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

[mmeqcenter]

Strange thread to bump 11 years later.

But I’ll play.
I see no harm in someone not letting others ride their horse. It’s their horse, after all, they’re the ones paying all the money for it to be cared for.

I’ve let plenty of other people ride most of my horses, but almost no one other than me has ridden my current mare. My twin sister, who took lessons when we started as kids but didn’t stick with it, got on her and trotted her around once. That’s it, other than me. There’s not been an occasion to need someone else to ride her (like a trainer), she is not safe for actual beginners, and none of my equestrian friends have ever wanted to ride her, she’s a bit of a psycho. My horse, my choice.

I also detest when random non-horse people are like “Oooh you have horses, can I come ride one??” No. No you cannot, and frankly I consider it rude to ask if you’ve not been explicitly invited. The thing I spend all my spare money on is not here to tickle your fancy on a whim.

[kande04]

@mmeqcenter

I’ve let plenty of other people ride most of my horses, but almost no one other than me has ridden my current mare. My twin sister, who took lessons when we started as kids but didn’t stick with it, got on her and trotted her around once. That’s it, other than me. There’s not been an occasion to need someone else to ride her (like a trainer), she is not safe for actual beginners, and none of my equestrian friends have ever wanted to ride her, she’s a bit of a psycho.

Same, except the one trainer who rode him got on to see if she could feel what I was describing (he has a club foot and she’d ridden a horse with a club before), but then when she started trying to retrain him I couldn’t wait for her to get off.

I didn’t want to be rude and say, “Hey, you got up there to feel how he moves, not to try to retrain him in 5 minutes or less, so if you’re done with your evaluation then how about getting off?” In fact, watching her trying to force him into her style of riding when he obviously had no idea what she wanted was so unpleasant for me that I haven’t let anyone else get on him.

[ReSomething]

Well it could be considered the same as asking if you have an extra motorcycle and can they come ride with you. I do know some folks with more than one motorcycle who would gladly offer to have a riding buddy, but being asked can I use your motorcycle while you sit around and watch, ummm no.

[mmeqcenter]

@kande04 Ugh, I hope you changed trainers? Personally, I couldn’t take lessons from someone I would not be comfortable with getting on my horse if need be. I would certainly let my trainer get on her if the situation arose, it just has not yet been a necessity.

@ReSomething yeah, it’s the difference between the non-owner asking or it being offered by the owner that matters. Even if there’s a “spare” available.

[Edre]

old thread bump but interesting discussion all the same.

At this point in my life, I have very little interest in letting anyone else ride my horse. Why would I?

Part of my philosophy comes from having owned “THE HORSE” that was of the (very firm) opinion that you would either ride him properly or you would be lawn darted at speed. The primary sin to which he took extreme offense to was poor contact. If you put too much pressure on his face without releasing/giving/following (or, more extreme, just cranked back and held) he would get quicker and quicker and quicker. The only way to stop him at that point was to drop the reins, sit deep in the saddle, and relax your leg/seat/back. He’d stop on a dime if you did that, but really - how many riders can manage to rationalize something that feels so counterintuitive when you’re galloping around at speed with a horse that isn’t listening to anything you say any longer?

You could argue he was poorly trained, but people who had soft hands and a soft seat had very little issue with him. Great horse, very well educated, receptive to the aids. He just got PO’d when you held his face and didn’t treat him fairly - and expressed this resentment in no uncertain terms. So after a few tries, he was the horse that was the [only my instructor or I can ride him].

With my current one, she’s shaping up to be a lot more forgiving - however, something said earlier in this thread really resonated with me. I’m not really interested in letting anyone who isn’t at my level or above work with her. She’s young, she’s green, everything is a training experience. I would prefer not to expose her to ‘bad habits’ in the first place (riders who have an unfollowing seat, hard hands, etc). I am a far cry from a perfect, or a great, rider, but the majority of riders that I am friendly with are content with the level of skill where they are at as it serves them just fine (for their goals, satisfaction, and education). It’s not a level of skill that I’m willing to say is going to automatically set my green horse up for success. There are a very few people I trust as riders that I have no qualms about sharing a ride with them, but by and far? I’m not interested.

I feel like it’s weird that some people think it’s odd not to want others to ride their horses. I can see why someone would, I can see why someone wouldn’t. Different goals, different horses, and different personalities - the world takes all kinds, and there’s no real wrong answer. It’s just what your preference is.

[candyappy]

@joiedevie99

This thread is 11 years old.

So what? It is more interesting than a lot of current threads and worthy of restarting in my opinion.

I have always preferred that no one rides my horse but me. I raise and start most all my riding horses ( unless I happen to buy one already started for my kids). Doesn’t matter if I showed them or just used them for trail rides.

On the off chance I sell one or want a knowledgable rider I trust to ride them everything goes just fine.

[moonlitoaksranch]

I will give pony rides on my horse, but not our son’s horse. That is his horse and only he can ride him because he has a few soundness quirks and it’s just not worth it. He needs a light rider. It’s hard enough to find a good horse for a kid.

I have only had my horse for a year and she and I are still bonding. She is so much more personable. She was aloof with the previous owner because she didn’t have her own person. Several people rode her. So much personality is coming out now that she has one rider. She is loyal, brave, and all the good things a horse should be. She gets doing pony rides, but I am not interested in turning her over to another rider to take down the trail. I don’t want her to close down again.

[NoSuchPerson]

@eightpondfarm

Heck, i get irritated when i get my truck back from the dealership after inspection/oilchanges/repairs and they’ve moved the seat. .

OMG, yes! Also, the service guys always turn my headlights from “auto” to “off.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve pulled out of a well-lighted parking lot after dark and thought, “WTH? Why is it so dark? What’s wrong with my headlights?” Then, a split second later, “Oh, yeah, oil change…”

But back to the question at hand, for me, it depends. Which horse, which person, and what’s the reason? I’ve got a horse who, in temperament, is basically a glorified school horse when inside an arena. He won’t buck, spook, or run off. He will give pony rides and will follow me around. If you know the minimal basics of how to ride, you will be able to steer him, stop him, and maybe even get him to trot. I don’t mind letting other people ride him as long as they’re willing to follow my instructions.

My other horse is, well, quirky. There are maybe 3 people I know that I would feel comfortable letting ride him. And all of them would charge me for their time. :lol:

[quietann]

Well, when you acknowledge that for various reasons, you are stuck at “permanent advanced beginner rider” status (/raises hand), having other people ride your horse is useful. Did it for many years for various reasons.

These days, it’s just me, mostly because she is semi-retired, and no one at my barn is interested in riding her.

[Willesdon]

Turn that upside down, if you only ride one horse, can you really ride at all?

[Equkelly]

I always roll my eyes at people who think if anyone else gets on their horse it’ll be ruined. Like they’re just so perfect of a rider that every horse they ride turns to gold and if anyone else does the horse will be lost without them and their perfect riding! I have a 4 year old greenie and I definitely don’t let anyone get on. But if they are confident, have a quiet seat, and soft hands my mare will be just fine and her training won’t be ruined just because that person doesn’t ride exactly like me. I totally agree with what others said 11 years ago (lol). It’s a good indicator on your training and I think it’s an important skill for every horse to have a sense of humor about other riders. If something happens to me and I couldn’t ride for awhile I’d want someone to get on her while I was out of commission and I want my horse to be marketable if I had to sell her.

This also goes for trainers that take horses in for training for months and don’t let the owner get on because that’ll “ruin” the horse. That drives me nuts. Teach them how to not ruin the horse then. Don’t just bill them for training for 6 months and not teach the owner anything. I get it at first and especially for colt starting, you don’t want the owner interfering with the horses learning but after awhile you don’t need to be a trainer to ride a green horse. You need to be confident, you need a balanced seat, you need to be soft, and you need to be under supervision and instruction but you don’t need to be a professional.

[TMares]

I know it’s an old thread…

DH lets his horse make a lot of decisions, so I don’t love putting other people on him. When Toppy decides to run up a hill, he’ll surprise you with that decision. I don’t enjoy that horse!

My two gaited horses are sensitive to tense riders- tense riders make them pacier. The younger of the two is very expressive. My instructor rode him a time or two but she carries some sort of tension in a way he did NOT like- typically he blows his nose/softens and loosens in his back about 10-15 strides into a ride at home. He carried her around for 45+ minutes and never did, and he was pacey, which isn’t like him- just his regular walk got lateral. We swapped horses, I hopped on him, walked maybe halfway down a long side- BLOOOOOW that nose, bubba. blow it. He was just a little unsure about her seat. so, yeah- I try to do right by them and am picky about who gets to ride them.

[Tanny98]

I live on my own property with the occasion to trailer in for lessons.
I have an 18 yo I got as an 11 yo who was poorly trained and quite possibly abused. It took me a while to form a bond with him. Now he’s my old trusty mount. I rode him through 7 months of pregnancy. But he is genuinely terrified and just cannot relax when someone else gets on him. It’s just not fair to him anymore and there’s no reason for it.
I also have an 8 year old of similar background. My trainer doesn’t see us often enough to make an impression on him by riding him, so it’s best that I just do the work when I got see her. If someone were to show interest in riding him as in a lease, or for a lesson I wouldn’t mind. He can still get a bit nervous about a new rider though.
I think mine are just more personable horses who prefer that one person.

[RedHorses]

I backed my older horse myself and he was 8 the first time anyone else got on him. He gave me a shocked look when she got on, then did his best to do what she asked. He’s 22 now and has had maybe half a dozen other people ride him (most. more than once). So I don’t believe that most horses need to learn to let other people ride them. Maybe it makes a difference that I am always working on new things or doing old things better and he’s not just doing a job that is done a certain way.

The other horse is rising 12 and has never had anyone else on his back. For a long time I didn’t trust him, but now I would have to have complete confidence that the potential rider would listen to me and obey instantly if I told them to do something. My horse has a hair trigger ejector button and while he has learned to trust me to fix the problem that is because I learned to read the subtlest indication that there was a problem.

I boarded with a friend who was convinced he was yanking my chain because she couldn’t see anything when I had to hop off and fix the issue. I sometimes wondered that myself, but it was like flicking a switch - he was 100% interested in today’s game when I got it right. He would be worried for several days afterwards if I actually hit the ejector button.

If I could trust the rider I don’t think either horse or rider would have any trouble - though I’m sure my horse would give me an astonished look right before he walked on. :lol:
”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹

[ABookworm]

My retired small pony no one rides. I’ve had people ask because he’s “kid size” and it’s always a hard no. He’s old, did 20 years teaching kids, and has earned his retirement of babysitting the rest of the herd, going on trail hand walks, and learning tricks. I couldn’t ask him to carry a rider again. He’s so much happier being a pasture puff who does cute tricks than he was the last few years teaching lessons.

My large pony eventer I will allow select people on. My nonrider cousins have ridden her because she’s safe and sane but only at the walk and only in an arena. My trainers hop on her to school her. Plus I’ll let other equestrians who I trust hop on her providing they have signed my waiver and know the basics of riding. Friends and nonriders who aren’t related to me are a hard no. She won’t misbehave but I’ve put too much time and effort into correcting her bad habits that I won’t risk putting beginners on her regularly again.

My Saddlebred trail horse is typically a hard no with the exception of my brother. When I’ve let other people ride her they get pissy because she’ll start gaiting or revert to her saddleseat behaviors (shifting to the more upright headset or getting extremely animated with her front end) when she gets excited. I’ve had too many people start hauling on her mouth or freak out over the gaiting and accuse me of having a lame horse because the stride feels strange. One of my trainers is allowed to get on her because they’ve proven to me that they won’t freak out over her excitement and they ride her through it extremely similar to how I do (breathe deeply, relax, and talk to her while not hauling on her face).

Overall, my rationale for not letting people ride truly boils down to liability. I keep my horses at home and ultimately don’t want to deal with the risk of someone falling off my horses or expecting to ride every time they’re over. Each horse has specific reasons why they’re allowed to be ridden and/or not ridden but the biggest factor is liability.

[HereComesZach]

I don’t mind people riding my horses, it’s just that the ones that ask to are always the ones most likely to hurt my horses or get themselves hurt, so they get a ‘thanks but no thanks’ :lol:

[xeroxchick]

Why on earth should I let anyone else ride my horse? Sure, someone could, but why? She is a perfect field hunter. Not even if they payed me.

[Fellbutbackup]

Her horse. Her rules. None of anyone’s business to be asking, “Really?”

[GraceLikeRain]

My late mare was a pistol but if you literally held the buckle and could keep your seat quiet, she’d trail ride you through fire. I let a couple of competent riders with trail anxiety ride her over the years while I rode their more nervous horse. A friend rode her around W/T/C and it was a bit rough but fine. She also had a pistol mare and I trusted her to stay calm.

New girl I’d love to have someone more competent than me hop on her. I don’t think there’d be any value in having a less experienced rider on her at this stage. Since purchasing her I’ve only had one person on her. If they lived closer I’d be begging them to hop up a few times a month for an outside perspective.

[luvmyhackney]

I’ll let anybody ride my kids pony provided they are within the weight limit. But generally on a lunge line or lead line unless I know they are a decent rider. He gets pissy if you yank on his face or bounce hard on his back. On a lunge line, he could care less. He’s not mean or hard to ride just sensitive to aids and has quick reactions to aids. He is a border collie trapped in a ponies body.