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HI Spy: Tell us about your first horse

Many of us learned to ride on reliable old school horses. Whether you were an overzealous kid trying (unsuccessfully) to coerce the horse into a gallop when the instructor’s back was turned, or a white-knuckled newbie just hoping to stay on, that horse took care of you. He knew when to respond to your clumsy cues and when to wait and let you try again. On that steady old schoolie’s back, you created a solid foundation on which to build your horsemanship skills for the rest of your equestrian career.



Or maybe that’s not how it happened. Perhaps you acquired a devious pony during your horse-crazy-kid years or found yourself overwhelmed as a novice rider after deciding to chase your lifelong dream of horse ownership. Your introduction to horsemanship was trial by fire. Your mount did not accommodate your beginner mistakes. Instead, he found your weaknesses and exploited them, bucking, bolting or finding a low-hanging branch to get rid of you so he could go graze peacefully in the nearest field. But thanks to your tenacity, you developed a seat like glue and the ability to anticipate your horse’s next move, all thanks to the renegade equine that served as your first teacher.



Whether your first mount was an angel or a demon, or a little bit of both, we want to hear about him. Click “Submit a Comment” below and tell us about your first horse, or the horse that taught you how to ride at the dawn of your days as an equestrian. Some of the responses may appear in an upcoming issue of Horse Illustrated

This month, one selected response will win a Fresh Aire Cone Hay Feeder from Tarter Farm and Ranch Equipment!  This feeder holds up to 4 flakes of hay and allows your horse to feed the natural way, reaching down instead of reaching up. Corner mounted; bolts to the corner of any stall or attaches to a paddock fence. Retail value: $247. Please include your e-mail address if you would like to be considered for the monthly prize (e-mail addresses will not be displayed publicly.)

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  • My first horse was a reliable, old (27 yrs!) thoroughbred named Raz-Mataz, but everybody called him Raz. He was really sweet and he gave me a foundation of riding. Then, a posting trot was the most difficult thing in the world for me. Now I'm doing professional Hunter/Jumper. Thank you big boy!

  • I didn't own her, but she taught me to ride. Her name is Princess (with a well diserved name) she is a dark bay welsh pony mare. I took lessons once a week and the first lesson, I couldn't do anything. I had a super sloppy trot and couldn't get the concept of posting. But the next week, as if it were over night, I was posting really well. I didn't alway go on the correct diagonal like i do now, but i was well balanced and always corrected myself. Withing four lessons from that first day, believe it or not, but I cantered. I could feel the fear embeded on my face quickly life into a smile as I rode princess around the ring...on the correct lead. I don't remember when I started jumping, but that was amazing and I have been adicted to it ever since.

  • The first horse that taught me to ride English was one that I claimed mine, but of course he wasn't. Passion was (and is) a chestnut Morgan gelding who is sweet and calm. He had a slow trot and was very cooperative for my first ride. Now, since I'm more experienced, I have learned to make him trot faster, and we even placed third together in an equitation show. He and I make a great team!

  • The first horse to teach me western was stubborn and hated to trot. Since I was a beginner then, I couldn't kick the mare hard enough- I had to have my instructor come over, grab my heel, and kick her for me. I was so frustrated one day, I kicked her so hard that she began to canter, that's when I learned that you need to know how hard to kick a horse!

  • I don;t own her but I rode a horse named Stubborn Sandy, she was VERY true to her name. She taught me how to deal with a fussy horse, Sandy also had the perfect trot! Sandy had a very sensitive mouth and barrel, so she taught me how to be gentle. Sandy was simply amazing!

  • The first horse that taught me to ride was a stubborn gelding named harley. he was an ex racer and didnt like to trot. we rode western, he was very energetic but taught me how to control an out of control horse and perfect my riding. i never saw harley after the 3 weeks we spent together, but i now have an amazing teacher. my 3 year old Arabian stallion Memphis. ill always rembmer my first ride with harley, i know he is safe, and will always be in my heart

  • I have been riding a short 7 years now and have just recently got my official "first horse" an OTTB Gelding named Hunter. He's the picture horse for girls all over, the large white/gray horse who is happy to do anything, except work hard. With hard training he is turning into a dream horse and I love him to death. But the horse I learned to ride on 7 years ago was a small palomino mare named Premo. She was my baby, a chubby stubborn mare who would walk to the gate when she decided she was done. She taught me when to be patient, and when to demand more from a horse. Without learning on horses like her I would never have been ready to take on a fresh off the track racer. All those lesson horses, short or tall, fat or lean, gray or black, have taught me valuable lessons which I cherish to this day.

  • I had been riding for two years and had wanted a horse since I was 3. My neighbor helped me look for every little girl's "dream horse". We looked at three horses with no luck. I had fallen in love with a beautiful black horse, but we decided to keep looking.
    One September day we heard about a Palomino gelding in the merchandiser. We decided to go look at him because, after all it would be my first horse. We went to look at him a week later. We jumped on his back and walked / jogged around, talked to his owner and she went into the house to get something. My neighbor looked at me and I said, "This is the one... I love him". The lady dropped him of three days later.
    Last year he began getting really herd-bound to a mare and then totally went off the deep end. We tried a few things and in six-months it was like I had a completely different horse!
    I am now showing him and love him so much! He's my best friend!

  • ok so i have been riding for a bout three years and in o7 i got my miniature horse cheif,but obviously i cant ride him so the horse who really taught me to ride was/is Duck, the little stinker. he would pull just about every trick in the book to dismount me but he never actually bucked or anything like that when my riding instructor was looking. my most memorable occasion with duck was the day i touched a metal mailbox alongside the road and it pinged Ducks death sentence. anyway he went one way and i went another. then there was buttons and snickers and they both tried to scrape me off on a tree. then aladdin though he was a good boy. then Lady and she was a little highstrung but lots of fun.

  • My first horse was actually a large bay quarter saddle cross gelding named Trouble. He was the most gentle thing ever! When I was visitng my grandparents as a 5 day old child, my Papow took me out to the pasture, held me up right on the gelding's back, and led him around. When I was old enough to sit up and understood that I had to hold on, he would lead Trouble around and I would smile the biggest smile anyone in my family had ever seen.
    It wasn't until I was 6 that we were riding on around fields, just having a little fun. Being a very excited western rider, my papow decided to get me another horse. A black mare that we named Midnight. She stumbled a lot, but she was the first horse I ever rode by myself on. When I was 8, I began riding Trouble by myself. My papow had always warned me that he was hard to stop once the 13 year old gelding got going.
    Actually, he was wrong. I watched my papow gallop the bay many times, but he could never make him stop. One day, when I was riding Trouble, and he was on Danielle, his father's horse, a snake came onto the path. Trouble trampled it and then took off. My papow chased after us on the chestnut mare. However, he was aware that I was in no danger. A simply whoa sent the gelding into a sliding stop. My papow looked astonished! He couldn't believe that I had stopped the gelding all by myself, and I was only 10 and he was 42!
    When we got back home, we were allowed to watch the video that my grandmother had recorded thanks to her high tec camcorder. It was hard to hear my light called whoa to Trouble, but we all heard it. A closer look showed that I didn't even tug the reins. After that, I knew that nothing would ever make me afraid of horses. I had even been bucked off Trouble when he kicked out at Danielle for biting him, and as soon as I wasn't hurting anymore, I climbed right back into the saddle, and began doing more stunts like jumping ditches, chasing off wild dogs, and even going for fast gallops. I had never trusted a horse like Trouble. But, then the sad day came when we had to part. I couldn't believe what was happening to me, but I knew that he'd be ok, and that was all that mattered.

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