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 Saint Stacey
   
| I love hearing stories behind the great horses that people have in their pasts. I have 3 that had a huge impact on me.
Soar With The Wind was the horse I had when I was showing youth. He could be a little mean and onery. I swear he blew at least one class a day jsut to prove he could. He accumlated a huge amount of AQHA points and placed at the World Show in Halter and Western Riding, was a multiple AQHA Champion with various people and had numerous Superiors. This past January he was inducted into the RMQHA Hall Of Fame.
http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/soar+with+the+wind
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Saint Stacey
| Hopeful Joy was a gelding my parents were forced to buy in order to get ahold of a mare they just HAD to have. The owner of the mare mare the trainer buy 3 geldings in order to get her and Hopey was the one mom and dad bought. He literally did everything but chariot race. He had his ROM on the track, was shown in 4H, AQHA and IBHA. He ran barrels, poles, jumped, did all show events, was headed on, heeled on and also did working cowhorse. My parents gave him to me when I was 12 and he was 3. He was an awesome horse. I lost him to colic in 2002. My heart still breaks when I think about it.
http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/hopeful+joy
 
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Saint Stacey
| Lasty Is Judys Sidekick. Sidekick was bred and raised by Gary and Judy Townsend. If you were ever at the Josey Ranch in the 80's and early 90's you probably remember Judy. When Judy got cancer, they had to sell off all the horses except for Sidekick because he was the one she was going to make her comeback on. Sadly that never happened. When she passed away, we had the opportunity to buy Sidekick. He was a great horse and is still missed to this day. He has a spot in one eye, a heart murmur and was a horrible cribber but he had more heart, try and personality than 5 horses combined We lost him to injury related wobblers a few years ago.
http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/judys+sidekick
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Member
Posts: 33
| 23 years ago my husband brought home a sickly, skinny 2 year old with really crooked knees. He found him in a kill pen at a traders place but noticed the Bob Loomis brand. The guy said he endend up with him because he wasnt by Bob's stud. This colt is an own son of Boon Bar. Well this colt looked bad. I about died when i saw him. We doctored him, fed him and my farrier husband was able over time to work on his feet and his knees got straighter. My husband made him a reiner and did that with him a couple years. I made him a barrel horse when he was 5. He stands 14.2 and could turn a barrel like you would not believe. He wasn't the fasted horse on the planet but his turns could win him the barrel race. This horse had more heart and try then anything i have ever owned or probably will own. He never did anything bad or mean. I had to retire him when he as 19 as his "reiner turns" really did a number on his stifles. He is still with me today in retirement. He is starting to look his age. I say to my other horses all the time they could learn a thing from "Boon". He was the most enjoyable horse i have had. Sorry such a long story! | |
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 Can You Hear Me Now?
Location: When you hit the middle of nowhere .. Keep driving | Betsey was a quarter horse but I never had papers for her, I don't know her registered name either. She was the most forgiving and tolerant horse in the world and had a passion for barrels. She threw me for a loop because she would do the pattern for fun and did it once with me while we were runnig in the field around some bales and it had me hooked. She lived to he 27 and was my girl for 12 years. We did everything in 4h and fun shows but this girl loved her barrels.
We got Ike when I was 13 and he was 3. Super quirky and goofy and it took me forever to grow to love him but he is my best friend and babysitter for anything I throw at him. Foals, kids, etc. He is 18 this year and I swear he will never leave. Retired due to a stifle injury he was a good barrel horse and bang up pole horse.
Here is a pic of Ike. I don't have a digital picture of Betsey
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 Expert
Posts: 2276
Location: ohio-in my own little world with pretty ponies :) | I got Issac when he was 20 years old and I was 12. He was still a hot head and ran with the best of them around here. That horse taught me everything about barrel racing...and life. He always corrected my mistakes and gVe me his heart. That horse tried to bite everyone that tried to come in his stall...but not me. He changed my life forever and I miss him every single day!
Hemi...our blacksmith kept telling me he had a horse for me. He told me this horse is meant for you. I kept telling him he was crazy...the last thing I needed was another project but one day he convinced me to go and look. The instant that I looked at him, I knew I had to have him. He was a long, tall, skinny 3 year old but rode like an old pro. Just after I bought him, my Issac had to be put down. I honestly believe I was meant to have Hemi and he was sent here to help me deal with the loss of my old friend. This horse has a forever home with me.
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 As Good As I Once Was
Posts: 1211
Location: frozen tundra of pa | When i was 8 yrs old my father brought home a little appaloosa gelding that had been a 4h pleasure horse. It took six months just to get him to run,but he had so much ability and personality when he started to run he was super tough. he fell flat down in a pole class once jumped up and finished the pattern and got second in the class! No young boy ever had a better horse growing up. Hes been gone for 30 yrs now and still a day doesnt go by that i dont think of him. | |
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Hungarian Midget Woman
Location: Midwest | The horse that probably had the most impact on me was when I was 5... My mother's friend had just bought a saddlebred. She had dreamed of owning a horse for years. She took me out for a ride and after that, I was hooked. My folks are not horse people, but they started me in riding lessons shortly after. I believe this was '89...so I would have been 4 here.
She lost him to colic several years ago. He was very a very forward and strong ride, but he would pack me around when I was very small like a true gentleman. He was a good boy...I know she will always miss him.
My first time on a horse. I'm sporting an awesome snowsuit lol
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 IMA No Hair Style Gal
Posts: 2594
| Each horse I have had holds a special place in my heart. These are the extra special ones though:
Tarifa (to be honest she was a junky arab...)-First horse that I got when I was 13. Didn't really know crap but was gentle, and helped ignite my passion for horses.
Rosie-Found a home for the Arab-she was not really sound and I was ready for more horse...so I saved up my money, made three payments of $400 and one payment of $300 when I was 16. She was just my general 4-H horse. Super athletic-would have loved to seen what she was capable of performance wise but never got the chance as she tore her entire tendon sheath and was given a few years off-then turned into trail riding horse/lawn ornament. I ended up breeding her before Murphy bought her a few years ago. She gave me a beautiful colt. LOVE this horse because I moved out at 16 and this horse is what kept me motivated and kept me out of trouble. I had EVERY chance to go get into drugs, get pregnant, drop out of highschool...my parents didn't care. I was pretty much fed to the wolves, BUT because I KNEW (thanks to the arab) I had a passion for horses I worked my butt off to have Rosie and keep her.
Gunner-My first performance horse, and luckily he turned into something special. He came from a breeding farm that was trying to take advantage of the KY breeders incentive fund. Pretty much all the horses ended up being wild and neglected. Got Gunner as an untouched three year old stud. He was my first barrel horse....got him for pretty much nothing-sold him last year and he bought me my new horse plus some extra. Now a little girl runs him-and she got in the top ten at Congress with him this year. He is going on 8 now? And my screen name on here is part of his registered name. At the second show the new owners took him to he ran second in the 1D to my trainers good horse Brand Me Lucky who actually ended up setting an arena record that run in Jackson OH.
Hollywood-my current prospect that is helping me take things to the next level. Super honest with a great work ethic, but also demanding in the sense that I have to become a better rider, which is why I sold Gunner. I wanted a horse that demanded more of me so I could become better. Started him this year-still pretty green-but showing a lot of talent and ability. We will see where we go from here. 
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  Northern Chocolate Queen
Posts: 16576
Location: ND | First for me is Two Eyed Brandy, my Appaloosa granddaughter of TEJ. In all reality her & I grew up together we even shared the same birthday of April 15, she was just 2 years older than me. My dad bought her as a 2 year old the year I was born, as my mom's first mothers day present. For most of her life she was my mom's trail horse & she played around with her on the barrels in the neighbors fields. But as I got older I needed a horse to show in 4-H so for a few years that was her job & then gradually we shifted into speed events & on to high school rodeo. She won a lot for me locally, was consistently in the 1D at jackpots & pretty hard to beat at any speed events at the playdays. We where consistent low 21's in poles & if her rider would have known what she was doing she'd have been even better! My sr year of high school she carried me to the reserve state championship in barrels & made the trip the the NHSFR with me. She then carried my neighbor girl for a couple years of playday & my parents then sold her to a friend of ours for their daugthter to learn barrels on. She lived out the rest of her life with them, losing the fight with cancer at 28 years old.
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Northern Chocolate Queen
Posts: 16576
Location: ND | Next came Buck N Snort, who we call Shotae. Him and I also share the same birthday. He started off as my brothers 4-H horse. Then he was my dad's roping horse. And then finally when I quit running Brandy I took him as my speed event horse. There wasn't much him & I didn't do. I showed him English & he LOVED to jump. He also did very well at reining & western riding as he was incredible with flying lead changes....western pleasure was a game of torture the "slow" horses to him. Barrels, poles & the other games are where he excelled though. He was pretty much unbeatable at the local shows & playdays. I was told frequently to leave the black horse home so other people would have a chance! Unfortunately he wasn't blessed with good legs and just didn't hold up. I had to retire him at 16. He had way to much heart & desire to win to slow down & he was flat out hurting himself. It's been 5 years since I've made a run on him & I still miss it. He's now 21 & mostly retired other than an occasional trail ride.
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Northern Chocolate Queen
Posts: 16576
Location: ND | Next would have to be the "other" black horse, Cash, my big Appi that I now shoot off of. He was pretty much an impulse decision, woke up one day & decided I wanted a different show horse. I started shopping the next day & within a week I owned Cash. He just had that stunning "look at me" presence & a personality to match. He was pretty green broke yet & just a 4 year old....but a month later we where at our first horse show where he did great. He was my show horse for 3 years, winning reserve overall in our club the first 2 years. Then the last year he placed in the top 3 in all 13 events (english, western & speed) as well as winning the overall. But he was bored with showing so I promised him at that point that he was done & didn't have to do it again. The next year we trained him for roping. And then last year found his true love....mounted shooting. He was so broke that patterning him was nothing, he just had to get confidence built up in his ablilty to handle speed. This year shooting he carried me to a bunch of wins, getting me to a Level 3. He won me the overall at a pretty big shoot in MN & a smaller one in ND, as well as a couple overall wins for my brother. The most wonderful thing with him is his mind though. I can make a smoking run on him, drop the reins & he walks out of the arena quiet. I can then throw a kid on his back & he'll walk off & carry them around until my next run. Or he'll make a flying run with my brother, turn around & slow lope the same course for my mom. He was a big part of me winning the ND CMSA State High Point Championship for the women this year. He's completely priceless to me!
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Northern Chocolate Queen
Posts: 16576
Location: ND | And I'll quit with Ollie.....this little horse has taught me so much, especially when it comes to trust, patience & trusting your gut. He came to me from a customer about 2 1/2 years ago to pattern on barrels so he could be sold. He had been through several homes that year & was basically a mess. But I felt something in him & ended up buying him a couple weeks after he got here. I spent the better part of the next two years kicking myself for that decision! I'd make some progress & then loose it all, it was a constant battle between us. Finally this spring I was ready to give up & handed him over to a friend that we shoot with (he's also a trainer & equine chiro). Asked him to tell me if the problem was the horse, me, pain, mental....or what I wasn't seeing because something had to change or I was going to send him down the road. Simple answer was it was mental....Ollie has some issues from his past that flare up really easy & in turn he was making me nervous, he'd pick up on my nerves & fall apart. So we where just trapped in a cycle of scaring eachother! We made some major changes & about 6 weeks later I was competing on him at his first shoot. So far he's carried me to 2 Level 3 wins, as well as a womens reserve overall & two times was 3rd overall for the women in just 4 weekends of competing. I'm not pushing him at all yet but we'll start adding some speed in next spring. We've gotten to where we completely trust eachother, he's developing so much personality & gives me such an honest hard try every time we walk in the arena.
Edited by SaraJean 2013-11-24 1:16 PM
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1131
| (Sorry for the essay, haha)
I have worked with a number of horses over the years, but the one I own and the mare I am currently training have really been the most influential. It was mostly gaited horses before them, and let's face it, they are the easiest of rides for the majority.
Archie - 20something year old paintaloosa gelding. I got this horse from a barrel racing friend of mine, and they said he was broke broke broke. This horse was anything but broke. He was aggressive with serious riding issues, but we didn't figure that out until we owned him. They said he was safe to trail ride in a group or by himself, he knew barrels, rode in a smooth short shank, etc. Needless to say, he didn't trail ride by himself, he has to lead in a group or he flips over on you, he still doesn't run barrels very well (I taught him poles and he was awesome for a few seasons), and the only bit I can get him to do anything in is a long shank twisted combination bit ("mule bit").
Regardless of all the struggles with this horse, I've owned him for almost 7 years. He taught me the lesson that all horse people need to know, there is always a time you need to stop and walk away from the situation. I know there is plenty of times that horse has almost killed me because we were both too stubborn to give up. He also taught me to get a good seat, because he bucks, rears, and bolts every time I ride him, and it isn't cow hops either, I have about sold him to a rodeo a time or two. Haha. He is retired for the most part, except I run him at fair in barrels and poles, he can place in barrels there. Haha and usually loses poles to Dee since he has really slowed down in retirement.
Then there is my good girl, Dee, a soon to be 9year old paint mare. She is one of those that her owner will probably never sell just because of her personality. She is so quirky that it takes such a long time to get a good relationship with her, she's sweet but onrey at the same time. (Mares, right?) Dee was the first barrel horse I have ever trained, and I put a majority of her barrel training on her with a lot more to go. She is not a finished horse by any means, she's sitting as a 2D youth/3D open horse with good runs right now (in our IN IBRA races around here, usually about 100 in open and 40 in youth on good days). She's also my 4H all arounder. I have won so many all around awards on this mare, I have too many chairs to know what to do with. She is a showmanship machine, and wins halter every year (except this year, but that is a rant for another day, haha) with our little competition (she's a 16hand 1300lbs beast with very nice conformation). She is a nice English horse even with her bulky size, but only does w/t good in western, the lope is a little rusty. She is a nice trail and equitation horse too, winning trail against some nice quarter horses. She's solid so she looks like a QH. I have learned so much on her for all around events. I put all of her showmanship training on her, and most of her English training. Her western basics were taught by her owner, but I have refined them. (Racing usually sets her back for weeks in WP. Haha) | |
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Regular
Posts: 57
Location: Wishing I was riding | I had a love-hate relationship with the horse that had the greatest impact on me. His name was Joker, and I got him when he was 9 and sold him when he was almost 13. I don't have any pictures on my computer, but he was a huge paint gelding, 16.1 hands, around 1350 pounds and he was fast. He was racebred on top and cowbred on the bottom, but boy could he fly. He taught me so much. He taught me patience, he taught me how to stand my ground around a horse, because he would try to push me all over the place. And he taught me how to stay in the saddle. I can't even count the amount of times I went tumbling off him because he made a sharp, unexpected turn. But boy was he nice on the barrel pattern. We were just starting to get our act together when he bucked me off for the first time and nearly killed me. His last gift to me was giving me an almost fatal head injury and whip lash so bad that to this day, I am still going to the chiro to fix every week. He taught me a lot, and I loved him with all my heart, but him bucking me off made me realize that he was just not the horse for me. He went on to become an awesome 1d/2d horse with the person that still owns him. | |
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 Scorpions R Us
Posts: 9586
Location: So. Cali. | My first horse made an impact on me as I’m sure most first horses do. She hated the world, your typical mare, pin her ears, kick out, etc. But she loved me, took care of me, did anything I asked her to no matter how stupid of an idea it was. I know a few times as a kid I thought it would be fun to go up some side of a hill…get up there and then realize I had no idea how to get back down safely. I’d drop the reins and click and she’d take care of it. She did Gymkhana, parades, little bush jumping in the wash. I don’t think she ever ‘loved’ doing any of it. She would’ve been content sitting in her pen. But she tried for me. I lost her 4yrs ago to moon blindness.
And the other horse that comes to mind was actually my second horse. When my above mentioned mare showed signs she could no longer handle all day Gymkhanas my parents bought me a 4yr old green broke APHA gelding we were told was bred for barrels. I was 14 at the time. Tried him out that day, little bit of a handful but I wanted him. Took him home on trial basis. First night, went out on a trail ride with my sister, nothing bothered him! Next evening went out to ride him in my yard with a friend. I remember putting my foot in the stirrup and as I pulled myself up I recall him stepping forward and me pulling back for him to stand still while my butt landed in the seat. I didn’t even get my other foot in the stirrup before that boy busted in two. I lasted as long as I could before I landed on my shoulder. Took me a while to get up. My mom offered to take him back, I refused. Best decision I ever made. Over the years he has been the best teacher. You could not kick him, you kick, he’d break in two. You get on his face, he’d let you know. I get several compliments about how quiet of a rider I am during my runs, that’s because of him. He taught me to ask with my body, not my hands, feet, spurs, whips, etc. I give him a lot of credit. He’s 15yrs old now, has a few soundness issues that prevent him from competing as much as we use to. Still do not kick him during a run, little bumps may be the extent of it. And I can promise to this day, if I get out of line and he really wanted to, he could still get rid of me.
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 Popped
Posts: 20421
Location: LuluLand~along I64 Indiana | a little brown grade gelding named bar. i still cant think of him with out the tears flowing... i miss him terribly. i started riding when i was ten by taking lessons from a girl in town. she bred a mare and dad had secured the purchase of the foal when it was born. i was 12. he was mine every day of my life... he held my life together more times than times than i can count and i learned more about horsemanship by screwing him up and then trying to fix the mess i made. He died at the age of 28, the day after my 40th bday. i found some old photos of him today and an essay my daughter wrote when she nominated him for the state 4-h horse of the year award. fitting to find this thread tonight.
Take note the years of the photos... his first county fair was '83, his last was 2008. And he placed at the state fair in 2003 (with the red white and blue).
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 Sunflower Seed Addict
Posts: 1416
Location: Amarillo, Texas | A little horse I called, "D" short for Diesel. I couldn't hardly touch this horse when I got him and when I sold him, he was running in the 2D just cruising. I got him when I was a sophomore in high school and sold him in May as a broke college kid that needed money. Biggest mistake I've made! I put so much into this horse. I remember one day I was so frustrated, I got off, sat in the dirt and cried! LOL This horse taught me hard work. He taught me new lessons everyday. He taught me to do everything with passion. I spent 3 hours a day with this horse working on his mental problems. If I had a dollar for every time someone told me to sell him, I could've bought a nice prospect! Haha There was something so intriguing about this horse to my high school self. I couldn't get enough of him!
I posted a before and after picture!
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Saint Stacey
| I love all these stories! They are great reads! Thanks for sharing. | |
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 Miss Laundry Misshap
Posts: 5271
| The horse that taught me the most was Kitty. She was a POA mare that I got when I was 6 and she was 5. She was pretty green, but I threw a fit after looking at tons of ponies and something told my 6 year old brain she was "it".
We spend lots of time going thump, thump, thump around the pleasure arena because I didn't know how to use spurs and that's how I kept her going. We did everything together! From halter and showmanship, to english and jumping, to western pleasure, and barrels and poles. I beat a LOT of people on horses and ponies on this pony. She was special. Having to make the decision for her to go to greener pastures due to founder and arthritis was terribly hard, but she was 27, so it wasn't like she didn't deserve the best.
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