Does anyone here...?

Question

...ride primarily for pleasure? And if so, what type of horse? I have an ex-plow horse and I just ride him for fun. We're eventually getting a cart as he drives great, but that's about it.

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Answer 1

i do trail rides and stuff and dont really compete anymore. i barrel race sometimes but not at any levell worth bragging about. just little local shows or fairs a couple times a year. i havent in awhile though. my horses are arabians and they both would rather trail ride than do anything else anyway so it works out well.

Answer 2

Even though I show my mule and donkey, all the riding I do is for pleasure. I'm very competitive, but the bottom line is if you are not smiling while you are riding you need to get off!

I say ride what you have, don't let anyone tell you that your ex-plow horse needs to only be driven. If you can and like to ride him, Ride him!
*He's beautiful by the way*

I've ridden everything from ex-race horses to donkeys and love them all. They all have their own quirks, and I would never call any equine stubborn. If I've learned nothing else over the years I have learned that usually the "stubbornness" comes from a fear, if you work them through the fear they are great. Fear to a horse is can be a trivial rock, but if you are an equine you know that rocks eat us! lol

Good luck with your pony.

Answer 3

Yes I ride just for the pleasure of it. I have a 14 yr old paint. He is about 15 hands and we just ride around our home area just for the fun of it. I am past riding in shows or going on durance rides to claim that the horse has so many hours on the trail. I have no plains on selling him so it does not matter how many hours we ride. I started out riding on a plow horse and I loved him as if he were the greatest race horse in the world. It does not matter what kind of horse it is. He is your horse and that makes him the best horse in the world. Have fun riding and enjoy yourself. I do.

Answer 4

I ride for pleasure as well. We have grade horses and Appaloosas, but you never know what we'll come up with next - I rescue, rehabilitate and rehome horses all the time. We have a mini I hope to train to pull a cart one day ... and we have a palomino hinny (a mule comes from a jack donkey crossed with a horse mare. A hinny is a cross between a horse stallion and a jenny donkey.)

Answer 5

I ride only for pleasure. I have a 10 yr old Arabian mare, Georgia =) No fancy riding...just relaxation. She enjoys it. I never was into horse sports...once in a while as a child only entering barn yard play days at the barn I use to work at...those were fun...but only for fun...with small prizes of halters, bags of feed or saddle blankets. I also have a draft horse mare, 7 yrs old. I ride her bareback as she has the nicest squishy back...no sharp withers...lol. She's a doll. Here name is Sarah Big and Tall =)

Answer 6

I do! I've never shown or been on an equestrian team, although I've been asked to. I don't have my own horse, but I take riding lessons and volunteer with many different types of horses. I also love doing natural horsemanship with them. If I did have my own horse, I would still only ride for pleasure.

Answer 7

I prefer a Morgan for trail riding and all around use. I have had two Morgans both Fantastic mounts. I rode Quarter horses for years as well. Bottom line it is a preference. I also rode a Walker for a year or so, when riding with others they will wear a QH out.

Answer 8

I used to extensively show my pony in dressage. She's 20 now, I'm in college - we just don't have time to seriously train and show. Nor do I have the money anymore - any money I get goes to books, tuition, or rent! I ride my pony for fun basically - we go on trail rides a lot or just ride around the fields on the farm. I still work on her balance and collection/lengthening, leg yields, etc. etc, but it's more for fun (yeah, I know, I find that stuff to be fun!) and to keep her healthy moving those muscles around and such. Part of the reason, too, is that she's a 14.3hh QH mare built on the forehand. We're training Level 1 and 2, but as hard as we try, she'll never be fully off that forehand. I couldn't bare to part or sell her (basically because I have no idea who would take her - a short, older pony who actually needs an advanced rider because she takes advantage of everyone else and will bolt around like a mad woman). So, we went out with a bang our last show season - got our Champion for the circuit, second highest percentage of the year with highest average percentage. I wanted her to go out with dignity, for everyone to say "Sheesh, there was this little gray mare who kicked everyone's butt last year in training level. You're lucky she retired." I wanted people to see me trailer her in and sweat when they saw we were in their class, even if they had that fancy warmblood. Someday I'll get a trakehner or holsteiner and show dressage and move up, but for now I like just playing with my pony and having fun with no pressure to remember tests or clean tack to a shine or serious training to get all the moves right.

Answer 9

I ONLY ride for pleasure. I'm 25 and have been riding since 2nd grade. I showed A LOT until I grew the cajones to tell my trainer I'd had enough. I ride a Thoroughbred, who was slightly abused and needs to rebuild her muscle tone. But I say as long as you're both benefiting from the pleasure riding, ride whatever your little heart desires :-)

Answer 10

I have 2 paints, 2 appys, 2 Quater Horses and a Mustang that i ride just for the fun of it. They all do great except for the fact that the paints are stuborn at times