Tell me about your Arabs and Anglo Arabs please.

[NeilM]

I would also have hopped off when the horse got really stressed, they don't learn anything when they are wound up.

Thank you, it did feel like quite an achievement.

I'm not afraid to hit the deck when things are quite obviously not moving forward. As you say, he was learning nothing, just getting more and more frightened with each attempt.

Next week I'll aim to ride him past.

 

[Suelin]

I've had several Arabs in my life and wouldn't ride anything else. My current chap is now 19 and still gets my heart going at times but I wouldn't trade him for 40 fortunes. I also just had a 75% arab foal to play with and train as he grows up and he is a different character altogether, even at his young age he is far more chilled that my old boy. Keep plugging away OP, you will become addicted I guarantee.

 

[kez81]

I find that Arabs like to have a bond with a special someone rather than lots of people. If they choose you as their partner they will give you everything they have unreservedly. As for spookiness I always think they are misunderstood in this. Its not really so much that they are spooky more that they are active thinkers and always pay attention to whats ahead and as long as you do to and give them quiet but firm reassurance at anything they are unsure of, they will stand like kings to face it. If you are not quick enough to react or brave yourself they will decide to rescue you both from whatever demon they see and p-off faster than you can blink!
My old boy is a 27 yo pure crabbet bred Arab and he has proven to be the most loyal and versatile little horse (14.2). You name it he has done it all with gusto ( sj, xc, dressage, hunting, endurance, trec, polo and even horse back archery to name but a few!) and has given me more frustration and joy than any other horse. I have only just retired him from ridden work but damned if he will let me leave him behind so lots of walking our big hills for me!

 

[B&J]

I have an TB x Arab, 28 years old, total softie. As Kez81 says he likes to have one special person but is a doll with everyone. He is forward going even for his age! His main issue is changes in colour of the road and drains. If there is a drain he will stop, put his head down, snort excessively to tell us that it is in fact a horse eating drain, keep his nose down and pointed at said monster whilst turning his bum past it, once bum is ahead of nose he'll walk sideways for a few paces with eyes on the drain making sure it hasn't followed him then bring his head up, complete the turn and carry on with hack whilst acting like he saved us from near certain death. Changes in colour of tarmac from grey to um grey consists of head down, snort and trot over the line then carry on walking normally. Its just him, he's always done it even with previous owner. We don't go on many roads because of it but otherwise he's safe as houses.

 

[NeilM]

I have an TB x Arab, 28 years old, total softie. As Kez81 says he likes to have one special person but is a doll with everyone. He is forward going even for his age! His main issue is changes in colour of the road and drains. If there is a drain he will stop, put his head down, snort excessively to tell us that it is in fact a horse eating drain, keep his nose down and pointed at said monster whilst turning his bum past it, once bum is ahead of nose he'll walk sideways for a few paces with eyes on the drain making sure it hasn't followed him then bring his head up, complete the turn and carry on with hack whilst acting like he saved us from near certain death. Changes in colour of tarmac from grey to um grey consists of head down, snort and trot over the line then carry on walking normally. Its just him, he's always done it even with previous owner. We don't go on many roads because of it but otherwise he's safe as houses.

That's fascinating.

The lad I'm riding definitely has the colour change gene, as he even tried to spin and run away when the sun broke through clouds and shone on the road in front of us, suddenly making a bright patch.

I have know this horse for a few years, but only on the ground, by the sounds of everything I am being told on here, it is probably a complete lack of that special person, or possibly that his special person is the girl he was bred for but who now lives several hundred miles away that is at the root of a lot of this, so he has no one to look out for but himself.

I'm assuming that as Arabs and Arab X's change owners on (rare) occasions, it is possibly for them to hook onto a new person, so hopefully I can eventually win his trust, just as I did with my own pony. It is a shame I can only really get to spend time with him once a week, but I'm afraid that's the best I can manage. Hopefully, we can do a bit more together over the Christmas break.