School Horses: The Good, The Bad, and The Lame
posted by citizen.K on Thursday, May 1st, 2008 / 
Print & Hang in the Barn
School horses are worth their weight in gold. They are the foundation of most every rider’s beginnings. They come in all shapes and sizes, temperaments, and soundness levels.
Rodney, the horse I learned to ride on as a small, small child was a 16.2 hand chestnut Saddlebred gelding. He was ugly, he stuck his tongue out when you rode, and he could be a total lunatic. But, when a beginner sat on his back, he took care of them.
Rodney wasn’t your typical hunter/jumper school horse. He was shown extensively on the Saddlebred circuit in saddleseat classes. He was “retired” to life as a school horse simply because his owner retired from riding. He taught me how to walk, trot, canter, and jump small X’s. I fell in love with this horse. When I got my pony, I cried! I didn’t want a pony, I wanted Rodney!
Rodney could be a total lunatic, but when a beginner sat on his back, he took care of them.
I’m sure everyone has their good and bad experiences on school horses. I have seen everything from three-legged-lame school horses to Thoroughbreds just off the track (ie. INSANE school horses). As a trainer, the good, sound school horses are tough to find, and if you nab one, you take precious care of it because you may not find another.
No matter what their breed, their age, or their soundness, in my opinion, a good school horse enjoys taking care of the person they are teaching. Rodney was a good school horse; I’m sure he had some pretty severe arthritis, but he was still going 10+ years after I learned how to ride.
Here’s a shout out to all the school horses; the good, the bad, and the lame!
4 Responses to “School Horses: The Good, The Bad, and The Lame”
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May 1st, 2008 at 10:23 pm
A true shout out! We just lost a school horse at my barn to a torsion colic about 3 weeks ago. He was a 30 year old thoroughbred named Snoopy. What an angel he was
They are a priceless commodity.
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Tru dat. I am getting my old jumper back soon because he is retiring from jumping. I am hoping he can be a good school horse after he has a year off. When I had him, he needed a really strong bit and would jerk people out of the saddle otehrwise–but his current owner said she jumped him with a loose ring happy mouth for 2 years with no problems so maybe he has quieted down some. He is 17.1 hands and has a broad barrell and is all black. I think any beginner rider would feel proud riding him. We will see.
I was 2 when I learned how to ride and I can’t really remember the first horse I rode. I remember there being no saddle, thick chestnut fur and a thick flaxen mane that I was clinging to. I remember that I knew, at that instant, that this was the thing I wanted to do my whole life. My first real horse–when I was 8 years old–was a 2 year old arab stud colt that my dad got from some guy he knew who owed him money. He was not broke in any sense of the word and was completely wild. Luckily, I was at a ranch full of cowboys who couldn’t wait to break him but it was a full year before I could sit on him for more than 10 minutes. He threw me off 20 times. I got one good trail ride on him before my dad sold him to a show barn while I was away at summer camp and replaced him with a dead broke ex-roping horse named Tony and it was then that I finally learned how to ride and not just hang on.
May 2nd, 2008 at 6:38 pm
OHHH the memories of school horses,the one i remember most was DIOBLO he was a appy that just loved and he loved me back! and i like you started riding at 2 and never looked back, but my parents REFUSED to by me a horse! they made up ever excuse in the book, so i owe SCHOOL HORSES a huge thank you, cause without them id just be not so good equestrian. ….and my horse thanks them to!
May 3rd, 2008 at 12:14 am
Lori–Yeah, my parents tried to refuse to buy me a horse and then I bugged them about it for 5 years and they finally broke down and decided to buy me a horse that might deter me from riding. That didn’t work. Then they sent me to work on ranches thinking living in a barn and eating next to nothing would work–nope. I went to boarding school where I was ridden harder than the horses I was riding and judged on every aspect of my person and that also didn’t make me quit. At this point, my parents pretty much ignore my riding–like it’s some sort of dirty little family secret. They know where I’m going when I put on my riding pants but they dare not speak of it. Tattoos? fine. Short hair? fine. Lesbianism? no worries. but RIDING!–SWEET JESUS HAVE MERCY ON MY SOUL! LOL.