What does ammie friendly mean to you?

[Ajierene]

To me, pro vs ammie ride has nothing to with talent and everything to do with personality. The pro ride is less forgiving, needs more exacting riding to perform while the ammie ride will give you what you want without the same precision. a REAL ammie ride is psychic.

For example, we used to talk about how my mare was more of a pro ride because you did have to be exact to the fence. By the time I retired her, she wasn’t so bad but still you had to ride every fence. BUT she topped out at Training level eventing/about 1st level dressage. Her conformation and talent just didn’t lend itself to upper levels.

A horse I rode for a while could go from a Training level event, do a 2nd level dressage test, then tote around a beginner. He did need a bit of a tune up to go back to the higher levels but if you pointed him at a fence and then scared yourself, he would still jump it smoothly.

You can make the argument that athleticism makes a pro ride in certain circumstances - a horse currently living where I keep my mare is so athletic when he spooked once it was the only time I felt launched and you could see where Ianded in the sand compared to where he spooked and it was a good 10+ft away (I probably did not fly 10 ft once you account for how skid marks happen but it was obviously not a drop off). When I asked him to canter, I have to hold on because he jumps into it with such energy, I feel like he leaves me half the arena back. Even my trainer has some issues with him - partly because he’s also a big guy (16.3, if I recall correctly). He is otherwise a really sweet horse but young - he rarely spooks but when he does…

[tohorse]

Back in Europe I’d say ammy friendly meant little/no buck, rear, bolt, not too spooky so can go out hacking. In dressage context, not too heavy on the hand and other aids (think a horse you need a big German dude to wrestle around). If jumping - not a dirty stopper and won’t hold a grudge if you don’t get them to the best distance always.
Here in NA it’s a totally different meaning and requirements are so much higher. Ammy friendly basically means a forgiving saint. I’d call my mare ammy friendly in the European context (I mean I can ride her!), but apparently, she’s not even particularly pro-friendly… Now when I think ammy friendly, I think something that my husband can ride and the profile of that horse is basically a saint or at least a psychic. He can’t even trot on our mare, but can do small courses on other “ammy friendly” horses. Some qualities - can forgive a seat that’s not independent, doesn’t care about distances to jumps, tolerates at least periodic hanging/pulling on the reins, doesn’t mind some bouncing on the back. You might still have to fix them after a few rides like this, BUT the ride itself won’t be dangerous or unpleasant, the horse won’t take off or dump the rider.
I’ve tried to put my husband on horses that I like, but the chasm is too wide for us to ever find a decent overlap. Once when we tried a horse he told - this one is a ferrari - you could feel it’s a rear wheel drive, but I’m not qualified . So I’d say that in Europe while there are few people who can drive an F1 car skillfully, there are a lot of ammies who know how to drive a rear-wheel sports car (like a sports edition Audi or a Porsche sedan) and have fun with it. In NA the ammy ride is more of a 4x4 truck like a RAM, big, stable and steady once you get it going and my husband is at the level where he can drive one of those new Toyotas with lots of beeping sensors and driverless features to cater to drivers who just have no idea what they’re doing

[Dance_To_Oblivion]

I have a Trakehner mare that was born an Ammie horse. Literally from the first time I got on her. Give her a year and half off to have a foal and then hop on for a solo hack through the fields? No problem! Easy keeper, easy to live with, poops in one corner of the stall, behaves exactly the same away as at home. Even had a stellar dressage lesson one time with a metal roof panel on the covered arena flapping in the wind. Sadly she managed to tear a collateral ligament and is now a broodmare reproducing that spectacular brain. Fingers crossed maybe next year I’ll get a filly LOL

[netg]

My young mare has given lessons to a woman who is long retired and a teen who is struggling with some things in the move up from pony to warmblood in the last couple weeks. She may not show full power with them, but went around very focused and trying to understand their aids so she could do as she wanted.
She had a foal before I bought her, and that now three year old has been giving lessons to a fairly inexperienced woman with a young horse she is struggling to ride; the daughter clearly has the same type of kind and forgiving temperament to learn from. Definitely that American version of ammy friendly!

[Amy3996]

To me, ammy friendly means both suitable temperament and suitable athletic ability for a competent enough but not world-beating rider.

My WB was one - he had the athletic talent to be a successful 3’6” mount in the Big Eq/Junior Hunters. He came to me at 15 ready for a step down and happily packed me around over crossrails and 2’ courses while I learned how to jump. On the flat, he was a total beginner packer. I could (and did) put 5yo kids on him and let them toodle around. He was a steady eddy.

Put a jump in front of him, though, and he needed a more educated ride. He knew his job and did it well, but sometimes he had a tendency to get ahead of his rider because he thought he knew what he was supposed to do. He’d treat 18” crossrails like they were 3’6”. Scared the daylights out of me at first, but once we came to an understanding, he was an absolute blast to ride and show. Never needed to be lunged or prepped, just a consummate professional.

I’ve also seen the flip side, when a definite pro ride horse lands with an ammy and it’s a disaster waiting to happen. A fellow boarder bought a coming 5yo mare off the track. Beautifully put together, pushing 17h, flashy bay with lots of chrome. Her owner wanted her to be a dressage horse, but the kind that could tolerate doing mostly in hand work with some walk trot lessons thrown in and maybe a few intro tests at schooling shows.

This horse was a basket case mentally. Super reactive and explosive, and so athletic that it was scary when she blew up. She regularly tried to attach her riders to the ceiling. It got so bad that the trainer refused to ride her. I suspect that the mare was protesting a lack of mental and physical stimulation too… a young, athletic horse can only tolerate so many trot circles with an unsteady, novice rider before they blow up. She’s now with a pro being trained as an eventer. She has an outlet for her energy and athletic ability and almost all of the behavioral issues have disappeared.

[Mander]

@Amy3996

a young, athletic horse can only tolerate so many trot circles with an unsteady, novice rider before they blow up.

There’s a horse at my barn with a very similar story. Now he’s got a stall with a run and gets ridden several times per week and is an absolute gentleman and a barn favorite. It amazes me that people are so quick to say your dog needs more exercise or mental stimulation when they misbehave or chew something up, but then lock horses in a 12x12 box for 23 hours a day and wonder why they explode when they come out… gee I wonder why that could be

[Alterration]

If I think of the horse I would recommend for the average amateur, it’s one who leans a little (not a lot) to the insecure side of mentally balanced, physically very well trained or at least physically talented enough to be reasonably naturally balanced so they don’t freak out during basic training, capable of taking a joke, with no major quirks attached that would worry an amateur or make life difficult in a boarding situation. Something that “easily fits” into a program.

[Mukluk]

The horse neighs more heartily at amateurs, and seems more excited to get a treat from an amateur than any professional. Trully amateur friendly horses scoff at carrots offered by professionals but will consume the most meager morsel with relish if offered by an Amateur!!!

[xQHDQ]

Although I get the gist of this thread, my definition of an ammy ride is if an ammy is riding it (and enjoying it - not terrified for their life) it is an ammy friendly horse.

I am an ammy. I ride a horse that spooks a lot if you don’t micromanage him. I love him to death. Will my one ammy barnmate ride him without getting herself hurt and my horse upset? No way. On the flip side, can I get on my other ammy barnmate’s horse? Probably not.

However, if I was looking at a horse for sale and it said “ammy friendly,” I would have certain expectations as described by others.

[ASBJumper]

My definition of ammie-friendly is a horse that will go out of its way to please and behave, regardless of the circumstance. That means a horse that will tolerate confusion, pain, fear, etc. without endangering their rider or handler. Two horses might be terrified of the same thing but if horse 1’s reaction is to rear/bolt/deke sideways and buck, then that is NOT an ammie-friendly horse. If horse 2 simply tenses up, snorts, prances a little, then I would say that is an honest ammie-friendly mount. If a horse’s go-to move when faced with saddle discomfort or mixed messages is to bronc violently until the rider is dislodged, then that is not an ammie-friendly horse.

I have had too many honest, desperate-to-please horses that pushed through pain/fear to “excuse” horrid and dangerous behaviour. That doesn’t mean they didn’t use other tools in their toolbox to tell me something was wrong (curling, chomping, scooting, refusing to pick up a lead, head tossing, tail swishing, etc…), but they never resorted to dangerous behaviour. These are horses that REALLY don’t want to say no. Ever. A good work ethic and an outstanding, willing temperament are the biggest factors in making a good amateur’s horse. They should be the foundation upon which a breeder builds, and then add good sound conformation and athleticism on top of that, not before.

For the above reasons, I don’t think you can say a horse is “ammie-friendly” until they have been ridden for a while, in different settings, and pushed out of their comfort zone to gauge their reactions. So far every single one of my homebreds were amateur rides from Day 1, and stayed that way. They were just as reliable as 3 yr olds as they were as 7 yr olds, they just got less wiggly/unbalanced with age.

One of my favorite sayings, one I try to live by, is - what you breed in, you don’t have to train in.

Above all, it’s about temperament for me - an ammie horse might not necessarily be a super easy horse, but they are always, always a safe horse.