One Horsed

[cazrider]

Is it me, or am I the only one who really and honestly only like riding my one horse?

I read some of the threads here and feel really guilty that I'm not champing at the bit to ride lots of different ones, like lots of people are here.

I know I should want to as would be good for my riding, but i just love the relationship you build up and have no real desire to ride others.

Sez me who's off on a riding weekend at the Equestrian Centre hotel, to ride for three hours a day on all different horses. I must admit to a bit of dread about this, as I just know I'm going to miss Sennie.

Does anyone else feel like this? Or am I just a scaredy cat!

[jinglejoys]

I wouldn't mind riding another Mule if I could find her but I wouldn't let anyone else ride Sarah-lee!:D

[Cochise]

I do agree with you there, I well and truly adore riding my own horse, in the last 6 months we have really gelled well and are getting along so much better.

However, it is nice occasionally riding a different horse, but I wouldn't choose any of them over my own darling appaloosa!
Fell for an appy mare which I rode for 50km in one week, in a western saddle called Delta, but apart from that, I feel so at home on Cheeks.

I will be looking forward to meeting everyone's horses in the UK though! :)

[Mehitabel]

riding mine is like coming home - there's nothing quite like it.
but i do like riding others - it is good experience and means that if you sell, or if yours is lame and you have another to ride, you're not so at sea.

[KarinUS]

Totally know what you mean!
A few months ago I had a lesson booked with a new instructor that I was to take on her shcoolmaster (instead of my horse).

I was so nervous! But then It turned out to be so fun and really give me a convidence boost.

Now that we own a second horse I get to ride two. My own goes English, the second goes Western so I don't have to feel like I am really cheating on my horse...

But I don't look forward to riding any horse as much as I do to riding my own.

[carrimclaren]

I used to love riding so many different horses but then i got my own. It got to the point where there was always something (in my head) telling me there was something not right about the horse i was on. It was too spooky, it was too ignorant, it was too bouncy in trot. I kept riding them though once a week as it improved my riding and helped my confidence when my own had been playing up. But like Es said getting back on your own horse is like coming home. I know my mare has her faults but i started to appreciate the good points when i'd had my lessons. I've stopped them now until summer so i get to concentrate on my mare this winter.

[cazrider]

Yes, coming home says it all, Es!

I was riding Sennie on Saturday morning with a friend, really early at about 7.30, straight from the stable. It was cold and very blowy. He was really forward going, on his toes, excited and eager. Jogging a bit and keen, then we cantered up the side of a hill fast but beautifully under control. He'd settled by the time we got to the top and we walked and trotted round the rest of the farm.

The reason i mention this is because I have had serious confidence problems and on any other horse I'd have been scared to death. But I know him and knew that he was perfectly OK, just excited. I loved it, and so did he. After two mistake purchases, it is great to have a horse you're completely happy and at home with.

For me there's nothing like it. :) :) :) Just feeling very happy!

[Miriam]

Dare I even admit this but I went for a ride on Rhi the other day with the new horse on the yard Brook and her owner Kath (who already has a horse on the yard Poppy) and I really enjoyed the ride. Even if she did a shy at the poor man taking photographs (she kept eyeing him up and down and then she'd look away as much as to say "I'm not looking") He was very apologetic. Looks like I'll be doing a lot more riding once Rhi is better and Brook gets new shoes :D I still like riding other horses that I feel safe on. It give me an insight into how other horses are ridden and what they can do.

[Yann]

it is great to have a horse you're completely happy and at home with.

I couldn't agree more:) Although I ride other horses occasionally, on the basis that it's good to keep my hand in and nice to ride at different places sometimes, there is nothing like your own. It's almost like a wordless conversation with Rio, I know just what she's thinking and I'm sure she does with me at times too. Riding her has always been a happy and enjoyable experience, and I trust her completely. That's not to say she's a plod because she definitely isn't these days:D

[notpoodle]

i havent ridden any other horses since i got my pony in june :) trouble is, im not overly keen on riding big horses and riding schools would never let me on anything underr 15hh (im only 8 stone!!!) :rolleyes: id quite like to ride other ponies though :)

julia
x

[jinglejoys]

Hang on a minute notpoodle whose paying who? I thought you had to pay an large amount of money for your riding lessons.If you don't feel confident riding large horses why should you be forced to and if they haven't got a safe pony go somewhere else!
Lets hear it for the Little uns!!! :0)

[Bebe]

I quite enjoy riding other horses and it is good to keep your hand in but given the choice I'd take Bebe over any other horse. If I have to stop riding her for some reason (like now as she has an abcess) my first ride on her is like coming home, it's a feeling that nothing else compares to.

[horsemad]

No, I have no wish to ride any other horse now that I've got used to my own beautiful girl. Like you cazrider, I know that it is good for your riding to ride different horses, but I am a nervous rider at the best of times and don't like the thought of riding a strange horse.

I can see this probably isn't a good thing though. I had wanted my own horse for years, but thought I wasn't a good enough rider to own a horse. But I've owned Cindy for just over 2 years, and I have learned a lot from her - she is a real 'schoolmistress' type, and is generally a very easy ride. So I think we have quite a good partnership now. I know what she likes and doesn't like and how she is likely to react in different situations. But I can't imagine feeling like that about another horse - I think Cindy is THE horse for me, and no other horse would suit me as well as she does. So when my beautiful girl is no longer here:( I don't know if I would get another horse. I think I'd be going through all that 'but I'm not a good enough rider' thing again........

[Wobblydeb]

For the first time ever I've been riding the same horse each week (for the last few months), and I understand what you are all saying :) Being a nervous rider means that I can get quite panicky at little bits of behaviour that I have learned might mean a spook or a buck is about to happen. I guess it's just self-preservation :rolleyes:

But when you ride one horse regularly (who IS well behaved!) you know that you aren't about to get tanked off with, or bucked halfway across the school and you can relax and get on with enjoying riding :)

I think I would be a nightmare if I owned a badly behaved or unreliable horse though!! I couldn't cope with constantly waiting for the buck, or dreading riding into open spaces because they were going to turn into a lunatic. Must be horrible when that is what you accidentally end up with :(

[Mehitabel]

I know what she likes and doesn't like and how she is likely to react in different situations. But I can't imagine feeling like that about another horse

which is exactly why it's useful to learn to ride other horses and get used to it! i can get on most horses and within 5 minutes i can tell whether they're the type to shoot off is frightened, or stop and stare, or evade by falling in, or whatever.

i understand how easy it is, especially for a nervous rider, for their confidence to get bound up in one horse - but then you're in trouble and take a massive step back if your favourite horse is lame, or off work, or as you say, when/if you lose your horse. i think it's much more beneficial to learn to ride any horse, rather than just learn how to ride a specific horse - your progress is slower, but IMO it will have more solid foundations.

But when you ride one horse regularly (who IS well behaved!) you know that you aren't about to get tanked off with, or bucked halfway across the school and you can relax and get on with enjoying riding

i don't think any riding school ought to put someone, espsecially someone they know to be nervous, on horses likely to do these things. we have a variety of horses - some slow, some speedier, some who will ignore a teee falling 2 foot away, others who will goggle at a leaf - but all fundamentally safe.
yes, people have their favourites, but we encourage people to rdie different ones so they don;t get lulled into a false sense of ability and learn the fundamentals of riding, not just how to press one horse's buttons.

[horsemad]

Es - yes, I understand what you are saying. Very sensible advice indeed. Not that I have any time to ride other horses at the moment anyway, so its all a bit hypothetical!

But at least it does mean that I appreciate my lovely girl all the more :D

[Wobblydeb]

i don't think any riding school ought to put someone, espsecially someone they know to be nervous, on horses likely to do these things. we have a variety of horses - some slow, some speedier, some who will ignore a teee falling 2 foot away, others who will goggle at a leaf - but all fundamentally safe.

I totally agree, but unfortunately one bad experience is what you will invariably jump back to if a horse exhibits anything approaching similar behaviour....
I've found it a new experience lately to get some time building up my confidence as much as my riding ability. Once I've done that, then I may need to go along to a different school that has more horses available for learning on.

Plus even fundamentally safe horses will have their moments. I remember one hack, being told that my (well schooled) pony liked to be at the front in an open canter, but wouldn't take off. Sure enough when we reached our planned spot, he waited until told to go, then moved up near the front and settled at a steady canter.

.... until the leader's new TB had a frenzy, threw her off and decided to give me a race to the end of the field!

Well my little chap was NOT going to be passed by some upstart of a TB. His legs were going like the cartoon roadrunners - I reckon he could have easily won the Derby :rolleyes: I never saw more than the TB's nose whiskers behind his quarters.... ;)
I guess no-one had ever tried riding him out alongside a loose ex-racehorse before :D