HELP serious Tennessee walking horse question!!

Question

Serious question and only want answers from people who know horses... I am a beginner horse riding I ride my Girlfriends horse occasionally, just at a walking pace its a pony 2 inches away from being a horse... The other day my cousin who has been raising horses since he was 8 (now in 50's or 60's) said he has a great beginner horse for me so I go down and check the horse out he said was a Tennessee walking horse,(from what i heard they can get a little crazy) its a 3 year old gelding and he has been training it since it was a cult, , but the horse was calm and road perfect when he got on it... then i got on it and it road fine then I went to turn around and the horse starting backing up and turning his head and stopping his foot ( Which prob. meant he was getting mad) but he said to me he was trying to see what he could get away with and he said for me to show him who is boss but i decided to get off and he rode him back up to his stables and he road perfect with him and cars passed by and he was just calm and acted like nothing was going on ... my question is does this horse just need to get use to me or is this horse just not for me... my cousin offered to take me trail riding with the horse for a 5 mile ride this Saturday to see if I like him

Answer 1

first thing you need to know is most walkers are so inbreed its not even funny. I would say for you as a beginer get a horse thats a little older and wiser. Believe me it will help you out a lot. older wiser horses wont bite you or stomp on you couse you pissed them off or just couse they are not thear in the head. A older horse will do his or her best to help you by backing away or just standindwhile you work on you mounting skill's. and what's best of all they tend to listen to your directions better than a young colt or filly. unless your a well trained person with horses and I mean like years of practice. start out with the older wiser horses 5years an older

Answer 2

I have known Tennesse Walking Horses that were safe, sound, gentle animals and I have known some crazies, there seems to be a decent variety of personalities within the breed.  That does not mean that I am not wary about putting a beginner rider on a three year old.  I would recommend looking for an older, more experienced horse to learn to ride on, even on the best trained three year old there has to be a learning curve, he doesn't know everything about his world yet and you are not the proper person to be on his back when a new lesson comes along.  You will know when you find the right horse, you won't be worried about riding it and you will enjoy what you are doing.  I never recommend a potential challenge for a first horse, you might overcome in the end, but it will take a long time to get there.

Answer 3

Walkers are NOT--- inbred.  But I still think you should look for an older horse. They are quieter than a younger horse.    

Answer 4

Sorry, But it is Not the horse, But You,



You need to take ridding lessons

Horses are Not Machines,, You have a problem ,Not the horse,

Sorry if the truth HURTS,

Answer 5

i do agree that a older horse might be better      but that horse is a gelding which means they are probably calmer than stallions          that horse could very well just be testing you cuz i rode a older horse at a riding school that i went to and the horse was s******g around and my instructor said he was testing me and i had to be tougher with him and when i was he started to behave

Answer 6

Believe or not, horses are not dumb animals :o)



  Firstly, Tennessee Walkers are not heavily inbred horses. The genetic base is quite large because it is a very popular breed of horse. Their might be some LINE-BREEDING, but only if the horse was bred by someone that didn't know what they are doing would it stand a chance of being inbred. I don't think the TWA would allow an inbred horse to be registered except under very limited circumstances. But, I may be wrong in this case too.

  Secondly, here's where the intelligence part comes in. A horse can feel and sense when there is an inexperienced rider aboard, and when the horse has some bad habits in the first place which is possible, they will take advantage of the situation if they can and allowed to.

  My suggestions to you, if you are able, find an older more seasoned trail horse, take a few lessons and get some experience under your belt before trying this guy again so you know how to handle when the horse starts acting up, or catch it before it starts to happen again.

Hope this helps..

Answer 7

Personally I would suggest you ride an older more reliable horse until you build your confidence and become a better rider.

However if you are going to stick with the Walker I would suggest you just get firmer with it. You do not need to be extremely rough with it, but you still need to show the horse whose boss. Horses try to see what he or she can get away with, and how the rider will handle them.