Which horse would you choose? *pics*

[S*T*A*R]

ok what is the best breed i should look for?!

 

[RabbitMage]

There is no one best breed. There might be better breeds, depending on what you're looking to do.

If you're just looking to ride for fun, breed isn't important. But you need to think about your skill and fitness level and what kind of riding you like and find a horse that fits you.

If you are ample of body, like I am, and you want a horse to take you out on the trails, you need something with a study build that's sound enough to carry you up and down hills. If you're more petite and you just want to walk around your own pasture or an arena a few times a week, then maybe that red mare will work for you.

If you're a beginner, you need a horse that's been there, done that. If you're thinking you might want to try a specific riding style or sport, you don't need a world champion, but a horse that has some training in that area would probably be helpful.

So tell us about you and what you want to do, and maybe we can give you a hand.

 

[Hound]

The best thing you can do is ride, a lot. Find out where your strengths and weaknesses are. Find out what you enjoy and what you don't.

Neither horse is a good choice. They both resemble saggy old couches in the middle, which isn't a promising start with an animal you want to carry weight. As a general rule (note I said GENERAL, before I am bombarded with anecdotes of semi-comatose Saddlebreds and Arabians), neither of these breeds are typically suitable for a beginner. They tend to have hotter temperaments. It's not so much about picking a breed and whatever horse you find will have that kind of temperament. If only life was that simple. It's about finding a well built, forgiving, easy-going, quiet horse. Some breeds are more inclined to that disposition than others.

 

[S*T*A*R]

ok I am a beginner and i think there are a few trail accesses where i ride.... now what kinda horse do you prescribe?

 

[patandchickens]

S*T*A*R :

ok what is the best breed i should look for?!

If you are asking this question, then the correct answer is "whatever breed the EXPERIENCED, preferably PROFESSIONAL HORSEMAN who is guiding your search tells you that you should look for"

Really really.

Also, try to be taking lessons somewhere that has a good variety of horses in their lesson stable, so that you can see what types of horses you do (and don't) get along well with. For instance some people love the draft-horse temperament, other people loathe it. (Not actually too awful many people in between, in fact!) Similar with other breeds and personality types and movement types. The more you know about what you actually deal well with, butt-in-saddle, the likelier you'll wind up with a suitable horse.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat​

 

[S*T*A*R]

Quote:
If you are asking this question, then the correct answer is "whatever breed the EXPERIENCED, preferably PROFESSIONAL HORSEMAN who is guiding your search tells you that you should look for"

Really really.

Also, try to be taking lessons somewhere that has a good variety of horses in their lesson stable, so that you can see what types of horses you do (and don't) get along well with. For instance some people love the draft-horse temperament, other people loathe it. (Not actually too awful many people in between, in fact!) Similar with other breeds and personality types and movement types. The more you know about what you actually deal well with, butt-in-saddle, the likelier you'll wind up with a suitable horse.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

Okay what should i look for in a horse...?

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I would definitely start with taking lessons before going out and buying a horse for yourself. Lessons will tell you a whole lot about horses, the care, how to ride, and eventually what to look for in horse when you are ready to buy or lease. If you are under 19, I would really recommend joining a horse 4-H club. That's where I got my start and I gained some invaluable information from the experience.

 

[S*T*A*R]

Quote:
I'm kinda sorta takin lessons right now...... and i am joining a 4-H club for poultry and possibly horses(my friends told me i could use their horses for anything). But i'd be getting a horse for their ministry. Mostly for me to ride, but when i'm not there they can use her/him.

 

[patandchickens]

S*T*A*R :

Okay what should i look for in a horse...?

Truly, no offense meant at all, but the genuinely best answer really is "what the EXPERIENCED, preferably PROFESSIONAL HORSEMAN who is guiding your search tells you that you should look for"

It's not explainable in terms that would do you any good at all, and would likely just get you into further trouble.

Beginners should not be looking for their own horses. Been there, seen that, got too many t-shirts,

Pat​

 

[welsummerchicks]

Assuming these are your horses, and not someone else's who is going to get extremely mad if their horses are critiqued in public.

The best way to choose a horse to buy, is to work with an instructor or trainer who knows how you ride, and would be giving you lessons once you buy the horse. A person like that has a reason to help you get a good horse.

When a person buys their own horse, unless they buy and sell horses every day, they usually run into problems and don't get the most suitable horse. A person who buys and sells a lot (like a trainer or instructor) has a big advantage.

There has been a lot written about evaluating conformation. But how to evaluate a horse really, 'it depends'. It depends on the intended use for the horse plus what the rider is like.

The horse for occasional pleasure riding can have some not-so-great features, where the horse that is going to be used a lot more often and harder, needs to be looked at in a very different way.

I would not worry a bit about getting horse #1. With some good food, worming, shoeing, teeth fixed by the horse dentist, and light exercise, that horse will look very different in a few months. She's real thin now and that makes a horse look bad. She not only lacks fat, she also lacks muscle. She looks like she hasn't had much exercise or food.

Then I would just have to see how she looked and acted when she felt better fed and in better shape. At that point I would decide what was the best 'job' for her. How a horse acts when it's out of shape can be a fooler. Many thin horses are very quiet and well mannered, and change when they feel better. So I would wait to decide what her 'job' would be, or who she'd be good for.

That horse, is not a 'grulla'. She's what you call dark brown, which is a really good color, because it always looks good, in the winter or the summer coat.

I would not worry about getting horse #2 either. But that horse looks pretty energetic and alert. Horses of her breeding usually are very energetic and even sometimes, sort of nervous and sensitive. I wouldn't get her for a beginner whose idea of a 'great ride' was a very, very slow walk once a month. That horse, at least in that photo, seems to have what's called a 'ewe neck'.

Normally I'd like a number of pictures from different angles, or a video, to be more sure. It might just be a bad picture of her. Or it might really be a ewe neck. Meaning there is a lot of thick muscle along the underside of her neck and not much of a curve to the topline of the neck, more of a downward curve. It's harder to ride a horse with that type of neck. It would take some skilled riding and a lot of patience to 'turn over' that sort of neck and get it to develop better. That's more a project for someone who has done a lot of that before.

Both horses are what is politely called 'a little easy in the topline', meaning their backs are not so strong looking. However, I would not worry about it until I saw both of them more trained and in better condition. I would not put a big heavy person on either horse, but kids are probably fine. It's important to get a saddle that fits that shape of back, and to put the saddle on the horse in the right way.

A lot of horses with not so nicely shaped backs, are used for years and years and years, and never give a moment's trouble. It is not a horse I would pick to go to the Olympics on, or do something real hard with, or put Hagred on, but I've seen horses shaped like that be school horses for many, many decades.