Other people handling your horses.

Yes i am fussy about who handles my horses, i need to know and trust them before they will be allowed to do so, i put to much time, effort and energy into my horses to let someone who cant handle a horse appropriately do so.
When on a yard always been DIY i always had someone I identified who would work with my guys, in my absence, ive seen horses punched in the side of the head or brought in together with others not compatable that ended up fighting with 1 getting away and clattering all over the yard. Eh, no thanks if ive not adsed you to, you dont need to touch my guys unless its in an Emergency and youre phoning me or me or my helpers to get there
 
I don't like small children and timid newbies handling my horse or fussing with him, as he may get very pushy and test a lot if he feels an opening for it. I believe it's not a matter of training and discipline, as he's very polite with experienced people, some horses are just not meant to be handled by beginners and need a bit more assertive attitude!
 
Of course, there are people I just wouldn't want touching my horses. Full stop.

Saying that, I see no reason why most of them wouldn't be absolutely fine with anyone else handling them for any reason.
Foals I'd be a bit more precious with, obviously.
Pony would be awkward about being caught by a stranger but once she's on a rope she's faultless. Had my young nephew leading her round the field the other week and he's very little experience with horses and he thought she was the best thing ever.
And one mare is a bit more of a sensitive beast, work in progress still, so I'd be careful who had dealings with her as I don't want her set back. Saying that she was fine when she was prepared and handled by someone else for her grading (I couldn't be there), though her old owner recently asked if she'd found any manners yet as (and he didn't tell me this before :p) she used to throw her considerable weight around to get her own way.
 
Oh, almost forgot. I never, NEVER let drunk people touch my horse. It's a question of honor and also safety to me, and I despise drunks.
 
I don't find it difficult, no . . . but I am picky about who handles him. We are on a DIY yard and not everyone is particularly horse savvy . . . Kal is pretty well behaved and, most of the time, he could be brought in by a toddler leading him with a piece of cotton . . . however . . . if he gets a bee in his bonnet about coming in (because it's chucking it down with rain and/or he's been out too long/or the hunt has been through the yard) he needs a firm but fair hand and someone with a calm demeanour. By way of example, a fellow livery very kindly tried to bring him in for me the other day as a favour (they got down to the yard before me and their horse and mine share a field) . . . Kal was lit up due to the weather and was Mr. Snorty Pants/had grown about a hand - he behaves beautifully when he's like that provided the handler is calm and confident . . . however fellow livery (a man) grabbed hold of the lead rope right underneath the headcollar, held tight and got a little wound up . . . cue Kal panicking, wondering what (else) there was to be worried about, and trying to jog. Had fellow livery just taken a deep breath, given Kal a long lead rope, given him a pat and calmly walked on, Kal would have let out a huge sigh and been a good boy - which indeed he did when I met them halfway down the track and took Kal from fellow livery (after apologizing to livery).

When you keep your horse on a DIY yard, you "live" with lots of different people whose own horses and therefore whose horsey experiences are very different from yours. Just because your horse is a bombproof, "dope on a rope" (not meant to be a derogatory term - just a useful descriptive phrase) type doesn't mean you are necessarily an experienced horse person and will be able to handle more highly-strung animals. Even the best-trained horse, if it's naturally a little hot, will have the odd "moment" . . . and I'd rather not put inexperienced people at risk when handling my quirky boy. He isn't dangerous . . . but he isn't half asleep either.

P

P.S. I expect to be flamed for this post . . .
 
Sleipnir said:
Oh, almost forgot. I never, NEVER let drunk people touch my horse. It's a question of honor and also safety to me, and I despise drunks.
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Honor?

Thats rather random!
Hopefully there aren't too many winos hanging about livery yards in most parts. If i find any empty bottles of meths and tins of special brew in my horse's bed i'll know drunken riders are more common than i thought :)
 
I have absolutely no problem with anyone handling Bud on the ground. He's a saint. He doesn't barge/kick/bite and more often than not the 4 year olds in the cottages down the drive will come and say hello and groom him whilst he stands like a rock. I am however fussy who mucks out etc as I like it done my way! (slightly obsessive about my stable!) He's also very fussy about who brings him in. There's one girl at the yard who he will not come in for, for love nor money. Nobody else has that problem though, so I guess he's fussy about who handles him. Absolutely no idea why he doesn't like her though?
 
I am extremely careful who handles my horse. She's a very big girl - 16.3hh but 'big' in stature and carriage. She can be an absolute nightmare to handle on occasions and so I very rarely allow anyone else to handle her when I am not there. Mileaminute handles her, and also occasionally a 'horse sitter' but other than that I am extremely reluctant in case anyone gets injured.
 
Mine are at home with me so only I handle them, occasionally my OH will have to see to them and he loves bringing the minis onto the lawn as he likes to watch them.:biggrin3: So haven't really had to worry about other people handling them.
 
I do not mind, providing they are confident and strong enough to cope with a situation such as spooking. My mare can be strong and I like experienced people to handle her, not because she is dangerous but just likes to do things at 100mph and it can intimidate people. My 80 year old non-horsey grandma will walk up the field with my big gelding and he takes care of her :) (even though I stand close by just in case!)
 
Auslander said:
I would be mortified if my horses weren't mannerly enough to be handled by anyone I judged to be a reasonably competent person
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I wouldnt be worried about that, it would be the thought that you dont know how rough they are with them. A lot of horsey people are much rougher than say, I personally like to be with my horses so Id hate for them to touch mine. I keep my horses privately thankfully so have never had to consider this!
 
MagicMelon said:
I wouldnt be worried about that, it would be the thought that you dont know how rough they are with them. A lot of horsey people are much rougher than say, I personally like to be with my horses so Id hate for them to touch mine. I keep my horses privately thankfully so have never had to consider this!
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Agree - but I figure that if horses have impeccable manners, people have no reason to be unduly rough with them. I keep mine privately too, so the problem wouldn't arise, but I'd like to think that anyone reasonably competent could handle them and they wouldn't muck about.
Its the "No-one is capable of handling/riding my horses but me" thing that gets my goat. I wouldn't EVER say that! I'm also very happy to let other people ride mine, as they both have a lot to offer as dressage schoomasters, and I love the thought of people enjoying them.
 
I find that some people are rough regardless, so am a bit funny about people touching mine. Having once seen someone punch a horse in the face for trying to be friendly, I'm always a bit dubious!
The other reason I am funny about who touches my horses, is one is always fine with children, has been led about by RS kids quite happily when a fully fit racehorse (she is only a tiny dot of an arab) but has been very odd with people she takes a dislike to, which led to her being badly injured whilst away at stud.
However, I know that given the correct people, or an emergency, she is pretty good to handle, if you can catch her!
 
I've never worried on the two yards I've been on - horses only brought in and out in the winter and that was about it - you can tell quite quickly if the people tasked with those jobs are people you can trust/experienced and so they should be if employed by a yard. I've had some people over the years who I'd trust with my horse's life and never have to think twice. You know they will be fair but firm if they need to be and in some cases you get people working on yards that actually benefit a horse's manners, where the owners let them walk all over them and the horses have no boundaries/manners and they don't know how to lead properly to then being handled by people every day that do it properly.

However on a DIY yard I've shared with some liveries that would make me feel slightly anxious getting my horse in if the horse was left last or some other reason as I've seen how they handle their own horses or they are very inexperienced (ie, relatives turning up to help their daughter/wife out) who are totally unhorsey but being left to handle them. We would on occasion end up with horses being let out of the field due to this which is not acceptable.

And maybe think about the other side of the coin, how in the winter all credit to those that work on yards that might have to deal with cold hungry horses gathering at a gate or on really wet/windy days with the horses getting wound up when they then have to peel them out amongst all of that - and being the ones that spot the injuries/scrapes and look after the horse until you get there.
 
My horses are good to handle and I have a sharer who is just 14. I was worried about her bringing them all in by herself last night in case my new 5yo played her up. She coped fine and I came home to them all brushed and ready to ride. I find it hard to trust people and have recently realised that sometimes its best to let others you know and trust handle the horses. I couldn't box my mare very easily a few weeks back and was getting frustrated with her, so I passed her to my boyfriend who isn't horsey at all and he loaded her first attempt! I think its essential that horses don't play up for other people as you never know what might happen and who might have to look after them one day. Ground manners are key to success IMO.
 
My horse can get pootsy and on some occasions has bitten and kicked so I would not trust children or nervous people with him for their safety and his reputation aswell as I don't want anyone to try and disipline him differently
 
I've always been on a diy yards that don't offer services but have always had a friend on the yard that I could trust but I wouldn't let just anyone handle them! my young boy gave himself a bad rep so most people don't want to handle him, but he's fine now!! I was worried the other day when I was taking them back to the field and my farrier took the boy rather than the mare but he was fine! just looked at me rather confused as to why I wasn't leading him!! but he's chilled out loads in the past few months, so id be less worried now!
 
The comment about people handling them differently just made me remember something.

I had a few horses to take to the field and a friend offered to take my gelding for me. She had hold of him and was moving about strangely, so I said 'What is it you are up to :confused3:. 'Attempting join up' she says, pmsl. Yeah we'll have none of that here says the horse and I :p




(So basically what my point there is, if other people are handling my horses I want them handled as I do, no 'training' I didn't ask for, I can do that if any is needed, though I would hope they are well trained enough not to give anyone any bother (and I get to choose the training methods ;)).
 
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