My very quiet never spooked at anything QH nearly killed me over a…
Children’s Pinwheel.
I was caught completely by surprise (and apparently so was he). My barn owner had put some pinwheels in the garden and THAT was apparently over the line.
He nearly ran me flat over. Slammed into me from the side and it was but for the grace of god that I stayed on my feet.
I can only imagine the tombstone 
I can safely say, seeing updated video (which the OP should not post here) - this is a truly lovely horse. The trainer is doing very well with her and I love the way she is going.
My saddlebred didn’t understand the mounting block at all when I first got him. I didn’t realize that he had never been taught, but quite frequently in saddleseat land they are boosted aboard like jockeys while the horse is already moving. Learning that helped me understand that he had to go back to the beginning with it. We did and now he stands like a rock waiting for his cookie.
Great updates - you have found yourself a diamond in the rough. I adore this mare!
Then you should probably limit your beginner riders to the kind of horses that you put a quarter into in front of the grocery store because all horses can do this and dump people of all skill levels.
In fact, I’ve seen kids with head injuries from playground horses on springs. Better outlaw those too.
I’ve seen Honey now multiple times on video. She tosses her head a little. She is not dangerous in the least and I would not hesitate to ride her nor would I hesitate to put a new rider on her (with guidance). Is she what a hunter rider expects? No. She probably still feels a little more energetic and forward but I think she is doing really well.
Love this update!
Ugh. You’re the best. Thank you so much. You’re welcome to IL anytime if you wanna hang with Honey.
Such a great update and sounds much better about the trainer in prior posts. Yes grab riding the other horses with both hands.
What a great update! I’m so happy it went so well and your trainer sounds like a great match! 
I’m looking forward to more good news as training progresses. Just don’t be disappointed if you have steps back days, but I’m so hoping there are more forward days for you all.
Sorry for the derail, but way back when, there was a lady in our local “saddle club” who had a big QH ranch (with big Quarter Horses.) She rode western, and a group of us went on a trail ride.
She smoked, and had an ash tray that attached to her saddle horn. I’ve never seen anything like it again.
@AdultEmmy Glad to hear you are having fun riding. I hope you keep progressing, which ever horse you ride. 
I have ridden my current Morgan mare along the road where an 18-wheeler has passed us; a truck with a loud, rattling and banging trailer attached zoomed along; school buses with their noisy stops and starts—all no problem.
HOWEVER, that silent, battery-powered scooter with an attached stiff flag for visibility traveling down the road with its occupant? OMG! It’s SO quiet, it MUST be a PREDATOR, ready to POUNCE! Turn and flee!! (Tessa turned but wasn’t allowed to flee–my cousin’s elderly horse, who likes to putter slowly along behind, had to Take The Lead. SO embarrassing to me.)
Very glad to hear this, especially since you are viewing the video with an ASB-informed eye.
I love your enthusiasm for saddlebred and your insight into the saddlebred psyche. I am firmly Team Hairy Pony, and am used to a very different way of going.
When I see people driving trappy, bouncy, upright horses with higher heads and knees up to their chests, I always think fireworks are imminent. It’s been cool to see this perspective–like I know people DRIVE hackneys/DHH/saddlebreds/Morgan/Arabs, but the huffing and puffing and arched neck bouncy trot? If my guy comes out like that, it means he ate dirty meth for breakfast and we’re not getting anything useful done. It’s a very different sort of body language/physical appearance, with which I am not familiar.
Well, since you felt you needed to get so nasty with a personal attack and assumptions on my riding, my horse and my parental decisions, I’m content to assume that is because deep down you know I’m right but are too stuck on your high horse to acknowledge that while things can always go bad, there is that little saying about not borrowing trouble when you don’t need to, especially when the result could be death or permanent bodily harm from a 1,000+ lb animal. While a lot of more experienced and better riders can handle a lot of behavior, I seriously doubt many of them actually enjoy dealing with it.
And why exactly is my horse ruined and my kid thrown off with enough force to go through the arena fence you might ask? Well because my kid got put in a bad situation, through no fault of her own (she even tried to tell the instructor, who wasn’t me, that the lesson horse that triggered the situation wasn’t appropriate for the other rider before the lesson), and tried to do this “more advanced riding thing” she didn’t have enough experience or skill to do at that intensity to deal with it (and the fact that my horse was actively being chased/driven from behind)…… and did it wrong which resulted in injury to both her and the horse. And this horse came out of a very well know and reputable program where I’m sure if I named dropped several people on this forum would know his connections.
I don’t particularly care to see the video. I just had my ruined horse go through a month and a half of professional training where we were figuring out what is what. During the first month with little demands outside of basic light contact fitness work and getting to know the buttons ground work I’m sure any video I could have taken of that would have looked similar to whatever is on this video of Honey and this trainer. In fact the trainer I used was so impressed that she repeatedly told me what an easy sell he’d be if I wanted to move him, every assistant in the barn loved him, and he was always foot perfect and she couldn’t figure out what would ever happen to trigger the issues he was brought in for outside of a “perfect storm event”.
Fast forward to the second month and the demands picked up, and I now had a trainer telling me it was going to be harder than they thought, he was starting to show some behavior, but not too bad but not as easy as she had thought. A week later he had progressed to rearing and spooking at the mounting block and had even scared the assistant trainer that laughs at bad behavior. He actually could have killed himself with his acting out.
So, hopefully I’ll be wrong, but I’ll reserve judgement on how well this will ultimately go until Honey has had at least a month or two of solid work with real demands put into her.
I said nothing about your personal ability.
Horses - even perfectly trained ones - can and do react like horses. There is no horse alive that does not have an evasion in them whether it be a buck, rear, shy, or other silliness. I hate ads that say “no buck rear or spook” because quite frankly, it’s not true, and if it is, you’re not selling a horse, you’re selling a car. That’s why I said what I said.
I am sorry you’re under stress right now because of your situation. Really truly, I am. But don’t project your fears and your situation onto others - that isn’t cool.
What you see and hear and describe with your horse is not what I have seen with Honey’s behavior both originally and updated. She is not truly rearing. It isn’t even a true prop. It was a description that doesn’t quite match the behavior. It’s ok, you are working with the information you have, and I’m working with mine.
Best of luck with your horse and your kid. I’m sorry you feel your horse is ruined - I don’t see horses that way because though prior training can be difficult to undo, they are amazingly malleable creatures that don’t have any concept of “ruined”. And I mean that genuinely - good luck.
I am with you @cattywampus My fjords “high energy” days are pretty much standard horse demeanor. And on the VERY few occasions he has gotten worked up, useful is out the door for us too.
I see these high stepping high necked guys, and they really do come off dragon like to me! That just isnt in either of our vocabulary these days hahaha. Happy to watch them go with others though 
I love this Similarly with my two QHs - you’d be about to DIE.
Funnily enough, my Dobermans were similar. They look alert and mean, but mine were the biggest, goofiest, love everyone dogs on earth. They did need a LOT of exercise and things to do, lest they invent some things all on their own, and saddlebreds are much the same.
I adore the Hackney Ponies - little dragons - and if someday I can’t ride anymore I swear I’m going to get one.
Saturday I rode, while my trainer was in the ring with us. Honey has been in a mickelem, so we took the bit off and WOW I had a happier horse!
She was quick to give me her attention, didn’t feel quite so tightly wound, stood at the mounting block like a rock, walked calmly off when asked, and had some good trot moments with no fighting me! I’d call that a huge success.
Honeys boot camp starts today. I’m very excited about it.
I have my first riding lesson tomorrow since June (not counting the saddle seat lesson from the last thread). I’ve had other “lessons” but not much riding. They’ve all been with honey. So tomorrow, I get to ride that fun QH I mentioned previously. I’m excited!
Sounds like Honey is a happier horse with no bit in her mouth. That is a very huge piece of info! Has her mouth been checked by a vet?
Yes it has. She had a full checkup and her teeth done about 2 weeks ago
that is great news!
Yay!!! So excited for you and Honey!
Just remember that the process is non-linear. You’ll have many ups and downs so learn to enjoy the process and don’t get too wound up about outcomes. I know it can be hard when you hit a low - there have been so many times when I feel like the worst horse rider/trainer ever, but then I pick myself back up again and feel great the next ride (or on top of the world if I have a particularly good one!)
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
