Define that indefinable quality...?

Question

... that makes some horse-and-rider pairs look like they were made for each other!

What is it that makes some riders look as though they grew on their horse, while others look uncomfortably awkward? Do stockier people look better on stockier horses, and delicate riders on delicate horses? How much does height and size factor in? What about hair colour, skin tone, attitude, carriage..? Or is there really just some 'je ne sais quoi' that makes some riders mesh with their mount and some clash?

What do you think?

Answer 1

Trust!  I think it's trust and understanding of each other.  That's what I strive for, and every great horse I've ever worked well with trusted and understood me, and I trusted and understood him/her.

I don't think it has anything to do with size or color...some of the best horses I've worked with were of very varied sizes and colors.  If a horse and rider pair just "click", then everything else is just a minor detail.

Answer 2

Well...

I get anoyed Easily and Im quite Chunky =]

And...

I get on with

- Chunky

- Stuborn horses

=] lol

It Just Depends On What Your Like Really =]

Hope this helps Jade =]

Answer 3

Like horse, like owner. I see it all the time. Personality and looks are usually common factors between a horse and its owner. Don't know why it is, but it's a neat thing to watch for :)

Answer 4

I am 5'8" 125 lbs with long legs and I look WAY better on TBs than quarter horses and warmbloods. Something about their build just works for me. Some people just look better on certain body types. The other part to it though, is the connection the horse and rider have. I was put on a 14 hh grey pony for a week at a ranch and at the "show" on friday someone was asking how I was able to bring my own horse. I never would have though that would work but we just clicked (I was so depressed to leave that pony...) I think the split between build and bond is about 50/50.

Answer 5

I think the set of a person's spinal column has a lot to do with how they look on a horse.  that combined with the ability to separate the lower body from the upper body.  People who can't learn to dance with fluidity are similar...they just look stiff and uncomfortable on the dance floor...same with riders.  Weight has less to do with it than this, but it does contribute to the whole picture.  I have a neice who looked better the first time she rode than many people do after years of training...it was just her natural conformation.

Answer 6

I think that the best teams are the ones who understand each other. For example, everyone tells me that I look great on my Appendix QH, but I've had him for 8 years and I know him and he knows me. My dad tells me I look awkward on my new TB, because we've only had him for about 3 weeks. I'm just figuring him out, and he's figuring me out as well.

My brother is a pretty tall guy (6'4). He rides around on our rescue mare who's in the 15.2 hh area, and he looks amazing, because she adores him, and he understands that she needs to be handled gently, because of her rough past. Just because he's a bit tall, it doesn't make him look weird on her at all.

It really depends on how well you understand your mount and whether or not your mount is comfortable with you.

Answer 7

I do feel that the best match is when horse and rider are as one as a team.  The aids are almost invisible and transitions are fluid.  

Although, I do feel that compatibility does create that pretty picture....I'm 5'11" and really feel that I do not look as nice on a Morgan as I do on my Saddlebred.  I feel the same way of a  long torsoed child riding on a smallish pony...The same goes with adults.  I feel that there is some importance as relates to size as riding with leg on a horse that your legs are below the barrel just doesn't have that same look as it would if there was a better ratio.  How does one use heels when their feet are almost touching the ground..or they have to do this big high backwards kick to kick the side of the horse....so yes, proportion in my opinion does make for a nicer picture!!

Hair color and skin tone doesn't bother me that much...gosh if it did, I would have gray hair and a gray complexion!! (ok..I have a "few" grays...but not as many as my steed!!)

Answer 8

I think it's a personality thing more than anything.

Same as marriage partnerships some just fit and some look right but don't work.