Would/do you let strangers pat your horse?

Would you let a stranger pat your horse

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Yes, if I'm there to moniter the situation. However, if I see them do anyhting I don't agree with before they ask or while they are patting, I have no problem saying no.
 
It depends entirely on what horse I am with, some love attention, others hate it.
I do however tell people only to stroke them as they don't like being patted.
 
I didn't vote because to say yes or no is not easy

I always do, supervised. ie I stand in front and watch every move both he and they make.

He is as good as gold BUT you never know

He so likes people


My last horse absolutely LOVED kids and was like a lamb so while I did supervise just not as carefully as I do Micah as he is just a little young and flighty
 
yes, unless it would be dangerous. my current pony is a little phsyco and doesnt stand very well so its not usually a good idea. ive also had very stupid children running up to my old 16.1 TB (off the track) with NO SHOES ON (child not pony) and try patting him, luckily he was very well behaved and i wasnt riding just holding him so managed to tell her how dangerous it was before an accident happened. but i then let her mum pick her up to pat his neck.
 
depends entirely on the horse as to wether I say yes or no. Having been a kid that would have died to be allowed to touch a horse it's a special thing for some people.

Having a Clydesdle means that we get a lot of attention at shows - Serenity loves being the centre of attention and people love to touch her. She laps it up.
 
BonneMaman said:
Yes - that is unless the horse objected! Not sure why you would not?
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I've heard people say that, particularly out on a hack when you're on top of the horse so you don't really have as much control over the situation, if he spooked or fidgeted and ended up treading on someone's foot and breaking it (or biting their hand in search of treats or whatever) that in today's culture people would probably sue. Said person advised me not to let strangers, particularly children, fuss over my horse for that reason, and I just wondered if anyone else thought like that. I'm glad to see that so far no-one does - it is sad if you can't let a child enjoy a cuddle with a horse for fear of being sued!
 
Yes, so long as they are polite about it and ask and dont just barge up and start patting away - I mostly find its adults wanting their little ones to see the big horse up close and pat him on the nose and mostly the parents are very careful about it. I did have one 18 month old shove his hand up my boys nose but that was my nephew so he was forgiven :D Luckily my horse is the nice type who didnt react to it
 
Yes depending what I'm riding - never usually get asked but on sunny days when the world and his wife are out, particularly at the village pub, you can see kids watching the ponies wirh eyes on stalks from the second they come in to sight, then if the parents respond warmly to the standard polite 'morning' on the way past, offer small child a stroke of pony. They're all used to being handled and ridden by a whole mixture of kids, and mum or dad usually has hold of child. All good PR for stopping horsey people being thought of as being up themsleves!
 
My horse can be very unpredictable as some are...so I do allow people to pat/stroke him but only under strick supervision and while I stand between his teeth and them. I always warn people that he doesn't always appeciate attention.
In fact recently he had to be turned out into a different field from his usual one. And this field has a gate which can be accessed from a bridleway. He is a big impressive looking chap and some kids on the bridleway thought they'd stop by the gate to watch him showing off to one of his friends. One of my fellow liveries was there putting her horse out and before she had a chance to warn the kids George went to the gate and to use my friends own words "they sure learnt a lesson about horses!" He was soon moved back to his usual field as the last thing I need is a claim on my insurance for a child loosing some fingers!
 
With Pharaoh I would have said yes in most situations unless he was having an off day. However the little pony I am breaking in at the moment I would say no to but that is only because she is green and I have no idea what she could do and she is not mine so I wouldn't want something to happen! She has only been lead out once though (yesterday), she was perfectly behaved and didn't mind the busy road or the children playing so in time I doubt she will be a problem at all and as she is affectionate anyway I expect she would love it.
My little mini I will let anyone pat, he has the cute factor and is used to anyone and everyone coming up to stroke him and would happily stand all day for it! :)
 
i would love people to want to pat & stroke Ruby - but as she is over 17hh with scary wall eyes & a grumpy expresion - surprisingly people hardly ever want to:rolleyes:
 
On my old horse, yes. He was such an attention-seeker, he would do literally anything for a bit of fuss. The less the people knew him the happier he was!
 
Why are you asking?? Possibly the most bizarre question I've ever seen... personal opinion, not a dig or anything.
 
I'm careful about children because mine is young and not very careful. If adults want to fuss her it is up to them, I think it is quite flattering when strangers admire her, and as she is on livery at a riding school it is difficult to prevent people touching her. When she was on restricted turn out in the school she was always getting fuss from visitors. She's away from the school horses so doesn't get many visitors but her next-door neighbour has a fanclub of little girls and loves the extra attention.
 
Nope, it annoys me when I'm out hacking and people think it's ok to stop me and ask to pat the horse. It's not a petting zoo and I wouldn't stop someone in a nice car to ask for a look around!
 
Stupid phone sent that too soon!

Should have said, most people with nice cars are flattered if you ask about them. I think it is the same with horses to be honest.
 
I don't get many people asking but I always let those that do!
I actually stood on a bridle path for half an hour with my little pony whilst one child summoned up the courage to stroke his shoulder (I had to get off and turn his head around me first though!)
 
Shy adores kids, and they seem drawn to him - lots of kids don't have the chance to touch a horse, and I'm so lucky to have started riding at two - so YES !!! :D
 
I always used to, without thinking about it too much, but once a friend and I were hacking out, and we met a group of about 15 schoolkids on a bridleway. We stopped to say hello, and all was fine until her gelding bit my mare on the bum quite hard so she kicked him, catching him enough to cause blood to pump out of his leg. Thankfully none of the kids were anywhere near, but there was pandemonium, with the kids all shocked and upset at the blood, and we had to tell the teachers to take them away while we sorted out the bleeding horse. Thankfully the blood only pumped for a minute as we had just had a canter, so when his pulse slowed again so did the blood and we could stop it. It really made me think of what could have happened if a kid had been kicked - my horse is usually fine, but you never know what external factors may lead to someone getting hurt, which is a big risk in this age of solicitors - sadly spoiling the world in general!

PS. Our field backs onto an outward bound type school for kids, so they often get to stroke them over the fence. Our 17h hunter will spend hours chatting to them all over the fence like an old fishwife. He adores meeting people!
 
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I wouldn't with my older boy but only because he doesn't like strangers and I couldn't trust him not to bite them! However, I am more than happy for my other horse to be patted. The children enjoy it so much and most people realise the risks.
 
I appreciate attention - makes me proud. But with Lumi being a stallion I watch him and only adults!

A quiet horse, like my old TB then deffo. Even kids. We want hoeseriding to be a growing and accessible sport even when we are old and grey, so everyone needs a chance to enjoy it. Who knows, the little girl out walking with her grandparents might just grow up to be the next pippa funnell because you spurred an interest!
 
Depends on the horse and the situation. My horse is young and green so even when I'm just hacking, I need her focus and attention. But if I'm not actively working on something with her, I'm happy to let people pet her - I feel it's good for her to learn those manners.

What does bug me actually, are the people who walk around petting horses in their stalls and feeding them treats. We get a lot of those at our barn because it is a large place that hosts shows, as well as having a winery and tasting room on site. Even those horses with "No treats" signs are liable to get fed something and it burns me up. I always make a point of telling the "tourists" (nicely) that they shouldn't feed the horses but there's not always someone around to stop them.
 
If the horse is behaving and not likely to react in a bad way I will allow people to come pet him. We often have to hack through housing estates etc, so I think its good to allow them where possible. I hope then the child (as 99% of the time for me it as a child) grows up with a better impression of horse riders and a liking of horses. It also means the parents go 'oh look at the pony and wasn't that a nice girl' rather than 'stupid horse pooing over my street'.

Might not actually work that way, but I figure where safe it's nice to be nice.
 
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