Playing up for sharer

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sandr

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I have a lovely lady who rides my horse 3 times a week, and has alternate Saturday lessons on him. She is a fairly experienced rider & quite confident.

My horse has really started taking the pee when she rides him, bunny hopping, really spooky, generally being an arse.

When I ride him, he is absolutely fine, his normal self.

Tack is correctly done, she is firm but fair, doesn't nag him, TBH she is pretty much the same sort of rider as me, only 3 stone lighter!!

Is it just a case of pushing him through the silliness?

Or in my 'fluffy bunny' head, is he trying to tell me something?

ETA - When i am there he is fine, its just when they are alone.
 
Every horse I've ridden for owners has tried to push their luck at least once with me. With one of the current horses I'm riding, he decided to nap on our first hack alone, I ended up dismounting and leading him home, 2 months later we are cantering around stubble fields and popping xc jumps
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I'd give the rider and your horse a little while longer to see if it's just teething problems, then if in a month or so it's still happening, maybe see if she's doing anything differently in your absense or not?
 
suggest your sharer has a few lessons to help resolve issues and build her confidence and ability to cope? sorry just re reread post and is already having a lesson? ask instructor for ideas/ how/why? he might just be taking p and need a slap! try a different instructor as people pick up on different things. in an ideal world you dont want to lose your sharer esp with dark nights coming.
 
Thast was my line of thinking, that he is just taking the pee and needs a slap!!!

Good idea. ill give it another month and see what happens.
 
I have just got someone to ride one of ours and today have come across the same problem.

Our, so called, bomproof cob spooked, messed about at things she wouldn't normally look at and at one point put her rider off. Both were OK as rider kept hold of reins and our girl would have waited for her anyway.

My first reaction was that she was being naughty and trying it on, she did get a couple smacks which I totally agreed with. However they have been out together alone around the fields and galloped through the stubble before without any problems and out for hacks with me and my oldie.

I think it was because today they went for a wander, got a bit lost and ended up outside our ponies comfort zone with a relative stranger on her back. With my daughter she will go anywhere and acts like a donkey.

Just shows you can never tell, our girl is 18 and has been to shows all over the country, she didn't even spook when the horse artillery and a tank went past once
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When I first started sharing horsey was lovely with me (well, except for the things he is unlovely about for his owner too). Then after a few weeks he started being an absolute so-and-so about his bridle going on when I was up by myself to the extent that I didn't actually ride on at least one occasion! Had a lesson of ground work and we were fine. On the other hand I 'taught' him to stand still for mounting which his owner hadn't got him to do and he is more-or-less consistent for both of us with that now. Could just be boundary-pushing or insecurity on his part?
 
When i first started sharing my current share, he was an angel. After a couple of weeks he started being a pain out hacking. I wanted to go one way, he wanted to go the other so he wouldnt moved or he would try and spin round. Then he wouldn't let me catch him (spent and hour and half trying to catch him one evening). His owner came home from work and caught him straight away. He was testing me to the extent that i was seriously thinking about giving up the share. I stuck it out for over a month and now he is almost fine. If we go past other horses when riding, he will sometimes try and turn round but i can now get him to listen to me and get him going the way i want.

It sounds as though your horse is maybe testing your sharer to see how much he can get away with.
 
My share horse was an angel for about 5 weeks and then started asking some questions. The funniest but probably most disrepectful thing she did was to nip my finger when I was pointing it at her and saying "noo you must not dive for the grass". After a while of being nice but firm I actually shouted at her and said "look if you don't play ball all this will be taken away from both of us". She looked a bit shocked but I learned that day that she actually responds to a firm voice and now if she starts to act up I just tell her off. It wasn't an overnight thing but slowly (since April) we started to bond and then one day about a month ago I got unbalanced after a jump in the school - she felt that and stopped dead. Ever since then I feel we've moved on and on.

Sorry realise that was a self indulgent story about how much I love my share horse but I think what I'm getting at is that it all takes time and some mistakes to work through it. I also really get a lot of good advice from her owner who has owned her for 13 years and therefore seen most of her antics at some stage!
 
My mare does the same i have had her 16 years so we know each other and she tested me when she was little and didn’t win so we don’t have any of that now. The lady that has her on loan had a few problems with her but i just left them too it because the lady wasn’t scared, they worked through it there own way.

I could have helped but then my mare wouldn’t have been doing it for my loaner she would have been listening to me so i left them to work out there own way of dealing with things and now i think she does things for my loaner that she wouldn’t do for me.

It is all about trust and respect from the horse and rider.
 
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