Do you think it's selfish to never let anyone else ride your horse?

I let very few people ride mine. I wont let anyone (besides my best mate whos my sharer) take him off the yard and always supervise when people sit on him
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When I had my last horse, my friend was visiting me and I let her take him out on a hack with a friend. He came back with severe colic and got PTS. I know it wasnt her fault at all but I always wonder what the outcome would have been if he hadnt gone out, or if I had been riding would I have noticed sooner.
 
my horse is very quirky, but i find it does him good to be ridden by other people - who knows, they might be able to give me tips!
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i am very selective though - my mum and bigger-little-sister can ride him if they want, and a few people at the yard, but only hacking out, i'm very protective about the little schooling he gets!
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i think it depend on the circs.
if i couldn't ride for some reason (like broken myself) then i'd want someone to ride him.
if i was having big problems and needed some help then i'd get someone else to ride him.
if i thought it would benefit his education then i would,
if it was just for the hell of it?... i'd have to think seriously about it.

i certainly wouldn't let someone i didn't know ride him.
 
My daughter and I share our pony and my OH has sat on her and cooled her off after I've schooled her but I wouldn't like anyone else to ride her. I would make an exception for my trainer or someone who was a much better rider than me but most people wouldn't want to ride her anyway as she's only 13.3 hh.
 
Not at all
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It's your horse, you can do what you like with it!

I'm not actually very over protective when it comes to hacking...think it's good for horses to learn to adapt to more than one person...
I'll plonk a little kiddy friend on her bareback and they'll toddle down to the field together, I'm quite okay with it, that sort of thing.
There was a young girl, who I must say I was really against riding chloe, because of her age, but mum persuaded me to have her come and ride and see chloe (would be a bit like a sharer, but would just ride when I couldn't) and she was wonderful - soooo gung ho (sp?), took absolutely no silly little chloe nonsense from her, and Chloe totally got it and went like a gem!! I'll just ring her up and ask her if she wants Chloe for the weekend, and they hack out together now, with picnics and the dad on the bike, and have a whale of a time when I'm not around, so I think they're okay
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. She always 'reports' back, and it has always gone to plan. Turned out to be a really good agreement.

For me, schooling and jumping is a different matter though...simply, because I've been lied to by grooms about what has been going on with schooling and jumping during the week (I'm on full livery) so it's only me that schools and jumps her. I've come down to the yard and instead of finding chloe's loose ring snaffle which I use even for xc now, my friend, (couple of years older than me, supposedly with more sense) had her in a dutch gag on the bottom ring...for schooling...I was fuming....
My instructor, however, would be more than welcome to get on and school and jump her - she is the best instructor I ever had, and has done wonderful things for Chloe and I.

WHAT a ramble
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Well it wasn't my horse, but a pony I had on share...
I liked letting other people ride her because, like other people said, I like seeing how she moves and reacts..and it helped me understand her a lot more.
So yes, I would let other people ride my horse if they were competent.
 
if i had my own horse, as long as i knew the person could ride and would not do anything stupid then i would
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the only person i would NEVER let ride my horse (if i had one) is the girl i loan one of my horses from. she is so nervous, but when she first got indie he was ridden is a happymouth snaffle, and she was always telling me never to pull his mouth or half halt too hard, but now he has a pelham and she is pulling him in the gob and shouting at him all the time, it got so bad that about 2 weeks ago he wouldnt jump at all, luckily i managed to solve the problem and he is getting better again
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O.o i basically turned my post into a b**ching session
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I would let most people have a sit on mine, unless they were complete novices. At the moment I cant ride due to my broken leg, so have got anyone whos got a spare half hour to ride them! My sister will ride several days and my friend comes up once a week. Anyone whos got some spare time are welcome!
 
Yeah, Im like this. I have let others ride mine I think a total of about 5 times in my life! But that was just hacking. I would never let anyone jump any of my horses or anything. The only people Id let ride mine nowadays is probably flatwork trainers!

Im just picky, not because Im a particularily good rider (Im not!) but just because I feel I know my horses. Id be mortified if someone got on one of mine and booted him in the ribs - he'd flip out!
 
No, dont think its selfish at all. Your horse, you decide who rides it

That said, Im so grateful to all the people who genorously let me ride their horses/ponies atm, as otherwise Id be horseless
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If you have show horses, then you need to get as many people on board as possible (within reason) so that the horses are used to performing correctly for any style of rider that climbs on board.

If a horse is correctly schooled, then I can't see what harm can be done if someone else rides them providing they are a normal rider and not some sort of weirdo with funny ideas about beating horses or using odd gadgets.
 
I dont mind doing swappsies when out hacking with a trusted friend, or maybe letting some friend have a go in the school with me there supervising, but as far as letting someone have my tack ect and going to the yard and helping themselves is a non starter, its me only, he's mine mine mine
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No, not selfish at all.

No one ever wanted to ride my last horse
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He always acted like such a fruitloop, when, in fact, despite the piaffing and grumpy faces he was a total star and one of the safest horses I had ever sat on. I was too selfish to let anyone ride him anyway. The only person I ever trusted to handle him apart from me was Sarah_and_Perry, a most sympathetic horsewoman and she wasn't scared of his face pulling and theatrics, he could be a bit dramatic at times and wasn't a horse you would take liberties with.

Now, with this lot, anyone could ride them, but they would have to be able to ride because Robin and Fergus would turn into nappy donkeys if they thought they could get away with doing anything!

I am always incredibly flattered if anyone offers me a ride on their horse.
 
no one rides number one daughters horse as he is a quirky sod and i doubt anyone would want to ride him!
fairly selective who rides number 2 daughters pony as there is absolutely no telling how she will behave on that particular day!
my horse ,i let my kids ride her and my friends daughter who will be jumping her for me next season, instructor has been on her. so far there is only one person who i have declined a sit on her. ive seen her on her own horse and have to say its a SAINT!
 
I can't stand people riding my horses; I'm the same - standing their with my fist clenched!

Total hypocrite because I'll ride anyone elses but find myself saying No because I don't want to then "owe" them a shot on my horses!

I'll let novices and kids on my arab because she is brilliant with them and I've let one instructor ride her once.... My mum owned her before me and I won't even let her back on!

In saying that I don't "click" with my arab so have someone coming out to see her on Sunday with a view to exercising her (on Kalms already!) because I hope that they will click and can both have lots of fun together. I'm not totally selfish... I want my horse to be happy.

I can count on one hand (and have change) the people I'll let on my TB when she gets started.
 
I suppose if I had a high opinion of my own riding skills it might be different, but I am letting other people -professionals, of course - back my horse (3yo Arab stally) and get him started properly under saddle, before I even attempt to sit on him!
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Once he is backed and going nicely, I will ride him myself, but I will only do the low-level happy-hacking fun-stuff at home - I am not a good enough rider to compete on him, or even school him properly. So I will leave that to highly skilled professional riders - and I will thoroughly enjoy my little hacks through the woods, where I will try not to undo all their good work!
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I would certainly never let another numpty rider like me sit on him! But to be honest, the only people who are keen to ride my boy are professionals or very good amateurs - most people watch him careering and leaping and bucking round the paddock at 100mph and say 'rather you than me, mate!' or 'you aren't seriously planning to ride that, are you?'
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MizElz I would say Ellie is your horse and if you don't want her to give pony rides, that's your decision! It sounds as though, like me, you will only let people ride your horse if they are better riders than you - that makes perfect sense to me! (In my case they will have to be a LOT better than me to be allowed to ride my boy.)
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I let other people ride Bear, the other grass livery where i keep him wants a horse to ride a couple of times a week as she only has ponies so i told her she can take him out whenever she wants!!! I can only ride on sundays now so atleast he'll get exercise and she'l have fun!! if i didnt trust her i wouldnt of offered but i do, and i trust Bear even though he's scared of leaves and blades of grass!!
I like seeing other people ride because when you're up there you cant appreciate what they look like!!!

Sophie xxx
 
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No one ever wanted to ride my last horse

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Interesting you say that Enfys, because when I had my volatile and dangerous horse, people were constantly badgering me to let them ride her. I let a handful of people "ride" her but she totally flipped and had them all off within a few minutes.

After the final person broke their nose and seriously injured their back with her rearing over backwards with her, I decided enough was enough and for the next few years before I retired her, I was her only rider and she was ridden every single day otherwise she became an even bigger lunatic.

Over here, almost all of my horses can, and are, ridden by pretty much anyone. There is only one horse, Golden, that I don't let anyone else ride as she is a quirky mare....and I'm a bit prissy about anyone riding Jet because he is sooo well trained that I find it difficult watching anyone (even my daughter) giving him incorrect commands.
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So in answer to your question MizElz, your horse - your choice.
 
I don't think you are selfish at all.

I love to watch others ride him.

I have a young girl who rides him and is learning how to ride him more effectively. This is teaching me more than I ever thought it would as it is forcing me to really look at my own riding, what I do, how I do it etc. I Have actually solved a few problems because of letting a novice rider on my horse.

It is funny how things happen.

You do what feels right to you.
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Jill, you're putting me off more by the minute!

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Jill? Who is Jill?

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I'm Jill
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I posted about how I'm at the end of my tether with my arab mare and ElaineLightning PM'd me and offered to exercise her. Today was the test trial and I managed not to get the inner rage I usually get when someone rides my horse and had a strange fuzzy smiley feeling instead
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?? Never had that before!! The arab was totally chilled out and they both looked like they had fun so fingers crossed...
 
No- I wouldn't let anyone else ride our boys unless we knew they were a good rider. No one else has EVER ridden pip, he is such a sensitive boy TBH I wouldn't trust him with some one else. I recently let some one try him and he hated it.
 
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