If you have a "bombproof horse" ....

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FinellaGlen

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.......do you feel the need to pretend that it is actually difficult to ride? I ask this because of something that was said in a thread yesterday.

I would imagine that anyone could get on my pony and that she would go perfectly well for them. I have seen her take the mickey with my daughter (when we first got her) by speeding up/slowing down or flinging her head up when asked to work on a contact but she never does anything bad.

I've always sung her praises to anyone who will listen but I can honestly say that I've never felt the need to pretend that she is tricky to ride, because she really isn't.
 
I am very proud to have a "bombproof", well behaved horse, and I dont feel the need to pretend he is difficult to ride, or a one person horse etc to make me look a better rider.

A calm nature and good manners mean everything to me, thats what I choose to look for in a horse, so I am delighted to "show off" this side of my boy!
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Your horses both sound like lovely honest types. I feel this way as well i.e. I am proud of the fact that my girl is so easy and that she will take care of her rider.

I don't actually know anyone with an easy horse (or a difficult one for that matter) who exagerates the problems that their horse poses but yesterday's poster implied that she knew of several such people and it made me curious!
 
One look at my two would dispel any suggestion that they can be difficult to ride. It can be a challenge to get them really engaged and working well into a contact, and they are both quite capable to throwing in a spook on odd days - but really they couldn't be easier, and that is the way I like it.

I don't have the patience to deal with rude and difficult horses and ponies - plenty of people out there who seem to enjoy the challenge though
 
I have a bombproof one, she was in the feature Horse mag did on them. You could trust any child on her and she'd be an angel, she's great in traffic and nothing (except pigs) bothers her.

We've let kids compete her at all sorts and she's brilliant at looking after them.

She can however, be a bit quirky with experienced riders. If you put a top SJ on her to jump, and they "told" her how/when to jump, she would put them on the floor.

She is generous to a fault and you can "ask" her anything and she'll try her heart out for you... but "tell" her at your peril!!!
 
mother_hen - Finella is just the same. She can have the odd spook but what horse can't? She works perfectly well in an outline but unless asked properly she would much rather poke her nose out!

I have had nappy, ill-mannered horses in the past and I grew very tired of their behaviour. I enjoy Nelly so much because she is basically well-mannered and very easy to deal with on the ground and ridden.

Gingermare - I usually ask Nelly first and "tell" her if that doesn't get a response.
 
My mum's horse was so bombproof, safe and easy to ride that she's now gone on permanent loan to a riding school to be ridden by lots of novices and nervous riders.
I've always been proud to have an easy, straightforward horse, and can't really understand people who make out their horses are tricky or naughty as if it's a good trait!
 
Apart from Fleur, all my horses have been able to be taken out and ridden by anyone who could stay on at walk, trot and canter and have been fine with a supervised novice on them.

Present ones, Cairo - anyone's ride though with a real novice can take the pee in walking very slowly but they are completely safe on him. Once they learn how to flick the end of the western reins on his bum he gives up and walks out.

Chancer, though only rising 4 has already been hacked out by a young teenager and my novice cousin rides him happily in the school at a walk and trot. Long term, he will be anyone's ride. He has never balked at anyone so far who has got on him and I am now getting him ridden regularly by other people to encourage him to be anyones ride.

Personally I am far more proud to have a horse that can behave nicely and be ridden by most people than a difficult one that is realistically far less generally useful if only able to be ridden by a few people. I am speaking about your average all round horse rather than a specialist competition horse.
 
I have a 'nearly bombproof' pony (not keen on tractors) that looked after me as a new rider. I would be happy for a beginner to ride him as long as they are aware that horses are not 100% all the time.

Now I ask a bit more of him he can throw in the occasional buck etc but nothing more than a fairly competent novice rider couldn't deal with (he has had me off a couple of times but not recently).

I would never say he is difficult to ride - I always say if I can ride him, anyone can!

However, hunting him would be another matter...
 
My youngster is absolutely bombproof on the roads. Nothing scares her at all (even a plane being towed across the road in front of us was only very mildly of interest). Your 80 year old granny would be able to hack her round the block. I dont feel any need to make her sound more difficult than she is, in fact I am as proud as punch she is so bombproof. BUT she can be strong in canter so she isnt perfect.

My other older horse, however, is scared of her own shadow.....
 
The little ginger one, was a rescue and although she is pretty much bombproof these days she is still fizzy and does buck so isn't suitable for someone who is nervous. She's an angel on the leadrein and would behave for a confident novice as long as she has bonded with them.
Fudge is suitable for a novice to hack in company, but is quite spooky and very arguementive at times.
If I combined them both I'd have the perfect horse
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My old mare was bomb-proof in many ways. I was proud of this and did a weekly "Nanny" hack for people. She was in the field when they were rolling and YO literally nudged her with the tractor to try and get her out of the way. I taught my OH to ride on her, but she really was a one family horse. It annoyed me that people made comments about how boring she was. I told a girl she could have a go and feel her amazing trot, that could never be described as boring. She took off with her full pelt and only stopped when OH called her over to him. No one ever called her boring again!
 
No I don't feel the need to pretend my horses are anything other than what they are; and that is, well behaved and unfazed by anything they come across. I am chuffed to bits that all of mine are like this!
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My horses are exposed to anything and everything....even my foals are exposed to as much as possible and are expected to not react.
 
If I had a horse that was straightforward and easy to get along with, I would be very proud of that fact! After all, isn't that what most of us are aiming for? I wouldn't feel that I had to try to make my riding look better by pretending the horse was difficult.
 
We only have one bombproof horse atm, littlests pony, whereas the two eventers, one is a pain in the backside, one (mine) has been safe, although this year discovered you have to gel with him or he will be stupid, he also is currently not allowed on pleasure rides/hunting, and i imagine it will be annoying as time goes on, he is bombproof in terms of traffic mind.
 
IMO it depends on what you class as a bombproof horse. I have a mare who is by no means a school master but has manners to burn on the ground, good to tack up, pop a little jump and never puts a foot wrong out on the road. Shes always used as the babysitter as she never spooks and i have taken total non-riders out on her before now BUT. take her on a hack that includes a stretch of grass and she'll do a leapt and go flat out and not stop until she reaches the end without being asked to no matter who is on her back.
Would you call that bombproof? I suppose i would as long as theres no grass involved and i dont think that means i make excuses about it thats just the way she is, (but great fun if you like that sort of thing)
 
I always say and i think this is good
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Anyone could ride her, but you need to ride her to get her going nicely.

She will let anybody ride her complete novices small children you can pop her round a 2'6 course, dressage test, xc, hunting- fine but put someone on her who can ride then pop the jumps up a foot neter a county show and then you r talking. I love her
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Nope, never feel tthe need to make him out as naughty, most eople wouldnt believe me. Anyone could hack him out, although in the winter he can be a tad too sharp for a real novice, and if you were expecting a plod you might be surprised. Schooling is different though, he wont go for anyone but me, think its more to do with knowing him inside out and i sure someone else would eventually get to where ive got to with him, although he would of probably forgotten everything hes learnt by then.
I know several people who exagerrate their horses faults to make themselves sound fearless etc.
 
Some interesting comments - thank you.

JM07 - I don't think any horse is "bombproof" either unless it is actually stuffed, but I was quoting a post from another user that was made yesterday. As I said, I personally haven't come across anyone who tries to make out that their horse is difficult to ride but the OP obviously has and she said that it got on her nerves or words to that effect. That is why I started this post because I wondered if it was a common thing, even though I havent't experienced it myself.
 
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Some interesting comments - thank you.

JM07 - I don't think any horse is "bombproof" either unless it is actually stuffed, but I was quoting a post from another user that was made yesterday. As I said, I personally haven't come across anyone who tries to make out that their horse is difficult to ride but the OP obviously has and she said that it got on her nerves or words to that effect. That is why I started this post because I wondered if it was a common thing, even though I havent't experienced it myself.

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i would think that maybe the poster, whoever it was, feels her horse is boring compared to some of the antics that are posted on here that members say their animals get up to..

i know of a very young girl...under 16..whose pony is totally well behaved in 99% of situations but she too feels the need to "tell porkies" to her peers.. who actually do have complete nutters...because her pony is a nice normal pony and her "friends" stories are far more exciting than anything she'd have to tell...
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Maybe you are right but I believe that the original poster has a very "exciting" horse from what I've read of her previous posts. I think she was talking about the other people whom she knew that had the boring horses but felt the need to "talk them up".
 
I have one that i concider dead from the neck up (ie bombprooof, probably litteraly), nothing phases him ever, weve had allsorts done to him and he has never batted an eyelid at it. he can be quite difficult to get going forwards though!
 
Pickle I would class as bombproof in the school, I dont pretend he is hard to ride I have many a time showed videos on here of tiny kids catering him happily round the school.

However he is genuinely hard to ride when he in out in the open!
 
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