Tell me your horse stories!

[Horsechronicles12]

This is in REAL LIFE, not in Horse World Online:
I am a new horse rider. The first time that I wasn't led on a horse was in June 2022. Anyway, as I rode her more and more (we board her at our place, her name is Flair) she began to test me. If I trotted her she would try to move off the trail. If I loped her she would begin to gallop. One time when she had moved from canter to gallop without my command and I was pulling on her to stop, she turned sharp and I was almost flung out of the saddle! Anyway, I got tired of riding that disobediant horse. My mother was a trainer when she was in her teens, an AMAZING horse trainer, and she had told many stories. I knew that Flair needed to do lots of stopping and backing.

Finally, I bought my own horse in October. She is a 1 1/2 year old 1/4 Arabian and 3/4 Quarter Horse, a filly with a Diamond blaze down her forehead. Her name was Diamond when I bought her. She is in training right now, by myself and my mom. I am to get on her for the first time in July 2023. Wish me good luck!

My aunt has a horse (i have been wanting one forever) and i ride her bareback sometimes

[Tom]

Ok, I will try and make it short!

One day me and my horse (named Hermso) were in the wash section of the barn because there was a show coming up!
He looked like a gray pinto (He was a white horse) so I went to go get the soap it wasn't there the shampoo and conditioner wasn't there either, so I put him back in the paddock and when to get soap, shampoo and conditioner I had to go to 9 different horse stores to find any! when I came back he was covered in mud, it had rained and his beautiful WHITE mane and tail were also gray/black! It took me 9 and A HALF hours to wash his body mane, tail and polish his hooves! But it was worth it he was the beautiful white horse, I have had since he was a colt with his flowy mane and tail! I woke up at 4:30 am to go get him and get to the show but when I got to his stable the stable door was GONE and I don't mean just on the floor I mean HALF WAY ACROSS THE PADDOCK how he managed to do THAT I don't know! It didn't take long to find him because of the tracks he left on the lovely NEWLY planted grass! When I got to him he looked like a gray pinto again I am laughing now but I wasn't then!

Breed: Akhal-Teke
Resolve: I went to the show with a pinto looking horse and the barn handers fixed the barn door for me!

I love it!

[Diamond Filly]

This is in REAL LIFE, not in Horse World Online:
I am a new horse rider. The first time that I wasn't led on a horse was in June 2022. Anyway, as I rode her more and more (we board her at our place, her name is Flair) she began to test me. If I trotted her she would try to move off the trail. If I loped her she would begin to gallop. One time when she had moved from canter to gallop without my command and I was pulling on her to stop, she turned sharp and I was almost flung out of the saddle! Anyway, I got tired of riding that disobediant horse. My mother was a trainer when she was in her teens, an AMAZING horse trainer, and she had told many stories. I knew that Flair needed to do lots of stopping and backing.

Finally, I bought my own horse in October. She is a 1 1/2 year old 1/4 Arabian and 3/4 Quarter Horse, a filly with a Diamond blaze down her forehead. Her name was Diamond when I bought her. She is in training right now, by myself and my mom. I am to get on her for the first time in July 2023. Wish me good luck!

My aunt has a horse (i have been wanting one forever) and i ride her bareback sometimes

Nice! I didn't realize I shared this story

[Diamond Filly]

Ok, I will try and make it short!

One day me and my horse (named Hermso) were in the wash section of the barn because there was a show coming up!
He looked like a gray pinto (He was a white horse) so I went to go get the soap it wasn't there the shampoo and conditioner wasn't there either, so I put him back in the paddock and when to get soap, shampoo and conditioner I had to go to 9 different horse stores to find any! when I came back he was covered in mud, it had rained and his beautiful WHITE mane and tail were also gray/black! It took me 9 and A HALF hours to wash his body mane, tail and polish his hooves! But it was worth it he was the beautiful white horse, I have had since he was a colt with his flowy mane and tail! I woke up at 4:30 am to go get him and get to the show but when I got to his stable the stable door was GONE and I don't mean just on the floor I mean HALF WAY ACROSS THE PADDOCK how he managed to do THAT I don't know! It didn't take long to find him because of the tracks he left on the lovely NEWLY planted grass! When I got to him he looked like a gray pinto again I am laughing now but I wasn't then!

Breed: Akhal-Teke
Resolve: I went to the show with a pinto looking horse and the barn handers fixed the barn door for me!

I love it!

Great story!!!

[Horsechronicles12]

My aunt has a horse (i have been wanting one forever) and i ride her bareback sometimes

Nice! I didn't realize I shared this story

Yes. And it is a wonderful story!

[Diamond Filly]

Nice! I didn't realize I shared this story

Yes. And it is a wonderful story!

Well thanks!

[Diamond Filly]

I'll try to keep this kind of short. After all, I think many of you know I tend to make 'short' replies that are serious reads!

Anyway.
I used to ride at this stable. An appendix came into the stable, a purchased horse for the trainer. He was taught by his former owner to ride around with his head 'up like a giraffe'... and it looked like it. I suppose that they wanted him to look like some sort of freisian or something? I don't know.
Anyway, the trainer was really worried about him. Every time somebody would ask something from him (walk, trot, canter, etc) his head would pop backward (no ability to pop further upward) and she'd worry that he would accidentally crack somebody right in their face. After watching him in the ring a couple times, I did realize that it was a real possibility. And that wasn't the only issue with him. He had a habit of being a 'stargazer' and also distraction issues, always riding around the ring looking everywhere but where he needed to.
She had been riding him for about a year, trying to correct his behaviors. Got him to a semi-safe area... but he still rode around like a giraffe and would look everywhere but where he needed to and she opened him up to the lessons program and for leasing.
No real surprise that none of the students liked to ride him.
But I did. No matter what I'd do on his back, he took no offense to it... mostly because he was always paying attention to the horses in the field, the other rider in the ring, the branch on the tree as we passed, the shadow on the ground... even the passing butterfly on the flower.
But he was sensitive enough to the 'whoa' (gee, I wonder why -_- ) and with a follow up kick, he'd move forward (that's squeeze, no response, then squeeze, talk 'walk', no response, then the follow up kick).
Yeah, I was only an advanced beginner at the time and I was safe on him, but really couldn't get anywhere riding english.
So I spoke to the trainer and she said... 'well... if you want to try to bring his head down further, I can try putting him in a martingale, but YOU won't be riding him in one. That's a bit too dangerous right now with your abilities and his unknown training with one. What he really needs, is to come down in his energies.'
Oh... I thought... maybe western? So I asked her, how about western?
She said, 'he's not trained to rein, but there's no reason you can't try him in it. After all, he's safe enough and you won't be asking him anything that'll get either of you into trouble.'
So, western we went. A LOT of long, slow jogs, reining training, a LOT of backing up and... what they call 'low work'... eventually after about another year, his head carriage (with mainly just me riding him three times a week), returned to where a western and natural head carriage (especially for his body style) should be.
And also, with all of that 'low work' his distractions' issues also disappeared. He'd jog right ahead, his ears sometimes popping back at me, sometimes straight ahead, and every once in awhile, he'd get so comfortable that his nose would sway slightly right and left, in pace with his jog.
That following year, I took home reserve champion of the year for the green western division in the Training Shows.
He was about 15 at the time and thereabouts also began suffering from locked lower back and locked hip issues. That was also a new experience. The trainer, thankfully, had a boarder that had brought in a chiropractor for her horse. So the trainer suggested that the chiropractor take a look at the appendix... and that's when his locked issues came to light (this was many years ago, when chiro for horses was a fairly new thing, at least in my area). So yeah, that's how that all worked out.
Twice a year visit from the chiro, she taught me how to give him necessary massages to help prevent the locking and he was again, a comfortable horse.
But... he didn't offer the same sort of indications of locking like some horses do: Not willing to back up or stiff at backing. His symptoms was simply an unwillingness to pick up a certain lead at the canter. Which was a bit hidden anyway, because at my riding level at that time, I couldn't really canter to begin with. -_- Well, even back then, I had some of my own mobility issues I couldn't figure out. Hah! So he and I, we paired up well.

Well, that was kind of long anyway.

Great story! I'm training my own QH filly.

[Diamond Filly]

So mine isn't a long story. I've never had a horse of my own, but my older sister (I'll call her Sis) had 3 Arabians and my favorite one was a lovely bay mare named Taj Tradon. Sis trained all her horses using the Parelli method, and they were all a well behaved but spirited bunch. We used to take them on wild bareback rides on the old logging trails on the mountains nearby. One of my favorite memories is from one day when Sis made a Cherokee for Taj and after making sure it Taj was comfortable with it, we rode her around in the field. I even have pictures from that day! Honestly I was kind of spoiled with Taj because I've never met a horse since with such a sweet and willing personality, and she put up with my inexperienced 13-year-old self as I learned about training horses from my Sis. Now anytime I get a chance to ride I happily jump on it but for some reason it seems people are always putting me on their barn-sour bucker that hasn't been ridden in six months, and then the person acts all surprised their horse is acting up Someday if I have the money and the space I'd love to get my own horse but I have the feeling there will never be another like Taj

Edited to add: most horses should not be ridden with a Cherokee--also known as an Indian war bridle. It's only safe on a very chill and well trained horse that can rely mainly on leg cues, and a rider with a gentle hand. Otherwise it can damage the sensitive skin on the mouth or in the worst case scenario if an extremely strong and rough person is riding, it can even break the horse's jaw.

First image: Me and Taj doing one of the Parelli warmups before riding (pretty similar to lunging). And no, I'm not adjusting a wedgie my hand placement looks funny because I just switched which hand the rope is in.
Second image: Me riding Taj with the Cherokee
I wish I could post better pictures that show off Taj's beautiful self, but I had to choose ones without my face, so...

Beautiful horse! My filly (that I'm training right now) is 3/4 Quarter Horse and 1/4 Arabian.

[BlackOak2]

Great story! I'm training my own QH filly.

Training is certainly important! Don't rush things, but also be aware of taking too much time on some of it too. If you don't go just fast enough, she'll loose interest and start to pick up bad habits. Maybe.

Good Luck!

[Diamond Filly]

Great story! I'm training my own QH filly.

Training is certainly important! Don't rush things, but also be aware of taking too much time on some of it too. If you don't go just fast enough, she'll loose interest and start to pick up bad habits. Maybe.

Good Luck!

Right. Thanks for the advice!