The meaning of 'sharp'?

[EmmyMD]

Thoroughbred yearlig colts being fed to get them ready for the October sales! Everyone should do a yearling season and then might reasses what sharp is!!!!

 

[tankgirl1]

Thoroughbred yearlig colts being fed to get them ready for the October sales! Everyone should do a yearling season and then might reasses what sharp is!!!!

Eeeek! No ta!

 

[TarrSteps]

Thoroughbred yearlig colts being fed to get them ready for the October sales! Everyone should do a yearling season and then might reasses what sharp is!!!!

Give them a MontJeu to walk - that'll be a learning curve!

 

[KidnapMoss]

I'd describe my pony as sharp, typical pony brain, one step ahead, as clever as a cat. Give an inch and he will take a mile sort of thing. You can pratically see his brain working, all the time. He just does things other horses would never do, works things out, constantly curious! He's not very spooky though.

My husbands horse I'd say is the opposite of sharp but not sure what that word would be. He's so simple, but in a nice way! As long as he has grass, a little supper and a rug and bed he's happy. Again, not spooky, but ceartinily not what I'd describe as sharp.

The pony is an Exmoor, the horse an ID. Are some breeds 'sharper' than others?

 

[Girlracer]

I refer to Major as sharp, and many people have summed him up in this thread.

I used to have a warmblood that was spooky (without exaggerating I couldn't get him within 10 foot of a dully coloured pole when I got him, and hacking was interesting to say the least) but he wasn't in the slightest bit sharp. Most the time I knew it was happening before he even realised he was spooking at anything, he never moved quickly enough to catch me out, and I was always one step ahead of him.

Major on the other hand is sharp, I'm on the floor before I have a chance to consider what it could be he's spooked at. His brain is always concentrating on something else (even when I think he's paying attention he seems to reserve part of his brain to keep an eye on proceedings elsewhere) and he moves so quickly and exaggerated I can't tell you what it feels like to be sat on. He is - without fail - one step ahead of me. I can assure you, if he were wild, predators would not stand a chance.

 

[Girlracer]

Thoroughbred yearlig colts being fed to get them ready for the October sales! Everyone should do a yearling season and then might reasses what sharp is!!!!

I dread to think what my Thoroughbred was like at that time of his life, he's sharp enough as an 8 year old being fed fast fibre and living out!

 

[Marydoll]

My mare is sharp, doesnt spook or spin but likes to think of herself in charge, will dance about a bit if excited and will try to take the p1$$ but once worked in and responding to my aids rather than her brain, is really forward and responsive to ride, but one squeak of an aid and shes there, sometimes its easier to almost think the aid rather than give it, dressage was all about keeping a lid on her, but shes great fun to hack and jump.

 

[Honey08]

My mare is sharp, doesnt spook or spin but likes to think of herself in charge, will dance about a bit if excited and will try to take the p1$$ but once worked in and responding to my aids rather than her brain, is really forward and responsive to ride, but one squeak of an aid and shes there, sometimes its easier to almost think the aid rather than give it, dressage was all about keeping a lid on her, but shes great fun to hack and jump.

That would sum mine up too.

My old show jumping instructor used to call her a typical female - thinks she knows it all and won't listen!

 

[Marydoll]

I refer to Major as sharp, and many people have summed him up in this thread.

I used to have a warmblood that was spooky (without exaggerating I couldn't get him within 10 foot of a dully coloured pole when I got him, and hacking was interesting to say the least) but he wasn't in the slightest bit sharp. Most the time I knew it was happening before he even realised he was spooking at anything, he never moved quickly enough to catch me out, and I was always one step ahead of him.

Major on the other hand is sharp, I'm on the floor before I have a chance to consider what it could be he's spooked at. His brain is always concentrating on something else (even when I think he's paying attention he seems to reserve part of his brain to keep an eye on proceedings elsewhere) and he moves so quickly and exaggerated I can't tell you what it feels like to be sat on. He is - without fail - one step ahead of me. I can assure you, if he were wild, predators would not stand a chance.

Your boy sounds like my gelding, now retired due to hock problems, i would just hear a pft noise as i found myself on the deck wondering wtf was that all about!

 

[justabob]

Sorry I haven't read all of this thread. I agree with the last few posters though, *sharp* is a TB, a fit one, that is why I hate to see novices with thoroughbreds. They move quicker, they are athletic and can never be compared to anything else in the sharpness drawer.

 

[Girlracer]

Your boy sounds like my gelding, now retired due to hock problems, i would just hear a pft noise as i found myself on the deck wondering wtf was that all about!

Yep, yesterday I had nearly fallen off, been thrown back into the saddle by a secondary leap then carried on cantering all before I knew what the heck was going on (and headbutting his neck in the process!). He's always much sharper when he's fresh, and when he's fit.

 

[Marydoll]

Walking in hand the aforementioned mare ( tb) after being on box rest for 6 months :-o one minute she was there, next she was like the Tasmanian devil at the end of the rope

 

[charlie76]

I have two horses , one I would describe as sharp, the other just spooky.
I'm used to the sharp horse and I like the fact he is lightening quick off the aids, however I have to be very careful on who I let ride him. You have to sit quietly on him and if he spooks and you loose your balance he would panic. If you dug a toe in whilst mounting or landed on him a bit heavy he would be off. He is however very rideable for a sympathetic, balanced rider, he isn't particularly spooky and he isn't out to get you off, he is simply reactive.
Horse number two is very spooky, he can spin very quickly but he never over reactives and he is slower off the aids and far more forgiving to a loss of balance. Most people could ride him if they had half a clue

 

[TarrSteps]

Sorry I haven't read all of this thread. I agree with the last few posters though, *sharp* is a TB, a fit one, that is why I hate to see novices with thoroughbreds. They move quicker, they are athletic and can never be compared to anything else in the sharpness drawer.

Hmm, there are some sport lines that could give them a run for their money! Maybe it doesn't come out quite the same way but there are dressage lines, especially, that produce spectacularly reactive athletes - there are all sorts of stories about top horses that were almost unridable when they were young!

 

[EmmyMD]

Give them a MontJeu to walk - that'll be a learning curve!

Rather a montjeu than a makfi! I sure as hell hope the makfis are good cause they are all nuts. No ability and an impossibly vile temprement isn't usually a good combo!

Yet to meet an equiano that isn't so laid back it's horizontal though.... Still time!

 

[EmmyMD]

I dread to think what my Thoroughbred was like at that time of his life, he's sharp enough as an 8 year old being fed fast fibre and living out!

I have a 6 yo who on all accounts of a very fast very American pedigree should be a c u next Tuesday. He is SAINTLY but I Did a bit of foal prep this year and found out that one of the girls there had prepped him and he had put her and 2 others in hospital.

Awkward.

 

[risky business]

I called my old mare sharp, to me it meant quick off the aids..

She only needed small aids to get her going forwards and giving her a jolly good kick would send her much more forward than needed so you only needed to be delicate with her. She wasn't mad or spooky just responsive.

 

[PolarSkye]

I call that well schooled.

Sharp in my book is spin and clear off at the sight of a dandelion waving in the breeze.

In the absence of anything else constructive to say - I'll agree wholeheartedly with AA above.

I would say Kal is sharp . . . his spooks and/or tantrums come out of nowhere - really, no warning at all - and are quite, ahem, expressive.

P

 

[Sussexbythesea]

Sharp means over-reactive, and not in a good way. My sharpest horse is also the least forward. My most forward horse is the least spooky, because she is listening intently to me - not signals from outer space.

This made me laugh

This is what my WB can be like - each day when I ride him off the yard he huffs and puffs at all the things that have moved two inches and has to be ridden forward like a baby (bless his 18yrs). He can wind himself up and can go from plod to snorting dragon in a matter of seconds for no reason that I can always identify. He is always on the look out for danger but in his regular hacks he feels pretty secure so is good and people think he is easy (compared to many he is) but take him "off piste" his adrenaline rises quickly and he can become very tense and hard to ride forward. Anything exciting also can go to his head leading to leaping dolphin impressions. Schooling you have to concentrate and ride him otherwise he will spook, spin and bog-off at the imaginary monsters in the hedge.

 

[Circe]

My tb can be sharp, not always, 95% of the time he is very good, but once he starts to get upset, he can get very upset.
There are times when I get on, and he feels like a rocket about to explode. Hes not listening to me and is wired. Even trying to get my leg on his side is a nightmare, he can be so over reactive.
I find he is worse when hes about 50% fit, theres an almost arrogant streak that comes out in him.
My old appaloosa was very spooky, it was almost his sense of humour, but he wasn't sharp at all.
i have to say I'd rather ride spooky than sharp.
kx

 

[TarrSteps]

Even on this thread I don't think people are reaching a consensus!

If someone said to me a horse was "sharp off the aids" i would have a completely different picture if someone said it was "sharp to hack". I think it's just one of those words/phrases horse people use like "not forward thinking" or "light in front" which can mean anything from "not a total sofa" to "tattoo your NHS number on your forehead".

 

[spookypony]

My most forward horse is the least spooky, because she is listening intently to me - not signals from outer space.

Sorry, this had me giggling!

Both of mine have been categorised as "spooky" and "sharp", by people other than me (i.e. instructors, usually). I find I have as much of a tendency as anyone to exaggerate slightly about the trickiness of various riding situations, in a "big fish tale" sense, so having others apply these adjectives to my equines makes me a bit more confident that I'm not just imagining things!

I wouldn't really have called the pony "sharp". He's super-spooky at certain things, extremely suspicious, has lightning-quick drop-and-spin reactions, and is possibly the cleverest pony I've ever encountered, but he's not really sharp off aids at all. He knows full well what they mean, but has a vast and ever-changing repertoire of evasions that I so far have not managed to consistently overcome in the school. So I would call him tricky and spooky, but not sharp, yet he usually gets called sharp by other people. That suggests a different definition of sharp.

The mare is also spooky, but not in the extreme ways of the pony. Working with her is teaching me just how much I've adjusted my way of behaving around a horse on the ground to accommodate the pony's little whirring panicky brain: it's not necessary with her, and that should surely be normal! She's much quicker off the aids than he is, but doesn't give the impression of being over-reactive either; I never get the idea that she will suddenly turn inside out or take off because my leg got a bit too strong, for example. So I wouldn't really call her "sharp" either. A bit spooky, but more in the sense of "the pony wrote the book on spooking, and she read it" kind of way.

Maybe the difference is thus for me: "spooky" is over-reactive to the environment, "sharp" is over-reactive to the rider?

 

[Spiritedly]

My New Forest has been described as sharp by both the farrier and the vet! He's not backed yet but I've been advised that he will probably never be a childs pony as he is too reactive You have to be very aware when dealing with him as his reactions are very quick and he has been known to buck, spin and clear off even whilst being led!
I don't agree that 'sharp is a TB' I've ridden racehorses and I've had OTTB's and they, in my opinion, aren't the only sharp horses out there. In fact in a lot of cases I think their 'sharpness' is down to feeding rather than breeding....I know not in all cases...but I think I'd rather ride a sharp TB than a sharp pony :-/

 

[RLS]

As some others have said I've always thought "sharp" meant quick to react. That can be good or bad. Quick to react to aids (good) but also quick to react to a scary/ new thing (bad if causes ponio to spook). And I've always associated it with a clever horse, that thinks too much, so if you don't engage his brain enough he will make up his own entertainment!

 

[Arizahn]

I call that well schooled.

Sharp in my book is spin and clear off at the sight of a dandelion waving in the breeze.

This would be my view too.

 

[conniegirl]

My lad is sharp, He is far too intellegent for his own good, he is super highly reactive to everything. When you sit on him you have to be very very tactful and very very careful with what you do, it often feels like sitting on a bomb that could go off at any moment and with absolutly NO warning (and he does unfortunatly go off occassionaly). I swear he is listening in to aliens as he certainly is highly distractable and rarely listens to me.

He is nigh on impossible to get to the bottom of! believe me we have tried!!
He still is a horse that is easier to ride after lunging! If I lunge him before I get on him I might actualy get some sense out of him

I would not call him a spooky horse, he thinks too much for that! He will happily lead others past shiney pink balloons that are flapping in the hedge or past road works etc and won't even flick an ear towards them, but a loss of balance from his rider will have him out and out panicing and normaly 4 miles down the road before you can blink.

He isnt the most forwards of horses however and sometimes you have to take your life into your hands and give him a damn good kick! (I cant carry a stick on him at all, I value my neck too much!)

 

[Mike007]

Reading these posts makes me realise what a saint Bob the nota cob really is . You think you have sharp horses ,no , mostly you have nutters. Bob sees everything ,hears everything ,smells evrything . We have a sort of conversation (when no one is about to listen) Did you see the dog 1000 yards to your right Bob ? Yeah ,no problems . That bloke on the skyline? yeah easy! That pheasant that just flew up your nose? EEk Bejazus ,leaps and lands on all four feet at once, thank christ that wasnt a pigeon, those ******* are nasty!. This is the horse that went to watch the mens olympic cycling road race ,and stood there on a loose rein with sirens and shouting and flashing lights. He did get spooked on the way home by a tractor starting up ,but was sharp enough to realise that surrounded by people ,he would hurt some one. Stood like a rock ,bless him. He has his moments ,for example when "A" rode him and did a half halt too far ! And he went out over the schools post and rail fence. And the time a retired pro event rider was left wondering (and also laughing his socks off) how he managed to be going up one side of the school and suddenly finding himself going the opposite way on the other side ,without apparently having touched the ground in between.