APG - // Andy -when was the last time you were on a horse? Believe me if I put any rider on any of my horses and they started to shake rattle and roll they would be on the floor before you could say 'bomb proof'. //
It was years ago, sady, I love riding, but am prevented by a twisted vertebrae that would mean one days riding, six days imobile agony.
My experience, like most people, is at a riding school where horses are used to novices, and are docile and go along with different people.
That said, I have ridden horses that have been pretty feisty, and we have gone through the usual few minutes while we establish who is in charge, the horse or me, and in each case I have made it clear that we are going where I say, when I say, and how fast I say. I have seen horses bolt with scared riders on, and I seen a school owner thrown when her horse was spooked and stopped dead while galloping, and she went over his head and broke one of her femurs.
So although I don't speak from authority, I can only speak from my experience.