What Horse Is Suitable for You?

If you are going to event and jump, you are going to need a horse. It will really help your enjoyment of the sport if your horse is suitable, so you want to choose him with care. As I’ll explain, however what horse is Suitable for you is a moving target that is depending on your abilities and aspirations.
Some things to keep in mind when beginning your search for a new horse:

• Eventing and jumping is a risk sport, which makes his jumping ability of paramount importance.

At Entry Level

When it comes to matching riders with horses, there is nothing cuter and a young girl with her first pony. She had braces and pigtails, while her 14.2-hand strawberry roan –‘Ol’Strawberry.” Ol’strawberry knows when to jump and more importantly when to stop! My point? This horse is suitable for this rider right now.
Horse selection is an art, not a science! Experienced horsemen must assist the amateur buyer to determine the suitability.
Obviously, size matters, but we need to consider other attributes- personality, for example. If you want to jump but you are slightly timed. Then a horse with an aggressive attitude probably will carry you in safety and comfort. The other side of this coin is that if you are an aggressive, confident rider, you may on better on a horse with a slightly suspicious attitude toward obstacles of all shapes and sizes.
Once you decide the type of horse who will suit you, you need to determine your goals. If you plan to enjoy the sport as weekend recreation, you can make some compromises. For instance, an amateur rider to whom winning is not the be-all and end- all can tolerate a horse who lacks some natural flair for dressage so long as he is a safe and independent jumper in show jumping and cross country.  If a 13-year-old wants to jump and they are looking at cheap young off –the-track Thoroughbreds, the I know the correct educational path has not yet been established.
I hope that13-year-old jumps someday, but right now I want a safe, sensible schoolmaster for her. Every ambitious rider should eventually learn to ride difficult horses, but your entry into the competitive scene should be as safe as possible.

Moving Up

When Patty Ponycrazy is ready to move up, her perfect transitional schoolmaster after Ol’Strawberry will probably be a size-appropriate horse with some age- and considerable mileage. If, like her, you are moving up from an entry-level mount to learn the next level, your prospective schoolmaster will most likely have potential soundness issues. At this point, your vet becomes very important to your decision-making. She can give you an estimation of a prospect’s long-term usefulness: “We can live with that condition” or I don’t think we can live with this.”

Finally, Time For the OTTB

There are bargains waiting at local racetracks, where attractive and athletic horses can be found for less than the airfare to ship a fancy, young warmblood from Europe. However, you will need a skilled professional to guide you through your search. Take your trainer with you, the commission you pay will be cheap at the price, if by paying it, she acquires an OTTB that, in addition to being a good eventing prospect, is lightly raced, drug-free and seems to have calm temperament.
In the final analysis, make sure that the horse you choose is suitable for you and your goals and that he is a safe and comfortable ride over obstacles.

Article

Taken from the Practical Horseman article “Horses for Courses” by Jim Wofford who competed in three Olympics and two World Championships and won the U.S. National Championship five times. He is also highly respected coach.

Have a fun and SAFE ride,

Cory Walkey