Horse Lovers Only discussion

I'm Queen Lucy the Valiant but you can call me Queen Lucy. I'm the moderator of this group. I love reading, horses (obviously), history, being outside, and playing the piano.

I'm Caitlin, I love to play clarinet, ride horses, read, and hang out with my friends. I love horses and guinea pigs. I also like to go outside.

Welcome to the group and thanks for joining! :)

HI!!! My name is Kasey. I have two horses right now. A 17 yr old Arabian QT mare named Roja, and a little Shetland pony named Sprite. I ride a lot and love to be with horses. I read allot and try to educate my self on horses as much as I can. My horses are right in my backyard and its a joy to wake up in the morning and see my horses waiting for me!!! :D I also love to read, draw, write, hunt, run, knit, cook, decorate and a ton other stuff!!! I work at a bulk food store and I totally love my job!!!

Thanks for joining, Kasey!

I'm Taylor I love to read and draw(I can only draw horses)and write little stories.I love to ride or just spend time around the barn grooming walking or just 'Talking' with my horses:D lol

I'm Alicia Busby and I have a 4 year old quarter horse chestnut gelding:) I love horses and hope to someday barrel race!

Welcome to the group Alicia!

Hi, im Martina Scott and I love horses! I also love Cooking, reading and Being outside! ;)

Hi, I am Rachelle Busby and I love horses. I also like skiing, reading, cooking, sewing and more!!

Hi! im Guen. I love horses. i have ridden since i was very little. I own a few of my own that i event. and i ride for many different trainers. I also like to swim, dance and run. <3

Hi Martina, Rachelle, and Guen! Welcome to the group! If you have any good ideas for topics, please post some.

Hay!! Im Tayler. I love horses! Except Im a little scared to ride now, In the past summer I got bucked off a mule and broke my collar bone! :( But I love to spend time with them! :)

Hi Tayler. That's too bad that you broke your collar bone :(

I know!! i want to ride, its just that I get scared to death whenever im on a horse!

Look for a calm horse, I don't want to ride because my horse wouldn't move in a horse show and it was soo embarrasing

Hi Tayler, I know exactly how you feel. What has helped me to get over my fear is to spend tons of time with my horses on the ground knowing I won't get on even if I want to. It's best if you can focus on one horse that you know is a calm, well-trained school horse. Then, get on, with someone on the ground and walk around for one quick circle and then get off before your fear chokes you. Just keep this up, extending your saddle time little by little. Don't let anyone force you to do something that scares you. Progress at your own speed. This is supposed to be fun, not life-threatening.
Pick the kind of horse that is least intimidating to you. I was always more comfortable on small horses--being closer to the ground was less intimidating.

I ride my sisters horse, he is a left brain extrovert that likes to go slow, but, I just dont know why I am so scared.

I think the real root of fear isn't the fall or the injury, but rather that feeling of loss of control. As you develop your riding skills, balance and strength, your courage will return because you'll feel more confident to handle those random spooks, bucks, etc. I was a major chicken most of the time and I'm still not that brave, but I definitely got braver knowing that I could head off or survive some of these incidents. I also think you need to have a real emotional connection to a horse. I have 4 horses--had five until the ancient pony passed away and my two favorite horses are also technically the hottest. But I love them, they love me and they have fun personalities. Because I click with them, I always feel braver--even though I shouldn't. My little Morgan is adorable but he is hot, hot, hot. He dumped e ---my own fault--and I herniated 2 discs in my neck.Then Beau, my hot, 17 hand TB dumped me--again my own fault--and I broke 2 ribs. So now, although I'm not really afraid to ride, I'll be way, way, way more cautious. I can't afford any more serious injuries. Do you ride alone? What level rider are you and how advanced are your ground skills?

I am a beginner, my sister helps me ride.

Well, then it's perfectly natural to be afraid. If at all possible, I'd recommend that you go to a lesson barn and have a professional instructor teach you while you're mounted on a good school horse. School horses are truly angels. They are used to carting around petrified novices. "Normal" horses are usually set off by the fear they can detect in their rider. A professional knows how and when to introduce the next phase of riding without intimidating the rider or putting her in danger. I'm not saying your sister isn't a fabulous teacher with a great horse, but it wouldn't hurt to work with a professional--no sibling issues involved. LOL Working on your handling skills is really important. It will help you understand and bond with the horse and he'll get to know you better. That bond will extend to under saddle time.

i have a riding instructor and his name is Mr,lambert, And i know how it feels to be scared, because i was riding my horse and she got scared and buked me off and landed on me, it hurt bad, but she is dong so much better because if your scared than the horse your riding will be scared, I love my horse so so much.

Hi, my name is Amber busby and i have ten brothers and sisiters and a new baby is on the way, ILOVE HORSES SO MUCH. i have my own horse and her name is cheyenne,

It is certainly OK to be scared every so often, I mean every person who has ever ridden a horse knows that:) I have been riding for almost 4 years and I still get a little freaked out sometimes. So just remember to always wear a helmet and it perfectly normal to be scared sometimes and pretty soon if you keep riding you will start to feel more at ease:)

My name is obviously Wolfie and I have a WMP named Twinkle.

I'm a bit less sympathetic about the scared thing, even though I get scared when I'm riding crazy horses such as my mom's thoroughbred. My mom's sort of an instructor and she did summer camp, which I helped with, and she told me about this kid who thought fish were more trustworthy than horses. Wut O_o I don't know, I guess I know how you feel, it's just the kids that take five minutes to get on and then ask to get off with the mounting block that annoy me. (And the clueless parents that say the adorable Arabian looks like a donkey and that they just want to be on the beach on a horse with a Western saddle and take off into the sunset. Yeah, that's so realistic.) But don't be afraid to take little risks, one at a time. Trot, trot over poles, eventually canter and jump. Actually, it took years for me to get the nerve to canter,and now I love it.

Anyone who rides and never feels any fear is being foolish. My trainer--who happens to be the most awesome rider ever--was bucked off and stepped on by a horse she was training--the result a compound fracture of her leg. We all take risks every time we mount up. the important thing is, as Alicia says: Wear a helmet. Secondly don't ride alone or beyond your abilities and be smart enough to "know what you don't know". The people who think you just hop on a horse and gallop off into the sunset are potentially in for a serious wake-up call.

Oh, yes. It really tick me off that people think that they can "ride like a cowboy" and just take off. Even though I hate Western, those people know what they're doing. All the summer camp kids who came over from a day camp for one time only (we got a different group every day) asked if the jumps were for "tricks" and if they could try. I told them that they definitely didn't want to. There were also the kids who thought they knew everything because they had gone on a trail ride in Dakota or something. Hellooo? This is English riding, get your had off the back of the saddle and for the love of puppies and kittens and everything good, hold the reins right!

I hate riding in a Western saddle--which has only happened a few times, thanfully. I can't feel the horse at all. It's like sitting in a recliner or something. Don't you love people who think horses would choose to leap over jumps all day on their own if there were some set up in a paddock? Same thing with people who think I'm being cruel to my horses if I don't ride them every day. LOL As long as they have turnout, they're grateful to just hang out, munch and play. Who needs annoying Mom and her saddle, girth and bit and work plan.

I haven't ridden in a Western saddle, but my mom has. She says it was uncomfortable— Too rectangular or something. Really, even though Western saddles are meant to be sat in all day, I think I could easily sit in an English saddle all day. Or just ride bareback because I can. The only reason I don't like Western is because of the bridles. They're made to squeeze a horse's head and muzzle and sometimes bump the roofs of their mouths. Also, the spurs. *shudder* So scary.

It's all about finding the right fit and then getting used to it I guess. I usually ride in an all purpose English saddle, but then I bought a dressage saddle when I put one of my horses in training at a dressage barn. It took me a while to get used to it. It definitely puts your leg and seat in a different position. However, now that I'm used to it, it's my favorite saddle. Nice and deep for security but comfy, cozy and allows me to ride with a long leg. Yeah, bareback is nice too, but I like the security of stirrups and a knee roll when riding two of my hot horses.

Never tried a dressage saddle— I've been with hunter/jumper all my life.

It would probably feel weird to you at first because it chanes the angle of your body, much more upright, not forward at all. Also you ride with a longer, looser leg, but the seat is very deep with a high cantle so if it's the right fit for you it feels really nice and secure. I also have an Amerigo all purpose which I love and a Devoucoux which was really nice until my Morgan bulked up and outgrew it. Waaaa! I had it custom made for him and me. I need to sell it because it's a waste of money since it doesn't fit any of my other horses.

Hm… I honestly prefer my leg short, but that's just jumping.

Hi everyone, I'm Jo! :) I love riding and anything to do with horses.. though its been years since I've been in the saddle :cry: I really miss it!! I started off riding western when I was 12, then switched to english and fell in love with dressage... so much fun! :D

Hi Johanna!

I Love the look of jumping, I Want to jump so bad.

Nothing to it, but to do it--as long as you don't try something too advanced/dangerous for your abilities. theoretically, I'd love to jump, but it always scares me. I guess if I could really trust my horse, I'd love it a lot more. My little Morgan is just too hot!

ha!

It's really fun, jumping! It's not too bad, even with a crazy horse— My mom's thoroughbred is really sweet, but he hates other horses and he's pretty jumpy in the winter. I still jumped him in a crowded ring a couple weeks ago and he was fine.

You're obviously a lot braver and probably more talented than me. (Younger too LOL) My Morgan invariably gets so excited he'll drop his head and buck upon landing. He's wickedly quick at pulling this trick and since he's only 14.1 there's no horse left in front of you when the little monster does this. He's not being purposefully naughty; he just can't control his exuberance, especially with me on board. He thinks playtime is great fun with dear old Mom since he knows I'll love him no matter what.

Yeah, he's a bit crazier with my mom too… When I rode him, my trainer and my mom both said he was being super good, so I guess he either really likes me or knows that mom would kill him if he bucked me off. And no, I'm not brave. O_O I've ridden almost my whole life (about 10 or 11 out of 13 years) and I didn't even work up the courage to canter until about a year ago. I wasn't even that interested until I started jumping.

Ya, i love riding and i learned that if your scared your horse will be to,

Yup

Good luck!

hey meredith! :}

Hi my name is Gabi I love Horses and Love to cook, hangout with friends, and play outside..

Hello Gabi. :}

For all the people I have not welcomed yet to my group... Welcome!

Hi gabi! -Me

Hi Gabi:)