Help 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

Horses do test people they don't know. However, test or no test, a three year old horse is too young for a beginner. You should look at older horses that have been trail ridden, handled by kids, etc.  The breed doesn't matter, but the level of training, calm demeanor and experience of the horse does!  

Answer 2

horses like to see what they can get away with if you let him do what he wants he will always do this you have to show him you are not going to let him goof off

Answer 3

If you like the horse - try him out on the trail.

However - As a beginning rider I would NOT get a horse that was challenging me - to see what he could get away with! 3 years old is awfully young (GREEN). Personally I would be looking for an older trail broke horse, somewhere in it's teens. With an absolutely calm demeanor. Maybe a horse that someone bought for their child - who has now grown up and is heading off on their own.

Are you looking to lease or buy out right?