Someone else Riding Your Horse

Do you let other people ride your horse(s)?

  • Total voters
    0
J

JenHunt

Well-Known Member
Joined
14 November 2007
Messages
7,049
Location
Thirsk, North Yorkshire, UK
Visit site
Following on from an earlier post... do you let other people ride your horse(s) and why?

I let anyone who wants ride Ron - I figure its good for him to realise that other people can and will look after him and that he has to do the same. It's also a way for me to check that he hasn't become too used to my way of doing things. He's a laid back sort tho so nothing to worry about. my friend's 8yo daughter rode him round a 85cm course of jumps the other day. Pottered round in a trot, clear. with me, he carted me in canter and we had 2 down....

Tom - my sister is funny about people riding him, but he's not straight forward and she's worked hard to stop him from a)taking advantage and b) becoming one sided, as he has a funny mouth missing teeth and if you let him he'll lean on the teeth he's got and be onesided.
 
Badger the Fjord- absolutely, he is anyone’s ride in the school (and pretty much out hacking), and we have had people on him that have never ridden before, tiny kids on lead rein etc. Well if he can cope with my novice Mum bouncing around, he can cope with anyone.

Bodey- In reality less then a handful of people have ridden Bodey apart from me. I think he would be ok with anyone up from component Novice, however I couldn’t be 100% sure how he would cope with someone on him tensing or pulling. He is a very good boy, but can have his lively moments. Not naughty as in bucking or rearing, just forward. To be fair I have made him like that and he is very fit.
 
I have recently started letting two friends ( both decent riders) ride my horse but only if I'm present. I took a second horse on loan as a hack/ companion and as I keep them at home it is fine to have someone to hack out with from time to time but both the horses have their moments so I'm not too keen on them being ridden by others if I'm not around.
 
I don't think anyone would want to ride mine.
Anyone want to ride Herbie, your more than welcome LOL
I have had a couple of my instructors ride Lucy and they refused to do it again!!
 
When I was younger I would have cut off a body part to just be near a horse and to get a ride was just the best thing that could possibly happen. When I got Archie, with this in mind, I seemed to offer him to people to pop on, have a go (obviously under supervision) and that seemed okay. I then thought about getting a sharer and kept an open mind. I found a lot of people talked the talk but couldn't walk the walk and alarm bells started to ring when he did things out of character, even with me keeping an eye on things.

I am very choosy who I let ride Archie now. I am happy for a complete beginner to sit on his back with me, mum, there and have a walk on the lead rein and I am happy for very competent riders to ride him. But inbetweeners ... no, not any more. He gets confused, understandably, by joy riders and has changed in the past. So now it is me, me, me with one or two very good exceptions, (Tarrsteps included ;)).
 
In 19 years of owning Motor, only a very select few have ridden him .... he just tenses up and would be up up and away if someone let him ....

My TB can be ridden by anyone, however as a regular rider they need to 'know' him, if you see what I mean? I have had some really good riders, over the 10 years I have had him, take him out and about with me and at the moment I have 3 lovely peeps, who take him out with me and Mots :)
 
It depends for me, at home my 14.2 is happy to plod around but has his moments so I wont let anyone who is very young on him unless led around. However in the field he's amazing so I let most people who havent had a canter go for one as he doesn't go very fast or very far! The big mare anyone could ride her but if they get pushy she'll just refuse. My mare I only let confident people ride (even though I'm not totally confident she listens to me weirdly) as she can be quirky and novices might find her a bit off the norm :) Mums mare is a good rider only as she'll just take the mick!

My 13.2hh is a no go for anyone unless led by my dad who she loves, else you could be bucked, spun, bolted, spooked or anything possible to be thrown off. She also lacks a saddle as shes more of a companion. An example of how naughty she can be is she once dropped to her knees in canter with me to try get me over her head, unfortunately I didn't come off so then she tried spooking/napping at any possible point. :)
 
instructors only...
and maybe a friend or two; but only selected people, and for like only 15 or so minutes when I am there....

xx
 
I've always had horses even though i don't ride...hubby and many people think I'm mad but i enjoy being around horses and the social aspect of having a horse.
I do all the work and pay for everything and make sure my horse had a happy home and all i do is advertise for a jockey.
Some-people are good riders but don't have the time and/or the money to have their own horse and i don't enjoy riding anymore so it's a perfect combo.
I currently have a 21month shire xTB who is going to be a fantastic riding horse and i have a feeling will excel at something...obviously don't know what yet but hopefully when i advertise for a rider they can take him to the top of what ever they are good at?!!? I think he'll be good at Dressage as he had floaty paces, he had a fantastic jump on him (cleared a 5ft fence from a standstill at 13mths!!) and if they are brave enough maybe x-country.
Ideally i would like someone to back him and stick with him for as long as possible.
The rider will be vetted, reference's need to be provided and they are taken out for a drink to get to know them before i allow them to take my horse on.
Hopefully when the time comes there will be someone out there who wants a challenge and to be rewarded with a fabulous horse to ride :)
 
I don't let anyone else ride Ellie. My SJ instructor - who found her for us in the first place - is the only person who has ever ridden her properly other than me...and he took such a bad fall from her that he shattered his leg in several places and missed his HOYS ride that year....:o:eek::rolleyes:

I'm just a very selfish person, and I dont like the thought of anyone else riding my horse....I'd be beside myself with nerves in case something should happen. So she's a one-rider horse! :D
 
i'm very fussy about who rides my horses. its not that i think i am an amazing rider (i'm not by any means) but my horses are used to me and how i approach things. having said that i will let most competent people sit on my TB- he's big enough to look after himself- if someone doesn't ride him very well then he'll sort them out himself!! my 5 year old-- only a couple of people (both pros used to baby horses) have sat on him...my trainers won't get on him (they've seen his acrobatics :D) and have actually said that now he's used to me and we have a good bond. have had a few friends desperate to get on him (i think they underestimate just how sharp he is) but i am fussy about how quiet people are with their hands etc so not let anyone on him for a while...could do with doing though in case i ever decide to sell him :eek:
 
Captain is not ridden by anyone else except Elizabeth, he is extremely quirky and will rear, or try, with others. He doesn't like hacking and will nap, spin and rear, but he does go out with E. He is generally as good as gold with Elizabeth, even her AI had issues with him, she called him "bloody minded " and "stubborn" which he is, still he is usually an angel with Elizabeth. which is all we want. When I rode him he was an angel, but unfortunatly I can't ride anymore. He is naughty for picking and choosing who he likes :( Still as long as Elizabeth is on board, he is happy and well behaved.

Fany is ridden by me, and my daughter Alex, as well as Elizabeth. She is a real happy hacker and is as bombproof as any horse I have ever met.
 
Im happy for my instructor to ride her and thats it. I let a friend jump her once and she was such a total cow afterwards that I decided not to do it again.

Im too selfish, basically.
 
Only the daughter of our neighbours rides him one day a week, and she's the only rider to handle him, except me, of course ... :D
For he's very difficult, baulking at everything and rearing often, it is much to dangerous to let others ride him.
Katharina, thats her name, had a horse, too, but it had to be put down due to a nerve disease and his age (29 years).
She is a very good rider, competed in showjumping and is now keen on western riding ... :(
... and loves the western saddle ! *grrrrrrr*

And I'm sooo happy to get the new saddle on friday, although I cannot ride for the next four weeks due to the rupture of my right achilles tendon ! :mad::mad::mad:
 
I never used to (bar my instructor) but I do sometimes let people sit on Dyl in the school. Only for like a few mins after I've schooled him (which is rare lol). I like the fact he can really look after a novice or nervous or little person now! Also it's interesting because you can learn a lot about how people ride by seeing how your horse, who obv you know inside out, goes for them.
 
I'll let anyone hop on Cleo. She knows what she's doing - I trust her, and frankly even after a few sharers and loaners - she still responds to me in pretty much the same way as she always has. I don't think she gets too confused about anything.
 
I never used to let anyone ride my pony when he was younger, but now I will let good friends ride him from time to time. I would prefer someone to ride him on a hack than in the school as he can be difficult and I have spent 5 years schooling him and don't want him learning any bad habits.

When we first got our young horse, one of the Instructor's at the yard used to school him a bit for us, until I got used to him. Now I am used to him, nobody rides him except me and my mum. He is sensitive, but very willing to learn and he has learnt to trust me now, so i wouldn't want lots of different people riding him as it would just confuse him.
 
If it weren't for people letting me ride their horses, I wouldn't be able to ride so I am so grateful for that. I think that if I got a horse, I would want to let other people ride it.
 
Yeah I let family ride but only with me leading and just around the yard (none of family really knows how to ride, apart from sisterinlaw she ride better than I do so I ask her a lot to ride!!). A bit like this:-
chrisriding.jpg


Istructor could ride, but thinks it better I sort things out myself.
 
I got my mare a 2 year old and didn’t let anyone ride her till she was 10 then she got arthritis in her fetlock and one sound i stopped competing her so needed someone to ride her for pleasure so i got another horse and found a nice rider for her but she really didn’t take to it well and it took a long time for her to accept other rides. So with my new horse i let a select few get on him to stop him getting dependant on me. We have an amazing bond but in the early days i was doing showing and the judge would be riding so i needed to desensitize him.

I think as long as i am selective it is a good thing for my horses.
 
Judges, and selected others.

Two things worry me with letting friends ride, one that if they are nervous something will happen thats not the horses fault and two they would have to be either highly reguarded in my eyes or able ride so as not to interfere.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top