Do you irrationally have confidence in unlikely horses?

[smiggy]

We have recently acquired a tb cross type, elderly gelding with unknown history. All I have is a letter from owner 2 homes ago saying he bucked when asked to canter, threw her daughter off to the extent she stopped riding and did same to her, to the extent they sold him as "a pet"
Now I am really not the bravest rider (by a long shot )but for three weeks on the trot, this has been the horse I have chosen (over my own mare and safe as houses daughters pony) to box over to a friends and go for mad gallopy 2 hour hacks on the Downs . I cant tell you why, just something about him makes me feel safe-bizarre.
really cant fathom it
anyone else similarly mad?

 

[Snowysadude]

I know the feeling with my boy to a degree. Also have an email from old owner saying hes so dangerous she almost had him put to sleep as hes so dangerous and she couldnt make the call so put him on loan - he was then sold from loan to me and the owner doesnt even care!! She spent one hellava lotta money on him with every test under the sun done and a lot on purchasing him..... oh to have more money than sence . But back to the original point I trust this horse with my life and would always choose him over any other horse to take out on a hack, school, handle literally I would now do anything with him - even jump which I vowed never to do after a nasty fall breaking my back. It took a year or so of nearly dying to get there though hehe

 

[fjordhorsefan]

Yes I was a total scaredy pants when I got my current boy, and considering he is bargy and has no brakes whatsoever, I am amazed that nothing he ever does bothers me! I would ride him anywhere and no matter what he does I just giggle at him. Any other horse and I would be a gibbering wreck

 

[Shantara]

I honestly don't know why I am confident riding Ned. He's actually pretty scary to jump, but I love it! I get nervous even jumping the nicest horse at the stables, but Ned? Not at all. Even after my fall I got right back on and continued like nothing happened.
The only time I've been scared on him was when he tried to jump out the school with me on him! But that's in the past and we've worked through it ^^

 

[Captain Bridget]

At college I loved riding a little 15.1hh coloured mare, built downhill, had a tendency to buck when you asked for canter, but she was the first horse I jumped 90cm on. At that moment I was so excited we went for a canter around the arena without me paying attention, I was supposed to jump the rest of the course!

Also the horse I share/have been sharing I have strange confidence in. He can play up and do silly things and I just laugh. Now we've got quite a good bond we get on well and I just love cantering around and playing with him. I cantered him with no stirrups the other day even though he has an unbalanced, wobbly canter that makes me feel like I'm going to topple off the side! The third time I rode him I took him XC schooling in a big open field and we had a blast even though I barely knew him!

When I first started riding, in my first year or two, I rode a 15.2hh fleabitten grey at a riding school who did continually little bunny hops in canter and would stress if asked to stand still and generally be a twit and at the grand age of 10 I didn't care. He was my favourite horse. We accidentally did walk pirouette when he wouldn't stand still once!

 

[SeasonalSituation]

Yes this is me alll over. My lad was free, an ex racehore off projecthorse and she'd kept him in a field for four years after thinking he's too much of a risk for her with young kids. But I feel more ssafe on him. Even though he once did his best impression of a rodeo horse and tried to throw me into a jcb! He trusts me and vice versa. It works even though when I offer a ride severel people have said 'he'd kill me!'