01/18/2026
Rihanna is a 17 year mustang mare that’s only had a job for about 8 months, and thinks having one now is ridiculous. But she likes ear scratches and cookies so she keeps clocking in.
She’s brave: the type that wants to sprawl her legs and look at something or just try to decide if she can eat it.
Definitely more whoa than go, but she’s got lovely gaits when warmed up.
She’s solid at walk and trot. A little heavy on the steering if you struggle to ride the outside shoulder, but she’s softening up with each ride. She’s got about ten canters under saddle as of this week. She’s willing, easy to push into it, but is still learning to coordinate all those legs and a rider. All she needs there is time and fitness.
No buck or shenanigans from this girl. That’s too much work. Her only quirk is that she wants to be asked politely. If you bug her or try to bully her, she objects with a tiny kick out or putting on the brakes. A firm leg with a quick release gets a good response.
I’d say she’s ready for a confident novice today: someone who won’t take it personally when Ri gets tired or confused and leaves the parking brake on for a minute.
She’s a great kid: honest, forgiving, easy to bribe, learns quickly, honestly quite athletic.
As a horse in her late teens, Ri has some stiffness in her hind end. I give her half a tab of equiox before work days and a good warm up. The same stiffness means she likes breaks and patience when trimming the hind, but she’s still very easy to work with.
Ri’s ideal home is with someone who wants to take things easy and just enjoy her gentle, personable personality. She loves a good noodle around ba****ck in a halter with lots of snack breaks. She’ll gamely climb a mountain of gravel and walk over strange obstacles and try to eat weird things you introduce to her. A two day dressage clinic with hour long, intense sessions was a bit much for her taste, but she tried and learned a lot!
Ri goes English and western though a solid 70% of her riding experience is simply ba****ck. She’s carried a bit but isn’t used to one yet. She’ll do leg yields, turns on the fore, and answer a half halt in a sidepull. Though not particularly tall, her big body easily takes up the leg of a taller rider.
Contact Habitat for Horses if you want to meet her!
