Which horse would you choose? *pics*

[Orchid]

The first horse I rode was an older Arabian mare; she was a lesson horse. I took about six months of lessons before my riding instructor helped us pick out two new horses (so my dad and I could ride together) - a grade 15ish Appaloosa gelding and a 12 year old QH gelding. They were both been there, done that horses that had done everything from parades to packing out elk. The Appaloosa passed away in my field on May 8, 2009 at the age of 34. The QH is still hanging out with me, he is now 32.

 

[S*T*A*R]

Quote:
Well you live in the country...... i have to live in the city and i would have to board it. I don't know what the first horse i rode was.

 

[welsummerchicks]

Let me see...I was given a horse that had a wee bit of a problem. BOY was he pretty. And I just LOVED HIM!

He broke all my ribs on one side and crushed my hand, bucked me off and then stomped all over my hand and my torso. Got a pretty severe concussion too. People didn't wear helmets in those days.

Oh, you know what? I hear some people don't wear helmets to ride even today. Well, as the doctor said, I was lucky I wasn't dead or paralyzed.

I was told I'd never use my hand again. The surgeon just wrapped it up and said, 'There! Now it will heal in a 'position of fuction''. I asked what that meant, and he said, 'Well, if you have no use of it, it will still look sort of...well...'natural', you know'.

Of course a couple months later when they took off all that wrapping, it looked - not natural. It looked like a tiny white claw. After a couple years of very painful physical therapy, I got some use of it. Of course, I was an art student, and the hand I broke was the hand I painted and drew with. So that was a pretty bad problem.

The ribs- I got what's called 'flail chest', where, you know, you break so many ribs, your lungs can't work and your chest wall destabilizes, and instead of going in and out, your lungs just keep blowing up with air, til it makes your heart stop beating.

One of the guys at the barn tied a jacket around my chest to try and keep the lungs from blowin out more, and laid me on the 'busted up' side in his car (that's supposed to help, I guess he learned that in army training, he was in a war, you don't usually see injuries like that otherwise), and drove the 25 miles to the hospital, going about 120 miles an hour, and going through every stop sign and light, hitting the car horn really hard.

Then I got to the hospital, and the doctor started putting the needles in my hand, which makes a BIG huge puddle of blood on the emergency operating room floor, but by then my dad was there, and he kept trying to turn my head away so I wouldn't see it, but by then I had 3 doses of morphine in me....but the hand was so busted up he couldn't set any of the fractures or dislocations, so he just kind of wrapped it up and said, 'OK!' And I remember thinking, 'wow, that one finger is almost completely off, I wonder why he doesn't like, stitch it back on or anything?'

Any other questions?

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

First horse I ever rode when I was 5 years old was a GREEN broke appy gelding. Sweet as pie, but he took me and my mom over a cliff that gave us both concussions (luckily nothing worse). For some stupid reason my parents bought him to be my "4H horse"...yeah, a 4H horse that I was deathly afraid of because he spooked and jumped at EVERYTHING. Never went faster than a walk on that horse, btw. Have had several good horses since then though.

 

[patandchickens]

I didn't buy my first horse til I was (counts on fingers) 26 and had been riding for 16 years including sometimes being paid for teaching lessons and training peoples horses. So I'm not sure I count

If I had been able to get a horse when I was a young teenager, as I would have KILLED to have been able to, no doubt if I'd been left to my own devices I would've picked something totally unsuitable though.

Actually I did think *very hard* about a horse I was offered just before going off to grad school. She was probably 5-6ish, legitimately 16.3, TBxQH, dumb as a *rock* but would jump absolutely anything whatsoever that you could get her vaguely pointed towards. (It was generally vaguely, on account of being dumb as a rock and about as sensitive to the aids as your average rock, too). At the barn owner's urging (it was his horse) we had her over 5' and she didn't think twice or breathe hard.

She was also quite significantly clubfooted in the LF, and not sound. Barn owner insisted that the *vet* insisted that it was merely mechanically-lame from the different range of motion of the two feet. At the time I believed them. In retrospect, not so much (at any rate, she really really should not have been jumping. Sigh.)

I did scout out boarding barns and try to juggle numbers in a way that would allow me to afford her. But between not really being able to properly afford ALL the costs of a horse, and her being clubfooted (barn owner suggested breeding her, and maybe it *was* purely a developmental problem with no genetic basis, but even back then I was not dumb enough to BANK on that)... I passed. Good thing, too. For me anyhow. Next time I was back visiting, the barn manager pointedly did not answer when I asked where Pumpkin had gone... which pretty much meant, New Holland. Poor thing. She was really SO much fun to ride. I wish you could replace feet like you can replace tires

Pat

 

[SilkieTime]

Both need TLC very bad but I am Arabian kind of girl. Just so you know most Arabians are not your layed back kind of horse. Don't go buy looks ride the horse , more then once. Have a vet check and shots need to be up to date. Being winter you will need hay for all winter. Can you get hay this late?
These two horses makes me cry.

 

[S*T*A*R]

Are you just telling me all your horror stories?

 

[Lifesong Farm]

I got my first horse when I was a very young, dumb and lucky 18 yr old. I fell in love with a weanling APHA stud colt and bought him. I lucked out because even though he was a stud he was very calm and gentle. My second horse was a rescue that I thought could be trained to ride. He put 1 person in the hosp and injured my knee. He turned out to be a very good driving horse just not safe as a riding horse. My current horse is a very green young mare that has respect issues and I don't allow anyone who doesn't know horses around. On top of respect issues she is also going to start treatment to regulate her marish hormones. She is one I can see someone buying because "she is sooooooo pretty" but not for everyone.

People want horses because they are awsome creatures and it is as easy or easier to steer a newbie to a bad one as it is for a car dealer to rip you off. We give warnings to let people know that Black Beauty, The Black Stallion, Misty, Flicka really can be dangerous and can kill. Take your riding instructor or barn manager horse shopping with you and have a vet check done. It's all for your protection and for the protection of the others who will be using your horse.

 

[patandchickens]

I'm telling ya, I've seen a WHOLE LOT of beginners go out and pick their own first horses, and I'd estimate the batting average is considerably less than .500 just for ending up with something you can kinda ride on a regular basis... let alone something that's a really positive experience.

Of course sometimes people do luck into wonderful horses.

But not usually, in my observation.

You want horror stories, I can *tell* ya horror stories...

Pat, whose first actual horse I owned (after 16 years of riding, as mentioned above) cost $700 and aside from being a bit snarky on the ground was a WONDERFUL partner and teacher. But I've seen novices (decent riding skills but not too many years in the horse world) buy other horses that were *on paper* pretty much identical to him, and have it turn out really badly, because of a variety of intangibles related to temperament, or because of soundness.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

First horse I ever had was a paint mare who my family bought from an auction after riding around in an arena for about 15 minutes. She was pretty much green broke and about 6 or 7 when we bought her. She turned out to be an excellent horse, but it took years and years of working with her. Towards the end, we were inseparable buddies and I could usually sense what she was going to do before she'd even do it. Unfortunately, my dad took her out on the trail one day and something just wasn't right with her. She wouldn't get on the trailer so he tied her up and she took off, dragging everything she was tied to with her. She got cut so badly we had to put her down. That was the first time in all those years we had her that she ever refused the trailer. I really miss that horse though.

When we bought her I was the most knowledgeable in the family about horses, and I was 9. I had been taking lessons since I was about 6, but I still didn't really know much other than basic riding and care!

So yeah, we were the very rare family that was lucky with a green horse, and a horse from an auction no less! I joined 4-H and did that for about 11 years and now my family has four horses. Haven't come across another horse like my first one though. She was really special.

That's another thing. You want your first horse to be a good one. Otherwise it can ruin the experience of riding for the rest of your life!