Novice riding my GP horse without permission?!

Skewbald1 said:
Thank you for the response. It was the fact that I am the last to know what is going on with my own horse, I don't even know if she is insured or not. From the looks of the pictures the girl has hacked him on the road too. It takes some guts for even me to hack him round the roads as he is, like I said, very very sensitive and can find the whole ordeal mind blowing. Yard owner is now acting as though I should be thankful for it, like she was doing me a favour!! I guess this is the downside of having a horse on full livery, you don't know the ins and outs like you do when you're on DIY
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I fear it may be necessary to move .
The young girl would not have been covered on your insurance as it was without your permission.
 
Ooh id be spitting feathers at this point! Quickly followed by a harshly worded scentence! Was your y/o aware the girl has been riding your boy? Gosh what a bad situation! I'd be having a strongly worded conversation with both parties regarding this and would be definitely considering whether this establishment was right for your boys needs. Blingy this is the last thing you need after a nice holiday!
 
I'm stewing now. It's just taken so long to get him to where he is, I've invested a lot of time (and money!!) to get him to where he is, it feels like it has been totally disregarded. I don't like taking him round the roads (although we do like to go for a canter through the countryside) as I don't like to risk it. He spooks at his own shadow! He's a big muscly boy, and if he'd decided to spook and cart himself back home there would have been no way she could have stopped him.
It's such a shame as I looove the yard the rest of the time, and my boy loves it there to. She events up to 1* level and I bet she wouldn't have liked it had it been the other way around.
 
I would definitely vote with my feet. You would never be able to go away again without constantly worrying what is happening with your horse.
 
I would be absolutely livid, indeed I have been in your position, so I do know exactly how you feel and my pony was moved out of the yard asap!

This was a few years ago and my pony was certainly not as valuble as yours but she was on part livery with all the work done but no exercise just turn out every day. Went down the yard one day when I wasn't expected to find her being used in a lesson and ridden by a very novice working pupil, so I do feel your annoyance. The YO had the cheek to try and turn it round too saying it was a bonus that my mare was being exercised!
 
I would be annoyed. But I think take a deep breath and don't make a huge drama as there is no point. Instead I would wait until you are not angry any more and you need him ridden again and then arrange it, explicitly agreeing who what and where.
Reason I say this is otherwise you like yard, most yards have no one remotely suitable to ride this kind of horse and therefore leaving in a huff is a total own goal. Also, I think there may have been some misunderstandings- you refer to full livery and I can see how if you paid for full livery inc exercise the YO may have thought who exercised was up to her, she just had to get it done. You obviously thought what you agreed was to pay for her to ride,not the same thing but you can see how a mutual misunderstanding can have arisen. To be honest I am surprised this happened as I would have imagined she would love to sit on a g p horse and wouldn't have let anyone near it!
 
I would be furious, furious. If the yard owner had said they were short staffed or struggeling that week and she had extra help then it may have ben different.

To me it sounds like they were dying to have a play about with a nice horse. To put pictures on Facebook is disgusting. Maybe refuse to pay for those days as you haven't got the service you expected. I hope you copied the pictures from Facebook just incase.

What if he had gone lame or anything had happened? They sound seriously stupid IMO.
 
Thanks again everyone for the input. I appreciate all your responses and it's good to know that I'm not alone in feeling this. The thing is, she refuses to hack him on the roads. She's more than happy to take him through the countryside but finds him too much on the road (its fair to say I've had my fair share of funny looks when they see a horse the size of a house passaging down the road) so the fact that she more than willingly let such a young LW teenager out on him has really shocked me. However like imr said above, there aren't too many places which can accommodate him.
 
I would be even more livid with the way she is reacting! She sounds like she is not at all bothered and would happily do it again like you are being some sort of dressage diva - I think anyone would be annoyed!

The worst thing is that you have paid her for this service, have you mentioned this? Has your money gone to her for doing F all, or to the girl?

And the fact she wouldn't hack him out herself but puts a teenager who doesn't know any better in that position is ridiculous!

I would be curious to see how the teenager got on with the hack mind you.

Wouldnt normally say leave the yard, but if she doesn't even apologise properly and admit it was the wrong thing to do I'd be sorely tempted.
 
It's not an easy one at all but you need to weigh up everything it's no small thing for the horse to change yards .
But I am thinking you are talking about a teenager imagine if something awful had happened to her it does not bear thinking about .
Has something happened to cause this serious lapse of judgement by the YO .
 
Another thought is can you get your trainer or someone else suitably skilled to ride when you cannot, in which case may be easier to move and/or deal with issue. Or even send him to trainer when you are on hols?
Ps I'm glad he came to no real harm, that's the only saving grace
 
mandwhy said:
I would be even more livid with the way she is reacting! She sounds like she is not at all bothered and would happily do it again like you are being some sort of dressage diva - I think anyone would be annoyed!

The worst thing is that you have paid her for this service, have you mentioned this? Has your money gone to her for doing F all, or to the girl?

And the fact she wouldn't hack him out herself but puts a teenager who doesn't know any better in that position is ridiculous!

I would be curious to see how the teenager got on with the hack mind you.

Wouldnt normally say leave the yard, but if she doesn't even apologise properly and admit it was the wrong thing to do I'd be sorely tempted.
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YOer is probally being defensive because she knows she's in the wrong.
 
I would be most upset in your position, and to find pictures of your horse posted on facebook, is beyound belief.

I do not see how the YO can think this is ok, a valuable horse put at risk by another livery client without your express permission.

If YO can not ride all, then should be honest so you can make arrangements that you are happy with.

Do hope you can sort it as you sound happy with yard otherwise, but I do not think you are over reacting.
 
As far as I know she wasn't even going to mention it to me. I don't know why she thought it was OK, and on top of this Ernie and I have a very exciting opportunity coming up, internationally, so if anything had happened to him it would have totally ruined this opportunity for us.
Most of the time when she is riding someone else's horse the owners are there to watch. A lot of the time, due to work, I leave him in her hands, sometimes at the last minute, so perhaps she thinks she can get away with it. I dread to think what my trainer will say when she finds out, as she's been training Ernie and I for years, and she's as essential as Ernie is for our success. Just pondering over what to do now
 
A 'hands - up' confession here. Many many years ago I was head girl at a big yard and we had a dressage horse come on a months livery while owner went abroad for a long holiday. YO was supposed to ride him every day but he never enjoyed riding this little horse... they just never clicked and he used to moan like crazy about him. YO went off showing for a couple days and I couldn't resist having a ride..I was an AI and very experienced with many types of horses and had even been offered a job by a leading dressage rider of the day so I thought I knew it all!! All I can say is thank god we were in an indoor school with nowhere to go because if there was ever a wrong button then I managed to press it. It was a disaster. Sensitive wasn't the name for this poor lad, I had him so confused he was going every which way.

I felt awful and confessed to YO when he got home. Fortunately for me and for the horse, no lasting damage was done but it could have been very different.

Even now, forty years later, I feel embarrassed about it and I have every sympathy for the way you are feeling. That standard horse is as different as driving a Ferrari when you are used to a landrover.

You say you are pondering what to do now.. could your trainer not ride him for you if you are not able to? Maybe not as often as you like, but I feel having a few extra days off might be better than having a relative novice on a horse like yours.
 
I think you pay for full livery plus extra you have a right to expect yourself and your horse treated with respect, and the YO as a competitor knows that just anybody does not climb on top of a valuable horse.

One of the horses in our family is on full livery, and when the owner is away the YO personally supervisies the horse, and because he is on full livery you expect a service that is secure and trustworthy and maintains the standards you pay for.

Any business that relies on trust puts their whole livelyhood on the line by breaking the trust between themselves and a client.
 
"Novice riding my horse" but she's eventing at 1* at quite a young age, which doesn't sound anything like my idea of a novice.

Are you sure she's not being paid by YO to school some of the liveries?? Sounds like the kind of deal ambitious younger person with a bit of time on a yard with some good horses would go for in a shot.

If your full livery contract was expicility that all ridden exercise was to be with YO in saddle, then she's out of order. But all the full liveries I've known had only the stipulation that it needs to be a member of staff riding (or not for the working liveries).

I hope Ernie hasn't been upset by meeting his unexpected new jockey.
 
Skewbald1 said:
Thank you for the response. It was the fact that I am the last to know what is going on with my own horse, I don't even know if she is insured or not. From the looks of the pictures the girl has hacked him on the road too. It takes some guts for even me to hack him round the roads as he is, like I said, very very sensitive and can find the whole ordeal mind blowing. Yard owner is now acting as though I should be thankful for it, like she was doing me a favour!! I guess this is the downside of having a horse on full livery, you don't know the ins and outs like you do when you're on DIY
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OK - so I'm with you on the ....I'm paying for something to happen this way so that's the way it happens.... and also on the ......this is who rides my horse and that's it.......

But you've also said some stuff that I don't get.

This lightwieght teenager has apparently hacked your horse out. On the road. Dear God.

But hang on - she's still alive - and so is your horse?

I get the fact that GP horses are highly skilled atheletes. And I also get ( as said before) that it is inexcusable that someone else rode your horse without your permission. But I just do start to wonder whether or not your horse would benefit from a bit of time out....?

Dressage is brilliant and often a horse that goes off on a hack down the road comes back to the school refreshed and happy to go on being a dressage diva.
 
Ladyinred said:
A 'hands - up' confession here. Many many years ago I was head girl at a big yard and we had a dressage horse come on a months livery while owner went abroad for a long holiday. YO was supposed to ride him every day but he never enjoyed riding this little horse... they just never clicked and he used to moan like crazy about him. YO went off showing for a couple days and I couldn't resist having a ride..I was an AI and very experienced with many types of horses and had even been offered a job by a leading dressage rider of the day so I thought I knew it all!! All I can say is thank god we were in an indoor school with nowhere to go because if there was ever a wrong button then I managed to press it. It was a disaster. Sensitive wasn't the name for this poor lad, I had him so confused he was going every which way.

I felt awful and confessed to YO when he got home. Fortunately for me and for the horse, no lasting damage was done but it could have been very different.

Even now, forty years later, I feel embarrassed about it and I have every sympathy for the way you are feeling. That standard horse is as different as driving a Ferrari when you are used to a landrover.

You say you are pondering what to do now.. could your trainer not ride him for you if you are not able to? Maybe not as often as you like, but I feel having a few extra days off might be better than having a relative novice on a horse like yours.
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Thanks for sharing that. I'm not angry at the girl for riding him, I would have jumped at the chance too at her age.. I'm very lucky to have my boy but if someone had genuinely wanted the chance to ride him I would (most of the time) let them at least sit on him. If he were too much for them or they weren't comfortable (he can, not surprisingly, be quite intimidating) then they could get off.
The only thing is if my trainer were to ride him more often I'd probably have to send him to her yard. She travels to our yard twice a week as it is, if I wanted her to see him more often he'd probably have to live with her and I'd miss him too much!

Adopter said:
I think you pay for full livery plus extra you have a right to expect yourself and your horse treated with respect, and the YO as a competitor knows that just anybody does not climb on top of a valuable horse.

One of the horses in our family is on full livery, and when the owner is away the YO personally supervisies the horse, and because he is on full livery you expect a service that is secure and trustworthy and maintains the standards you pay for.

Any business that relies on trust puts their whole livelyhood on the line by breaking the trust between themselves and a client.
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She very very rarely let's anyone else on her top horse and I totally understand that. I wouldn't go getting on just anyone's horse, regardless as to whether they were a happy hacker or a GP horse.

AnneCam said:
"Novice riding my horse" but she's eventing at 1* at quite a young age, which doesn't sound anything like my idea of a novice.

Are you sure she's not being paid by YO to school some of the liveries?? Sounds like the kind of deal ambitious younger person with a bit of time on a yard with some good horses would go for in a shot.

If your full livery contract was expicility that all ridden exercise was to be with YO in saddle, then she's out of order. But all the full liveries I've known had only the stipulation that it needs to be a member of staff riding (or not for the working liveries).

I hope Ernie hasn't been upset by meeting his unexpected new jockey.
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the yard owner is the 1* rider, the girl who rode him is only about 14 and has only been involved in horses for a couple of years so understandably isn't massively experienced. Ernie is luckily quite comfortable with new riders if they don't fuss!
 
I would be incredibly pissed tbh. Not only is it incredibly rude, and could have set you and your horse back, its also stupid- what would she have done if the girl had injured herself? Were the parents even aware she had asked their daughter to ride your horse? and theres also the potential of liability issues if the girl wasn't covered under employee insurance or potentially invalidated her own if she was paid.

A friend of mine had a similar scenario when she was on holiday the YO let someone (a friend of a friend who she didn't know!) take her horse out hunting! The agreement was that the horse would be schooled by YO or hacked by one of her employees, as it always has been in the past (to her knowledge!). She was angry but had a quiet word and the YO apologised, so she let it slide, I did offer her a stable at mine until she found somewhere else if she decided she wanted to leave immediately. I think its quite a big deal to trust someone enough to look after your horse on a full livery basis and to betray that trust is unacceptable.

If your YO was reasonably explaining to you that she either a) misunderstood about who could ride him, and/or b) made a mistake and was really sorry, then I would be inclined to leave it be. However ranting at a paying client daring to question why a particular person was riding their own horse?! I think I'd have another calm discussion in person to make sure no-ones getting the wrong end of the stick and if she rants off again I'd vote with my feet as if she can't calmly apologise for the mistake/misunderstanding and promise it won't happen again then I don't see how you could trust her to look after your horse as you ask.
 
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It would make me wonder if this wasn't the first time and if the YO was indeed schooling him when supposed to.

I'd be ready for the YO to get wind of this thread as well by the way...
 
Your YO obviously thinks the girl capable enough to ride him and she may even be paying her to ride for her.
You keep saying about her being LW, I'd rather that than a biffer tbh.
Can somebody really undo years of work in 2 weeks :confused:?
 
I would be furious. I think if there is nowhere suitable to move to and you are otherwise happy, I would try and get it in writing that only YO rides horse. Perhaps stating it is for insurance purposes. Leaving no room for doubt. And clarify that if YO can't or doesn't want to ride him giving him the day off is acceptable rather than finding an alternative rider.
 
I would be furious, out on the roads they could have met anything or the horse might just have boiled over - she put your horse and the young rider at risk and took money for it. How unprofessional. In your shoes I wouldn't be able to trust her again.
 
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