Others Riding Your Horse

Question:

I would just like an educated opinion on letting one other person ride your horse, is it a good idea?
I'm a novice rider witha wonderfull thoroughbred who has recently moved stables from where he was regulary being ridden and jumping as I'd kept him in the school now he gets lunged everyday and I ride him at least 3x a week however he has started showing extremely mild irritation and alot of laziness when I ask him even to trot I constantly have to use my legs and inevetibly I end up more tired than him, as is rather a big boy I'm thinking it could be boredom as I don't jump him but do mostly turning,agility,& balance flatwork, so therefore I've asked somebody to jump him for me, she's a young schoolgirl but I've watched her jump him, and she looks gentle I'm just concerned about confusing him with aids PS. he was a school master & is 11 yrs old if it makes a difference, thanks

Answer:

The best way to judge whether somebody is good for you horse is to put them on his back and see how he goes. It sounds to me like this rider is competent, she rides him well and jumps him which is something he enjoys. While I do agree that there are horses out there that are one-man horses, it can be good for your horse to have somebody else ride him and do some fun things with him that you might not get around to doing with him. If you are both competant riders, your aids should not be very different at all, and you will not confuse him. You may even find that he improves in some areas, which will be of benfit to you and your horse. I would never let too many people ride my horse, however one or two extra poeple riding him well can be of benefit to him. Try to involve your instructor - they will easily see if he is ok with another rider and may even be willing to give the other rider instruction. Good luck and enjoy your horse!