What does 'sharp' mean to you?

I describe my horse as sharp, in my mind he's alert, quick to move / stop / change direction, a bit jumpy, that sort of thing. Not nutty, just, well, 'sharp' ;)
 
Pointy!

Seriously, I find some people use it to mean "likely to F off with you", which in my book is preferable to "likely to dump you and then F off without you", which is the alternative definition. Either way I wouldn't go and look at a horse that was advertised as this- if they feel obliged to mention it in the ad then the behaviour is probably worse than " a bit on its toes"...
 
nosenseofdirection said:
Pointy!

Seriously, I find some people use it to mean "likely to F off with you", which in my book is preferable to "likely to dump you and then F off without you", which is the alternative definition. Either way I wouldn't go and look at a horse that was advertised as this- if they feel obliged to mention it in the ad then the behaviour is probably worse than " a bit on its toes"...
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Agreed! Its just I was having a debate about this earlier, and some people think it means 'a bit sensitive' some think it means 'won't blooming stop' and others think it means 'out and out bonkers'!

So I thought I'd start it on here and see what answers I got, as now I'm confused! Not that it takes much :p;):rolleyes:
 
Sharp is my Master Imp mare! Turns and spins before you even know it has happened!
She will react and then decide if the offensive object was actually bad after the event.
My TB is "forward going" , "bold" and "not novice ride"
"Sharp" is the politest term I can think of for the other ;-)
 
I describe my TB mare as sharp - she is just very alert, prone to very quick reactions and doesn't suffer fools!
 
Oz is sharp. Quick brained - can think on his feet, and react at lightning speed.
Useful sometimes - other times, less so. :D
But very good for keeping me alert, I find.

I wouldn't want it in a childs first pony, but the word doesn't imply any badness, to me.
 
To me it means a horse that struggles to stay focused on the job in hand, tending to spook or spin with little warning, and reacts to the environment around them. Some sharp horses will be better when given a job to do (better being schooled hard rather then ambling round the school on a loose rein for example) whereas other will always have that edge about them and look for an opportunity to have some 'fun' :rolleyes:
 
Quick off the leg and hand, fast, alert, maybe spooky usually very clever. I wouldn't include specific faults like spinning and rearing as a rule, they would be in addition!
 
Intelligent and reactive.

That can manifest itself in a wonderfully forwards and trainable horse if trained and managed in the right way. Or it can lead to real problems if not.

The 2 best horses I have had the pleasure of owning/loaning in my lifetime I would describe as sharp.
 
Could mean a few things to different people, if its young and sharp could just be a little cold backed when first ridden and sharp, if it’s a numero uno or chin chin, and older may just get a little enthusiastic when jumping and competing could be sharp an older experienced eventing type may get over exited come the XC section or close to it and be called sharp, experienced showjumpers in the jump-off will understand and want to get going and become sharp, some horses are sharp through poor riding/producing and panick on showgrounds or under saddle some exceptional GP jumping horses get sharp while nearing the end of a course or jump-offs again although the pro can cope with it, some are not sharp but just to good for there current riders and not sharp for a different rider the list is endless

But to me if someone said it was sharp I would say can get little fresh!!!!
 
To me it means you are sitting on a horse with its neck and head infront of you one minute and then within a split second (or less!!) you are sitting there in mid air with NOTHING infront of you :rolleyes:

then when you do finally catch up a second later you find yourself a split second (or less!!) with no neck or head again as they have gone the other way.

Thats what sharp means to me. Good core strength and balance is key ;)
 
Intelligent, fast, responsive..maybe a little spooky and jumpy but nothing dangerous and not likely to bomb off in an everyday situation such as out hacking.
A horse described as sharp wouldnt put me off, they are generally better and more fun to ride :)
 
Antw23uk said:
To me it means you are sitting on a horse with its neck and head infront of you one minute and then within a split second (or less!!) you are sitting there in mid air with NOTHING infront of you :rolleyes:

then when you do finally catch up a second later you find yourself a split second (or less!!) with no neck or head again as they have gone the other way.

Thats what sharp means to me. Good core strength and balance is key ;)
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And you are sitting on the floor!!:D:D:D
 
I'd describe my mare as sharp. She's sensitive, quick thinking, clever & very quick to react. When I'm riding her, I have to focus on staying (or trying to stay) one step ahead of her. I love her, but can quite understand why others might not.
 
Baileybones said:
Sharp is my Master Imp mare! Turns and spins before you even know it has happened!
She will react and then decide if the offensive object was actually bad after the event.
My TB is "forward going" , "bold" and "not novice ride"
"Sharp" is the politest term I can think of for the other ;-)
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I have one of these too - turns and spins and thinks about it afterwards. This is what I would call sharp.

Having said that, he did it this morning when we met a funeral hearse trotting towards us on a narrow country lane, pulled by two black horses, complete with orange plumes on their head pulling a flower-covered glass carriage with coffin inside!!!! He looked at it, thought about it, then spun - but on this occasion I didn't really blame him. Whose horse would put up with that?

If I read sharp in an advert I wouldn't go there - you'd always downplay bad points in an advert so any horse described as sharp is probably a loon:)
 
Responsive and reactive. The first is good, in my mind, the second is something which you would have to work with so that it became a positive feature and not an issue.
 
I love sharp horses to me it just means very reactive, correctly trained with a rider who likes razor sharp desision making they are magic badly trained and with riders they scare they can be a nightmare.
 
Sharp to me (and what i put my mare as.) Is quick off my leg, just a slight movement from leg/seat and were off!, shes clever, fast to react. She is sensitive as well, i love riding sharp horses
 
smanf said:
I describe my horse as sharp, in my mind he's alert, quick to move / stop / change direction, a bit jumpy, that sort of thing. Not nutty, just, well, 'sharp' ;)
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This. My horse isn't dangerous, doesn't buck or rear or anything, but he is very alert and sensitive to what's going on around him and can be quite jumpy. That being said, I wouldn't go look at one advertised as being 'sharp' :p
 
3Beasties said:
To me it means a horse that struggles to stay focused on the job in hand, tending to spook or spin with little warning, and reacts to the environment around them. Some sharp horses will be better when given a job to do (better being schooled hard rather then ambling round the school on a loose rein for example) whereas other will always have that edge about them and look for an opportunity to have some 'fun' :rolleyes:
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That's just described my horse to a tee! I would often couple 'sharp' with 'spooky'
 
I love my sharp boy - I feel very safe because he sees everything there is to see! I like seeing the world through his eyes:)
 
Interesting thread. To me sharp means highly reactive and spooky. It does not mean quick off the leg, intelligent or quick thinking. To me it describes a very right brained horse that DOESN'T think! Horses that others have said they call sharp, in that they are quick off the leg and hand, quick thinking and intelligent, are what I would describe as 'light' and biddable. So if I read that a horse was sharp in an advert, I would not be thinking of the positive side that others have mentioned, I would be thinking that it could leap from one side of the arena to the other in a split second if a blade of grass moved. :D
 
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To me, it means you're likely to end up thinking 'Gosh, I could have sworn there was a horse between me and the ground a minute ag...' *THUD*:D
 
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