Super Gentle Horses

Evaluating horses

Many of you ask, how do I evaluate my horses? Here is a brief description, of what we do and what I expect.

I never round pen or lounge a horse before riding it. I saddle all of my horses, untrack them, and ride them off. If a horse must be round penned or lounged before riding to get out excess energy, then the horse does not fit my program. I expect all of my horses to ride away from the barn with no whinnying, no nervousness. All of my horses are ridden in the arena as well as out on trails. Once I feel confident that the horse is really gentle, I let friends, family, and kids ride the horses; many of which are beginner level riders.

To go on a trail ride from my house I have to ride right down the neighborhood street which is asphalt, then down a dirt road next to the rail road tracks where there is some spooky junk and old cars. Then we can reach a dirt road that runs along the SRP irrigation canal. Once at the canal, we can ride for miles in either direction. On many of these rides, we cross over the rail road tracks, and ride across a narrow bridge designed for people and bicycles. On these trail rides, we encounter things such as: barking dogs, kids on skateboards, bicyclists, joggers, etc. The girls seem to think it's fun to ride the horses up to am pm and get snacks. We also have ridden to Denny's, Tulies Restaurant, and the Gilbert Rodeo Grounds.

We often take the horses on various trail rides including in the San Tan Mountain Park , Goldfield Ghost Town , Bulldog Canyon , and Usery Park . In the summer time we take the horses up North and spend week long trips riding in beautiful country , often seeing various wildlife such as Elk and Deer. Back at home, we have cattle at the house and enjoy roping a few days a week. Since almost all of the horses are ranch broke and have a lot of prior cattle experience, the horses are great for games such as team penning and sorting .

I am often asked how long my evaluation period is. There is no exact time a horse is evaluated for, the determining factor is the horses behavior, they have to earn my trust before I will rate the horse. I would estimate that the average evaluation period is 1 month. Keep in mind that my own personal horses listed on the site all come from my horse supplier, who I have known for over 10 years. The horses have already been evaluated prior to me receiving them, which means the horses were represented to me as fitting my Super Gentle Horses program. Often I am contacted by others wanting to trade horses. I do not take trades or buy horses from other sources. I like my program, and trust my supplier because if I don't like a horse for any reason I can take it back. I believe this program is what makes my business better than the others, because I never get stuck with a bad horse, and I don't have to sell something I don't like.

Sherry McDaniel

Super Gentle Horses