When is a horse 'dangerous'?

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Morgan123

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How many people would have to fall off your horse/what percentage of people who get on it, before you decide that only you should ride it? Assuming said horse is basically ok for you yourself to ride...
 
To me a dangerous horse is something no-one should ride.

A green, nervous, sharp horse is something different.

Wouldn't come down to percentages of who can stay on at all it would be down to who is suitable to ride the horse in its stages of development.
 
If it's okay for you to ride i would say its a one man type horse not dangerous as such but doesn't respond well to other riders ?


Dangerous to me would be something that floors anyone who get on it ( 99%of the time this is pain based ) so a dangerous horse for no reason is extremely hard to come by IMHO :)
 
OK, true story :-). So let's say, not dangerous in general but 'problematic for others' or something....

So assuming all riders are completely capable - at what point would you decide that you should stop letting other people ride your horse?
 
Morgan123 said:
OK, true story :-). So let's say, not dangerous in general but 'problematic for others' or something....

So assuming all riders are completely capable - at what point would you decide that you should stop letting other people ride your horse?
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To me that horse is giving you every indactor available it isn't responding to any of the capable riders. Again you may have a one man type horse.
 
Without more information/background, and based on the horse being safe enough for me to ride, I would not allow anyone else to ride the horse once it had got someone off. Once they learn how to dump their riders, their lives are ruined.
 
my daughters pony is a bit of a one person pony, we decided not to let anyone else ride him when he chucked the last couple of riders off of him, including myself. He seems to go much happier with my daughter and he does in general get attached to one person. Another friend of my daughter has ridden him a couple of times and he goes well for her but her style of riding is similar to my daughters. Other than my daughters friend I no longer let anyone else ride him.
 
Hmm - in response to 'once they learn how to dump thier riders thier lives are ruined' - I wouldn't say he's purposely getting people off - he's not nasty, just super spooky and sharp (and 12 years old, by the way, so it's not going to get any better. I've had him 6 years).

I don't particularly want a one-man horse - at some point I'd love to be able to loan him out for a year or two and do something different - and I'm not a particualrly amazing rider by any stretch of the imagination, so I can't believe it's anything to do with me personally. I guess he just trusts me - but then there's no reason he can't learn to trust someone else. I just don't know when I should call it a day and stop letting other people try....
 
Hmm that's interesting Shannonday. I don't really want to just give in, because he's fine with me - in fact, people at the yard completely think I'm being over the top when I say he's difficult and think I'm neurotic because I can do most things with him. So then I think yeah he's not that bad really, and try again (always with good, quiet riders who I know well). It doesn't ALWAYS end in tears but often, and I don't know when to call it a day (or what on earth I do with this horse for the rest of his life if I decide nobody else should be allowed to ride him! Just keep him I guess and turn him out in a field if I go away for a year or two for work - but seems a waste as he's a perfectly decent horse).
 
I don't know doesn't sound dangerous. How much work does he get? It's all just a bit vague. Is he dumping people hacking, arena work, jumping? Never mind what others at the yard think nor how you describe him, can a diet change or management issue help to sort him? Clearly just asking these questions as spooky isn't really a description. There is a horse here that dumps his rider frequently with a duck and spin move. He isn't dangerous or quirky. Just a PITA that needs to be paid attention to and really ridden.

Terri
 
You may find someone who just seems to click with him. Our boy is also 12 can be a bit spooky and is definitely nervous, although this has improved with us but still notice it if someone new is around him. I would say he looks very easy to ride when you watch him with my daughter but also think he takes his confidence from his rider and I would say if he trusts you then all is good. He is with us for the foreseeable future, so I wont worry about selling him or finding another rider for him now and will cross that bridge if we come to it but hopefully he will stay with us.
 
Terri - yeah I've had him six years, I've definitely got the diet/management thing sussed. I can now do most things with him, but with others he is more nervous than with me (and also I guess I'm used to him), so with others he does nasty spooks, charges off, adn then they end up on the floor. With me his is slightly less spooky, but also I'm jsut used to his spooks so I can usually stop him when he bolts off (I'll probably fall off tonight now I've said that :-)). It's really not an issue related to management/how often he's ridden/food. As I said really I just don't know when to call it a day with letting other people try him - I only ever let people if I know them well and know they are sensitive and quiet.

Shannontay - that's interesting, thank you. It sounds really similar. I guess I always knew I'd end up having to keep him forever - I'd never sell him as no idea what would happen to him - but if I could find someone else who could do something with him it would be massively helpful. How did you go about introducing new people with your spooky one?
 
Not really enough detail to say much about your horse, I agree with E. Ireland. BUT...

If I had a horse that was a showing signs of being a one man horse I would have MORE people riding him not fewer. I don't think that is a good idea for a horse, and I'd be encouraging him to get over it. Good capable riders of course, but I in no way think I'm going to be the best most talented person to ever sit on my horses back. Imo allowing your horse to dictate that only one person rides him is setting him up to fail further up the line should anything happen and he needs to be rehomed.
 
To me a dangerous horse has no respect for its own safety. It sounds to me that your horse has no confidence in the other riders, I wouldnt be letting anyone else ride it.
 
Abracadabara - no, he's not truly bolting, he is spooking and galloping off. You can't stop though for a little while on occasions :-). For example, you might not stop for a few laps of the school (on a bad day) or half a field. Not a true bolt.

That's exactly my point, I really don't want a horse only i can ride. On the other hand, I don't want to injure lots of people. Where do you draw the line? That's why I was asking, really....
 
I'm very wary and I haven't let anyone ride him since I came off a couple of months ago (except my daughters friend), which was my fault as we had just moved yards, the school was really busy and I wasn't feeling confident and he just picked up on it and off we went! with our lad I've found if someone is confident and a quiet rider (no kick kick or hanging onto his mouth) he is generally ok, but I've also found if he knows them reasonably well from being around him on the yard this also helps. I would say if his anything like mine, maybe introduce someone to him without riding straight away, spend time grooming him, lots of groundwork and lunging, he may need to build up his trust with someone first.
 
Gotcha. Clearer. You're pretty automatic with him and so both of you work. Getting different riders is therefore a plus but also disaster. Hmmmm, it is tricky then. He's not dangerous just different. He has a good deal of security from you. I do think you will find someone he can click with but as you know will be difficult. He sounds rather fun really. Just doesn't deal with people who won't give him confidence. A tester. Sort of "I'm gonna spook at this tree I've seen a thousand times and you're going to grab me up and be defensive. Nope, wrong answer"

Terri
 
abracadabra said:
If I had a horse that was a showing signs of being a one man horse I would have MORE people riding him not fewer. I don't think that is a good idea for a horse, and I'd be encouraging him to get over it.
When we were looking at buying my first pony, the first horse we tried was the same; was perfectly fine when his owner rode him for us but as soon as Mum and I tried he bucked repeatly and constantly in canter and then reared up with Mum. My instructor who was with us advised the girl who owned him to try and get as many different people who she trusted to ride to try and help him out of being a 'one rider horse'. The next season at one of our local shows I saw a small girl jumping him round clear with no problems, so their work obviously paid off!
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thanks Terri - do you want him?! :-D I think he's fun - that sums him up quite well. It's just not fun if you're new and you're the one ending up on the floor. I'd love to persevere but I don't want to put other people's health at risk so I'm sort of not sure where to draw the line! If someone got seriously injured I'd tell myself I was a complete idiot for not stopping others riding him sooner. On the other hand, there must be someone :-s!!

Shannon - yeah perhaps ground work is the best thing with someone new. All the people that have ridden him have been people he 'knows' from around the yard: they haven't necessarily had masses to do with him but will have been around him enough that he knows who they are and that they aren't going to kill him. He's just so panicky.

Hmmmm not sure what to do! I've been trying to share him recently, which is why all this has come to the fore again. A lovely girl at the yard has been trying him out and she came off on a hack last week, then another very good friend was meant to be riding with me yesterday and as she's really experienced I thought great opportunity to have someone else sit on him (in the school where he usually feels safe), but unfortuately she hit the ground pretty hard too. Maybe I'll persevere with the sharer (if she wants to) and see how it goes....

The hard thing is that when I tell people he's spooky and try to warn them nobody ever believes me, because he is used to me so doesn't look that bad when I'm on him. So it's quite hard to fully inform people of what to expect.....
 
Could you lunge him with the new rider on board? Then he's got the comfort of having you in charge and nearby while he's getting to grips with the new rider, and they're getting to grips with him in a slightly safer way?

Alternatively look for a teenager to share, when I was 13/14 I had no fear and LOVED horses like this!
 
It's difficult. Am in the same position with my cob. Certainly not dangerous but super sharp and no brakes. It sounds so patronising when I have angst about people who are much more elegant riders than me hacking her - but I don't want the responsibility of them coming off and hurting themselves - not to mention her. and it has already happened.

One of my livery ponies is also like this. Goes superbly for her owner (who TBH rides like a cowboy with a hangover - totally relaxed seat and yards of rein which she never gathers up). She's desperate for someone to hack the pony but as soon as anybody else gets on and goes into the "getting her on the bit" etc. mode, the mare becomes really stroppy and sharp, and has scared off all the would-be sharers.

In your case, I think you should for the moment keep your horse to yourself; unless you can find someone who rides exactly as you do, and with your level of confidence.
 
Sounds like similar issues my friend had with her cob. She'd had him a few months when I started riding him and he'd bucked her off a few times and tanked off and done the same with another experienced rider who tried him. With me he was calm and behaved. He continued to be like this and added a few more riders to his hit list and continued to play his owner up and chuck her off yet he never misbehaved with me. He was beginning to get quite a reputation and stronger bits and gadgets were being added to control him. There was a lot of tears and upsets along the way with my friend beginning to think that her horse hated her. We've worked through it now but the source of his problems was mostly lack of confidence so if he got pulled about by his rider or they got tense he would get them off. Happily we've worked through it. She is now a more confident and relaxed rider and tries not to get tense or angry with him and he's been behaving himself beautifully. It was a little difficult for me for a while as each time he got someone off his back meant that the chances of the same happening with me increased, or at least that's what I though/ feared. I suspect that had he not shown his good side with me that the outcome would have been different and he would have been labelled Dangerous cob..rider beware. Don't write him off just yet but do try to identify what the difference is between how you handle and ride him and the other riders he's dumped.
 
shannonandtay said:
my daughters pony is a bit of a one person pony, we decided not to let anyone else ride him when he chucked the last couple of riders off of him, including myself. He seems to go much happier with my daughter and he does in general get attached to one person. Another friend of my daughter has ridden him a couple of times and he goes well for her but her style of riding is similar to my daughters. Other than my daughters friend I no longer let anyone else ride him.
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That's very brave of you.
Our pony is dangerous in a way for other people to ride (he freaks out and falls over or whips into traffic) however after letting a few recommended people far braver and more "experienced" than us ride him ive made the decision that probably only me and my daughter will ride him. This has of course made a few people (the ones that couldn't ride him I guess!) turn their nose up at my irresponsible parenting skills! (Im a far way off from letting them on roads together!)
 
I have one of these and I know how frustrating it is! For me, he is the most well-behaved, unspooky XC/SJ machine you have ever come across. Totally bombproof and could be a police horse. I can do literally ANYTHING with him. However....

...He will tolerate one ride with anyone else. Just one. After that, he will politely dip his left shoulder (always the left) and put you on the floor. If you sit it he will launch a massive buck to unseat you (not get you off, that would be rude). Then dips left shoulder again and puts you on the floor.

I gave up after I went through about 15 brave souls and when I had to go away for work, I just turned him away. He is quirky and my horse of a lifetime. And is now sadly stood in my stable very very poorly and no idea if he will come right :(.

Enjoy your boy as he is. He obviously just trusts you and it would be a shame to spoil that by putting someone else on him that he is not happy or confident about.
 
Thank you, this is really useful to hear. I didn't want to just turn into one of those people - what is it it's called on here - black stallion syndrome!? But it's good to hear I'm not the only one. Thanks all :-)

I'll see how this potential sharer gets on and if she gives up maybe I'll call it a day unless someone extremely quiet/different comes along.

PercyMum, your horse sounds very bright!!! have you had him a long time?!
 
I had a mare who was the same. I loved her because she was quirky and different but she would freak if others got on her. Her background was unsettled and I think she bonded very strongly to me because of her previous bad experiences. I had her at full livery on a large yard which I thought would be a great place to get her used to more people, horses etc. She was ridden, or more like attempted to be ridden by various grooms working on the yard. She would deposit them regularly on the floor by bronking them off, yet she never bucked or anything like that with me (btw my riding style is similar to the drunk cowboy with washing line reins described by another poster above!) Anyway, following an injury I moved her to a much smaller DIY yard while she was on box rest and slowly bought her back into work. She was a completely different horse at the new yard and was never a problem with other riders after that. I think it was actually the continual stress of the environment of the big yard which was causing her problems, and a period of rest and quietness and dealing with fewer people transformed her stressy, spooky personality.

I then moved her to my own place and she was regularly hacked out and schooled by various freelance people who exercised her while I was away working. She turned into a lovely, reliable girl who I felt safe letting any competent rider take her out. The other liveries from the big yard could not believe she was the same horse when we used to meet them out hacking.

I wonder if your horse might also be carrying a similar type of constant stress which is always close to bubbling over and introducing strange riders tips him over the edge. Perhaps concentrating on reducing his stress levels generally, even if perhaps this means keeping him in a quieter environment, might mean he is able to cope better when more is asked of him.
 
Hi :)

I have a very OTT arab thats only ever been ridden by me - not from choice just that she's in a forever home and all my friends have their own horses so never really offered to her anyone else (after 9 years ha) ...
BUT
I did have a TB two years ago that was dangerous ... I'd never have let anyone else get on him as he was an idiot and very jeckel and hyde :eek: one minute a saint and the next the devil :mad: - he would bolt and I mean bolt no matter where he was ... he was a project that perhaps could have been fixed but fate took a hand and took him away from us - looking back it was the best thing for the poor boy as he would probably would have killed me in the future.

At the end of the day there must be someone else out there that could ride him as you do? its just finding that person ... although if I was just a sharer I wouldnt risk riding a naughty horse that belongs to someone else? If that makes sense? Not sounding horrible :)

I'd have loved your naughty dude 15 years ago :D
 
Morgan123 said:
Thank you, this is really useful to hear. I didn't want to just turn into one of those people - what is it it's called on here - black stallion syndrome!? But it's good to hear I'm not the only one. Thanks all :-)

I'll see how this potential sharer gets on and if she gives up maybe I'll call it a day unless someone extremely quiet/different comes along.

PercyMum, your horse sounds very bright!!! have you had him a long time?!
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He is the most disgustingly bright horse I have ever come across. I have had him 10 years and he is as dedicated to me as I am to him. I was once attacked by a dog on a yard and it took a large (15 stitches) chunk out of me. The Ginger Ninja never saw it - he was out in the field at the time. The dog wasn't kept in after it attacked me and it came up to me one day on the yard and I was terrified - was stuck between it and the stable door. GN snapped his leadrope, shot across the yard and got between me and the dog and kicked it. Killed it outright. He really does look after me and in return I guess he demands that no-one else ride him. He was rescued off a meat wagon and had a terrible start so I guess he has issues from that. He is such a star for me that I just don't worry about it. Now I kinda like the fact that he makes me look good (because secretly I am a pants rider :D He does it all!!). Just enjoy your boy the way he is.
 
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