Sarah,
Here are a few things that spring to my mind when I think of
the perfect school horse. First of all, SOUND! Although many
of us use school horses with minor or chronic lameness issues,
starting with a sound one is very important. On the same subject,
good conformation is also important and both of these qualities
lend themselves to longevity. I have a school horse that is
33 and we still use him occasionally for small children. He
has been used hard all of his life as a trail and lesson horse
and has never taken a lame step. If you want to keep your horses
around for the long run, make sure you start with a sound and
well-built horse.
Other issues that I would look at are age and gender. I would
look at horses at least 13 years old; 15+ is even better because
these horses have "been there and done that." Sometimes
you can get really well-trained horses at a reasonable price
in the 15+ range that have passed their peak performance level
but still have many years left to teach riders what they know.
You need horses with good life experience so that they are
reliable in all settings.
I generally prefer geldings but I have had a few good mares
for school horses. In nature, the mares in a herd are much
more bonded than the male horses are and therefore mares like
to form bonds with their riders and get burn-out changing
riders all the time. Mares tend to test their riders more
and can sometimes be more controlling and manipulative of
their riders (these behaviors all have to do with natural
herd behaviors). Geldings tend to punch-in and punch-out and
do their job day in and day out, but a good mare is hard to
beat and for that reason, we keep a couple around.
Temperament wise, I am looking for an insensitive, cold-blooded
horse, at least for beginner's horses. I want all my horses
to be as versatile and useful as possible, so I do not like
to keep horses just for advanced riders. (See the article
in this issue on Tricks of the Trade for a definition of cold-blooded
and hot-blooded.)
Some other important qualities for a potential school horse
are that he is well-trained and well-mannered. This will slowly
degrade with beginner students and will take constant maintenance,
but best to start with a good one. Also, it should be smooth
gaited so that riders stay on a little easier and mid to low
in the pecking order, so as not to constantly challenge riders.
Finally, an "easy-keeper" (easy to keep weight on)
is an important quality for your budget.
These are the things that immediately come to mind. Of course,
there are many more factors to consider when selecting school
horses and depending on your program, these qualities may
be prioritized differently. Any new horse to your string should
be given an evaluation period to be ridden and evaluated by
staff only, before transitioning the horse into your regular
string.
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