gallop with no questions asked. She brings the biggest smiles to my face, she is completely nutty but so much fun to ride. Although she is fairly aloof and diva-ish she does acknowledge that I am 'her person' and it's a lovely feeling. The only thing I am trying to change about her is her complete lack of ground manners, as she will walk over absolutely anyone (especially when stressed by a cat on a fence / pony in the wrong paddock or something similarly out place) and I can't stand bad manners on the ground - however this is very much work in progress and we are slowly getting there!

Very different to the previous horse, I absolutely loved him to pieces but we weren't at all suited. I got him as a scruffy mess at the sales and I was very much his carer - once I had put in all the hard work, given him lots of love, had him looking wonderful and gave him everything a horse could ever wish for, he was obviously so fed up of people that he never gave anything back, was very stubborn and difficult and we definitely were not on the same page. Understandable really as I had traced his background and found out what he'd been through, but was extremely hard work. Couldn't rehome him due to endless medical issues, and his delightful attitude (plus as said previously - for some reason I was incredibly attached to him!!) but I had no idea how much I had been missing fun-wise until I got my mare.

 

[spookypony]

Interesting question!

On the surface of it, the Spooky Pony and I aren't well suited at all. I want to do dressage, he doesn't. I want to enjoy myself riding a co-operative animal; he's a complicated, worried little soul that would prefer just to be left alone, or possibly play some clever games ending in food (for him), or maybe wander around the countryside in the company of another horse (the rider is a bit incidental). But oddly, I think we're doing all right.

The Ballerina Mare, well, general consensus seems to be that she and I are really well suited!

 

[NZJenny]

Ummmm .. I have four horses and they are all completely different. Are we all suited - yes. But it's up to me to "fit" them not the other way around.

 

[Queenbee]

Yes, absolutely, it was such a hard slot to fill after losing ebony who was my horse of a lifetime but he's done it so well! It was so hard, buying a baby not knowing how he would turn out in temperament or ability, worrying about if we would click. I think the reason we work is because he isn't like ebs, they are like chalk and cheese, she was dainty, sharp, exquisite and super talented and I worried so much he would be too laid back for me. But we work because he has such a wonderful character and attitude. He is so incredibly enthusiastic, he positively pings around if he sees a jump, because jumping is his favourite thing in the world, he schools nicely and looks a pretty picture when doing so, his walk and trot are lovely, he does a super very collected canter, and leg yields on the straight and on a circle... And I've done that, I taught him that! He loves more than anything to learn and he hates it when he gets it wrong, when he is being ridden and he makes a mistake he tries harder than any horse I've known to do it right. But he gets mad when he's made a mistake and I'm on the ground because he knows I will growl at him and you can just see his royal grumpy pants just wanting to strop but knowing that's just not a good idea! We get along because he loves to be stabled, and I get the warmest fuzzy feeling when he comes galloping down to come in whenever I turn up at the gate even if he's only been out for a couple of mins. And he has proved himself anything but a plod, he never wants to stop, he would explore all day on a hack if he could, he is the bravest little man I know, he walks his fastest on new hacks, tackles tractors and oil tankers and static caravans being towed along country roads like they were nothing, he canters on the spot in frustration if he can't trot fast enough to keep up with a lead horse, and I alternate between laughing and telling him 'no' in a very stern voice . I couldn't have a more perfect match because my confidence was a little bit shakey having had a super girl who attacked jumps but put in the odd seriously sharp stop if you hesitated for a split second... I ate dirt from that a few times years ago and it stayed with me, but Ben is like a little wrecking ball, however he does it, he gets to the other side of the jump, 95% of the time now he goes over it, but we spent one session crashing through everything our instructor put up until the end of the lesson when he finally jumped something, but he never ever once backed off from the jump... It's done wonders for me and for our partnership. We are perfect together, because everything he does at the moment is because he simply feels like a great big horse shaped vat of zest for life, he is like a sponge soaking up new things every single day, it's almost hard to keep up with how much and how fast he is learning and his attitude is simply infectious.

I made a pact with myself when I lost ebony that I would take every chance I could and enjoy every single possible moment, and toe years down the road I'm still keeping that promise, but then who wouldn't with a horse like mine? Yes, we are so very well suited, he is everything I could have possibly asked for and at five, if it turned out that I couldn't ride him from tomorrow onwards for the rest of his life I would give him the life of a prince and the best retirement ever with me as a field ornament because he has given me more than I could have hoped for in the last two years since we lost ebs and I bonded with him x.

 

[Red-1]

Yes, I always said Jay found me, he had a terrible reputation, everyone thought I was silly to buy him as four professionals of the highest calibre (think flags on saddlecloths) had not stopped his rearing. I can't explain why, but from first sight I had the greatest faith in him, and was not scared.

After having to "audition" to buy him, we went home and went right back to basics. Jay keeps me on my toes, keeps me honest, keeps me "in the moment", but, when I am at my most vulnerable he looks after me.

I am having so much fun, although a few months after buying him I hurt my hip and have struggled to mount, and we had a full year with no jumping as I simply could not. Whenever I get in my head that I "should" be doing more I remind myself that Jay had "the best of everything" in his former homes, and he chose me, and is happy here.

While I have been less "able" we have learned other "stuff" and Jay now rides with no bridle, carries an umbrella, skips at canter, does plastic, bounces a gym ball, plays cymbals and drums, climbs on a podium, bows right down.......

I am not sure that all of that is any less fun than eventing!

Having said that since my hip has improved we are doing BD, BE and BS, and that is proving equally fun. We are just at a lower level than I anticipated.

With Jay I just look at him trotting across the field and he moves and looks so beautiful I am captured again and again. Then, when such a beautiful horse decides to trust me where he did not have trust before, and over the top of that looks after me as well, that is in itself a beautiful feeling.

 

[fattylumpkin]

In the beginning.... no!

She was a royal PITA and she'd suffered a lot of different kinds of cruelty at the hands of various riders and one sulky driver. When I met her she was pretty much over having anything to do with human beings. On her old yard she was left in a field to get hugely fat. She took to stalking people who were trying to catch their horses and making mock charges at them, throwing herself around and offering to kick. Then she got a lami attack from being so grossly overweight and the vet said if something wasn't done it'd be PTS. So she was shipped to a new yard and I was given the 'job' of putting her right.

I don't know if it's because I wasn't trying to be 'friends' with her or because I saw her as work, not pleasure, but she's been fine with me since day one of her arrival. At the time I was loaning another horse on the same yard, a lovely dopey gelding, so I got my pleasure rides from him and there wasn't any pressure for her to be put right.

Then over the year I don't know what happened but she just blossomed. She's happy and enjoying life apart from a few setbacks the riding is pretty good too, most of her awful habits are erased and she just needs to see a bit of the world and mature a little. So I ended up buying her

Now she's my number one girl and I'm head over heels for her!

I love this thread btw!!!

 

[julie111]

A work in progress I would say, I am going to have some lessons with him soon so hoping that will sort a few issues out!

 

[pansymouse]

Yes, we're both aloof, ageing divas with a need for speed

 

[mairiwick]

I think we are, we both started off stiff and unfit, we both seem to get lame at the same time haha

I didn't think I would ever get the bond with her that I had with my previous horse, but actually he was so independent he didn't really mind if I was there or not. She trusts me and I trust her. She gets me round jumping courses when I can't breathe and I get her past scary wheelie bins and pushchairs ;-)

She has given me so much more than I expected, I really have landed on my feet with her.

 

[EquestrianFairy]

In the beginning, on the face of it, no. A novice teaching a novice was a big risk but it's become the best thing I ever did.
We are pretty much perfect as a team now and I don't think I will ever find a horse as well matched to me as he is again.

 

[Merrymoles]

Still a work in progress and he is much more of a worrier than I am. However, my more laid-back approach seems to be paying off and I think he's certainly less stressed than he was when I got him.
However, he has gone from being very, very wary of anyone on two legs to being hugely affectionate with anyone he knows and trusts. Take a coffee into the field and he is the one who wanders over for a rub and then grazes by your side for as long as you are there. He is still very nervous of strangers but it seems to take less time to stop worrying now.
One of the loveliest things I have ever seen was a fellow livery's four-year-old grandson holding my lad's face between his hands as they stood facing each other for a chat. Absolute trust on both sides.

 

[Embo]

On paper, yes, we are well suited.

I've not had him long, about a month and a bit, and we are still working each other out. He is only 5 so tests the boundaries a little. And I'm still searching for my brave-pants, having lost them quite a while ago. I know in my heart of hearts, when I get my mojo back and he settles in fully, we will have a lot of fun.

 

[misskk88]

We weren't when she first arrived. She was moody, crabby and a generally bargy mare. I have never begrudged paying out for a horse so much, to the point I was ready to sell her! You could tell she did not tolerate people, fuss or love well, and was not accustomed to praise or reward. She was dead as a donkey, wouldn't go forward and moped from field, to box, to school. I honestly thought I had bought a camel disguised as a horse.

After a lot of frustration and tears, love and general routine she has really come to life. It took time, but she is nosey, loves a good gallop out in her field, plays with the dogs on the yard (not so funny when you are trying to lunge or loose school productively!), quite happily buries her head in my lap for some tlc and a good scratch and just seems to enjoy her life and job.

Now she is a sweetheart, who looks after me and likes to do a bit of everything. She isn't really marish to ride or handle and enjoys her cuddles, and LOVES her food. I often find her waving a front leg around waiting for her feed or post ride polos! I love the fact that when she hears my car coming I see her head pop out of the box and her waiting for me

My 99% perfect all rounder.... Well she is a woman, she is still allowed the occasional bad day!

 

[eahotson]

Yes very.He is not too tall around 14.2 but stockey and strong.Well schooled, willing and adaptable.He can slow down and dawdle if you are feeling nervous or become forward and a BIT whizzy on the good days.Easy to handle on the ground.Brilliant!

 

[STRIKER]

Yup we are both a tad fat, wud rather watch than get involved, but we do have our 5mins of an energy burst, we both like routine and adore hugs

 

[Sashatbx14]

Id say No when i first bought my tb x...she was scatty,had no manners at all,a real moody sod,but now 2 years on,she's the love of my life <3

 

[crazymaisey]

Yes! We tend to negotiate and he cracks me up with his quirks!

Physically I am too big for him but he can carry me.

 

[apachediamond]

In theory yes, i'm quite confident and a good leader, he's quite nervous, likes his routine and likes to be reassured.

I've had him just over a year now and have spent as much time with him out of work as in, for various reasons, a bolting episode in the first week, a broncing episode in the 2nd month, then a respiratory infection which wiped him out from Aug til November and now i can't ride due to a fall which saw him stand on my leg/knee so we're into our 4th week out after a good 5 months of being back in the saddle.

He has started whinnying as i walk into the yard which is always lovely and i know the trust has really built up over the past few months, since he was ill really. Just before my fall he had started to remind me of my old mare in his paces and attitude to work which is only a good thing (she was my horse of a lifetime).

He's still only young (just 5) and i have high hopes for him, if we can stay in work long enough lol

 

[Mad_Cow347]

Probably not no. He's 15.2, I'm 4"11 and on the rare occasion I have to get off mid-hack I have to walk until I can find a gate to get back on at (or like a few weeks ago a very kind lady who stopped her car & gave me a leg up).

He's a huge worrier and used to scare me massively (sometimes still does a little) when he feels like he may explode at the smallest thing.

He can also be incredibly grumpy, hates being groomed & can be a little handy with his back legs when he fancies it.

But we are both happy hackers and that's all we want from each other, now I know him properly I know he wouldn't ever try to hurt me and calms down with a bit of reassurance (90% of the time anyway).

He also never fails to make me laugh, he's incredibly dim which means he's always doing something stupid to cheer me up (think waiting behind a gate to be let in when all the fences around it are non-existent so he could just walk around it like he does every other day - no amount of shouting could get him around), he gives the best kisses and just generally makes me laugh with his loon-like behaviour.

So we may not be perfect for each other but I wouldn't swap him for the world.

 

[Charmin]

I want to be competetive at low level eventing, dressage, SJing, have something that is sane to hunt, hack, ride and lead off, do gates. Also pootle off around sponsored rides without being an idiot. Must have enthusiasm for life and generally be a 'nice person.'

My mare is all of this, it's been said a lot that she goes particularly well for me. She can be an idiot at times and is a PITA to manage during summer (laminitic prone to ulcers who cribs when stressed argh) but she has a desire to work with you, a real desire to want to jump and has often told me to shut up and sit there while she does the work.

There's only really 3 faults with her. 1) she's 14.3hh and at 5'7 I really need something bigger, I'm constantly on a diet to ride her. 2) she cribs/windsucks but tbh it doesn't bother me too much and 3) she's not the cuddliest mare ever, she'll only ever come to the gate for food. She does enjoy a good scratch and a stroke though, just not into cuddles as such!

Her height holds her back a bit jumping wise, I'm very unlikely to venture over 3" with her despite her being plenty capable as I worry it's too much of an ask. If I lose enough weight I really would like to get her round a BE100, she's honestly a star and I wouldn't swap her for the world.

 

[Serianas]

At a first glance I would say not yet... but if i look deeper i would say yes...

We are both stubborn to a fault but he is giving me the confidence to ask for what i want from him, im learning so much, because while he is cheeky he isnt dangerous, and he would be brushed all day if i let him.. which is great therapy for stressy days..

i have high hopes for this little sod...

 

[MissCandy]

No!

About 5 years ago when we started down this path (he is homebred) we would have been, but due to two babies, loss of confidence and lack of fitness we are no longer suited.

He is a 4 year old warmblood and I would really like/need an older schoolmaster now. However, he has a lovely temprament and tries so hard so we are stikcing with it. Hopefully in 5 years time, we will be the perfect match again!

 

[soulfull]

lots of cracking replies. thanks
I find it interesting to see how everyone views their relationship with their horse

Yes, absolutely, it was such a hard slot to fill after losing ebony who was my horse of a lifetime but he's done it so well! It was so hard, buying a baby not knowing how he would turn out in temperament or ability, worrying about if we would click. I think the reason we work is because he isn't like ebs, they are like chalk and cheese, she was dainty, sharp, exquisite and super talented and I worried so much he would be too laid back for me. But we work because he has such a wonderful character and attitude. He is so incredibly enthusiastic, he positively pings around if he sees a jump, because jumping is his favourite thing in the world, he schools nicely and looks a pretty picture when doing so, his walk and trot are lovely, he does a super very collected canter, and leg yields on the straight and on a circle... And I've done that, I taught him that! He loves more than anything to learn and he hates it when he gets it wrong, when he is being ridden and he makes a mistake he tries harder than any horse I've known to do it right. But he gets mad when he's made a mistake and I'm on the ground because he knows I will growl at him and you can just see his royal grumpy pants just wanting to strop but knowing that's just not a good idea! We get along because he loves to be stabled, and I get the warmest fuzzy feeling when he comes galloping down to come in whenever I turn up at the gate even if he's only been out for a couple of mins. And he has proved himself anything but a plod, he never wants to stop, he would explore all day on a hack if he could, he is the bravest little man I know, he walks his fastest on new hacks, tackles tractors and oil tankers and static caravans being towed along country roads like they were nothing, he canters on the spot in frustration if he can't trot fast enough to keep up with a lead horse, and I alternate between laughing and telling him 'no' in a very stern voice . I couldn't have a more perfect match because my confidence was a little bit shakey having had a super girl who attacked jumps but put in the odd seriously sharp stop if you hesitated for a split second... I ate dirt from that a few times years ago and it stayed with me, but Ben is like a little wrecking ball, however he does it, he gets to the other side of the jump, 95% of the time now he goes over it, but we spent one session crashing through everything our instructor put up until the end of the lesson when he finally jumped something, but he never ever once backed off from the jump... It's done wonders for me and for our partnership. We are perfect together, because everything he does at the moment is because he simply feels like a great big horse shaped vat of zest for life, he is like a sponge soaking up new things every single day, it's almost hard to keep up with how much and how fast he is learning and his attitude is simply infectious.

I made a pact with myself when I lost ebony that I would take every chance I could and enjoy every single possible moment, and toe years down the road I'm still keeping that promise, but then who wouldn't with a horse like mine? Yes, we are so very well suited, he is everything I could have possibly asked for and at five, if it turned out that I couldn't ride him from tomorrow onwards for the rest of his life I would give him the life of a prince and the best retirement ever with me as a field ornament because he has given me more than I could have hoped for in the last two years since we lost ebs and I bonded with him x.

Lovely post. I felt the same when I lost Micah, thought no horse could ever make me feel like he did. My first try didn't work out. But Fi makes my heart sing

In the beginning.... no!

She was a royal PITA and she'd suffered a lot of different kinds of cruelty at the hands of various riders and one sulky driver. When I met her she was pretty much over having anything to do with human beings. On her old yard she was left in a field to get hugely fat. She took to stalking people who were trying to catch their horses and making mock charges at them, throwing herself around and offering to kick. Then she got a lami attack from being so grossly overweight and the vet said if something wasn't done it'd be PTS. So she was shipped to a new yard and I was given the 'job' of putting her right.

I don't know if it's because I wasn't trying to be 'friends' with her or because I saw her as work, not pleasure, but she's been fine with me since day one of her arrival. At the time I was loaning another horse on the same yard, a lovely dopey gelding, so I got my pleasure rides from him and there wasn't any pressure for her to be put right.

Then over the year I don't know what happened but she just blossomed. She's happy and enjoying life apart from a few setbacks the riding is pretty good too, most of her awful habits are erased and she just needs to see a bit of the world and mature a little. So I ended up buying her

Now she's my number one girl and I'm head over heels for her!

I love this thread btw!!!

glad you like it. sound like she has got lucky with you

 

[Ibblebibble]

yes otherwise i wouldn't still have her!, she's a grumpy lazy moose bag but i know it's just a defense act and deep down she's a sweetie we are comfortable with each other rather like an old married couple lol.

 

[wyrdsister]

Ooh, fascinating idea - yes and maybe for mine. LP and I have spent 13 years together and plan to keep going. She's clever and kind (and intermittently very broken!), a bit of a moody so and so, but basically very honest and willing. We've been through h*ll and back together, between her various bouts of injury and illness and mine, but my day always improves just for seeing her and she's always preferred to be with me than with other horses (she cannot stand her own species and makes that very clear to them, strange mare!). She's wickedly talented and very sharp, yet managed to restore my confidence when it was pretty well ruined - she was two and unbroken at the time and I ended up backing her myself. From day one, I've trusted her completely and she's never let me down, so yes, definitely.

Baby mare and I...hmm. I bought her as a two year old too and have spent the last three years oscillating between really enjoying working with her and suspecting I've overhorsed myself, both in size and character (she's over 17hh and a bit of drama queen!). I bought her in a moment of reckless, 'I can't watch this happen,' when people at the place she was bred were mistreating her. Her reactions were volatile and still can be, but she's turned out to be very reasonable and remarkably generous if you're fair and patient with her. My nerve isn't the greatest (accident a long time ago on a different youngster), so there are times when we get into a bit of a knot worrying each other but for the most part we get on well. It's still early days in her training to be sure how things will go further along the line, so I'd say 'maybe' rather than definitely. But I like her a lot and think she's worth the time and trouble to keep working on.

 

[happyhack]

we are both argumentative, temperamental and moody so yes, I'd say we are pretty well suited!

 

[lamlyn2012]

Hi d. Hope you're ok. Sorry haven't been in touch. Have had a very stressful few months but getting sorted now.
My welsh d is perfect for me. Will have a go at anything and looks after me.
I'm not so much into competitions these days, just want to have a bit of fun, and thats what he is , a real little fun horse. Love him to bits.x

 

[exracehorse]

Yes and no. No because we are both worriers, stress heads, glass half full types. We both hate wind and rain. Only happy when it's hot summer days. We don't like change. Like our routines. But yes, because we are so alike in all of the above. He could be very unhappy and even dangerous in the wrong hands.

 

[blitznbobs]

I'm not sure - my cob is a big wuss who is scared of everything but I know him so well now that I know what's going to upset him before it does and can talk him down- a more aggressive rider would have big trouble with him ... My mare is not backed yet but we are, I feel, much more alike - with most things she makes little or no fuss the first time we do it and once she's done it once and it didn't kill her she'll chill about it ... Much like me my motto in life is 'feel the fear but do it anyway' ...

 

[PolarSkye]

At the moment no . . . he is stressing because he has to be in, and I am stressing because he is stressed. Sedalin is my friend.

P