Notes from my first horse shopping experience
Meet *Jack, right; and *Lady, left, the first two horses I rode in my shopping quest. I’m changing their names and not including any info. on the seller to protect her privacy. They were healthy and well cared for and perfectly behaved for her, but I struggled to get them to do what I asked. A more experienced rider would be fine.
More than a year ago, at the urging of my loving, supportive hubby, I started taking riding lessons in Western horsemanship at a local barn recommended by a church friend. The goal: deciding if my life-long dream of owning a horse was still something I could realistically pursue. And with our move to Plum Prairie Ranch, our country place in Kansas, looming on the horizon, it was time to act.
Did one of the biggest dreams of 10-year-old me look like a pleasurable pursuit more than 40 years later? Horses are expensive, a huge amount of work, and endlessly challenging. But they also are absolutely amazing on a good ride, or even just having their calming presence nearby. They know how you’re feeling even before you do. And you’ve got to be present in the moment and focus on that relationship.
Here’s what I learned from my first horse shopping experience:
– I have a lot to learn about horses.
– Take an experienced horse person with you.
– Pay attention to the ad and seller’s comments.
My riding instructor was out of town, but I wanted to start looking at horses. He told me one of his rules was not to buy the first horse you see. I promised I wouldn’t purchase a horse on the spot, and I took my mom to take video for me. Thanks, Mom!
Riding Horse #1
Jack was an absolutely gorgeous buckskin appaloosa with gentle eyes. When the seller got on him, he was soft and responsive. His slow trot was so smooth he seemed to float over the ground.
Then it was my turn. Jack walked right up to the mounting block, and the seller held him while I got on. When I asked him to walk out along the edge of the riding circle, instead he backed up. Then he went diagonal. The seller told me to think and look forward to where I wanted to go and give him some outside leg. After a few tries, Jack began to go forward, took a few steps, then slipped into reverse again. He was on a loose rein, so why was he backing up? After several minutes of frustration and never getting around the circle, I hopped off feeling humble.
She told me, “Sometimes he gets stuck and you need to redirect him.”
Her ad for Jack said “Very trainable.” Now I know that this means this horse requires an experienced rider.
Riding Horse #2
She had a mare she wanted me to try, a lovely red sorrel with a flaxen mane, Lady. Lady had more training and was a great trail horse. The seller wouldn’t put her mom on Jack, but she’d put her mom on Lady. The neighbor girl’s boyfriend had hopped on Lady last night.
She’d only had Lady for a few weeks, but the horse already knew most everything she needed to know. Soft, responsive and willing. The seller took her over a low crossbar jump in her riding circle the day before, something that seemed new to Lady. The horse hesitated at first, then hopped over the low jump.
The seller rode Lady first and walked around the circle. “I want to give her a little warm up at the walk. When the neighbor’s boyfriend rode her, all they did was trot.”
She put Lady through the usual walk, trot, canter (more commonly called a lope in Western riding), demonstrated some tight turns in each direction, backing up, side passing (when a horse goes sideways crossing her feet over each other). Then she took the mare over the little crossbar jump, first stepping over at a slow trot, then a nice hop at a faster trot.
When the seller hopped off and led Lady my way, I climbed the mounting block. Lady didn’t seem to like me towering above her and shied away from the block. I said, “I don’t think she likes me being above her on the block.” The seller said, “She’s probably always been mounted from the ground.”
Instead of starting my ride on an uncomfortable horse, I said, with more confidence than I felt, “That’s okay, I can mount from the ground.”
I take lessons with small children and other horse-loving ladies my age. We always mount from the block, with a few exceptions. The block is much easier on the rider and much less stress on the horse’s back. A win-win. Every once in a while, we mount from the ground, and it’s harder than it looks.
When you climb on a horse, you must slip your left foot into a stirrup above your waist and grab the saddle horn (or far side of the pommel, which is the front of the saddle seat) and the reins with your left hand and the cantle (back side of the saddle seat) with your right hand.
For you non-riders out there, at this point you’re standing on one foot with your body contorted into the shape of a sideways “M” and pulling yourself up with arm strength plus a bounce off your right foot, then quickly swinging your right knee high over the horse’s back and the top of the saddle.
This maneuver isn’t tough at all for a young, flexible person. But for someone over 50, it’s one of the toughest parts of the ride!
I managed to mount on my first try, with Lady calmly accepting my presence. As I clucked softly to her and squeezed slightly with my legs, she stepped out, quickly moving into a trot. The seller told me to shorten my reins and check-and-release, which is when you pull on the reins for short spurts until the horse slows down.
To get Lady to slow down to a walk, I had to keep in constant contact with her mouth, and my legs weren’t relaxed enough for her. The seller said she rode with a very loose leg, and I’m a 57-year-old beginner riding on an unfamiliar horse. I’m nervous, people! And Lady probably got nervous, too! I don’t hold that against her at all.
I know now why the boyfriend only trotted on Lady. That’s what Lady wanted to do! I did manage to get Lady around the riding circle mostly at a walk, while having what the seller called “a conversation with the horse” via the reins. Then we trotted around the circle, but again, getting her to transition to a walk was tough.
I wasn’t going to move her up to a canter or lope if I couldn’t trust her to walk. I’d had enough and hopped down, a more humble rider than how I began.
The seller was super helpful and encouraging, but it was obvious to me that I was a bit out of my depth. In an hour’s lesson, I think I could make progress on this horse, but for a quick test ride without my instructor present, I decided to call it a day.
These were two wonderful horses and the seller took great care of them, but they needed a rider with more experience than I currently have.
Notes to self from Horse Shopping Day 1: Make sure the ad says “Beginner horse” or “gentle for anyone” or “husband safe.” Those are the terms that will signal a horse that’s suited to a first horse for a beginning rider in her 50s.
I’ll keep you posted about this new adventure!