Doesn't Anyone Want to Ride?!?

[Czar]

So I bought a young horse a couple months ago with the hopes of getting him going and hopefully getting to the show ring sometime late summer.

However, 1 week later, I found out I was pregnant with our second child (our first is 6 months :eek:) and consequently....I am sick as a dog :dead:

I decided two weeks ago after throwing up 3 times on the way to his paddock, that I needed to get someone else to ride him just for a few weeks until I was back on my feet.

Our barn is mostly comprised of young girls aged 9-17 that either lease or own with a few adults thrown in the mix.

I mistakenly thought that one of the girls would jump at the chance to get an extra ride in a few times a week. Rory is a lovely horse, super quiet to ride and nice to be around. He only needs a simple 20 minute w/t/c to keep him going but I had no takers??

I would expect to pay a hotshot junior but these kids are mostly city kids that come out and ride their one horse? What gives - I hate to be the "I rode anything and everything that had four legs" person but...when I was their age (not too, too long ago) I rode anything and everything that had four legs!

I realize I am preaching to the choir since if you're obsessed enough to post on a horse BB then you would probably take the extra ride but I am cranky and hormonal and feel like whining today :)

I DID manage to ride yesterday and today however and only threw up once off the side of my horse :lol:

[indygirl2560]

That's odd! I'm 17 and I've always been one to ride almost any horse I can! And because of my attitude, I've gotten a lot further in my riding then I would have by riding only one horse. I have noticed, at least in my barn, that the girls who own the nice show horses, aren't as eager to ride more horses as I am, the one without a horse!

I had a great opportunity earlier this year to tune up a previous 4ft jumper because the owner was pregnant! The horse was definitely not a quiet, easy ride(loved to play games when he thought he could get away with it). I got a ton of free riding time(5-6 days a week) on a capable jumper. And even though he required a lot of flat retraining(because he decided it would be fun to rush fences), after a few months I got him to not rush 3ft and under!

Anyways, I can see why some girls at your barn wouldn't be interested in riding a horse other than their own, but I can't believe that not one is jumping to ride!

[Mamy]

Thats terrible! I was the same way as a teen, I would have JUMPED at the chance to ride anything I could! I hope you find someone oon! And I hope you feel better soon!
Amy

[Foxtrot's]

Hang in there for the first three months (or less) then you can get back on Rory and ride until the baby starts to fall out. So many kids stop riding the minute they go out of the juniors, go to college, or Dad/Mum stop paying. They don't have the long-term passion that posters on here do.

[Sansena]

Isn't there a "Horseless Rider/ Riderless Horses" thread here somewhere?

[dauphine2]

Strange... as a fourteen year old, I'll ride almost any horse. Its really only when the school ponies need a tune up/exercising that I start groaning. :no: Not fun. Very boring.

[TatteredDaydreamer]

I'm older than a tween......and I still ride anything and everything I can possibly get my legs around! I'd JUMP at the chance to ride your "pony" Czar. Good luck in finding someone willing. That blows my mind!

[Filly85']

I'm 23, and I'll still get on anything and everything I can when I have time (college student).

We have a few girls at my barn like the one's that you describe though. I had one girl who I asked to ride my horse. She sat on him for a few minutes, and because he was looky (she was letting him take advantage of her as he is a really smart horse, he never spooked or anything, she was just letting him look outside of the ring), and she got off!

This isn't some run of the mill backyard horse either. She had never ridden anything that nice before. I think she was intimidated by his size and length of stride to be perfectly honest. I rode this horse when I was 14 and he was two.

She rode my friend's horse the other day after she had asked to ride him, walk, trot, cantered him for only a few minutes, and got off (horse had already been warmed up by another rider before she got on). He has a big stride and is powerful like my horse as well, but he is a horse that used to pack an 8 year old around!

I just think that a lot of kids are just scared or don't like it as much as they think they do. When I was in my teens, I would literally ride 5 and 6 horses a day. Not because I had to, but because I wanted to. And I'd get on anything. Broke, not broke, or problems.

[CallMeGrace]

I find it weird, too. I used to ask if anyone wanted to ride our horses when we went away, but I got so tired of the pained expressions and expectations of being paid if the kid had ridden anything over 2' that I quit asking. When I was growing up I would have killed to be offered any kind of ride - and my kids still are! My son rides 4-5 horses a day and my daughter rides ponies for a friend. And, they are THRILLED to have been asked!

[TatteredDaydreamer]

Filly 85....we sound exactly alike, and your boy sounds lovely!

CMG, that's another good point. I was HONORED when someone asked me if I'd ride their horse and felt it was a compliment to myself and my riding.

Times, they are a'changin....:(

[crosscreeksh]

I had a GREAT teenaged rider...she came to me for lessons on her horse and the relationship advanced to lessons plus me paying her to get on my horses. When she turned 16 she got her driver's license - Oh good, she'll be able to get here more often...to - oh crap...parents bought her a shiny new sports car for her birthday. So long. She won't even keep appointments to come and MAKE money!! Dang!! She was a really nice, brave, capable rider and a good kid too!! Too many distractions for kids these days!! English riders are hard enough to find in rural OK!!

[M. O'Connor]

I am way old, and I still say yes every time...I figure that if I ever say "no" maybe that will be the last time anyone asks...:lol:

[sansibar]

I had the same problem with my bombproof guy, theycould have done any thing they wanted with him, but no bites. Mind you I think our problem was he was located out of the city.

Even with 2 horses I still jump at oppurtunites to ride other peoples horses, at the barn where I retired my horse I ride just about anything with 4 legs, even the western horses in english tack lol.

[Beau Cheval]

That's something I find too. I am always looking for more chances to ride, but because of school and sports during volleyball season I need the other girls at my barn to ride my horse sometimes, and instead of jumping at the chance, i feel like they are doing me a favor. One of my major pet peeves.

[Milocalwinnings]

Wow, I'm surprised nobody jumped on the chance!

This spring my trainer offered to let me ride a mare (who I was in love with:D) because she wanted to use her in lessons. I LOVED being able to come to the barn, and have the option to ride the mare, ride my gelding, or ride both- depending on what kind of mood I was in! I only got to ride her for a couple of weeks becasue I needed to have surgery again, so I"m sidelined for the rest of the summer... but while it lasted, it was great!

[Wizard of Oz's]

Wow I'm surprised none of those kids wanted to ride your horse! I'm 18, and I have one horse of my own, but I would always jump at the chance for some more experience!

[Czar]

Ok I feel better :lol:

[linquest]

Heck, I'm 29 and I still grab at the chance to ride anything I can get my hands on. Maybe that's because I've never had the pleasure of owning my own horse, and won't be able to anytime soon :(

I've always been curious about living in Canada... :winkgrin:

[Brockstables]

On the other hand, I have people with NO riding experience lining up to ride my definately-for-beginners horses who are furious that they are not allowed out of the ring on the first ride. They just want to head out across the open fields at a dead gallop...can't we???? :eek:
Shall I send you a few of those? LOL
The really talented riders around here are snobs and would not be caught dead riding anything less than Olympic quality, so I guess THEY won't be riding mine.
Perhaps you could lend him for lessons for just one student at the barn?
Good luck with all!
J

[foundationmare]

Crosscreek,, What the hell is wrong with parents who do that to their kids??!!! Okay, they have money: wouldn't mind a little of that myself. But, to indulge kids at a very young age is tantamount to creating selfish, entitled brats. Aren't there enough of those in the world?

I steered my kids into the world of horses precisely to AVOID the perils of idle hands/idle minds that is often the milieu of spoiled, entitled brats. They learned to earn the privilege of a lesson/ride by mucking a bunch of stalls and doing the grunt work that is part and parcel of horsemanship. Even if I had the means I would never give them a car. For any reason. Privileges must be earned and appreciated IMHO.

[Come Shine]

It seems like life is just generally more hectic than it used to be. With both parents working as the norm now and, possibly, the teen working as well, it just may be unrealistic for them to take on an additional horse - no matter how lovely.

[mvp]

I think you have a demographic problem. It seems to me that the riders who have enough skill to help with yours also have their own horses to ride. The ones who don't have the horses also don't have the skill you want.

It might also come from the way money (required to own a horse at all) comes with lots of pressure and/or lots of opportunity to do many things besides ride.

I'm on the adult side of things and I grew up riding everything I was offered precisely because I was po' folks. Now I have my own, pay his bills and work to do that. I never thought this would be me, but now I don't see the point in riding other peoples' horses as it takes away from the other things I need to do. If I improve someone else's horse and give him back (as I'm very capable of doing), that means I didn't really invest in myself, say, by doing a better job at work. I end up feeling like a patsy, you know what I mean?

I think that people feel a great deal of pressure to use their time well. Perhaps that's the root of your problem. I'm sorry this is happening to you, but I'm also really surprised. I thought I was unusual.

[magnolia73]

Try asking an adult. There are two adults and one teen at my barn that have ridden my horse. They all do a nice job. The teen is always glad to ride for me, but the adults seem really eager and I think really value the extra saddle time.

[findeight]

Yeah, try the adults.

In the kid's defense, if they do not drive themselves, they are stuck with parental scheduals and folks just don't drop them off for the day at the barn and come back for them later as the barns are getting futher away from where they live all the time. I had a good kid to ride mine but lost her with parental work schedual changes

The ones that do drive themselves are often hauling siblings around or engaged in other things as well. And there is not a thing wrong with only wanting to ride your own horse, that's a personal decision you really cannot condemn anybody on.

But try an adult if the kids are too overschedualed or just don't want to.

[TheHorseProblem]

You did say it's a young horse. From a liability standpoint, do you really want a non-pro to ride your horse for you? If a kid gets hurt, do you really want to deal with that?

It's a different world now.

[equest]

Try asking an adult. There are two adults and one teen at my barn that have ridden my horse. They all do a nice job. The teen is always glad to ride for me, but the adults seem really eager and I think really value the extra saddle time.

I agree - if there are no adults from your barn, perhaps you can find someone from nearby, maybe thru COTH? I am an adult who can only get out to ride 3 times per week or so (I do not own; I half lease). However, when I am out there, I am always eager to hack another if I asked and have time (and on weekends I usually do). I like the variety and my leg can ALWAYS use the workout :) A sane but green young horse should not be an issue with an experienced adult.

[tenacity]

I'm so glad the adults were brought up! I am one of those adults that would love the opportunity to pick up extra rides. It seems like it is usually the juniors who get offered these kind of situations, when they already have other interests/activities going on, and also a lot of other ride offers.

[Whisper]

I'm an adult, and currently have several horses I get to ride for free, and have had several similar opportunities in the past! I'm really more of an advanced beginner/beginning intermediate rider, and I'm very honest with the owners about my experience, what kinds of spooks I can and can't handle, etc. I won't ride *anything*, as I don't feel competent to deal with true bucking sprees, bolting, or hi-ho-silver rears, but I'm fine with Western horses, old ones or quiet greenies who are W/T only, etc. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to get to ride, and they've been very happy with me so far. :D

[Czar]

You did say it's a young horse. From a liability standpoint, do you really want a non-pro to ride your horse for you? If a kid gets hurt, do you really want to deal with that?

It's a different world now.

Then really, it wouldn't matter how old he is as someone could get hurt on any horse. For what I am offering (a 20-25 minute wtc ride in the outdoor), it would take a freak accident for him to do something that would hurt someone and in that case, any other horse, regardless of age, would probably do the same.

Not saying that a freak accident wouldn't happen but that is why I am a member of our national organization and why everyone who rides at our barn signs a liability waiver.