Are you picky/protective about who touches your horse?

Strangely I'm more concerned bout 'horsey' people bothering with my horse than completely unhorsey people. Got now prob at beach etc with people coming over 2 see horse/pat him but with horsey people I'm always concerned they mite giv him in2 trouble for something I let him away with ;)

& when it comes 2 other people riding him well don't get me started!! It's a standing joke btwn me & 1 of my instructors (4* eventer) that shes stil not ridden my boy!!
 
So long as they're not feeding (as two of mine will fight), or getting between one of the mares and her gelding friend (he wouldn't take kindly!).

Oh, and so long as they not sue me/my insurance company if they're where they shouldn't be and it all goes bits up :cool:
 
ridefast said:
Well if you had something very valuable would you be happy with people touching it? My horse is priceless, not for sharing with just anybody
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I have well in excess of 20 very valuable horses and just as many, just as valuable client horses and I have no problem with any person touching them. I just don't understand why the cost of them has anything to do with whether one lets other people touch their horses.
 
I love it when people make a fuss of my boy - because I know he loves it and deserves it. Why not ? A lot of people don't get up close to horses, and as a child, to be allowed to "pat" a horse was a dream !

When i first saw Shy, he was a baby in a group in a field beside a huge footpath, and was obviously used to sharing sarnies and coffee. He just loves people ! To the extent that he likes to try and mug people when we're out for rides - he tends to choose the elderley - who he thinks will always have polos or cough sweets. He's usually right ;) And people love him too.

We are quite well known in our local village as the muggers. He even knows which houses usually have a carrot supply - and yes, I secretly believe they are for when we visit :o If ever there was pony that could do Pets As Therapy, it's Shy.
 
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Ned doesn't go near the gate where people can see/touch them, but I wouldn't mind people giving him a fuss over the gate. No food or anything dodgy, but I like fussing horses I meet over the fence, so why can't people fuss mine?
I wouldn't mind people taking innocent pictures either (By that I mean, they are just taking a picture because he's cute, not to get me in trouble or to try and steal him!)
 
i dont mind people stroking them over the fence but random people going into the field....absolute no. mainly because one of my girls is quirky and if u touch her certain areas she will cow kick or bite. my other two are gems....but u never know what might happen.
 
Mine is on part livery and is turned out and brought in by sometimes 2 different people. Not a problem for me as I know they are very capable and does her good to be handled by different people. She is turned out everyday and her field is next to a footpath, she has a fan club of dog walkers and loves the attention. The only problem I would have is if they fed her titbits.
 
I don't mind people giving her a pat if they pass her in the field as there is a footpath in the middle of the field, but not walking through the field to pat her or feeding her. She's a sensitive soul and I wouldn't like to think of what she would do if a stranger came up and started messing with her :eek::rolleyes: I don't like other people doing her jobs either (but I think that's me being fussy) and I don't like people getting her from the field as she can be unpredictable with new people trying to catch her (think vertical rearing and kicking out then galloping away) :rolleyes: I actually don't mind who rides here though as long as I'm there and they are reasonably competent. Just as long as they don't ride her around like a giraffe I don't mind :p:)
 
I get the whole priceless thing ridefast, I really do. My 14.2 is beyond priceless to me. However, now she's 23 & less valuable she's more precious to me than in her prime when her actual market value was an awful lot higher. I still let people touch her though & do stuff with her. And with daughters, when we first had her & she wasn't even worth meat money (too tiny to be worthwhile) I was far more precious about who touched her, due to her screwed up mental state, than I am now when she's turning into a nice little pony & worth something. I've also worked & ridden plenty of very valuable horses, & none of them came to any harm by getting the odd pat.
 
Maybe it's the RDA in me - to see the joy that coming up close and personal with a horse can bring is just amazing. I know Shy isn't seen by strangers at the yard, and I wouldn't be too keen on that as I may not be there then, and yes I AM protective (but trust my YO 100%)..... but we both love visiting - and if they'd let a pony visit peeps in hospital or an OPP's home, or something (ground floor) he'd be the one ;)
 
Im very suspicious of passers by 'petting' the horses as I usually suspect they are planning to give them food also. Stroking is fine- feeding is not. Some people never get the opportunity to be around/own horses so its nice for people to be able to say 'hello' If I saw a horse with its head over a gate Id probably pat it too :)
 
ridefast said:
Well if you had something very valuable would you be happy with people touching it? My horse is priceless, not for sharing with just anybody
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oo errr- what happens if you need someone to hold your horse for you when you need to run back into the tack room for something before you set out to ride?

do they have to wait while you ring the police for a criminal record check and get references from their boss? :D
 
Same as most people I think - stroking/petting is fine, feeding is definitely not. Our field borders a busy road with a pavement so we get lots of pedestrians and I have found veg chucked into her field which I have to clear up before she finds it. Normally I would fence her off from the boundary so she can't beg for treats but the electric fence blows away in this weather :(
When we go hacking we often stop so small children can pet her and I will let young kids I know have a sit. She is so good she once took my old boss's three year old for a ride and he stopped and turned her with a neck string :) He was also allowed in her stable on foot to brush her legs as she is really careful and gentle. Just NO FEEDING!!!
 
I don't mind anyone saying hello, giving a pat and a polo. I just can't imagine how horrible it would have been as an horse mad kid and not allowed to stroke one over a fence. I know it's not ideal if people feed your horse, but the odd polo or apple isn't the end of the world. I wouldn't want anyone going in the field just in case of an accident. mine is pricless too, not in monetary terms as she is knocking on a bit now and a bit special, but to me she is irreplaceable.
 
Strangely i'm happier about my non horsey oh handling b1&2 than more experienced people. He's been round b1 for 5 years now and my more tricky youngster who I no longer own so he's learnt the hard way, b2 is impeccable to handle, if he knows you, oh does things my way, knows them and they know him and will do as I ask when I ask not as he pleases when he pleases. He's pretty good with them to be fair and has announced he intends to learn to ride them so we don't have to have strangers mess them about when we start our family (he still thinks I won't be riding when pregnant ;-) ) despite him being a relative beginner and both of them being capable of eccentric behaviour, i'm happier with that idea than leaving him with more experienced strangers.
 
Patting - fine. Feeding - no.

If someone walked passed every day and threw her an apple she would probably spend her entire turnout time waiting for them to appear.....
 
I hate it.....
I once left a yard because I went to get my filly in, and found the older mare (who had been quite poorly with colic and the squits) being fed leftover household meals the woman had collected over a week. This included chicken curry and the remains of a roast dinner.
 
Hi all,

I really love my boy having the attention. I livery at a riding school and if parents bring their children up to boyo for a photo - or whatever i'm happy - it's good for him - he's usually pretty rude TBH. He's pretty and a lot of people are drawn to him so he gets a lot of attention - and treats ;)

Since we've had the rain i've had him moved from the winter paddock (or the bog of eternal stench as I like to call it - knee deep in mud) to the baby's paddock - big grass field, youngsters kept there mostly and long walk from the yard, lots of traffic, housing estate, kids and mums coming from the neighbouring nursery armed with carrots and apples for the ponies. Boyo seems happier there - out of mud, loads of fuss - the youngsters are a good influence on him - he's less miserable since he's been there. :D
 
No not fussed. One is timid so probably wouldn't want a fuss, the other won't leave people alone and loves a fuss. Don't mind him getting the odd treat/apple/polo/carrot etc. I think it's nice when people want to give them a fuss. Not everyone is lucky enough to own a horse.
 
yes and no, in the field, yes i do mind, i mind very much, because my horse can be a cow to catch, she wears a headcollar in the field but she will go up if you grab her headcollar, plus if someone approaches her to give her a pat and she runs off then that creates a problem for me because she learns that she can run off and be left alone when she doesn't want to be fussed/caught, so in the field, unless you have hours to spend walking after her untill you catch her if she runs off, please stay away from her.
In the stable or tied up on the yard, no i don't mind at all if she's being fussed or even fed by hand (as long as its something normal eg. horse treats, apples or carrots etc), she is extremely polite and will not mug you for more sweets even if you are holding a bag full of them and standing next to her :) but i will not let children fuss her simply because she doesn't like them, she pulls faces and stomps her feet and swishes her tail and is not happy with children fussing her.
however, there are only a couple of people that i will let give her the dinner or breakfast, and even less people that i will let tack her up or rug her up. just because she pulls vile faces when you're giving her dinner or breakfast and i dont want people to tell her off for it or be scared of her, she wont act on it but i'd still rather only select people feed her. rugging up and tacking up, she has had horrible experiences with both when she was younger with her pervious owner and she can bite if you're not careful, so no one else apart from me and a friend is allowed to rug her up or tack her up :)
 
Anyone can touch my horse, when I'm there. I'd freak out if anyone went near him when I'm not there. I've had him since he was a foal, and I know everything that happened to him, good or bad, but i'm a bit freaky in that I want to know everything that happens so I can deal with it. 3 years ago, I saw a foal ran into a ditch, and her fetlock was hanging off, practically severed. All because of a certain type of people, who wanted to see the mare. It cost an absolute fortune to "fix", and by fix, she kept her leg, but could never be ridden. Thankfully, her owner didnt care and spent the money on her care. If a random stranger touched my horse, after that, I'd be livid. If you want to see/touch my horse, then call to me!!!!
 
Don't like it. Don't like to think about it, even. PF keeps to herself, which suits me just fine, but LC thinks he's everyone's best mate and it always going up to strangers. I hate the thought of anyone giving him treats and would say so if I ever caught anyone giving him anything. I think this yard is OK though.
 
I'm not bothered about people fussing Sandy, in fact he has a fan club! Everybody loves him and thinks he's a big teddy bear, my friend (and stable neighbor) frequently goes in and gives him a groom and a fuss when I am away at uni. I actually like this because Sandy adores people so it's nice that there is someone there to fuss over him when I'm not.

Also, he has the most adorable fan club of little girls who are all convinced that he is a real like Barbies horse and just want to pet him for hours! Can't take him out of his stable without being mobbed by little girls, it's a good job that Sandy loves his public!! :D
 
I don't care who touches my horse. He's not made of china. As long as they don't feed him anything stupid like grass cuttings or potato peel!
 
My mares a fussy monster! So if you can get close enough to stroke her without her pulling a face and walking off feel free .. But people feeding her really winds me up! Most people on the yard know if they are giving out carrots and things she can only have a little slice of it as she's very laminitis prone, i can't stop anyone feeding her in the field as its by a road but there are lots of bigger horses that will chase her off if they smell food so generally no problems :)
 
Wiz201 said:
If its private land, were they allowed there in the first place? Or is there a public footpath running past it?
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It's a bit of a strange one . . . there is a public footpath running alongside, but it's not entirely clear where the yard/fields ends and the footpath begins so I can see how walkers become confused and end up walking between the fields. That said, this particular instance was odd too because there were a number of "strange" people about and all seemed to be congregating along the fence by my boy's field . . . there were three men with rifles shooting rabbits (with landowner's permission, but they're supposed to stick to the perimeter and not walk between the fields), a young woman hacking who wasn't from our yard, and three lads cutting down a Christmas tree (turned out to be landowner's grandson).

I don't mind people giving GreyDonkey a fuss over his stable door or when he's tied on the yard . . . he likes attention and is really fond of small children . . . but I HATE people feeding him treats. Like others have said, I remember being a pony-mad youngster for whom patting a horse was such a special treat. As for when he's in his field - it's private land so there shouldn't be anyone just wandering around anyway.

P
 
Twinkle Shy said:
Maybe it's the RDA in me - to see the joy that coming up close and personal with a horse can bring is just amazing. I know Shy isn't seen by strangers at the yard, and I wouldn't be too keen on that as I may not be there then, and yes I AM protective (but trust my YO 100%)..... but we both love visiting - and if they'd let a pony visit peeps in hospital or an OPP's home, or something (ground floor) he'd be the one ;)
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I believe there is a PAT scheme for ponies, thyey visit old folks homes, I can't remember if there was a thread on here, or an article in a mag that I read, but it was quite recently, made me want to get a shetland.
 
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