I would really REALLY REALLY VERY VERY MUCH suggest not even thinking of putting inexperienced riders, or heaven forbid inexperienced children, on a new horse until you've spent a considerable while riding and handling the horse yourself (in all sorts of situations, including things like taking off a jacket while mounted, suddenly shrieking at the top of your lungs while trotting along, that sort of thing) and are confident you know how he will react in different situations.
So I would suggest that you are not likely to want to make up your mind whether this will be a good lesson horse til you have had him for a month or two, and not just 'had him' but been WORKING with him (like not just basic handling stuff, but riding and longeing etc).
Big drafts usually don't make great kids beginner mounts IME (although very short drafts, like in the 14h range, are more often usable)... their size is not really confidence building, their width is hard to sit properly with short legs, if they put their necks down to graze whoa nelly do they yank, they tend to be rather hard for the kids to get going and then get stopped, and draft horses often have a sort of implacable inertia... when they are standing there it takes an act of God to get them going and once they decide to go somewhere it can be real real hard to change their minds. They do not necessarily go anywhere real fast (tho they can) but they can be quite bloodyminded about pursuing their personal goal, like "going to the center of the ring" or "back to the barn" or "down that hill through all those thorn bushes and then under the low-hanging branch".
Mind you I quite *like* draft horses, I do wish they stayed sounder in hard work but honestly I have always had great fun with them. I'm just saying, the size and the typical draft-horse temperament do not IME always make them great lesson horses, in a statistical sense compared to other breeds anyhow.
Of course you don't ride a breed in general, you ride an individual horse, so it is certainly possible this guy may turn out to be an exception. It'll take much more than a week to find out, though. (e.t.a - and really, ANY lesson horse you get, you'll have to work with it. They don't stay GOOD lesson horses for long when beginners are on them -- they need frequent tune-ups. So think of this as what you'd have to go thru with *any* lesson horse, both before you start using it and periodically thereafter
)
Good luck,
Pat
So I would suggest that you are not likely to want to make up your mind whether this will be a good lesson horse til you have had him for a month or two, and not just 'had him' but been WORKING with him (like not just basic handling stuff, but riding and longeing etc).
Big drafts usually don't make great kids beginner mounts IME (although very short drafts, like in the 14h range, are more often usable)... their size is not really confidence building, their width is hard to sit properly with short legs, if they put their necks down to graze whoa nelly do they yank, they tend to be rather hard for the kids to get going and then get stopped, and draft horses often have a sort of implacable inertia... when they are standing there it takes an act of God to get them going and once they decide to go somewhere it can be real real hard to change their minds. They do not necessarily go anywhere real fast (tho they can) but they can be quite bloodyminded about pursuing their personal goal, like "going to the center of the ring" or "back to the barn" or "down that hill through all those thorn bushes and then under the low-hanging branch".
Mind you I quite *like* draft horses, I do wish they stayed sounder in hard work but honestly I have always had great fun with them. I'm just saying, the size and the typical draft-horse temperament do not IME always make them great lesson horses, in a statistical sense compared to other breeds anyhow.
Of course you don't ride a breed in general, you ride an individual horse, so it is certainly possible this guy may turn out to be an exception. It'll take much more than a week to find out, though. (e.t.a - and really, ANY lesson horse you get, you'll have to work with it. They don't stay GOOD lesson horses for long when beginners are on them -- they need frequent tune-ups. So think of this as what you'd have to go thru with *any* lesson horse, both before you start using it and periodically thereafter
Good luck,
Pat
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