Would you rather

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snooples

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So I was thinking of this last night after watching Louise Bell saying on horse and country that you cant be selfish with show horses and that everyone should be able to ride them so..

Would you rather have a horse that only you can ride or a horse that anyone can ride

My own horse when I got him was a nightmare and through lots of training he is fantastic and a child could ride him around a cross country course but then Id always get stupid comments about him being so easy to ride, as if Im a crap rider and not about all the training Iv done to get him like that.

on the other hand it seems if you have a quirky horse that only you can ride then its all compliments to how fantastic the rider is!
 
I definitely wouldn't want a horse only I could ride, I;d see that as a failure on my part. What if something were to happen to me, what sort of a future would my only-I-can-ride-it horse have then? Not a great one, I'd say.

I always get comments about how lucky I am and how easy my horses are, and yes, it annoys me, as it's not an accident that they are like that.
 
^^^^this^^^^

I take it as a complement when people tell me how easy my horses are to ride, unless its the old mare, she can be very spooky so only those who can deal with they ride her.
 
There is definitely something in me that gets an ego boost if a horse goes better for me than for someone else - but it's quite subtle, it has to be someone else who has a similar level of experience etc so that I can think that I ride 'better' than them.

Ummmm..... it hasnt actually happened yet but I am sure that is how I would feel if it did!

To be more practical, I'd say it is far better if your horse can go well for other people as well (but you'd still want to get better scores in dressage!)
 
I would consider it a huge failure on my training if only I could ride my horse. That is nothing to be proud of.
 
i wouldn't want (for her sake) kitty to be a one-rider-pony but she is definately not somebody everybody/anybody could ride....admittedly it is kinda nice when she goes better for me :D
 
A horse that anyone could ride is the sign that that horse is perfectly schooled IMO. Like IHW says, anything other (unless it's had a dodgy past) is a failure of schooling.
 
Glad ye seem to have the same thoughts as me!

Im so sick of the amount of times I hear 'oh no one else can ride my horse and I make him look fantastic blah blah blah'
 
A good rider should be able to train a horse so that others can ride it, that is the proof of their ability, being the only one able to ride a quirky horse shows up failings in the training.
Being able to get the best out of a horse is different to being the only one that can ride it, that may be down to being the better rider.
 
I'd certainly rather that my ponio can be ridden by anyone capable rather than only be able to be ridden by me. It gives me a boost when someone else rides him and comments how easy and responsive he is to ride. :D
 
I wouldn't put just anyone on my mare quite yet, she came as very difficult and is improving to I think just a bit quirky now, however! I don't want my good work ruined tho so I'd only let better riders than I on her.

Another thing to point out is that a slightly temperamental horse in the wrong hands can look downright dangerous. Even a very good saintly horse ridden badly over a period of time can quickly alter to be problematic (but probably revert to saintliness as soon as a competent person gets on).
 
I would rather have my horses ridden by anyone, two of mine are ridden by family, two novice children included under supervision.
My TB however, is not everyones ride, he is so well schooled I won't ride him as I am self taught and don't want to confuse him with my dodgy aids, we do have a very good rider for him, so he is reserved for our rider and my OH, who is a BHS trained rider and knows what he is asking
 
I was also thinking of the flip side of a horse anyone can ride, dont we all hate the people whi cant ride well but who have unlimited funds and buy fantastic horses that anyone can ride and subsequently do very well with very little hard work.
(my jealousy is clearly showing here :p )
 
snooples said:
I was also thinking of the flip side of a horse anyone can ride, dont we all hate the people whi cant ride well but who have unlimited funds and buy fantastic horses that anyone can ride and subsequently do very well with very little hard work.
(my jealousy is clearly showing here :p )
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There is also a flip side to this. I know someone who is exactly how you describe, has plenty of money, bought very expensive well schooled horse but she isn't a great rider and doesn't have lessons. 18 months down the line the horse isn't particulary nice to ride anymore, he really hangs on the left rein and is so sluggish now! Completely different to how he was when she first had him.

So although lesser riders can improve and go on to do very well with buying 'made' horses, those 'made' horses can also regress to the lesser level of the rider if you see what I mean?

Of course if I won the lottery I would buy Valegro and he would regress to my level, so he certainly wouldn't be a GP horse anymore, or anywhere near!! ;) :D :D
 
In answer to your question OP, I would much rather my horse could be ridden by anyone, and he can be, my best friend has lessons on him every weekend. Although she struggles to get a tune out of him like I do which does drive her crazy :p he would certainly never misbehave for her, he juts likes to argue :D It is completely understandable though as I ride him every day and she rides him once a week and he doesn't particularly like schooling!! :(
 
I'm not the only one who can ride Ned, but I'm the only one who wants to :P

No, he does have a nice little friend (12yrs old) who used to ride him once a week and loved him! With a funny horse like Ned, you just have to learn his ways, then he's actually quite easy.
 
My Bella (now retired) would have anyone on her back but always acted different with each person so you couldn't tell how she would be. She was excellent with small children and anyone with a disability but with me she would be a right madam.

Milty is ridden by both me and my sister. He is fiery for my sister and fast but more chilled and laid back for me.
 
I'm working hard along with my sharer and instructor to make my horse the kind who can be ridden by anyone .. within reason! I wouldnt want to put this hard work in and then let someone wit less experience get on him and undo that hard work.

I like the idea of having a horse who can be ridden by anyone but practically would other ex racer owners let 'anyone' ride their horses? I know i certainly wouldnt purely by taking into account the nature of his breed!
 
I wish just anyone could ride our lad, but he has become very attached to my daughter and prefers her to ride him. I tried with him myself again last week and he seems to just lose confidence if shes not riding him. He also seems to prefer children riding him than adults but only if they are confident quiet riders. Lets just hope she doesn't find boyfriends anytime soon as I might have a problem!
 
I would have loved it if I could have trusted other people to ride my old boy. He was great for plonking beginners on lead rein for a lap of the school or two but made the mistake of putting my best friend who has ridden a bit but not loads on him once (fair few years ago now) whilst I rode my mums spooky arab mare. He bronced and had her off so we had to swap, spooky mare was of course foot perfect. My mum rode him, as did my instructor & me, that was it, not that I didn't want to put anyone else on him nor that I believe I'm a better rider but 9 times out of 10 he was a saint, but that 1 time out of 10 he'd be a devil and it's so infrequent & comes so out of the blue it can really take you unawares and it just wasn't a risk I was prepared to take.
Would love for my next horse to be the type that I can let people ride- I have learnt so much through other peoples generosity over the years letting me ride & help with their horses, I'd like to return the favour some day, plus as has been said, goes to show I can produce a nice well rounded individual.
 
Antw23uk said:
I'm working hard along with my sharer and instructor to make my horse the kind who can be ridden by anyone .. within reason! I wouldnt want to put this hard work in and then let someone wit less experience get on him and undo that hard work.

I like the idea of having a horse who can be ridden by anyone but practically would other ex racer owners let 'anyone' ride their horses? I know i certainly wouldnt purely by taking into account the nature of his breed!
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Yeah, Reg is pretty much the safest creature on the yard!

I mean, there's a lot of people Al wouldn't let ride him because she strongly dislikes the way they ride. But in terms of safety, he is a doll- part of the reason he is so carefully looked after in terms of who rides him, because his lovely nature doesn't need abusing.
 
snooples said:
I was also thinking of the flip side of a horse anyone can ride, dont we all hate the people whi cant ride well but who have unlimited funds and buy fantastic horses that anyone can ride and subsequently do very well with very little hard work.
(my jealousy is clearly showing here :p )
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ditto^

it also annoys me when a person who rides so badly does this and consequently ruins pony eg. a girl i knowhad an ex BSJA pony aged about 20, never touchd poles ridden in a snaffle etc. out of the blue she started riding in a pelham and let me tell you she has hideous hands. within 3 months he was knocking poles and stopping. last time i saw him she fell off due to her hopeless riding skills and a seriously over-ambitous line in the jum-off, pon wasn't even facing fence.....haven't seen him since and yet another pony has appeared to begin with she was out there on this new 'super-pony' see her a month later and it has magically transformed in to a 'very green' horse :rolleyes:
oh and did i mention shes been riding for about 3 years whereas i have been riding all my life and she thinks its her place to tell me how to ride my pony (which she has never sat on)shes only 13 :mad:
 
Lolo said:
Yeah, Reg is pretty much the safest creature on the yard!

I mean, there's a lot of people Al wouldn't let ride him because she strongly dislikes the way they ride. But in terms of safety, he is a doll- part of the reason he is so carefully looked after in terms of who rides him, because his lovely nature doesn't need abusing.
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here here
 
Lolo said:
I mean, there's a lot of people Al wouldn't let ride him because she strongly dislikes the way they ride. But in terms of safety, he is a doll- part of the reason he is so carefully looked after in terms of who rides him, because his lovely nature doesn't need abusing.
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Yes, this is the other reason other people don't ride him! His little friend is a fab little rider and works really well with him, but there were a few people on my ex-yard that I wouldn't even want tacking him up!
 
Lolo said:
Yeah, Reg is pretty much the safest creature on the yard!

I mean, there's a lot of people Al wouldn't let ride him because she strongly dislikes the way they ride. But in terms of safety, he is a doll- part of the reason he is so carefully looked after in terms of who rides him, because his lovely nature doesn't need abusing.
Click to expand...

Very nicely put :)
 
My horses will give anyone an easy ride but b1 despite being ballsy with me despite my nerves, doesn't like to jump over 85 cm with anyone else, seems my unique blend of crouching in fear dropping her and praying gives her confidence!

B2 takes p and tests every new rider and he's so big he gets away with it quite often. I've been working him long enough that he knows I may not batter him or hit him but we'll do it again and again till he actually tries!
 
Mine is a SOD with people he doesn't know. :o We have all sorts of airs above the ground... I don't think I'm a good rider, but I've known him long enough to pre-empt any misbehaviour, and learnt how to ride him tactfully. He isn't straightforward, and yes, it can be a pain in the arse, but I wouldn't change him for anything.

Luckily for him he will never be sold, unluckily for me he will never be a show horse :o

Rode my friends horse the other day and he was such a delight, I could just sit there and look pretty and he did everything I asked, and even if I accidentally clumped around or whatever he just ignored it. I have much more admiration for her schooling skills than I have for mine! :D
 
I can stick anyone on top of mine and she'll trundle around nicely.

However to get the best tune out of her and for her to wake from donkey mode she has to be ridden in a particular way, it feels a bit counter productive but works very well. It takes a bit of explaining though :p
 
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