Horse People!! - Oldenburgs.....

[Sassymygirl]

There is this Oldenburg gelding at my barn, Ricky Bobby. And I know they are REALLY good at showjumping and Dressage. Well, I was gonna ask my riding teacher if I could train for the rest of the year on him. He's 17.2hh, and a very gentle horse. I'm 5'7" and I've been riding for 6-7 years...His owner sold him to the barn because he was to big for her and she would keep falling off. So I'm wondering, whats your opinion on them? Would he be to much for me? I've ridden many other tall, bouncy horses.

(Ask about anything, if you need for information)

ETA: A pic, this isn't him, but he looks just like it.

 

[booker81]

The way I figure, a fall is a learning experience

If you go off, you should learn something.

Ask away, a horse is a horse of course. The more you ride, the more you learn!

ETA: I've known a lot of Oldenbergs, and other warmbloods (the other half of the farm I grew up on was a dressage farm). I was lucky to ride many of them when the boarders needed someone that would exercise them for free. I didn't really distinguish too much between the different warmbloods, just individual horses.

For BIG movement, we had a Kladruber the owner let me often ride....now THAT was movement!

 

[Tinted]

It really all depends on if you can handle the horse, his level of training, your level of skill, and a number of other obvious factors. If you think you can handle him at the current time I would give it a trial period to see if he is something you enjoy riding. That way you are not locked into riding something that is beyond your level or something that you simply don’t enjoy riding.

When I took group lessons one of the girls in my lesson group was always having trouble getting her lesson horse (a poorly behaved arab) to act correctly. It was a combination of her skill level and his attitude that made some of their rides pure agony to watch, she looked miserable some of the time; but that girl had heart and she rode and rode that horse and never once asked to trade out. I offered to ride him once as she was trying to learn a technique and the arab was being a particularly huge brat. I sat for 20 minutes on that horse and hated his guts; he had gotten away with heck and had NO manners in my opinion. Which gave me a vast amount of respect for the girl who rode the little hell hound. Would I have chosen him to ride? No. Pick a horse that you simply adore riding. That is my best advice.

Also, I have never heard of a person falling off because a horse was “too big for them.” Perhaps she meant to say he was too much of a horse for her?

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Quote:
No, but I have seen a grown man fall off of these because they were too small. His feet kept hitting the ground.

 

[Tinted]

I can completely understand him!! I am not embarrassed to admit that I have been bucked off of a Shetland pony as a 5’11” individual.

 

[Sassymygirl]

Quote:
Thanks tinted, I think I might try him out, he's a 4yr old. And has been ridden alot. But every horse is different. And as for his past owner. When she bought him, she said that was her first horse, EVER. And she didn't ride alot. So, I guess he was to much for her. Though she claims he's too big.

And birdaholic,

Those are some cute minis!

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

The cutting horse I ride at work is 16.5 hands & as wide as a Clydesdale. He's a good horse, will do anything you ask, except loose weight. After 7 or 8 hours in the saddle. I'm hurting because he's so wide. I might teach my minis to be cutters!

 

[booker81]

Quote:
Shetlands are EVIL!

Same height as you, same experience...little Satan ponies!

Sidetrack...for some unknown reason I was in a situation that involved bull chutes (for bull riding) and yearling calves. Don't ask me what I was thinking. Thee few seconds I was on one, all I could think was that the darn thing was a shetland on crack. my back still is messed up from that bright idea.

 

[welsummerchicks]

Aw so tough on the ponies! LOL. Though some of them have just gotten poor training or like mine, no training, just abuse. It's taken him a long time to trust people. And for a while, he was very naughty. I used to say, 'he is getting back at the world', poor little dude. There is always a little bit of that 'pony mind' though. He does indeed have a little chip on his shoulder!

Oldenbergers and other warmblood registries like to produce horses that are really athletic and have a lot of energy and like to do a lot. They are often 'big movers' (though there are average and below average movers in each registry too). If you just relax, your body will follow the motion.

They vary a lot in temperament. Some are very laid back, and some are very sensitive and hot.

I think you should do it, and I think you will have a lot of fun. I love riding warmbloods.

We had a riding clinic this weekend with fourteen riders, the clinician was an expert on young horses. It was a heck of a lot of fun. I'm hurt so I couldn't ride, but it was really fun to watch.

 

[Tinted]

Quote:
No offence intended welsummerchicks but you generalize quite a bit in your post which can lead less knowledgeable equine enthusiast into false pretenses. Just saying

In my experiance ponies are trained just as well as horses, but have attitude and flair in abundance.

Quote:
Relaxing into a gait comes with time, training, and practice so don’t expect (or get upset) if you are not able to do it right off the bat. It is human instinct to "tense" when you feel like you are going to fall or if something (particularly the item holding you up!) is out of your control. Relaxing into the gait is all about being comfortable on horseback; you must first be calm and confidant in your ability to ride the horse. Skill builds confidence, and after you have confidence in your ability to ride you become much more comfortable on horseback. Every good thing takes time.

My second round of commentary.