Are you a one horse rider or a multiple mount person?

Are you...

  • A one horse rider

    Votes: 45 44.6%

  • A multiple mount rider

    Votes: 26 25.7%

  • Somewhere in the middle

    Votes: 30 29.7%
  • Total voters
    101
Too fat to ride atm, but when I did, I tried to vary mounts every so often. I found it really helpful, not just for my riding but also to really feel what was going on for my own horse when I got back on. While he is the most comfortable horse I've ridden and we get on very well together, we both have bad habits and coming from riding something else makes those stand out more starkly.

My favourite was an ex-racer called Fleur who couldn't have been more different to my heavyweight cobbus. I found out when I got back from the hack that she'd been out of racing for just a few weeks - which explained having to leap on as she went past and the VERY strict instructions to ride on a loose rein unless I wanted to disappear into the distance.
 
I don't have my own horse any more so am riding at a riding school for lessons and a local stable for riding out.
I'm riding whoever I'm given to ride and so far so good. I do have trouble usually with my first ride on a new (to me) horse but 've been working on that for a while now and am making progress.

I'm enjoying riding now even though it's not on my own horse.
 
Currently I'm a one horse rider.

I used to work with horse's and have various bits of papers from various exams so have ridden plenty of different horse's in my time. Not so much these days! Although I have ridden other horse's whilst owning my own & had classical school master lessons which I enjoyed, time restraints currently mean I mainly just ride my own.

Having said that, everytime I ride another there is something to learn and it does make me more grateful for my own.

There's certainly pro's and con's to both but if I had a gun to my head and had to chose just one I'd pick just riding one horse. I've reached a stage where I feel I have nothing to prove - including riding different horse's to tick a box to other's that I'm a good rider. I enjoy focusing on one horse and working more deeply on continuing to improve the emotional connection and tiny nuances rather than being able to ride more horse's fairly well.

That's not to say I wouldn't go back to riding more horse's regularly, I'm sure I will at some stage. But right now I've no complaints about being a one horse rider.
 
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smolmaus said:
I offered last week and someone said she has too many buttons that seem to mean sideways 💀

Nice way of saying she's badly schooled and hasn't yet met the concept of straightness I think, which is tbh probably fair 😂
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I offered a friend the opportunity to ride Baggs the other day and her response was "He seems lovely but a tad too sharp for my liking and I've seen the shit he pulls with you. I prefer my internal organs to stay internal - but thanks for the offer!".

I mean she does have a valid point about the various tricks Baggs can pull (his favourite being the buck to unseat you, drop the shoulder whilst you're in the forwards position and then a sharp spin to deposit you on the floor), but generally speaking he can keep a lid on his spiciness 🤣
 
I grew up riding many different horses at my beloved RS in Scotland, then had a lovely little 13.2 on loan for years until I went to equine college at 17 for my BHS exams, where obviously you have to ride all sorts.

Always used to prefer riding bigger ones, but I now have my friend's 14.3 chunky Connie mare on full loan and must say I'm a total pony convert! She gives me such fun, can be absolutely ridiculous when she loses her brain, but always makes me feel safe on hacks (even when she's piaffeing all over the place) and she jumps like a stag, but really looks after me too.At 45, I'm not as brave as I used to be...

My beautiful heart horse, a 16hh standardbred mare is now retired and is stabled opposite. She gets jealous sometimes if I give the other too much attention and will give the door a quick kick to remind me. I also love mares! ❤️
 
I guess I’m a multiple rider. I have a 19 yr old who’s semi retired. We used to event, SJ, dressage together but now we mainly just hack. I also recently bought a 6 yr old who is going to take over as my main ride. I enjoy riding them both. I know the old boy inside out but I’m enjoying getting to know the new one. They are both very different so it’s been a steep learning curve. The younger one is quite hot and tricky but I’m enjoying the challenge. He’s an over thinker whereas my older horse is much more laid back. I also ride my husbands horse from time to time. I think it’s a good thing to try and get a tune out of different horses. It makes you think and adapt. Pros ride so many different horses a day it’s no wonder they are so much better than us amateurs.
However, I wouldn’t be keen to get on someone else’s horse.
 
I’m a one horse, girl. I would like a second if i didn’t work, but i only enjoy riding certain types and get no joy in it if i don’t have a relationship with them. I used to ride a friend’s horses (we have similar types) and whilst i enjoyed it, it was also hard as we had different riding styles and approaches so it was hard when I fell in love with one of her horses and she rode her quite strong. I gave up riding her horses after that
 
I'm still quite new to riding but now only really ride my share horse at a local yard, mostly leisurely happy hacking.
I do still have a lesson very occasionally at the local school, but the horse I ride is very different to ride than the school horses, need very quiet hands (but busy legs and seat!) and he also gets bored easily schooling unless there's lots of poles and turns to do etc.
 
My enjoyment was from riding (and all the other non- riding stuff too of course) my own horses. When they died I no longer wanted to ride - I did try, at a good riding school, but you see they weren’t my horse, I didn’t feel anything for them, and they in turn had no interest in me. I was absolutely blessed with my boys.
 
I’m definitely a one horse woman, and now I finally have my own, after 20+ years of riding in RSs, plus a brief foray into a horse share scheme.

I always preferred to ride the same horse for a period of time at riding schools. I like getting to know them, to find their buttons and to feel I was making progress with them. It helped me to figure out the kind of horse I liked (the bigger the better, it turned out; ponies are not my cup of tea) and I think has helped me to feel more confident as a rider.

One of the many things I thought I would enjoy when I got my own was the chance to build a relationship with them, and it’s been just as good as I’d hoped. I absolutely love my boy, and it’s great getting to know him, his quirks and how to ride him.
 
I’m not exactly sure where I am. I’ve got my two and one is a work in progress so not yet riding him. I’ve really enjoyed riding different horses on riding holidays and I get attached quite quickly. I cried my eyes out when I left ‘Echo’ my steed for a four day trek. I rode about 3-4 different horses a day on my Icelandic trek and it was really interesting how different they were.

Day to day though I’d rather ride my own and when I have had gaps of ownership I haven’t found many riding school horses very satisfying to ride and in some places the standard of teaching was atrocious. A lot are badly schooled or sour and you don’t have them long enough to really feel like you could progress with them.

Riding other privately owned horses can be more challenging as often they have some quirk and can be more difficult. Even if you think you can improve on that unless the owner is on board it’s usually a pointless exercise and if they’re happy with the horse as is that’s entirely their business, but it’s frustrating for me.

On the whole I enjoy the process of getting to know a horse and learning how best to interact with and train them. My newest horse has been a massive challenge but I’ve also learnt a lot even though at times I wish I could sold him on. It’s much more than riding though and every aspect of their management is to ensure they’re happy and healthy and able to do the job that I want them to a willingly as possible.
 
Titchy Pony said:
discover that the riding school horse that you thought was a dope on a rope had actually just tuned it down for a more novice rider.

My instructor believes you shouldn't ride a single horse too early in your riding career as it restricts your learning and it's so easy to develop bad habits that match your horse's.
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I agree with your instructor!

Having had periods of owning multiple off-work horses i have ventured to local RS to see what the instruction was like (mixed). On one assessment lesson i was having a lovely play with the old boy I'd been given and said - with a smile - what a fabulously schooled boy he was. I had noticed a bit of an audience and it turned out the working pupils thought he was a plod.

The RS owner told me she'd had him up to advanced in his youth until a leg niggle stopped play but he was a lazy bugger who only gave what he was asked to give. I obviously had no idea of his reputation and thought he was great - he kept giving me flying changes!
 
SEL said:
I agree with your instructor!

Having had periods of owning multiple off-work horses i have ventured to local RS to see what the instruction was like (mixed). On one assessment lesson i was having a lovely play with the old boy I'd been given and said - with a smile - what a fabulously schooled boy he was. I had noticed a bit of an audience and it turned out the working pupils thought he was a plod.

The RS owner told me she'd had him up to advanced in his youth until a leg niggle stopped play but he was a lazy bugger who only gave what he was asked to give. I obviously had no idea of his reputation and thought he was great - he kept giving me flying changes!
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I love seeing this too. There was an older mare at my childhood RS that did novices and RDA and you'd think she was a beach donkey (some of that was her gorgeous long ears) but sometimes her owner would come up and there was a dressage Queen all of a sudden, showing off a medium trot looking a hand taller and 10 years younger. Could I get that out of her? Absolutely not 😂 you had to really earn Fancy Nancy!

I had an opposite almost as well tho. I was plonked on a pony that had only been in the RS a few weeks and had the most fabulous ride on him. Responsive, balanced, eager, we were doing lovely counter canter loops and all sorts, I thought he was a cracking little pony. I stopped riding there shortly after, but my friend went on to loan him 6 months later from the same RS, I told her how much I loved him and then he was nappy, "lazy", bucked her off actually, a totally different little man. Very sad 😭
 
Sussexbythesea said:
I’m not exactly sure where I am. I’ve got my two and one is a work in progress so not yet riding him. I’ve really enjoyed riding different horses on riding holidays and I get attached quite quickly. I cried my eyes out when I left ‘Echo’ my steed for a four day trek. I rode about 3-4 different horses a day on my Icelandic trek and it was really interesting how different they were.

Day to day though I’d rather ride my own and when I have had gaps of ownership I haven’t found many riding school horses very satisfying to ride and in some places the standard of teaching was atrocious. A lot are badly schooled or sour and you don’t have them long enough to really feel like you could progress with them.

Riding other privately owned horses can be more challenging as often they have some quirk and can be more difficult. Even if you think you can improve on that unless the owner is on board it’s usually a pointless exercise and if they’re happy with the horse as is that’s entirely their business, but it’s frustrating for me.

On the whole I enjoy the process of getting to know a horse and learning how best to interact with and train them. My newest horse has been a massive challenge but I’ve also learnt a lot even though at times I wish I could sold him on. It’s much more than riding though and every aspect of their management is to ensure they’re happy and healthy and able to do the job that I want them to a willingly as possible.
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I will have to pick your brains about the Icelandic trek! My sister fancies going on one for our 40th (well 40.5 for me and 39.5 for her so an average of 40) in a few years time. I have told her she needs to get back on a horse first after having two kids or we'll be leaving her somewhere on the way side.

I agree that some riding school horses can be really sour or stiff, it depends where you go. I've been lucky enough that for most the private horses I've ridden, the owner hasn't been riding them at the same time and was just happy for me to work with them (owner ill, too big for pony or simply a non-rider). I generally ride the green or young horses that arrive at my current riding school or sometimes my instructor's horses that are stepping down or when he's low on time or broken. So I get to ride them over time, hopefully improve them and set them up for their job as riding school horses. I really enjoy the process and then gradually hand them over to riders on lessons, occasionally hop back on to iron out some niggles and often start them competing. I enjoy watching them progress with new riders and sometimes build a special relationship with one or more of those riders. A few of those ponies are now retired and in their late twenties. Little Yellow and Washed-out Mini Madam are still going and Green TB is at the start of her riding school journey.
 
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SEL said:
I agree with your instructor!

Having had periods of owning multiple off-work horses i have ventured to local RS to see what the instruction was like (mixed). On one assessment lesson i was having a lovely play with the old boy I'd been given and said - with a smile - what a fabulously schooled boy he was. I had noticed a bit of an audience and it turned out the working pupils thought he was a plod.

The RS owner told me she'd had him up to advanced in his youth until a leg niggle stopped play but he was a lazy bugger who only gave what he was asked to give. I obviously had no idea of his reputation and thought he was great - he kept giving me flying changes!
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I love the hidden gems, sometimes buried under a lot of hair and the occasional mud. I have been lucky enough to ride some amazing (for me) horses that are just so responsive and comfortable that I didn't want to get off. Here in France there is often a lot of focus on jumping, so people ignore or don't have the skill to find / see the dressage talent of some of these horses.
 
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