Horseback riders unite!

[LessJos]

I looked for a better spot in the forum but wasn't sure where to stick this topic. Mods, if you need to move this, go ahead...

I was just wondering if there are horseback riders around and what you guys do.

I used to ride as a teenager (shocker I know!), first English and then western. I grew up in Europe so English was the only thing around. Apart from this one place that offered western riding. Unfortunately, I wasn't living close by and eventual stopped riding because English wasn't interesting any longer.

Well, I am living in Canada in the middle of cowboy country now. I have been on a few trail rides the last few years but now I want to get back into the game. I did a one day course which was lots of fun and I am looking for a place to take some more lessons. Unfortunately, English riding seems to be trendy here now too and not many people offer western riding lessons. I don't want to just go out and buy a horse though.

So I thought while I am trying to figure everything out we could start a thread and chat about different riding styles/events, horse breeds, tack etc.

Anybody interested?

[I-Jo]

I used to ride- but my horse is old- half blind and I have a motorcycle sitting on my patio. It's hard to trade.

Although I do <3 my horse. He's awesome. 

[Rookie]

I do~ I take English lessons. I can't afford my own horse, but it is a dream one day.

[Vian]

I used to take lessons, I did English and some jumping. I rode a few horses over the years, never owned one. There was the gelding that decided he didn't like me and refused to stop the entire lesson, I had to keep turning him in tiny circles or running him into corners just to get him to slow down. Then there was the mare who would snap and bite at the air infront of her, she even had a muzzle that clipped onto her halter, but as soon as you put a bit in her mouth she turned into the perfect horse, would do whatever you wanted, perfectly responsive to every signal...unless you tried to jump her. That's how I got a crown on my front tooth...I went over the fence without her and smacked my face on it.

 

After that, there was the half percheron, half arabian gelding. From a distance, he looked white, but up close, he had patches of black skin with white hair and tiny brown spots ("fleabitten") and patches of pink skin with white hair, so he was paint/fleabitten? And he had blue eyes. He had the big feet and chunky proprotions of a draft horse, but was smaller with a dished forehead like an arabian. And he had a bitchy apaloosa girlfriend that liked to bite. When riding him around the arena, when he got to the side that was closest to the stall he shared with the appaloosa, he would slow way down, and on the opposite side, he'd speed way up.

 

I'd love to start riding again, but I don't have the money or time right now. Ultimately, i'd love to have a piece of land and 3 or 4 horses.