How to Say 'No You Can't Ride My Horse'

[Ashtonolivia]

A little girl came to my trainers barn to build up her confidence on dead quiet lesson horses. I typically rode my horse before or after her lesson so she could see a little bit and one day she asked my trainer if she could ride him. Trainer chuckled a little bit and said "Sweetheart, we like you too much to put you on him"

He's a good horse if you know what you're doing but he would've destroyed that child's confidence in five minutes

[ValentinaCowgirl]

It's so awkward when people ask to ride my horse lol. I never know what to say because I don't want to be mean lol 😅

[iammadaboutdogs]

"Sorry I've just finished for today"
"Todays his day off"
"Ive just going to warm him up" (goes for a long hack & don't return)
"Ive left his saddle at home sorry!"
Some of the excuses i use XD

[Raving]

When people used to ask to ride my horse my response was, "Sweetheart, we call her Bloody Mary for a reason."

[jaimeeshaw]

Someone rode my horse in the weekend and it was the first time I have ever seen her Buck. I think they learned their lesson

[flykiwifly]

I don't have many friends so no one really asks to ride my horse, once I was out riding at the arena with my friend and my friend's friend (who's never rode before). Asked if they could ride my mare, I was gonna say no but my friend begged so I gave in and told her to keep it at a walk. My horse is a super laid back QH and has never done anything like bucking or rearing under saddle. Hardly ever spooks. Super chill. The girl gets on, walks a lap and then my friend tells her to try trotting. She does. She went half way down the arena with her bouncing along and my horse doing the best she could to tolerate a limp sack of potatoes flopping around on her before she decided she'd had enough of it and bucked like i'd never seen before. The girl had an iron grip on the horn and stayed on, but got of right after that. Never asked to ride again. My horse had never bucked before and hasn't since. Serves the girl right I think.

[snoot]

"idea is so bad it gave me cancer" DYING hahahaha

[PotterYouRotter]

my horse is a 13.2hh mustang. i get two reactions. either people expect her to be perfect for their child because she's a "pony", or they warn me about keeping such a "wild breed" under control. There is no in between.

[piper]

I would rather someone slept with my boyfriend than ride my horse.You can always get another boyfriend

[carleighdentinger]

I love this . If people ask to ride my horse i just walk them around on my mare 😂I feel bad saying no to people

[nubbelbobsduck]

I once made the mistake to lend my precious horse to this girl who was a bit younger than me, because her horse was lame and i wanted to be nice. The agreement was if she wanted to ride she had to take lessons from my trainer. I hardly let anyone other ride one but she was a really talented rider, definatly better than me, no debating there.
I know that and I respect that but to have the nerve to tell me afterwards that i am ruining my horse which has been with me for 5 years was like a slap in the face. Fun fact on some shows im even placed a bit higher than her but that's beside the point. you dont just ride someone elses horse and then tell you that you're a comple shitty rider, just because you' re a bit more laid back and had to use running side rains for ages does not mean that this bratty girl can go up my mother and tell her i'm crap, at least she could tell it to my face.

[Blaqjaqshellaq]

How about this? "He killed a rider the other week..."

[halliesharman]

My Arabian is the best horse I've ever ridden but he's that good because I've ridden him a lot and know how to control him. If a beginner gets on him he will just spook and bolt at about everything. One time I was riding in a arena and I was cantering and this girl who actually has her own horse came up to me scared the hell out of my horse because she just ran up to him mid canter and mind you I almost fell off straight off his head and she was like umm I need to ride your horse. And I was like excuse me? You NEED to ride my horse? And she was like yes I need to. I was like no sorry why don't you go ride your horse. And she said but your horse looks better and then proceeds to try and push my off my OWN horse. I was like what the hell do you think your doing and who do you think you are. I regained my balance and then I tried to tell her again nicely, my horse is very hot tempered with people he doesn't know so no you can't ride him. And she just stomped her foot and stormed off and she actually tried hurt my horse by opening the stall door when he was in there. Luckily he's really well trained and didn't leave. And if you want to know how I know she opened the stall door and tried to make him leave it's on the security cameras they had up. Worst girl I've ever experienced in my whole life.

[ZipGoesAMillion]

If your horse is hot-tempered or potentially dangerous for an inexperienced rider, then of course the safest option is to say no you can't ride my horse. But as a horse owner, I am aware that owning a horse is kind of a special thing and not everyone can own their own horse. I therefore believe it is important to share your horses if you can. I ride my own horse regularly, but if any of my friends (whether they ride regularly or not at all) ask if they can ride my horse, I will say yes. I won't leave them alone with my horse, and I will of course make sure that they don't do anything to harm my horse. So if I am supervising, why wouldn't I let someone else ride my horse?

[JimsBonanzaBoyBreyer]

lol my horse is off limits to anyone other than me! its like a toothbrush you don't want everybody using it!

[loosey]

I have a 7 or 8 yr. old paint quarter mix gelding. (my profile pic) He is SUPER layed back on the ground. So on the ground whether your a pro or a 3 year old kid going through the pony faze, you'll be ok. But under saddle, that's a different story. He's the type where if you haven't been riding for a few weeks, you need to grab that western saddle and strap a helmet to your head because you don't know WHAT he might do. He might do perfect, or you might ask for a canter and him just strike out or slam the brakes. For example, weeks and days before the 4H horse show, he was GREAT. He was moving great, his pivot was good, and I thought we were gonna go in maybe come out with a ribbon or two. BUT this was his first show. So we got to the fair grounds, got him out. He was fine, didn't show any sighns of fear or nervousness. We walked into the ring, our first class was showmanship. In the warm up arena I knew something was wrong. He was pacing around me, his ears were flying, and his eyes searched around nonstop. I calmed him down then we went into the arena. We started, I could feel him shaking a little, but whispered stuff in his ears to calm him down. We walked up to the first cone. His pivot was AMAZING. Better than I've ever seen him do. Then, this is when all of it went crashing down. The lady on the speaker starts talking, and it thundered kinda. Next thing I know, I'm holding onto that lead as tight as i can, and up goes Gus, my horse, rearing on his back feet, everyone thought he was gonna fall backwards. And of course the judge just stands there. .-. I calm him down, and he's completely fine again. We walk out, his nostrils still flaring some, and me choking back tears. Not because I was mad at him, not because I was mad we lost. Because I was afraid. Not afraid of him, but afraid he could or hurt me or someone else. Or maybe even ran me over. We went home, and I was actually proud. I was proud of my little gelding that I had trained myself. No trainers. No whips. No harsh bits. Just a young girl that loved her horse. And people still think he's crazy, or a "psycho paint", but I don't care. Because when I got him he did NOTHING. He just would walk in circles. So if any of you think you just wanna give up, or are afraid to get back up in the saddle, don't be. Get back up, and say "I'm gonna ride this time better than I did before."

[furrybroccoli]

"No because either you or the horse is going to get hurt." "I've seen the way you ride." "I care about my horse more than offending you." HAHA I'd rather lead a complete beginner around than let certain people I know who are shit at riding but think they're good, ride my horse.

[Colin-lrrt]

Just say “No, sorry, ” and if they ask why say “It’s for liability reasons.”

[brookesonicBreyerhorses]

"That idea was so bad it gave me cancer" OMLLLL

[jozefivanov]

My horse was badly mistreated and does not trust anyone but me because I was the person who retrained her. I did allow someone else to try to ride her once and she went back to acting exactly how she did before she was rehabilitated, and I haven't let anyone else ride her since. Personally, I think it is good to let your horse get used to different people because if anything ever happens to you, and it can, your horse will stand a much better chance of finding a good owner. The way my horse is now, she stands very little chance at all of being valued by anyone other than me.