I have been doing this sport for 30 years and I always want a
horn to grab! But that is my personal preferance and it probably comes
from the fact that although I learned both English and Western, I have always
preferred western. My first distance horse was a spooky son of a
gun. My friends made a point of putting me in front and then laughed
themselves silly as Charlie spooked right and left down the trail.. He
never did it with my daughter when she took over!! I remember a training
ride when he was spooking violently and I had a death grip on the horn. I
finally got so mad, that I grabbed both his ears and shook his head as hard as I
could much to the amusement of my wonderful friends. I yelled very nasty
things, but that damn horse spooked the whole way UNTIL we turned around and
headed home! Then he was as good as gold. When he was in his 20s, he
taught kids about riding trails, got his Ohio blanket at age 22, and at age 26
he learned about team penning! He was good at it too and he did everything
at an extended trot. He also did this sport from age 5 until age 23 with a
heart murmer. Never held him back. There will never be another
Charlie and I can only say that he sure taught me about the arab 4th gait, the
spook! LOL Jeanie
