What to you is a 'sharp' horse?

pennyturner said:
By way of contrast, I would describe my welsh D as the least sharp horse I ever met. Even though he is fairly spooky, forward going and responsive. If he rears, he telegraphs it, and then conducts the whole operation in slow-mo. It feels like you've got time to read the newspaper on the way up.
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My old D was exactly the same. I could have given notice to leave my yard quicker than he went up! It would start with walking backwards with his back legs but not his front so his belly would nearly be on the floor, then he'd drag his front legs back and once he was upright he'd just keep going. He would get very excited at times but never did anything unexpected or try to get me off so I wouldn't call him sharp.
 
annagain said:
My old D was exactly the same. I could have given notice to leave my yard quicker than he went up! It would start with walking backwards with his back legs but not his front so his belly would nearly be on the floor, then he'd drag his front legs back and once he was upright he'd just keep going. He would get very excited at times but never did anything unexpected or try to get me off so I wouldn't call him sharp.
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LOL - You made me think of my first cob, who had a whole menu of naughty tricks, which he decided to add to one day by rearing. I felt his bum go down, followed by slack reins and front feet off the ground - about 4 inches I think. He landed and looked quite embarrassed and exhausted as though he was thinking 'God I nearly cricked my neck doing that, very dangerous this ere rearing lark, think I'll cross that off the menu'.
 
crabbymare said:
This is pretty much the same way I think of them but its interesting to read how many people think its negative and that a lot of the negative things that are quoted as part of being sharp are to me bad manners bad habits or bad training. I love sharp horses and some of the best trained horses I have ridden were sharp. but its a shame the term has such negative associations nowadays
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I agree, any horse can be an twonk and I couldn't put that down to 'sharpness'.

Mine can be far too sharp for his own good but when he's happy he's very easy. He teaches me everyday not to become complacent, lazy or unfocused, exactly what I want when working round such powerful creatures.
 
Faracat said:
A horse that reacts first (at supersonic speed) and thinks second. This can result in you heading off, rather quickly in the wrong direction because a leaf looked at them suspiciously. The 'sideways teleportation' is another skill often possessed by the sharp horse. However if you can channel them in the right way, they are great responsive rides, but never, ever get complacent or they'll whip round and drop you before you can blink.
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This. My mare is like this- she has disappeared from under me before i knew what was happening!
 
I would describe my mare as 'sharp' - only with a competent rider though.

She is very funny, the better the rider the more she challenges but only because she is having to work. Constantly checking what she can get away with and who is in charge. She can spin on the spot but is forward going and reactive, which makes her fantastic to ride once you know how to handle her.

Pop a complete novice on her back and she will go round quite happily as a donkey.

The more she leaps, tries to change pace ect. The more respect she has for you and cuts it out once told. Constantly testing you.
 
Illusion100 said:
A horse that requires you to be on the ball and that you can't take your focus off for a second. Ones that prey on weakness or inexperience and aren't necessarily very forgiving. Usually intelligent and likes to keep asking questions to constantly check if they can take charge. Quirky, opinionated and prone to tantrums.
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Agree with this 100%. Sums up my horse precisely!
 
My 19 year old Appy :p She needs to be ridden at all times, slobbing by the rider cannot happen, don't think "I will canter at the corner" because we will be cantering when the thought gets to "I" :D She is clever, can be spooky, but I've only come off her twice in ten years, and one of those was jumping! She is well mannered and responsive, but I would not put a novice on her.
 
Interesting to see other people's view. To me, a horse that is quick off the leg is just properly schooled and an alert horse whom requires concentration is the vast majority of competition horses. Sharp to me, is something that is that is quick, spooky and not very genuine! A horse that won't just jump but would spin and drop a shoulder as well..
 
It is so interesting, all these different opinions on the meaning of "sharp".
Mine was 100% genuine and committed in his jumping career, before coming to me, but he sees everything, and has lightening fast reflexes, and is described by all who know him as "sharp". He might spin/leap sideways but would never drop a shoulder - he'd much rather keep me in the plate where I should be.
Despite that label, he is kind and the most intelligent of horses. Mutual trust is essential. I see him as an over vigilant equine health and safety freak! : )
 
Luci07 said:
Interesting to see other people's view. To me, a horse that is quick off the leg is just properly schooled and an alert horse whom requires concentration is the vast majority of competition horses. Sharp to me, is something that is that is quick, spooky and not very genuine! A horse that won't just jump but would spin and drop a shoulder as well..
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I agree with this description of a properly schooled horse that is in front of the leg and reacts as it should as being well schooled not sharp.

ozpoz said:
It is so interesting, all these different opinions on the meaning of "sharp".
Mine was 100% genuine and committed in his jumping career, before coming to me, but he sees everything, and has lightening fast reflexes, and is described by all who know him as "sharp". He might spin/leap sideways but would never drop a shoulder - he'd much rather keep me in the plate where I should be.
Despite that label, he is kind and the most intelligent of horses. Mutual trust is essential. I see him as an over vigilant equine health and safety freak! : )
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This description describes my "sharp" horse, totally committed to jumping and it used to keep his mind occupied enough if he jumped once a week he was not spooky then and very genuine but now he is semi retired he is sharp out hacking, very reactive but has never dropped a shoulder or tried to drop me despite me not always being as quick to react as him, not sure about the health and safety part, he certainly thinks every leaf and blade of grass should be kept tidy and never move or turn a new colour.
 
pennyturner said:
By way of contrast, I would describe my welsh D as the least sharp horse I ever met. Even though he is fairly spooky, forward going and responsive. If he rears, he telegraphs it, and then conducts the whole operation in slow-mo. It feels like you've got time to read the newspaper on the way up.
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Have you stolen my D!? Mine is exactly the same, any rears are very slow and he never intends to dump me. He can be nappy and spooky when he wants but I wouldn't call him sharp at all. He is forward and responsive but to me that's just well schooled.

I don't think of a sharp horse as a good thing. I think of something that will spook at an invisible leaf, spin, drop the shoulder and swiftly exit in the opposite direction. Not something I would enjoy being on!
 
I used to have a very sharp horse. He was very spooky, could go sideways or spin at high speed and often when you least expected it (and with not much neck and shoulders that was a challenge) which taught me to sit tight and for that I am grateful. He was quick off the aids and a very quick learner, once he understood a job he took it seriously and put his heart and soul into it, all spooking and silliness would stop. He was quick, fast and always wanted to be going flat out, his paces were walk (or sorts, very fast) bounce and gallop! Yet he was the best gateshutter out hunting I ever had, would stay behind on his own, shut a gate perfectly, even wait for me to tie them up with string when needed without moving a muscle 'cause he knew that that was his job (and his reward was a good gallop to catch up again!)

Yes, he could lose his confidence easily (rider confidence was key), yes, he could be unforgiving, yes, it took a long time for him to settle and bond but when he did he was the most loyal partner. He never, ever bucked, I never felt like he was trying to remove me (even with his spooking), I only ever fell off him three times, once due to a spook and the other two times were out hunting and they were my fault for getting too forward over a fence. He was, AFAIC, one of the safest horses I've ever ridden 'cause he was so quick thinking and clever, always paid attention to what was around him and for me, out hacking, hunting and jumping, that's what I want.
 
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My gelding is very quick off my aids but I would not say he is sharp as he is kind and does not spook at much and is laid back. I am not sure if people would say my mare is sharp she can be very spooky and when she gets very spooked she turns and runs with no breaks and she is not really forward going but if you want to canter on a hack she wont she will gallop and stop when she decides its time too stop. When being schooled she will sometimes run to the exit and if you tell her off when she is being ridden she kicks off
 
Interesting to see such a wide range of definitions for 'sharp' and very little consensus.

In the past, I have described typical stallions as being 'sharp' to mean sensitive, responsive, quick to react, and needing one to pay attention, but not necessarily spooky, nasty or otherwise badly behaved. If 'sharp' isnt the right word to describe this quality, which I enjoy working with and therefore consider positive, what would the appropriate word be instead? Is there one??
 
fburton said:
Interesting to see such a wide range of definitions for 'sharp' and very little consensus.

In the past, I have described typical stallions as being 'sharp' to mean sensitive, responsive, quick to react, and needing one to pay attention, but not necessarily spooky, nasty or otherwise badly behaved. If 'sharp' isnt the right word to describe this quality, which I enjoy working with and therefore consider positive, what would the appropriate word be instead? Is there one??
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You seem to agree with me on the definition of sharp and that's exactly what my little mare was like. Not a nasty bone in her body and pretty bombproof but sharp as a blade. My current boy is pretty well bombproof and He can be incredibly polite when hacking - to the point of boring for me, and he can be sharp and to me absolute fun - jogging and cantering sideways or doing his lovely bouncy walk, even throwing in the odd excited buck - that's when he's feeling happy and well and I love it. He does nothing dangerous but he wouldn't be everyone's ride when he's like this. He will also 'switch off'' entirely when he's bored and can be frustrating to ride in the school but there again sometimes he can be very on his toes and that's when I can work with him and get some nice work out of him.

Seems to be, IMHO that what a some people are describing as sharp is either nappy-ness, bad manners or horses with issues which to me is a different ball game all together. I've often found that the most spooky horses are the 'lazy, switched off' ones because they aren't taking in what's going on around them so are more easily startled. I've also seen a lot of lazy horses act spooky in the school to 'get out' of doing something they don't want to do. But those certainly aren't what I'd describe as sharp.

Anyway, that's just my own humble opinion :)
 
Steorra said:
I think a sharp horse has quick reactions and is usually very athletic. That can translate into a nervy horse who is overly reactive and never looks comfortable in his own skin. Or it can result in a bold, clever, athletic horse who is a pleasure to ride.

I reckon it takes good riding and a lot of confidence to turn the first into the second, if it can be done, but it's unfortunately easier to turn the second into the first.
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Agree with this.
 
JennBags said:
A mixture of the above. Interesting how many people interpret it as being sharp off your aids, that wouldn't occur to me as an explanation (not meant as a criticism, just interesting how we all think differently!).
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This^^

I was thinking exactly the same. 'Sharp' to me, isn't sensitive to the aids and quick off the leg (that's obedient and forward going). Sharp IMO means very spooky and quick with it. The type to do an about turn at the drop of a hat or leap half way across the school if a bird or rabbit startles it.
 
Sharp to me is a horse that can react in a split second for good or for bad. Needs their brain to be engaged when you're riding and possibly has a tendency for over reaction
 
Cobbytype said:
My interpretation of a sharp horse is one that is quick off the leg, that responds to a small nudge, rather than a kick. I'd envisage a quick thinker (although not necessarily rational in that quick thinking) and quite on their toes when ridden out hacking and perhaps one that gets a bit stroppy/fizzy when being asked to do something new that it doesn't understand.
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This is how I think of one, without the stroppy/fizzy bit. I've got 2 sharp horses, they are hot blooded types (one mainly AA and the other a Luso x TB) and are very sensitive to ride. Having had a couple of warmbloods, they were totally the opposite (not all I know obviously, just my experience). My sharp ones, I only have to think a change of direction or something and they'll do it straight away whereas the WB's I had to plan ahead! I love the sharp ones, I find them unbeatable in jump offs and very quick thinking for XC especially if we get into trouble. They're not naughty at all (never buck, rear, nap etc.) but I think you'd have to be careful to keep it that way - they certainly wouldn't appreciate a kick in the ribs that's for sure and I don't ever carry a whip on my AA simply because I would never need it, you only have to growl quietly for a response ;) I personally find sharper ones push button to ride, but obviously some people prefer the slightly more dobbin ones! I'm yet to conquer decent dressage on a sharp horse though...
 
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