If you are looking for a gentle horse or trying to find a breed of horse that is easy to handle for a new rider, there is no cut and dry answer. There can be a lot of variables that make a typically calm breed, very hard to ride or a normally high strung, energetic horse the calmest you have ever seen. However, if you are looking for that first horse, you may want to start with discovering, “What is the calmest horse breed for beginners?” according to most people and go from there.Which Horses are Great?
The American Quarter Horse is known for being good for a new rider. The same can be said for Appaloosas, Tennessee Walking Horses and Morgans. Draft horses, or draft horse crosses, are typically great beginner horses, but their size can be a challenge. They are large across the back and finding a saddle to fit is pretty hard to deal with sometimes. All cross breed horses have the potential to be great rides because they are not bred to be any particular temperament. They simply go with the flow.
However, one of the best things you can do for yourself when finding a beginner horse is to get a feel for it personally as opposed to basing it on breed alone. If you are not sure you will have the chance to get to know the horse prior to buying it, perhaps you should check out horses that have known issues when it comes to obeying and steer clear of them.
Which Horses Have a Bad Rep?
One breed that you may want to avoid when putting a new rider on their back is the Arabian. They do have a reputation as being very hard to handle as are Thoroughbreds that are mostly bred to be racing horses.
You will sometimes hear about the Haflingers breed horse and they are supposedly great horses with an even temperament. The catch is, as you read through about how great they are, you will find other comments that point toward them being a little strong minded at times if their rider is not confident in the saddle. This shows that it may be a great breed of horse for a beginner, but that does not necessarily mean that it is ideal for all beginners. This thought leads most people to the idea that perhaps it is not the breed but the horse itself.
Find a Better, Calmer Horse
You may have two horses that are of the same breed and the same age as each other, but the two horses be completely different in how they behave. For you to find the right beginner horse, you should keep this in mind.
Instead of considering the breed, look toward the person who trained them to find out whether they train in a gentle way or if they are more forceful. This may also go along with their experience while training horses.
You should also consider the temperament of that particular horse. Some horse breeds that are considered to be spook-able may have some in that breed line that are fearless. An older horse is going to be more casual and forgiving when it comes to mistakes that a new rider may make than a younger one.
Finding the right horse for a beginner is not an easy task, but it is doable if you decide what you want the new horse and rider to be able to do together. However, it is not always going to be because you picked the best breed of horse for your rider.