Thank you Hippo, I ask that you explain more.
Owning a stallion is generally not recommended for less experienced horse owners.
What exactly is drawing you to a QH with āhigh energyā?
Does it have to be a QH? High energyā¦ evaluate the horse in front of you and make your decision then if that horse is the right horse for youā¦ donāt let gender drive the decision on āhigh energyā. Mares can be fun (I liked all my mares more than the few geldings I had).
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What exactly do you want to do with this horse, aside from possible breeding? If you are mostly looking for a certain kind of ride and temperament, look for that regardless of bloodlines. Yes, certain lines have tendencies, but you really need to evaluate each horse as an individual.
You can evaluate videos and ask sellers about the type of ride each horse is. Then, of course, trying the horse out to evaluate the match is most important.
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OP, have you looked at the Hancock lines?
You wonāt necessarily get zippy or straight up high strung with a Hancock, but you will certainly get an intense horse. Iāve trained two geldings with heavy Hancock lineageā¦those horses were forces to be reckoned with. They were athletic as all get out and when you got them working with you were probably two of the best horses Iāve ever ridden - up for everything and got the job done, whatever it was, 110%. But the latter was the key - they were not to be taken for granted, and they had a way of letting you know they didnāt really need you in order to get the job done. I made the mistake of hustling one up a bit one time when he got behind my leg. He bucked me sky high. Never made that mistake again, and he never offered so much as a wayward ear as long as offered him that respect.
I have found that Hancocks tends to be a love-hate sort of line with QH people. You say the word and the response you get is either one of intense dislike or complete adoration and respect. If youāre truly looking for an athletic, rugged, all-work mentality, you wonāt find a better lineage. I told the owner of the second gelding I backed that Iād buy him off her on a heartbeat if she ever decided to sell him. He was the type of horse whoād run down a bull 3x his size without ever thinking twice about it. It was pretty awe-inspiring to ride him, and that was when he was a 3yo. Heās in his early teens now, I canāt even imagine how formidable he must be.
Iām reluctant to respond to this thread because the advice I have to give may not be the kind of advice you want to hear. How much riding have you done in the past 10 years? How much do you know about keeping horses? Based on your comments, Iām going to hazard a guess that your equine experience and knowledge is at a beginner level. This is not an insult. We ALL started at the beginning. Many of us had leaves of absence from the horse world while we pursued educational opportunities and/or careers in order to be able to afford aforementioned horses. Itās completely normal and okay to be impatient to achieve your dreams.
But, no matter what your goals are, if you are not experienced and have not been active in the horse world recently, a much more intelligent place to start would be with a fun, well-trained horse under the advisement of a reputable trainer in your area. Be humble, start small, and learn as much as you can. Consider starting with a lease.
No one who knows what they are talking about talks about buying a āhigh energyā horse. In a sales ad, āhigh energyā is often a euphemism for bad behavior, used when the prospective buyer is too naive to know that. Also, please do not buy a stallion of any temperament description and/or attempt to keep a stallion solo with only goats for companionship. This would be 100% certain to end in disaster.
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Nah, I think itās easily enough understood. Thereās a slight whiff of Eau de Troll in the air that I believe I will heed. Best of luck to you in your horse search.
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OP, if you really are someone looking for a horse to ride and enjoy, (and not a troll, although you really have a strong troll-like aura about you) then, go look for a mare or gelding as a riding horse. You wonāt replace the horse you lost, but maybe you could find a new friend. You need to ride lots of different horses to see what level rider you are and what level horse would suit you best. Why not take a few lessons to help evaluate yourself? Then, you would know where to start looking for your QH.
When you know whether you want a green horse, or a finished horse, look for a horse for sale by someone who uses them for barrels or gaming. Theyāll be fast under saddle.
So, the obvious question for the weird turns and twists in this thread: Are you a troll?
Why would anyone think they should jump into breeding any animal right away without any prior experience? I am not sure if this thread is real because the idea is so absurd.
I like cats. Weāve always had a housecat or two, but that doesnāt mean Iām ready to go buy a couple of fancy registered cats and start a breeding program. I know that I would need to do a lot of research learning all I can about cat breeds, bloodlines, genetic issues, maternity care, and find a vet that is experienced in handling cat breeding issues. I also know that there are cat shows that I would need to be competitive in so I could sell the kittens. I would need to prove the adults are outstanding before they could be considered valuable enough to reproduce (the same goes for horses and dogs). I donāt want to breed cats but I know there would be a lot to learn if I suddenly decided it was my passion.
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I just want another horse like Van.
Thank you to everyone who has tried to help me. I donāt know how to learn, except to ask. I just want another horse like Van. Van, my horse, was an incredible horse. He taught me everything I know about horses. As I said, before I got him, he was a champion roping horse. I had him for 15 years.
I learned to ride as a child. But thatās only the physical act of riding, not much to it. Nothing like the immensely rewarding process of learning how to ābeā with a horse.
It took years to get him to just really āwantā to come to me when he was in an open field. No treats. No chasing. No hiding the halter. Just waiting in the middle of the field. Often just sitting or lying in the sun in the middle of the field. And when he did come, just staying with him. Not putting the halter on. Eventually just walking away. No riding today. Just lots of time watching how he interacted with the other horses. Moving them with just a small flick of his head.
He was my sisterās horse before he was mine. He was too much to handle for anyone, except me. but I did not do it well at first. Without a curb bit, you had to eventually bend him if you let him have his head. And with a curb bit it was a tug of war that just wasnāt right.
I eventually found my way back to a curb bit with him, but only after years, and after a world of experience with him. I did not get back on his back for a very long time. I did the whole Parelli program over a long period, then I just moved into my own thing with Van. What we settled on for many years was just riding bareback with just a halter. He was able to stay calm without the saddle and bit that reminded him of his previous job. Then bareback with a bridle. That became our preferred way to go.
Iām sorry I have upset people.
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Thatās interesting and Iām here for some education. Could you explain how these versions of āhotā will differ?
I rode a few Appendix horses as a kid and I loved them. But there was a diversity of types and brains, I thought.
The only thing missing here is whatever the Western version of Airs would be.
Lessons is where one starts to learn. Lessons and years and years of tutoring from knowledgeable people who have decades of experience.
There are no shortcuts.
And if about riding you believe " not much to it", youāre doing it wrong.
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Oh, my friend, please donāt ask someone to sell you a $25K stallion because you want high energy and youāll keep him on your farm alone. Someone is going to sell you a POS that is somewhere between unrideable and dangerous for you. At best, heāll be frustrated and lonely living this way. You are barking up the wrong tree here and will get ripped off.
What you had in your beloved Van horse was probably a very trained, seasoned high energy horse-- maybe like Kobe Bryant (if I have his reputation right)-- he was a bad boy in his early career and A Lot on the basketball court. But somehow he got wise enough to turn all of that chutzpah into becoming a good citizen later.
The high-energy horse you want (and most stallions) will not be that older, uses his energy for you, not against you, good citizen you want without a whole lot of training.
And again, use the professional athlete as an analogy for choosing a horse. An elite athlete, human or equine, is mentally tough and not risk averse: Heās willing to put his body in harmās way to reach a goal. And some of that ego strength doesnāt turn off easily when they leave the playing field. So some of those macho men do things like beat their wives, spend out all their earnings on stupid stuff, or otherwise run afoul of the law and realistic, self-preserving decisions. Now, thatās fine so long as you can stay a safe distance back from them-- you arenāt the wife who will get hit. But when you buy that mind in a horse, you are agreeing to swing your leg over an animal who will make some ballsy, āI donāt give AFā decisions with his body. That means heās choosing that for your body, too. This is why you need that ego-strength to come with some training.
The same goes for a stallion. His entire raison dāetre is reproduction. Though there are some very nice, mild-mannered stallions out there, a stallion (generally speaking) has evolved toward a willingness to risk his life for reproduction. Now imagine putting your body and your agenda between this 1,200 animal and his raison dāetre. Do you really want to be in that spot day after day? It is somewhere between ārequiring care and attention all.the.timeā and plain old risky.
If I were the pro helping you, Iād want to see how well you could ride an somewhat green horse. Then Iād want to see you ride and handle a green but more sensitive horse. Then Iād see just how teachable you are. Do you want a project and want to put in the time and effort to train yourself? Or do you want to āturn the key and goā they way you could on your old. seasoned horse who was so good?
After that, Iād go find you the soundest, kindest, most trained horse you could afford and that had the get-up-and-go to please you. Please note the order of traits Iād look for in the horse. When you look, look for these traits in the individual horse. I think that will be easier than choosing a horse by sex or bloodlines. Buy the horse you can actually ride.
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Thatās what it was. Something wasnāt quite right last night when I was reading this thread.
The paragraph about shifting your strategy in favor of a stallion gives you away. Stallions are stallions because they have all that excess testosterone readily available for the first mare in heat that wanders by. Most of them donāt pay much attention to anything else. John Lyons the trainer, now retired, used to alert people to the fact that it takes about 10 times the effort to train a stallion. Maybe more. Itās easy to find a nice stallion without the excess testosterone: heās called a gelding.
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I believe you would probably get along with something cow bred.
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I actually donāt think youāve āupsetā people as much as people wanting to make sure you get the right horse for you based on sound decisionsā¦ not just because you want a stallion or you like the color (for example).
IMO, if you want to grow and expand as a horse person, you probably should get something ādifferentā than what you have now. A different horse with a different personality and temperament will help you grow by learning new things and experiencing new challenges.
Look at many horses, ride as many as you can and buy the one you āclickā with (after a PPE of course)
Be thinking about what you would like to do with this horse so it is a good match 
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Stallions are no more likely to be good hot or have extra energy that you can channel for your purposes than a mare or gelding. They do, however, usually need very consistent handling and rules, and generally better training, to become solid citizens as opposed to easily distracted hormonal teenagers. In this situation, I would not recommend one.
Look for a mare or gelding that is fully grown - at least 6 years old, with at least a solid year of training, so that you can get on the horse and see if you like the feeling.
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Now, now, the OP did not say he/she believes that now, but rather that his/her riding career started that way.
Not aimed at you in particular, Angela Freda, but why do yāall conflate someone who might need some education with a troll? And even if someone has made up a story, as (supposedly) revealed by their sounding ignorant, so what? If you are wrong to respond and have been fooled, what did that really cost you? But if you really are speaking to someone who needs help and is starting in the wrong place, that was an expensive mistake indeed. The last thing anyone needs right now is to have the horsey set seem exclusive and unwelcoming.
OP it sounds like you had intense experience as a young person with one special horse. Many of us had that as young people and it is actually hard to replace that specific relationship.
For me as an adult the way forward when I returned to riding was to go into quality lessons and find a mentor and get experience with a variety of horses. I focused on skills rather than the specific relationship. Then I developed new relationships with new horses that are different from that first one but special and valuable in their own rights.
As an adult returning rider I realized I needed to
āā¹āā¹āā¹āā¹ focus on skill building because I no longer had the flexibility and energy of youth to stay safe in risky situations.
Find a good training barn take lessons 3 times a week for a year and then evaluate your progress and decide if you want to buy or lease a horse. Enjoy the journey!
You donāt really know what you want or need now and since you can not get back Van and be 17 again (what we all secretly want at heart) then you need to go out and discover what you need and want now. Itās fine that you donāt know.
You may discover that you love a specific discipline like team penning or that you love back country riding and camping, or endurance riding, or who knows? Go take basic lessons at a good barn, and follow what gives you pleasure and joy with horses. Donāt buy until you are a good competent independent rider
And be willing to check your ego at the barn door. Itās hard returning when you have lost skills or maybe never had then in the first place. But once you get past that riding is so fantastic. It took me a number of years to really feel safe galloping in fields or trails on my current horse and now that we can, it feels little bit like the old days ā¦
āā¹āā¹āā¹
I have seen alot of adult beginners or returning riders get into trouble with horses because they bought before they were able to ride effectively and didnāt have enough trainer support. Donāt be that person. They get scared and hurt and the horses get cranky and dangerous.
go take lessons.
āā¹āā¹āā¹āā¹āā¹āā¹
āā¹āā¹āā¹āā¹
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I would echo Scribbler.
Most of us have an Equine Ideal or dream horse that may be based on wonderful memories, but one part of maturing is realising that we canāt go back. It is great that you had a good bond with Van but every horse is an individual. If you try and recreate that experience you will almost certainly be disappointed. You are not the same person as you were either!
Also, please be aware that the Parelli programme is not the only or necessarily the best way to form a partnership with a horse. (I am not interested in opening a can of worms with this statement!) I second and third the suggestion of lessons on different horses in different disciplines to see what you enjoy now.
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Actually what was written was:
I learned to ride as a child. But thatās only the physical act of riding, not much to it. Nothing like the immensely rewarding process of learning how to ābeā with a horse.
So their present philosophy seems undefined to me. YMMV
As to the restā¦ why do some read a tone and catch phrases in a first post and think ātrollā?
Training.
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Ok, please donāt fight with each other. No need. I will leave the forum. If I am a troll, it is unintentional, which makes me, what? Please donāt answer. Letās just drop it. I want to thank everyone who has tried to help me. And there has been a lot of helpful discussion. Stallion, definitely not. Breeding mares, no. Cow horse, yes. Lessons, yes. Lease a hot horse, maybe, if I can find one.
With the helpful input Iāve received here, I will now look to barns, breeders, and trainers in my area. They can judge me for who I am and what they see in me. Thank you sincerely to those of you who have given me the benefit of the doubt. Goodbye.
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