Is anyone else uber-possessive of their horse?

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Erehwemos

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I dont mean 'would you not let anyone else plod around the school on your horse whilst you're there' - I'm talking about letting someone take your horse out on a hack, borrow him/her to go for a ride with a friend, or ride them at a show. Or even just day to day handling!

I have let both my brother and OH have a sit on Ellie whilst I lead her round, and my SJ instructor and I once swapped horses when we'd hired a course somewhere (he actually fell off her and broke his leg very badly, but that is another story!) But....I would never, EVER let anyone take Ellie out without my being there, and after instructor's accident, I would also never let anyone else ever jump or school her. The thought of watching her being ridden out of the yard without me, and knowing that for an hour or so, I'd have no idea of what she might be doing...it terrifies me! I know I'm very, very selfish, but she is my baby and it crucifies me to think that anything could happen to her when I'm not there. YO has just said to me that rather than turn Ellie out at 6am on Uni mornings, if I leave her with her rug on then she will turn her out later when her own horse goes out - and I am already cacking myself over 'things that could go wrong' - eg. kicking in gateways, slipping on the yard, spooking at tractors - whilst I'm not there
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It is pathetic, but I am so possessive! It's not that I dont trust other people, or that I think I am better at looking after/riding her than anyone else...I just dread something happening to her that I cannot blame solely on myself.

Anyone else like this?
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I get a bit like that sometimes, it's perfectly normal (I hope ...). Although, most people don't want to get on mine because he's an eejit - I broke my foot a couple of years ago and had to carry on riding him myself! Once let the head groom borrow him to take a hack, when she got back she threw the reins at me and said "I don't know how you can ride that thing, it's a nervous wreck!", and he went lame last year when a friend was riding him while I was on holiday
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Hehe, but maybe we're just freaks.
 
I am very possessive over people riding their horses and was previously possessive over anyone handling him. The handling issue ended when I got a job after uni and realised DIY simply wasn't an issue so now he's on livery but luckily they are lovely and understanding and treat him exactly as I would and only a couple of girls handle him.
I worry if I let other people handle him/ride him he would injure them. He's not dangerous but he's a little unpredictable and rather difficult. Now he's retired so I no longer have to be so possessive but I like that my horse is my horse!
 
My horse lives at home with me. No-one except my trainer rides her. I would not allow anyone to take her to a show or a hack. She is very precious to me. I would not forgive myself if something happened to her in someone else's hands. I do a lot with her - she is not wrapped in cotton wool.
 
I think my reluctance would be more to do with him being a complete arse! It would need to be someone used to riding strong willed horses that would also not want to start argueing with him and make him worse.
 
Nope, I won't let anyone so much as handle my horse either. After an incident last year where she was taken out of the (locked) field without my permission by the YO to use for a publicity shoot, that ended up with her having a three-inch gash on her stifle that left her out of work for nearly a month and a £200 vet's bill, I am understandably wary.
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I share her with my mum and of course I let her handle her and ride her, but even then I do worry as she does some things differently to me.
 
LOL nobody would want to borrow my horse therefore I'd never need to worry.
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Actually I do see what you mean though, I wouldn't mind someone else riding one of horses if I knew how they rode, I'd have to give them a 30 min chat on the does and don't, I don't like nervous riders, or ones with heavy hands or ones are whip or digger happy, or ones with n road sense, or ones that just like galloping them around on hard ground, or ones that are always on their case for a perfect outline while on relaxing hack....and the ones that...

I think I may of answered your question lol
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Mine's also an awkward, unpredictable git and tends to make other people very nervous!

(Despite the fact he's 15.1 and practically a midget)

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Yeah mine is a bit of a donut too! She spooks more now as a 13yr old than she did when I had her as a baby - I wouldnt trust her as far as I could throw her!
Although that said, she was as gentle as a lamb when I did let my OH (total novice) have a sit on her. I guess they're too canny!
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Maybe I am the weird one! I will let anyone I know and like ride either of my horses. All I ask is, that they ask me first, and let me know when they are back. I also regularly ride a couple of friends horses.
 
Nope not at all. I wouldn't let just anyone ride a horse of mine while I'm not there, but if its somebody I know to be experienced and responsible then I've got no issue with it at all.

I'm pretty easy going generally about other people schooling or having a jump on a horse of mine supervised, although if they weren't very competent then I would limit what they did for the good of the horse.

I actually do think its a trust issue that you have, as you seem to be afraid that nobody else will be able to ride/handle/look after Ellie as well as you do and therefore that some harm will come to her when shes not in your control. Thats your call obviously but your life would probably be easier if you could relax a bit.
 
I have often wondered if I was on holiday etc etc. My friend has offered to muck her out whilst I;m away, but as much as I trust her, I just don;t think I could let her ride her aswell. Don;t get me wrong, Sukari is an Angel and wouldn;t hurt a fly, and other than being forward going (which isn't a bad thing) she's got her head screwed on, so don't think she'd do anything crazy.
It comes down to what if there was a freak accident, and I wasn't there (it happens!!) and my friend would feel terrible if I then had to pick up the pieces!

I don't look at it as a selfish thing at all, more of a playing safe really!
 
He's nearly 14 and I've had him since he was 8 ... showing no signs of settling down! I got asked by a woman once if he was a baby (because he was launching and bucking and doing the stupid rocking-horse on the spot canter because we were IN A FIELD ... he was 10 at the time lol)

One of my friends rode him out with me, and he tried to rear at a place where he's normally perfect, I went to get on him, he stood perfectly still and I rode him the rest of the way down the field on a long rein with no stirrups.

Yesterday he tried to run away from some ramblers ... must have been those horse-eating ones ...
 
I find it quite disturbing how over protective some people are!

Don't get me wrong, I won't hand my horses over to people willy nilly BUT I am more than happy to let anyone who is capable handle my horses. Riding wise I am happy to let capable people hack them out, and a few selected people I am happy to school them.

In fact at the moment my 4/5yo has only been ridden by me for the last 6 months and has only had 3 people ride him in his life. I am actively now going to try and have other people ride him for his benefit.
 
I'm very possessive of Flash, the only person I would even entertain the idea of riding and schooling him when I'm not there would be my instructor. I've let a couple of friends plod round while i'm there, but no schooling, and there's only one of them that I didn't want to haul off him haha! My sister took him out on a hack once without my permission and I was absolutely livid! It's not that he's naughty, or i have any deluded notion that I'm a particularly good rider, but he gets ideas in his head very quickly and i've found its taken me hours of work to get him going nicely again after anyone else has ridden other than my instructor, and its such a hassle!
 
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I actually do think its a trust issue that you have, as you seem to be afraid that nobody else will be able to ride/handle/look after Ellie as well as you do and therefore that some harm will come to her when shes not in your control. Thats your call obviously but your life would probably be easier if you could relax a bit.

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You're probably right, but I think there are many reasons for me feeling like this! A friend of mine once had a horrid experience when her horse (DIY livery) was brought in by someone else, and he got away from her and ended up tangled in fencing
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She moved yards shortly afterwards, only for something similar to happen, and the horse got out onto the road and was hit by a car
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I think it is always in the back of my mind! Also, as I said before, the only time anyone else has ever really ridden Elz 'properly' (i.e. not just plodding around), he ended up so badly injured that he missed the whole BSJA season and his HOYS ride...I felt so guilty! And again, the only residential school trip I ever went on was blighted by the fact that whilst I was away, Ellie suffered a series of quite serious nosebleeds. Now I am sane enough to know that even if I'd been home, I couldnt have stopped this, but even so, it kills me to think that I have no control over what is happening with her!

I have issues
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and my SJ instructor and I once swapped horses when we'd hired a course somewhere (he actually fell off her and broke his leg very badly, but that is another story!)

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Regarding this bit, yes
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When i've let 2 friends ride Blue in the past, when i've been there, he's bucked them off/refused jump so they came off and they hurt themselves so generally no, i won't let people ride him very often now!
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He always used to try buck everyone off!
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But handling yes, anyone can handle him, i'm not at the yard 2 days a week anyway so obviously i can't do him them!
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I share turn out with 2 friends so someone other than me handles my horse everyday and as a general rule apart from being a bit mareish she is a pleasure to handle so i am happy for anyone to handle her. I wouldnt lend her out to just anyone to ride but am more than happy for others to ride her, in fact i like to see other people ride her and feel proud when i either see her behave well and give confidence to a more novice rider or work nicely and well for a more experienced rider.
 
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Nope Pickle's on working livery so I can't be !

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This. My pony was on working livery so I was always happy to "share".

Unless I had some psycho horse and didnt want to risk being sued
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I would hope I'm always willing to let competent friends borrow any horse I may have, as I would be rideless without people being kind enough to let me ride their horses
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Nope! and thank goodness not everyone is the same or I'd be a bit B*ggered- seeing as I currently share a horse!! LOL The owber lets me do what i want with B- but knows I will give him the best care possible and am sensible when out and about- which currently is more than can be said of the big pink beast - who really ought to know better at 17!!
 
I let the university students use her on weds eve's...

This is twofold, it gives me a night off
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and it stops her becoming unrideable by others and adjusting and fitting only to me and my style!

They are supervised and taught whilst riding her, I feel that this is of a great benefit to us both.

I doubt that if any of them went up the field to fetch her that she would whinnie at them, every time she does this it melts my heart and I know she's mine
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At present no-one except me jumps or hacks her as its just damn dangerous at times, however her jumping is improving with all our schooling and I would be proud if she ever gets to the required standard of reliability to be used by the Uni for that!
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I used to be fine with anyone riding and handling my horse - she's easy peasy. Since her tendon injury, I will still let anyone handle her on the ground as long as they have had the very-boring-and-far-too-long-don't-turn-her-sharply-left talk, because she has impeccable manners (I would too if I had me for an owner!)
Riding is a bit of an odd one, especially while she's on restricted work. My mum I trust implicitly as she has been there every heartbreaking step of the way throughout Maiden's injury and knows never to put her at risk of doing it again. More importantly to me, I trust Maiden implicitly with my very nervous mum. There are only a select few people I would let ride Maiden and they would only be allowed out on their own if I had been out with them once or twice to make sure they are careful enough with her. Yes I am paranoid, but so would anyone be if they had been through what I have IMO.
It's the same issue as why I won't loan or sell her, ever - I couldn't trust someone not to think "oh it'll be fine if I canter" and I then end up with a permanently broken horse... or worse, if she damages it again badly, she could have to be PTS. Not worth the risk for me.
 
I was going to say 'no, that would be daft', but then I thought about it for a few seconds and actually, yes I am posessive. Maybe not in the same ways as other people, but I will not accept people saying bad things about my horse if they are not warranted. I don't like my YO interfering with my horses etc. So yes, I am. However, I am not scared of my horses loving someone else more than they love me, because they don't love anyone INCLUDING me. They love food and they love being happy and healthy. I provide that and they know I do, so they quite like me being around. I just don't want any numpty to harm them and I don't want to hear someone saying things about them that are not true, as I feel they reflect badly on me!
 
i am most definitely but thats probably more to do with the fact that i havent had him long and he wasnt treated well beforehand and he is a bag of nerves with people he doesnt know, so safer and better for all concerned that currently i am possessive
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