should i ride this mare?

[rockyrobin]

a friend has asked me to take out her new 4 year old mare,as she is busy with work. I have said yes but now im having second thoughts!!! i have seen my friend ride her & she seems very quiet, she has even been lead from without any problems. the mare has had no proper schooling,having only been used for hacking. am i being a complete wimp or should i just go for it? what do you guys think? cheers rrx

[pengapenga]

Hi rockyrobin, I have not noticed you round the board for a while nice to see again :) (or is it more likely I have not been on NR as often therefore miss half the new posts :rolleyes: :) )

Anyway back to your question.

I always try to follow my instinct so if you feel a little apprehensive about riding this horse then perhaps you should follow your instinct, afterall she may well pick up on your apprehensiveness and act upon it. However you say she seems quiet when your friend rides her then perhaps have a ride around the school on her and see how she goes, maybe have your friend with you on the first ride :) . You may find that she a great ride and would enjoy doing some schooling. If she is quiet out on hacks chaces are she may well be quiet in the school. Good luck.

At the moment my daughter and I are schooling a mare that for the last two years has been a happy hacker to a self taught junior rider, and she is doing well and we are starting to re-educate her. She is my daughters mare and she wanted a hand in Mysty's schooling, both are bonding well to so it has been a great for the pair of them :)

[Wobblydeb]

You say she has had no proper schooling, but is backed and seems to be successfully hacking out. Perhaps you could talk some more to your friend and establish which aids the mare is good with, and any that still need work on. You may find she has learnt enough already to have decent direction skills and good brakes, just not a nice shoulder-in or leg-yield :)

As for spookiness, I've seen great 4 year-olds and idiotic 20 yr old horses - a lot comes down to breeding and nature as well as age.

However I am with pengapenga on listening to your instincts. How about a trial hack or session in the school to see how you get on? I'm sure your friend would be pleased that you are concerned about yours and her horses safety :)