09/12/2026
📣A pet peeve & an honest PSA!📣
SHARED from Kylie Carter-
My least favorite question when selling horses is… “How does he do with time off?”
And before everyone gets offended, hear me out. 😂
I understand WHY buyers ask it. You’re trying to make sure you aren’t buying a horse that’s going to explode the second you don’t ride him for two weeks.
And yes — there are absolutely sellers who will tell you whatever they need to tell you to make a sale.
But “How does he do with time off?” is probably one of the most useless questions you can ask without giving me the rest of the story.
Because time off isn’t the only variable.
What was he doing before the time off?
How is he being fed?
Is he turned out or standing in a 12x12 stall?
Is he getting grain?
Is he walking around 100 acres every day or standing in a stall looking at the same four walls?
Who is getting on him after the time off?
And perhaps most importantly…
What does the rider consider “fresh”?
Our horses get used.
That’s why people want to buy them.
It’s why people tell us they wish they had horses like ours. They see horses that are dependable, broke, gentle, and able to go do a job.
But there’s something people sometimes forget:
Our horses are that way because they are used.
They are ridden. They are worked. They are exposed to different situations. They are handled regularly.
They aren’t sitting in a pasture for six months and then expected to go perform like nothing happened.
And even my very best horses — the horses I trust with my children, the horses I would put someone on who has never ridden before — could act completely different if you define “time off” differently than I do.
Two weeks off for me might mean something completely different than two months off for you.
My horse might have been turned out and moving around every day.
Your horse might have been standing in a stall eating alfalfa and grain.
Same horse.
Completely different circumstances.
Because I’ve seen people call a horse “dangerous” because he twisted his neck before breaking into a lope after two weeks off.
And I’ve seen people call a horse “bombproof” right before getting on them cold, spurring him out of the box, and then acting shocked when he tells them he’s feeling good. 🤦🏼♀️
Our horses live on hundreds of acres of rangeland. They walk to water. They walk to feed. They move all day. They stay in relatively good shape.
Some will get a little fresh — especially during green season.
But most of our honest, dependable horses aren’t sitting around storing up energy for the day they finally get ridden.
Now put that same horse in a 12x12 stall, feed him high-quality alfalfa and grain every day, take away his normal movement, and don’t ride him for two weeks.
Do you honestly think he’s going to feel exactly the same?
Of course not.
And that doesn’t make him a bad horse.
It makes him a horse.
And I think this is where there needs to be a distinction between “fresh” and “unbroke.”
When I’m selling a horse as broke, gentle, and dependable, that does NOT mean I’m claiming he is incapable of ever feeling fresh.
In fact, I have yet to meet a horse that rides and works better fresh than he does when he’s being ridden consistently.
That’s just reality.
But there is a HUGE difference between a horse feeling fresh and a horse becoming a total outlaw.
A broke horse doesn’t magically forget everything he knows because he had two weeks off.
He may have a little more energy.
He may move his feet a little quicker.
He may need a little time to settle back into work.
But that doesn’t mean he suddenly becomes completely unbroke.
If your definition of “good with time off” means that the horse must feel exactly like he does after being ridden every day, under every circumstance, with every rider, then I’m probably never going to be able to honestly answer that question with a yes.
Because I’m selling you a horse, not making you a guarantee about physics.
This is also where HORSEMANSHIP matters.
If I know a horse has been laid off and is feeling fresh, I’m not going to pull my cinch tight, climb on, and light out after a yearling to rope it.
I’m going to walk him.
I’m going to trot him.
I’m going to let him move his feet.
I’m going to pay attention.
Because horses communicate.
And I’m no bronc rider 😂
And I sure as hell don’t put an inexperienced rider on a fresh horse just because I want to prove a point.
Here’s the controversial part:
Sometimes I think buyers have been taught to expect a horse to behave like a piece of machinery.
Put him away for 30 days.
Pull him out.
Get on.
Go rope.
No warm-up.
No adjustment period.
No consideration for feed, environment, rider, weather, herd dynamics, or anything else.
And if the horse feels fresh?
“Well, you said he was good with time off.”
No.
I said he was a good horse.
There is a difference.
When I sell a horse, I’m going to tell you what I know about that horse. I’m not going to intentionally sell you something that doesn’t fit what you’re looking for.
But I’m also not going to promise you that a horse will behave exactly the same for you, in your environment, under your management, with your feed program, after your definition of “time off.”
That’s not honesty. That’s fortune telling.
Buyers deserve honest sellers.
But buyers also need to take some responsibility for understanding horses.
A horse isn’t a washing machine. You don’t turn it off, leave it sitting for two weeks, turn it back on, and expect identical performance.
Sometimes the difference between a “bad horse” and a “fresh horse” is simply whether someone had enough horsemanship to recognize the difference.
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