I definitely had some childhood dream horses that came about before I ever really had much exposure to riding (andalusians, gaited horses, etc - that said, I rode a gaited horse for the first time last year. 8 year old me might have been onto something!) but I think the first real “dream horse” situation I ran into was when I was around 16 - and it was less an abstract (“Must find a horse to fit this”) and more “I want this specific horse.”
There was a 3yo TB that my instructor was training - at that point, she was more a horse trainer than a riding instructor. She was the one tasked with retraining the OTTBs and polo ponies that came in (either for resale or to incorporate into the lesson program) or break in young horses with no prior training. This mare was one of the latter - her breeder thought she’d be too small to race. Young mare, green as anything, bright chestnut with four high whites and a blaze. Pretty, pretty mare - but her personality on the ground was just so, so people oriented, and under saddle was the same: she was almost anticipatory to a fault, trying to figure out what riders wanted from her. Even as a super green young horse, she was comfortable, balanced, forward and reactive but good minded. I wanted her so, so badly (and from that experience of working with her, dream horse type 1 - the red TB mare - came about).
The evolution from that really came about when I got my guy, a few years later. He was my dream horse - I might not have known it then, but I was lucky to have ten years with him where I realized it. Another TB, but very heavily built. Tall, solid, with a shorter back. Plain bay with the tiniest bit of white (ermine foot behind). Unlike the mare above, he was challenging - aloof, exacting, and autocratic, he wasn’t really a forgiving ride but he taught me so much about horses, riding, and myself. I’m always going to have a soft spot for plain bay (“the color of dirt”) thoroughbreds. Big, brown, proportionately built, forward moving horses.
I guess as I get older, the “dream” continues to change. I still want something as tall as I can find, as widely built as I can find (and preferably the color of dirt :lol:) but these days it’s less thoroughbreds and more warmbloods. I have a friend who did the warmblood thing and it’s all his fault that I got hooked in - the auctions at Vechta and Verden really opened my eyes to the diversity of horse types out there and my eyes are writing checks that my bank account can’t cash! Over the years out of curiousity, I took to researching some of the horses that I found that I gravitated to and realized I had a “type” in terms of pedigree (a few key names kept showing up) so I guess now my “dream horse” would be an old fashioned warmblood (likely Hanoverian based on breeding), with those names in the pedigree. It was actually by pedigree that I found a breeder last fall expecting a 2018 baby…whom I’ve since purchased, and is currently a delight.
So really, my take away?
My “dream horse” is the horse that I’m excited to see, day after day - the horse that I might have to rehabilitate for six months (of stall rest and hand walking only) and still enjoy spending time with them, regardless of situation or circumstance. If they’re tall enough and big bodied enough to take up my leg, that’d be great, and if they liked dressage (and even better, had an aptitude) that’d be grand (but I’m flexible, and have changed disciplines more than once before for a horse, so…) at the end of the day - the horse that I find joy in being around and working with. That’s my dream horse.
