Critiques Continued...

I've decided "Helpful Trainer" and "Disgruntled Trainer" (who shall post in bold blue for easy avoidance if you find her annoying) will co-write, and we'll see how that turns out as we go.

Let's get back to our horse & rider critiques...Hopefully you've had a chance to get your lists compiled over the past couple of days, and ready to use them to assist in determining how well matched you are to your horse.

Without seeing the two of you together, I can't offer the level of help I'd like to, but I know you can handle this assessment if you follow a few simple rules:

1] Think with your HEAD.. not with your heart.
2]  Be totally HONEST with yourself... even if it hurts.
3]  If you err, be sure to do so on the critical side... don't be too "soft" on Dobbin OR yourself, because it'll come back to bite you.

The best I can do is offer you an example using my own horse Fella... if I can rip myself and my most beloved horse to shreds, you can do the same.

I'll start with myself.
I'm a bold and confident handler/rider, and enjoy horses that pose a challenge (upside)... once they're no longer challenging to me, I tend to lose interest in them. (downside)
Horses that mirror my own temperament work best for me... if they're somewhat high-strung and aggressive, I like 'em.

Personally, I don't much care for "pocket ponies"... I already have a dog, and don't need one that weighs 1,000 pounds. 
I prefer businesslike horses with good work ethics and a somewhat aloof personality.

While they might be *cons* for some people, athleticism, energy, and a chip-on-the-shoulder attitude are all plusses for me, as it gives me common ground with my horse.
I don't care for wilting lilies.

My weak areas include quickly becoming bored with dull-witted horses, and allowing my own high-strung horse too much freedom to "be himself" in the form of unruly behavior.
Much of what I find amusing and charming about my Fella is, in reality, dangerous and inappropriate behavior... but I wouldn't change him for the world, and therefore I often don't correct him as I should (downside).

Make no mistake however... I have zero tolerance for disrespectfulness from Fella, and he knows that while I encourage his bad-ass attitude, there are well defined limits.
If he crosses the lines of respect, or behaves too dangerously, punishment is swift and severe.

Disgruntled:  I'll critique Fella now.
This horse is a little different from the typical, because he was specifically bred to race, and not for pleasure purposes... and he has never been ridden for pleasure.

He's nervous, high-strung, and teeters on the brink of insanity.
He doesn't tolerate bumbling or errors... at all... and although he's generally well behaved and friendly, he has a huge chip on his shoulder, and can easily erupt into temperamental fits if he's mishandled.

A strong will tempered with patience and finesse is what he demands from his handler/rider, and he will accept no less.

Fella has a cold, hard eye with a bit of a startled expression... a reflection of his temperament.
The eye of a horse looks directly into his soul, and is the most important thing to consider... his eye tells you everything you need to know about his personality and temperament.

Here's a photo of Fella at age 3... not a good "conformation shot", but shows clearly his primary conformational flaw, whereas a photo taken from the side would not.



Yes, he's somewhat cow-hocked, and stands too "close" behind.
My challenge was to transform this flaw into an asset to the horse at the racetrack... win races, and keep his hocks sound.

I had noticed in the past that most draft horses are cowhocked to a certain extent, with the ones which excel at pulling heavy loads in competition even moreso than the average draft.
In my mind, if that conformation was translating into POWER at the pulling events, it could easily work the same for a Thoroughbred leaving the starting gate... so Fella was trained to deliver an explosive burst of speed from the starting gate, making his "flawed" cow-hocked conformation an asset to his racing career rather than a detriment.

THIS is what we're talking about when we discuss turning your horse's flaws into assets... his *cons* into *pros*.
Be flexible enough to work WITH your horse's less-than-perfect aspects rather than allowing any conformational shortcomings he may have work against you.

Post-legged horses are often good jumpers for example, but not so great for reining or barrel racing.
A horse with a straight shoulder can deliver rapid responses in directional changes, but lacks smoothness for pleasure riding.
Pleasure trail horses can have all kinds of conformation issues and still perform well (and stay sound) because they really don't work very hard. 

In short, if the rider is willing to work WITH conformational flaws, and make changes in their goals and expectations, they're no longer holding back the horse.

The combination of our temperaments, work ethics, and athleticism makes me and Fella a "perfect match" for each other, although most people wouldn't want to own a horse as rough and tough as Fella, and most horses would find me a demanding taskmaster.

The "match" is everything when it comes to enjoying your horse.
Sooooo... working from the lists you made, how well do you and your horse mesh?