"No one else ever rides my horse." Really?

[SBT]

I’ve heard this statement numerous times over the years, and in most cases, I think it’s pretty silly actually. Unless you own a rare beast whose mind truly will be blown by a different rider, or a greenie who needs a very accurate ride, OR a horse gearing up for a major competition…what is the harm in letting someone else ride? I’d imagine that for about 90% of the horses out there, an occasional ride by someone different is probably NOT a detriment.

I actually LIKE seeing other people get on my horse from time to time. It’s a great barometer for how well I’ve trained him, and what he still needs to work on. I love getting “outside” opinons on him, too! And I like “sharing” him with beginner/novice friends who want to try riding. He is 13, very smart, and basically made. No one is going to “ruin” him going for a spin around the arena W/T/C. Especially not while I’m there to keep an eye on things.

I would NOT want someone to ride him if I wasn’t there…that would not be cool. And because he is a distance snob, I’m really selective about who jumps him. But if I’m at the barn, and you want to hop on for a little bit…AND you’re not a jerk or entirely too heavy for him…by all means. Sign the hold harmless, wear a helmet, and let me get my camera so I can brag on my awesome boy.

Even if he were a $100,000 show hunter, I think I’d feel the same way. Again, not just anybody would be allowed to jump him or work him hard…but go for a spin on the flat, while I’m there to observe? Why not? Seriously, what is cooler than having someone else ride and say, “OMG, what a NICE horse!”

Thoughts on this?

[_jumper]

I agree. My horse is 14 and knows his job, so I love letting my friend hop on him now and then. She’s a capable rider, respects the horse, and I love to see him go, so it’s perfect. Now I wouldn’t want someone who didn’t know what they were doing up there, but only because after all he’s done I think he deserves a nice quiet ride. Otherwise, I think it’s good for horses to experience different riding styles now and then. I know I’m not perfect and he puts up with me

[To_the_MAX]

I guess for me it’s just a matter of liability.

[GrayCatFarm]

within limits

I let other people ride my horse when I am traveling. She is (now) very well trained and highly responsive to the aids, and soooooooooo smooth. However, conformationally she’s not pretty and has been the object of some snobbery in the barn. That ALL disappears after one ride and I come back to some very nice comments. She deserves to be better appreciated and this is one way she gets her props in the barn. But, there are some people I just can’t watch ride her…

[Burbank]

Right now its due to me being selfish, my horse is mine, he is my first and I haven’t had him for a year yet.
Also he is kinda silly, had a year off when I got him and I haven’t been able to ride him as consistently as I would like to get his “hotness” down, we like to move.
There are some that I would not mind riding him, but most people nope.

[Milocalwinnings]

I WISH I had someone who could ride my gelding. I’d love to share him. I’ve ridden him only once since March, because I’ve been injured, and I"m now getting ready to leave for college so he will be left to sit in a pasture. I wish he was a horse who could be ridden by others, because I’d love to have him used in lessons… but he just can’t be. You can’t put beginners on him (last time we tried that was at the prior barn we were at, and he would just stop and not move), and he doesn’t seem to like other more advanced riders I’ve had on him. I wish I had the money to go to a clinic and have a BNT ride him… so that I could see how he’d go with someone who is REALLY educated, and see what they thought of him.

The problem is, he’s a very one-rider horse. I’ve had friends get on him and he does not go well for them at all. All have ridden a variety of horses, all are at or above my experience level etc… He goes beautifully for me, but when one of them get on him, he hollows up, gets very light upfront, refuses to trot, and just plain acts like he isn’t a happy camper. I’ve had to learn how to ride him, and learn how to ride his buttons… and I think that’s the difference- I know how he needs to be ridden and the other riders ride him like any other horse (and there is a huge difference in the ride I have to give him vs. the ride I have to give the mare I sometimes rode for lessons).

[Bravestrom]

The only other person that rides my horse is my dressage coach - and only if he is not being a good boy.

He hates being ridden by anyone else - you can really see it in his face and attitude. It has taken almost three years for him to finally (sometimes) accept my coach.

He is my baby and I have too much respect for him to upset him unnecessarily. AND HE IS MINE (THE CONTROL FREEK IN ME COMING OUT).

[rescuemom]

Nobody else rides my greenie because he has never had anyone else on his back. I live in the boonies, can’t afford to haul out for lessons right now, and would prefer to limit the errors he learns to those installed by me.

Few people would be permitted on my senior mare, because she has major opinions and would quickly dump those not prepared/skilled enough. She is 21 and proof that some horses mellow virtually not at all with age.

There are two other people I know that would be allowed to ride my rescue mare. Skill, liability, more issues than National Geographic; I just couldn’t risk them or her.

This does present a problem since I now live where folks would come and visit and hope for a ride, and I can’t afford a serviceably sound packer. I’d put (almost) anyone up on them for a pony ride, but other than that, not going to happen.

It isn’t always about not wanting to ‘share’.

[GilbertsCreeksideAcr]

I’m seriously considering boarding my mare for a couple of months this winter in a lesson barn so other people can ride her. I have had her here at my home since she was 6 months old and, except for two people who rode her around the pasture at a walk, she has never had anyone else on her back. I would like to get her some experience with other riders, so she doesn’t become that “one person horse.”

[ryansgirl]

No one rides my horses - mostly due to liability and because well they are my horses ;). It’s always been that way with my family’s horses - ever since we were kids. Sure we rode each others but no one else was allowed on them.

[Sail_Away]

[QUOTE=SBT;4261769]
I actually LIKE seeing other people get on my horse from time to time. It’s a great barometer for how well I’ve trained him, and what he still needs to work on. I love getting “outside” opinons on him, too! And I like “sharing” him with beginner/novice friends who want to try riding. He is 13, very smart, and basically made. No one is going to “ruin” him going for a spin around the arena W/T/C. Especially not while I’m there to keep an eye on things.

I would NOT want someone to ride him if I wasn’t there…that would not be cool. And because he is a distance snob, I’m really selective about who jumps him. But if I’m at the barn, and you want to hop on for a little bit…AND you’re not a jerk or entirely too heavy for him…by all means. Sign the hold harmless, wear a helmet, and let me get my camera so I can brag on my awesome boy.

Thoughts on this?[/QUOTE]

I have let numerous people on my horse including one of my daughter’s friends and the daughter of one of my friends. He was a trooper anytime someone else got on his back.

Just last week a friend who hasn’t been on a horse in a long time got on him and absolutely loved it. Now she is interested in taking some lessons.

Of course, they are restricted to the ring and if they are beginners I walk beside them just in case but I don’t mind sharing at all.

[BarbB]

I actually LIKE seeing other people get on my horse from time to time. It’s a great barometer for how well I’ve trained him, and what he still needs to work on. I love getting “outside” opinons on him, too! And I like “sharing” him with beginner/novice friends who want to try riding. He is 13, very smart, and basically made. No one is going to “ruin” him going for a spin around the arena W/T/C. Especially not while I’m there to keep an eye on things.

This is exactly how I felt about my last horse.
My current horse is a rescue with serious trust issues so for now no one else gets on her. But part of her education will be to learn to tolerate other riders.

[Chall]

On one of my horses, sure kids, hop on. He’s a good sport. But the other, heck no. Sensitive, sensitive TB.

[BarbB]

@SBT;4261769

I actually LIKE seeing other people get on my horse from time to time. It’s a great barometer for how well I’ve trained him, and what he still needs to work on. I love getting “outside” opinons on him, too! And I like “sharing” him with beginner/novice friends who want to try riding. He is 13, very smart, and basically made. No one is going to “ruin” him going for a spin around the arena W/T/C. Especially not while I’m there to keep an eye on things.

I would NOT want someone to ride him if I wasn’t there…that would not be cool. And because he is a distance snob, I’m really selective about who jumps him. But if I’m at the barn, and you want to hop on for a little bit…AND you’re not a jerk or entirely too heavy for him…by all means. Sign the hold harmless, wear a helmet, and let me get my camera so I can brag on my awesome boy.

This is exactly how I felt about my last horse.
My current horse is a rescue with serious trust issues so for now no one else gets on her. But part of her education will be to learn to tolerate other riders.

[huntergirl007]

I don’t mind when I let other people hop on him. I find I do the “well don’t pull on his mouth, watch his bend going to the right, don’t canter for too long - he’s had a hard day!” thing but other than that I’m okay.

I DON’T like people riding him on a regular basis. We’ve molded to each other, know what we want, and when people start to teach him habit’s I’m not crazy about then it’s just a whole lot more work to get him back to the place he’s at. And trust me - it’s taken us a while to get there in the first place!

[ddashaq]

I let others on my arab all the time. He is an easy, uncomplicated ride whose worst habit is a tendency to spook when he is feeling frisky. My TB has yet to really be ridden so it remains to be seen how he will be under saddle with me or any one else.

[CosMonster]

I let other people ride two of my horses, but my baby is just that and I really don’t like the idea of other people riding him, even if they’re quite good. It’s not that I think they’re going to mess him up or anything, it’s just that I can be very selfish and he’s my baby. It’s irrational yes but then I never claimed to be 100% rational.

My retired horse I don’t let people ride anymore, because he always (and I mean always) bucks with a new rider, and bucks hard. When I had him in serious training and I was still learning I let pros or very skilled riders ride him to help teach him movements and things I wasn’t 100% on, with full disclosure beforehand, and a few times I let braver friends ride him to try him out. Since he’s retired and there’s really no reason for anyone else to ride him anymore, I just don’t let it happen. Too stressful for him and risky for the rider.

But like I said, I let people ride my other two pretty frequently although I am very picky about their skill level…they have to meet my fairly high basic criteria.

[Cindyg]

I’d love to share my horse, and when I got him, I assumed I would. But he’s not reliable. I don’t have any serious horse friends in real life, and he would certainly not be safe for an “hey-can-I-have-a-horsey-ride?” kind of friend. If I had a serious horse friend who rode as well as me or better, sure, I’d let them ride.

[sublimequine]

No one else save for my mum rides my horse because most of the people I am around really don’t have the skills to be riding her, honestly. My mare has a lot of quirks, and I’m okay with that. I can ride her just fine, and that’s really all that matters to me. :lol:

[katarine]

I just sold the horse anyone could ride.

Smart kind people can ride Jake.
Gaited savvy peeps can ride Maggie, I loaned her to a gal at a girl’s weekend earlier this year- she knows gaited, she’s kind, she gets to ride her.
Nobody rides Chip but me and my instructor, and we all like it better that way. He’s a good guy, kind hearted, but he’s no babysitter. I don’t ask him to be. Jake can do that if I need one, and want to.

You no likey? Me no carey