Do 'one-man' horses truly exist?

I can't say in general but years ago when my dad was doing a lot of team chasing and drag hunting he would often be given horses who were just psycho for other people and their only other option was pts, and for some reason an awful lot of them became complete superstars with him. He isn't a trained rider, in fact he's only had 2 lessons in his life having started riding at 35, but he does have fantastic natural balance, and rides on a very loose rein, and is fearless cross country. He just didn't interfere with them at all. These completely highly strung horses with every ridden vice possible just responded to him by giving their all. Strangely enough my teen daughter rides in a very similar way (altho not brave xc) and she can get her ponies to do things we can't as all we get is bad attitude and stubbornness. I guess what I'm saying is that some horses just need a certain type of rider/riding style and respond best to that.

I've also found, when buying, that horses who have been professionally produced seem to find it harder to adapt to an unprofessional rider who doesn't know their buttons, whereas the 'regular' horses can adapt up and down in accordance with their rider.
 
Mine is one of these to some extent. He was a so and so for me for the first 6 months. I've encouraged other people ride him as chores for rides, I've had professionals, I've let people just have a ride on him and I've just found he tanks off with decent riders, broncs with people he doesn't like, and refuses to trot with nervous people. Im sure if someone else had him for a few months they'd get there. He was brought by a dealer who tried to use him on their riding school when he was 4 but after he put 7 people in hospital in as many lessons he was left in a stable for 18 months as he was a sod to catch with some grooms.I dont know what happened to make him like it, but he isn't very trusting. I don't think horses are born like it though, I think something happens. Oddly he loves cuddles with anyone on the ground and is the one that little kids ask to brush as he'll stand there and go to sleep!
 
Funny you should say this, a "friend" posted on facebook that she loves it when her horses messes about for others but behaves for her.
I don't get it.

I want anyone to be able to get on Ned and say "I love him!"
He's very unusual to ride, no amount of training will ever change that, it's just his way of going. A 12yr old girl used to ride him successfully, because like me, she was used to his funny way.

I honestly think Ned is a horse that you might not enjoy for your first few rides (I CERTAINLY didn't!!) but get to know him and you'll fall in love :)
 
No.

However there are lots of average riders with average horses who like to think they are the only person in the world their horse will possibly ever get on with.
These are generally the same people who boast about having a naughty horse (like it makes them a good or brave rider).

My horse likes to be ridden a certain way and likes to have a relationship with his rider but I'm not naive or big-headed enough to think that there aren't 1000's of riders out there who would get him going just as well (or better) than me.
 
Cortez said:
A well trained one should go for any decent rider. I'd be mortified if one of mine wasn't rideable for anyone.
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That.

I read a great quote from a very good dressage trainer years ago, along the line that you should be pleased if your horse goes well for a more experienced/skilled rider because that means you have taught what you've taught it well and helped it feel positive about being ridden.

If someone has made a horse that only they can ride, I don't think that is anything to be proud of or even in the horse's best interests. I know there are some horses that need a very particular ride for a host of reasons, but the goal should always be to expand this situation, not narrow it.

There may be horses that are too sensitive or athletic (or screwed up) to be ridden by many of the people around them, but that is about the riders not about the horse.
 
See, I agree with all the opinions above.

But my mare is really confusing me.

She is homebred, was sent away to be broken at rising 4 and then came back and did hacking until she was 4, light schooling and started jumping at 4 and a half.

I do the majority of riding, but have had other people ride her (once or twice a month?) but only on the flat, and she's gone very sweetly for them. It made me very proud that she did so!

Anyway, I went off to uni this September and she was sent to a professional once a fortnight for jump schooling. After a few sessions mum phoned me and said Ruby was simply not jumping for the pro, stopping all the time and being a bit of a git. I was so confused, so we swapped professionals to a person with a different riding style. Same thing happened. Mum said no event had caused it, she'd just started stopping. Gave her a few weeks off and some loose jumping to get her confidence back up, then friend's son who is a very game little rider currently Pony Trialling took her to a hunter trials. She is extremely keen XC - but he got eliminated at fence 3, a post and rail. Height was well within her capabilities to try and get confidence back up.

Back to drawing board. Maybe she needs to establish a relationship with her rider? Maybe just lost her confidence?

I come home for a weekend, take her XC, hunting and SJing. Doesn't put a foot wrong, the same forward going, keen little mare as ever. People out hunting who had seen her at the hunter trial couldn't believe it was the same horse. So we ask the rider who's been riding her for 6 months to try jumping her. Same thing as with the professionals, she grinds to a halt and looks confused. So I come back and give a lesson to rider thinking maybe my riding style is dramatically different. She has one stop but then flies, ends on a high and rider says our styles are very similar.

I go back to uni, mum phones up, Ruby's stopping again.

I am at my wits end with her, blasted mare! If I'm there she behaves perfectly but I go and don't know what happens?! My style is not great, I admit I'm not actually the most confident jumper but she's not a stopper. She's seen all sorts of fillers, XC jumps etc. The only thing is maybe it's a lack of confidence - our first BE80 she seemed to suffer from this and had some stops XC which she had never, ever done.

Gah, horses! Who'd have them!
 
Unfortunately i do think its true, because i have one, i dont want to have one, but i do. I have worked on a variety of competition yards, and also as a breaking rider of competition horses, all the horses i have produced and/or owned have been able to be ridden by other people. My current advanced horse was ridden by my trainer a couple of years ago after only ever been ridden by me, and she gave my trainer a beautiful ride. I totally agree that a well schooled horse should go for other riders, and i was so proud of my mare when she gave my trainer such a good ride.

But, i also have a mare that i bought as a yearling (I normally buy them as foals or yearlings) and as usual i backed this mare myself, she was good to back, but then turned tricky, everything checked, she lived out 24/7 nice variety of work and rest etc., she was just a very fierce, fiesty mare. I wondered if it was a personality thing, so i asked my friend who is a very experienced rider of young horses, to ride my mare and see how she behaved. My friend got on, walked halfway round the school and the mare exploded and dumped my friend. To this point she had never dumped me, or ever behaved in the way she did with my friend. I got back on, and she was fine, friend tried again, friend got dumped again. I rode this mare for another 6months, she was still a pain, i had another amazing young horse rider try my mare, she also got dumped. I only tried one more time as i was scared she might hurt someone, unfortunately the other person got rapidly dumped as well.

This does not and never did make me happy, i obviously still own the horse she is winning advanced mediums and working small tour at home, still fiesty, still tricky, but she has never, ever tried to dump me. I have no idea why she reacts like this, and i dont want her to, but i dont know how to cure her without risking someone elses safety. I have backed and produced an awful lot of horses, and they have all been lovely for other riders, bar this one, so yes, one man horses do exsist.
 
I pretty much agree with what Cortez said, though I do think most horses prefer to be ridden in a particular way, and I think in some cases it is up to the rider to step up rather than the horse. For example you couldn't expect a GP horse to put up with a beginner kicking and pulling!
 
My horse of a lifetime was a one rider horse .
She was a very very good jumper and several people tried her I arriving back from living abroad and therefore out of the loop tried her when I saw the add I went to try yes she was hot yes she was unruly but she did non of the outrageous things I heard about after .
A couple of years later a very good trainer got on her and got off pretty quick.
We loved each other she was very very special but was she not a horse that could be said to epitomise the well trained horse she was very difficult hacking her was always challenging with her desire to jump anything I looked at going to beach could only be achieved with a strong stomach and a draw rien .
Hunting her was turely awful we gave that up quick.
Dressage she would perform at home ( as a fitness and suppling exercise in her mind ) under duress but at competions she was outrageous .
I loved her she was mine I was hers I will never have that again .
But she was not a well behaved horse.
 
My now retired gelding Frankie is a bit of a one person horse. He is expected to show good manners on the ground and ridden and does so and I would be the first to tell him off if he didn't.

He forms strong opinions of people and if he doesn't like someone, he does what he is asked but with a less than enthusiastic expression, you might be able to make him do something but you can't make him like it.

I don't kid myself it's just me and he would form the same bond with another person in the right circumstances but something in his past means he is slightly wary and suspicious of humans and he is a better horse with that bond.
 
Charmin said:
See, I agree with all the opinions above.

But my mare is really confusing me.

She is homebred, was sent away to be broken at rising 4 and then came back and did hacking until she was 4, light schooling and started jumping at 4 and a half.

I do the majority of riding, but have had other people ride her (once or twice a month?) but only on the flat, and she's gone very sweetly for them. It made me very proud that she did so!

Anyway, I went off to uni this September and she was sent to a professional once a fortnight for jump schooling. After a few sessions mum phoned me and said Ruby was simply not jumping for the pro, stopping all the time and being a bit of a git. I was so confused, so we swapped professionals to a person with a different riding style. Same thing happened. Mum said no event had caused it, she'd just started stopping. Gave her a few weeks off and some loose jumping to get her confidence back up, then friend's son who is a very game little rider currently Pony Trialling took her to a hunter trials. She is extremely keen XC - but he got eliminated at fence 3, a post and rail. Height was well within her capabilities to try and get confidence back up.

Back to drawing board. Maybe she needs to establish a relationship with her rider? Maybe just lost her confidence?

I come home for a weekend, take her XC, hunting and SJing. Doesn't put a foot wrong, the same forward going, keen little mare as ever. People out hunting who had seen her at the hunter trial couldn't believe it was the same horse. So we ask the rider who's been riding her for 6 months to try jumping her. Same thing as with the professionals, she grinds to a halt and looks confused. So I come back and give a lesson to rider thinking maybe my riding style is dramatically different. She has one stop but then flies, ends on a high and rider says our styles are very similar.

I go back to uni, mum phones up, Ruby's stopping again.

I am at my wits end with her, blasted mare! If I'm there she behaves perfectly but I go and don't know what happens?! My style is not great, I admit I'm not actually the most confident jumper but she's not a stopper. She's seen all sorts of fillers, XC jumps etc. The only thing is maybe it's a lack of confidence - our first BE80 she seemed to suffer from this and had some stops XC which she had never, ever done.

Gah, horses! Who'd have them!
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Two questions. One, how do you make out jumping other peoples' horses? Are there types you struggle with or do particularly well on? Two, how was she in your subsequent BE events? Did she jump around the next 80 without a problem?


I will say, jumping can be a bit trickier. I don't think I've ever had one that categorically would not jump for anyone else but horses definitely are more prone to strongly held preferences and prejudices when it involves leaving the ground. One place I worked, we had a horse to sell that had started stopping and been literally banished from his country of origin. I could not make the horse stop! I jumped HOUSES on him without knowing what the hell I was doing. Ditto my boss's husband and a few of her students, even less able than me. We were feeling pretty cheerful about showing him to people as he was a fantastic horse and we were seeing dollar signs. The first people who came to try him, the coach rode him first, loved him. The client got on . . . He wouldn't jump a stick! And once he started stopping he stopped at everything, even fences literally half the height he'd been jumping minutes before. It was gutting! After a few more repeats of this he ended up getting sold cheaply to a hunting and hacking home, where he's probably still doing a job for someone. There was no rhyme or reason to it, at least not that we could see.

On the subject of "being there" I did have one that we discovered was only rideable when I was there. He was an absolute monster to break and often made me cry in frustration. Lucky for him he was beautiful and talented. Then literally over the course of a week he got his personal act together and came good! I put some of the clients on him, he was great. Happy days! One day we has finished a great session where a very good junior rider had jumped him. I left her to walk him out and put him away - something I hadn't done before because he'd also been a cretin in the stable but seemed to have grown out of that, too - and literally as soon as the door to the arena clicked shut there was an almighty crash and yelling from behind me. I opened the door to see the cheery face of a riderless horse! Apparently the second I was out of sight he turned himself inside out, dumped the girl in the dirt and came after me! Obviously we got is sorted and he went on to be a very good show horse for two different professionals but it did teach me not to assume I had to be on a horse to be controlling it. (Look up "Clever Hans" for a story about how well horses read people.) With that in mind, I've seen the same patter play out many times, although not to that degree. Horses are great at learning patterns and situational responses but I'm not sure they are always learning the ones we think the are learning!

I have just had one to ride quite similar. He has spent almost every day of his life with and only been ridden by one person. For various reasons she ran into some trouble with his work and it's been a real struggle to get his going for me. We have progressed to me riding him when she is not there but there is no question he took a step back in his work. I don't think this is anything any of us are proud of though! The owner is keen to sort it, not least because the horse needs more work than her schedule allows.
 
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There may be horses that are too sensitive or athletic (or screwed up) to be ridden by many of the people around them, but that is about the riders not about the horse.[/QUOTE]

We have one of these horses. She is only ridden by my daughter or her instructress. There is no way I would get on her! I value my bones unbroken. We don't trust other people to ride her the way she should be as she is hyper sensitive and very very forward. Hopefully this will change as she progresses in her training.
In contrast I have no qualms about getting on the 4 yo stallion when he is ready next year. He is very very attached to my daughter so he is a one woman horse but not in a bad way.
 
TarrSteps said:
Two questions. One, how do you make out jumping other peoples' horses? Are there types you struggle with or do particularly well on? Two, how was she in your subsequent BE events? Did she jump around the next 80 without a problem?
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I am fairly comptent at jumping other peoples' horses, in that we get over it intact! It's not something I do often, but since coming to uni I've been jumping strange horses every other week in riding lessons. It's been commented that I have something of a 'hot seat' but that's the only difference I can think of... I have to admit I struggle with 'made' horses. I had a very nice mare produced to Novice/Intermediate, but couldn't 'click' with her and had to sell her on. She was a smashing mare so it was very sad, she just lost all confidence in me.

I didn't do any more BE's on her, but took her to a 2'6 ODE, then a 2'9, and then finished with a 3'0 at the end of the season. She sailed round them all, placed in all and won the last! So maybe it was more down to my confidence than her. However the pro's are not lacking in confidence so it's a bizarre, frustrating situation!
 
Bit like daffy, I don't like it, but I seem to have one!

He goes pretty nicely for NMT but only if she adapts to ride like me, and he knows her too but other than that....forget it.

Some very good riders can't get him out of halt!

I don't get too upset about it, we know each other inside out, and what's he's done for me this year is nothing short of amazing. Plus he's got a home for life so no need to be ridden by anyone else!
 
I think horses have preferences. I've noticed that horse's I've had would oblige anyone but it was obvious when they liked the rider.
The rider's skill seems to have little to do with it, they respond to genuine people who ride with consideration. People who ride without vanity or insensitivity. When selling a very nice mare, I choose the person who was less accomplished than others but the mare was positively singing for her and the girl's expression as she rode, was one of pure delight.
The two I have now, are easy rides but it surprises me when other people have problems holding them, particularly, the mare. She also goes nicely for my daughter and will carry the grandchildren so carefully, but otherwise she needs a rider to ride correctly to stop her making her own decisions.
 
I would just add, that like Prince33Sp4rkle, my fierce, funny mare absolutely has a home for life, i adore her despite her quirks, and she isnt going anywhere. I am lucky that i have the land to keep her, and she still lives out 24/7, no shoes and a good doer, so she doesnt break the bank either!
 
I am glad mine goes well for everyone who has ridden him including my instructor and I am glad he has the manners and nature to do so.

However it has always been noted that he is happiest/most settled with me and I think that is down to the greater level of trust he has in me as his main human. After some time off for him which I spent riding other horses when i rode him again it felt like it had clicked back into place. I wouldn't say I am a one-horse girl (partly because i have two ;-) ) but I regard all the handling and bonding we do with our horses has a great impact on how well they go for us under saddle.
 
Prince33Sp4rkle said:
He goes pretty nicely for NMT but only if she adapts to ride like me
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It always surprises me just HOW much I have to kick! Something I never have to do with Fig lol! We should do a pony swap soon (as long as oats not turned Fig into an actual rocket), be v interesting to see how CS feels these days :)

Fig is a one man horse; I do all the schooling and training myself and always intend to. He has a home for life so I've never thought of it as a disadvantage :)
 
I've also found, when buying, that horses who have been professionally produced seem to find it harder to adapt to an unprofessional rider who doesn't know their buttons, whereas the 'regular' horses can adapt up and down in accordance with their rider.[/QUOTE]

After I had my Section D broke and schooled (I helped school him together with a AI) he would only go nicely for me and a small handful of like riders soft hands independant seat and good aids. WhenI would show him and some judges had to ride he would go around like a giraffe, he just hated my elder daughter riding him when she was younger and less experienced. I used to tell her to get off because I couldn't put him through it. People would watch him and say what a novice ride he was because everthing looked so effortless, but he was anything but...... over the years he has mellowed and will accept more novice riders but still not keen. His current sharer was taught by the Riding instructor who helped break and school him and he is pretty good for her, but still has his moments. So i think it is a mixture of certain horses like certain types of riders and some horses also just like the person they trust....

My daughter TB won't jump over anything scary for my Riding Instructor friend no matter what but will do anything for her and our complete novice cousin who help look after him.
 
Also have to add, I do love riding most horses but...I never felt as relaxed and safe on any other horse as on my Section D, Rode better schooled, more talented, horses with beautiful floating paces...and no quirks. But never felt more at home than on him.....I trust him as whole-heartedly as he does me...
 
One of horses I simply did not get on with as he needed a far stronger and 'cockier'/fearless rider than I was. He is definitely a man's horse as every time a woman has ridden him he has reared and ended up going over. He needs a certain kind of riding style, and that style only seems to be possessed by men. His currently with a male competition rider and he is going very well at the moment. When the time comes to sell him we will make sure he only goes to a very experienced gutsy male rider as they are who he goes best for.

My other one likes to test the boundaries of new riders. On the flat the worst he does is take you off the tracks and off up the banks on the side of the school. Jumping wise, he resorts to rearing and bronking. He was very difficult to get him started over poles and jumps and it has taken a year to get him walking over poles without tantrums. Whenever a new rider rides him he will resort back to those tactics to see how much he can get away with. He is purely seeing how much he can get away with and once he realises what he cant do he is as good as gold. I think when I go away to uni and need a sharer I'm only going to look for a non jumping/polework one as I don't want an accident to happen
 
Re professionally produced horses, producing for high end competition is not always the same skill set as producing horses for sale/owners to ride/'real life'. Obviously some horses will naturally skew one way or the other but at least some can learn to do both if they are straightforward enough. I think it must be even less common for pros to produce horses for 'everyday' riders here, though, as most don't regularly have students/clients around to keep them aware and even sit on the horses from time to time. Someone who is good at it, though, should be able to consciously tick all the boxes and produce a horse that will go for the target market.
 
My friend had a mare who was like this. She was no saint and there were certain things my friend couldn't do with her - mainly big groups so no hunting or fun rides or she'd leap and bolt - but if she avoided these she was fine for my friend. If anybody else got on her, she'd leap and bolt even on a normal ride. I rode her a bit and she was managable along lanes and tracks but I'd never take her to open spaces. I did take her to the beach once, thinking there was so much room it would be fine and I knew her well enough. 4 miles of sand later I just managed to stop her before hitting the estuary by turning huge circles and gradually making them smaller. How I got back to the trailer in one piece through the dunes I'll never know.

When my friend went away to uni, she tried loaning her out but she came back from loan homes twice in the first year. The second time my friend was so disturbed by what the loaners said she made me go to get her as she didn't want to see her so distressed. The loaners insisted I rode her. (I think they wanted to prove how bad she was even though there was no way she wasn't coming home) It was the only time she'd ever been an absolute angel for me - she knew I was there to 'rescue' her!

She was lucky enough to find a local lady who was recovering from depression and wanted a horse to care for to give her a focus but not ride. She still had to pay for everything which wasn't easy as her parents could only just support her at uni, but she knew she would be looked after and she was always a darling to handle. They really bonded and when the lady was better, she started riding her and she was quiet as a lamb for her. When my friend finished uni she knew she wouldn't do what she wanted so offered her to the lady for the price of her tack. 13 years later the mare is now 25 and still being hacked quietly by the lady who has never had even a close call with her. The lady's had two new hips and says there's no other horse she'd think of riding!
 
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