10/28/2026
Pistols Before Dawn, or “Pistol” as we call him, is a 2022 registered AQHA dapple grey gelding standing just shy of 15.3 hands tall. He’s a big, beautiful young gelding with plenty of substance, and somehow an even bigger personality.
The best way I can describe Pistol is a giant puppy dog in a horse’s body.
He’s almost always the first one to meet you at the gate and absolutely loves attention. If you have an afternoon to waste grooming a horse, Pistol will happily volunteer. He’s the kind that genuinely enjoys spending time with people, and his big teddy-bear personality makes him very easy to get attached to.
What surprises most people about Pistol is his age. He’s only four years old, but he doesn’t have that busy, immature attitude you sometimes expect from a young horse. He’s naturally pretty chill and laid-back about life and tends to take new things in stride.
Most of Pistol’s riding has been Western, and he already has a really nice foundation underneath him. He’s more whoa than go, but he’s responsive when you ask him to move out. He carries himself beautifully and has a naturally elegant frame for such a big, stout horse.
Recently, we’ve started playing around with some English riding, and that’s where Pistol really surprised me.
He absolutely loves it.
We introduced him to jumping, and within about 20 minutes he had started figuring out what we were asking and seemed to genuinely enjoy himself. Obviously, he’s still very new to jumping, but between his size, movement, attitude, and willingness to learn, I think he has the potential to make someone a really fun English or jumping prospect.
I could also see him being a neat horse for someone interested in eventually getting into fox hunting. He has the size and substance, he’s comfortable being out and about, and most importantly, he has a sensible mind. That’s something I think is hard to teach—you can improve a horse’s training, but it’s awfully nice when they start out with a good head on their shoulders.
Pistol has also spent plenty of time outside of the arena. He’s been ridden extensively on the trails, is comfortable around traffic, and has been very sensible about the different things we’ve exposed him to. He’s not a horse that goes looking for something to be afraid of. If something new comes along, his normal response is to look at it, listen to his rider, and carry on.
For only being four years old, I think Pistol already has an impressive foundation. At the same time, he still has his whole future ahead of him, which may be my favorite thing about him.
You aren’t buying a horse that has already been pushed into one specific job. He’s had a good start, he’s been given real-world experience, and now he’s at an age where someone can take that foundation and decide what they want him to become.
Keep him Western. Take him down the English road. Develop him as a jumper. Explore fox hunting. Trail ride him. Or make him into a really nice all-around horse.
Pistol is ready for someone to pick a direction and keep building from here.
And whatever direction that ends up being, you’re still going to have that same big grey teddy bear waiting for you at the gate.
Pistol has a current veterinary health examination.
Be sure to watch his video to see him for yourself. If you have any questions about Pistol or would like to talk about whether he may be a good fit for you and what you’re wanting to do, please feel free to reach out. I’m always happy to talk horses and tell you more about him.
More information can be found here. https://bid.horsebid.com/lots/view/4-NGBOGL
