Journey Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 here is a question for you.....does the horse make the rider or does the rider make the horse? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Usually the one with more experience makes the other. It can be either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journey Posted February 12, 2013 Author Share Posted February 12, 2013 So then, how do you tell how good a rider really is if he/she is riding a totally "made" horse? I'm talking about the horse and rider doing something like..say...jumping a 3 foot or higher jump or doing some kind of barreling racing in the Western riding world (which i know nothing about!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 So then, how do you tell how good a rider really is if he/she is riding a totally "made" horse? I'm talking about the horse and rider doing something like..say...jumping a 3 foot or higher jump or doing some kind of barreling racing in the Western riding world (which i know nothing about!) Watch how the rider handles the jump, the turns, whatever it is. Does he recover well from it and look like he's in complete control? Or does he look like the horse is doing it and he's just along for the ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 I rode a made cutter once. My directions were to ride in, point him toward a cow, sit down, hold on, and don't fall off. It was amazing, but I'm positive if anyone had it on film they'd have no problem seeing that I had no experience with it. ;) I know real cutter riders just hang on too, but they know more of what to expect/anticipate/whatever than I did. For hunters or jumpers, a good rider can get more out of a made horse (esp jumpers), but many times if the horse really is that good, it can be best just to hang on and let them do their thing. Many good riders I know aren't so fond of riding made horses. They like more of a challenge. Many end up training. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 Agreeing with the others.............both, it depends, etc. I have ridden a well trained reiner and did some spins, etc. but it was the horse that knew what it was doing, not me. I have seen kids in 4H place high and do well but they were riding a highly trained, push button horse and they just sat there looking good. Put that same rider on a different horse and they wouldn't look so good. On the flip side, my riding instructor can make my horse look my better than I can just because she is a much better rider than I am. Ideally it is best for new riders to start out on well trained horses and then as they develop their skills they are able to ride and work with less trained horses. A experienced rider on a push button horse won't be challenged very much (and at times that is OK if they just want to enjoy the ride) but a newer rider on a green horse is generally not a good situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journey Posted February 12, 2013 Author Share Posted February 12, 2013 Creekland, i just realized that your child goes to the U of R. That school is about 15 minutes from me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Live2Ride Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 I loved a horse that i rode for years and owned for a short time. Well trained, but if you didnt know how to cue him and you werent secure up on his back (and he would know too), then he would mostly just walk around. He was a smart cookie. I had to put him down last fall. His health failed him before he was truely ready.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juniper Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 I rode a made cutter once. My directions were to ride in, point him toward a cow, sit down, hold on, and don't fall off. It was amazing, but I'm positive if anyone had it on film they'd have no problem seeing that I had no experience with it. ;) I know real cutter riders just hang on too, but they know more of what to expect/anticipate/whatever than I did. For hunters or jumpers, a good rider can get more out of a made horse (esp jumpers), but many times if the horse really is that good, it can be best just to hang on and let them do their thing. Many good riders I know aren't so fond of riding made horses. They like more of a challenge. Many end up training. OMgoodness! I did the same thing. A bunch a friends took me out to a ranch in Texas when we were in college. They put me on a cutter and said ride her towards that cow. Well..that was shock! I looked like an idiot. :) This is normally a question that only comes up in regards to hunters and western pleasure. I think it is just the nature of those two disciplines. One other thing I look for is muscling on the horses in the hunter ring. Sometimes you can tell how much effort and work a rider is putting in, by the condition of the horse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 Creekland, i just realized that your child goes to the U of R. That school is about 15 minutes from me! Small world! We delivered a pony up near there this past Thanksgiving. We even took the horse trailer on campus when picking up middle son for his break. I told him we probably should have picked him up first and let him have a fundraiser by letting people pet the pony... ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journey Posted February 12, 2013 Author Share Posted February 12, 2013 i'm sure with the price of tuition at that school no one would have any spare money for to pet the pony! where did you deliver (what town) the pony to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 i'm sure with the price of tuition at that school no one would have any spare money for to pet the pony! where did you deliver (what town) the pony to? You'd be surprised with regards to the $$. Many students seem to have plenty. Others (like my guy) are there on scholarship, but they all get along quite well and there'd probably be plenty wanting to pet or feed a pony up close. I'm at work now (lunch), so can't look up the info, but I'm thinking the town was Farmington or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted February 12, 2013 Share Posted February 12, 2013 (edited) You could have made a fortune. I live in the country, small town (276 people) down the road and horses everywhere. People still want to pet the pony when we drive through town. City folks. Edited February 12, 2013 by Remudamom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journey Posted February 13, 2013 Author Share Posted February 13, 2013 yep farmington is a town about 40 minutes from here. the race track is in farmington (lots of very nice racehorses are available from there at the end of each season) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 You could have made a fortune. I live in the country, small town (276 people) down the road and horses everywhere. People still want to pet the pony when we drive through town. City folks. And we delivered a BABY pony at that (well, a weanling - 5 months old). ;) Of course, I'm not quite sure what the powers that be at UR would have thought... BUT, we decided to deliver the pony first and pick up middle son second... something about the pony having been on the trailer for 6 hours and wanting her to have less stress... What were we thinking! (She hopped off the trailer and moved in like she'd done it her whole life, so she may have been fine, but who knows?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindyg Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Going back to the original question....I say it's a unique partnership. Both members contribute. Not unlike a marriage. Not unlike a mama with a nursing infant. It can't work for one and not the other. It can't fail for one and work for the other. It's a unique partnership, each affecting the other, and blending the relationship into a single entity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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