MATCHING HORSES AND RIDERS 

Someone wrote and asked me HOW we matched horses and riders.  It was a good question...and because I love to explain EVERYTHING I thought I'd take the time to tell you what process we use.  Some things may surprise you.

First, we don't start with the rider, we start with the horse.  When a horse comes in, we don't just rely on what we've been told...people will lie to you, horses wouldn't.  If you've done this job enough...and we evaluate over 100 horses a year...and I've been doing this for over half a century...you can find out pretty quickly what a horse has been used for, how he's been treated, what he knows and what he likes.  Put "pressure" on them in some ways (like a leg or an indirect rein.) and see how they react.  If he knows it, he will respond, if you get the horse equivalent of a blank stare, he doesn't know what you are talking about.  Put him in the round pen and see how he reacts to body pressure from the person in the center, how he reacts to a bit in a bitting rig and you will find out if he doesn't KNOW how to wear a bridle or if he just has had riders with bad hands.  Take him into a fence and see if he knows how to set himself up, or if he is just athletic and can save his life!  The list goes on and on.  If you ride enough, and you ride enough different horses for enough years, you can easily tell the spoiled ones from the dumb or ignorant ones.

The next step is to get to know the horse.  Try different things with him, take him on the trail, take him in the ring, do school patterns, use him with other horses and use him alone.  Put different riders on him.  You will quickly find out what he likes and doesn't like.  A horse who enjoys his job will be MUCH more successful in that job than one who doesn't.  I've had some winners and the one common factor is that they LOVED what they did.  You can MAKE a talented one do the job, but he will never be as good as one that is a little less talented, but who loves what he is going.  They talk to you, if you listen, they will tell you how they like to live, what kind of rider they like, and what the want to do for a living.

Not all horses are going to be good for all people....in fact, no one horse is best for everyone.  When you call or email here, we often get people who go on and on about the details of what they want, but will often leave out WHAT THEY WANT THE HORSE TO DO.  Give me the job description and like a good HR person, I'll have a better chance of finding you a horse that fits!

We are going to start by asking you what you want the horse to do.  Than can be harder than it sounds because people often have no idea....they just want a horse that will do anything they ask.  That's not fair to the horse!  If you have a child that has never ridden, don't try to buy her one that will go out and show over a full course.  A horse with enough motor to show over fences may not be wild about babysitting a new rider who is off balance, holds on with their heels, and may be timid.  You NEED steering and leg on a horse to get it into fences cleanly, but that horse is going to feel the heels of a beginner rider bouncing randomly against the sides and he is going to pick up speed.

Floyd wants a single family and doesn't enjoy being used by a lot of people.  Dominic likes her stall and Tommy doesn't like being confined in a stall.  George only liked to go on the trail, Poco discovered he likes to work school patterns.  Cruzin discovered he liked to jump.  Foxy wanted to be left alone after she did her work, Sassy wanted to crawl in your lap.  And so it goes.  Find the owner who wants the same thing the horse wants, and you have a match. 

Some horses will love going out for four or five hours at a time, and others think an hour is about right.  I love to tell the story of a nice AQHA gelding I took on a trail ride in the Shenandoah Park a couple of years back.  We covered some rough ground for about an hour and a half, slid down banks, crossed a pretty good stream.  To get back, we decided to go up a logging trail which was long but gradual.  Beau kept getting slower and slower.  Other horses went off and left him, then doubled back, but he wouldn't pick up speed.  Finally I got off and started walking him because I was afraid there was really something wrong.  I checked his heart and respiration, I even checked the recovery in his gums.  He stood there dejected and would barely move forward.  The hour long return trip lengthened into two, then three and even rest stops didn't help.  The road crested and the woods suddenly opened up and there was a clear view of the trailer about a mile ahead.  Beau picked up his ears, started to canter and then started BUCKING all the way back to the trailer.  I never took him on a long trail ride again, and sold him as a lesson horse.  He loves it!

Most of our horses fall into a specific TYPE, but that is like having a room full of 3rd graders and expecting them all to be alike.  Some are further ahead, some have more talent one way or the other, and some are just smarter, or lazier, or more willing than others. 

When you ride, we watch the horse with you on him.  Some horses will just LIKE one rider better than others.  We suggest you come out and try them.  We can tell more once we see you ride, and get some feedback from both you and the horse.  Describing the fit of a horse to a rider by email or over the phone is nearly impossible because the terms are inexact.  We may ask specific questions about your riding skills.  "I'm an intermediate rider isn't as helpful as "I don't have a lot of confidence." or "I took a lot of lessons but I haven't ridden for years."  We want to know, if you have trail ridden, what KIND of riding did you do and what do you want to do now.  Are you taking lessons?  Do you have a ring? Did you have formal training or are you self taught? 

My all time favorite was the woman who emailed me about a half a dozen horses over the course of a few months.  Each time she wanted a photo of the horse with a 12 year old boy on it!  Now, first, I don't happen to have a 12 year old boy handy, nor do I know where to borrow one, but I don't think that reflects on the suitability of my horses!  Second, I have seen some 12 year olds that can ride the sox off of a horse, (Tim Whitney won the National Stock Saddle Seat FINALS at 14, and he had been riding winning reining horses for years by that time.) while others have never SAT on a horse.  Third, boys at 12 are all over the place in terms of their growth, co-ordination, development and maturity ~ go to any school and take a look ~ that age for boys is probably one of the WIDEST ranges in child development!!!