Ride your horse or a lesson horse?

How many riders who own horses take lessons on a lesson horse and not their own horse?
I am just looking for others input.

My daughter may have a chance to take lesson at a barn that has a indoor ring but the chances of taking lessons on her own horse may be slim at least for awhile.
She is just switching from riding in a western saddle to an English saddle and where our horse is there is no indoor for winter riding. I would really like to see her ride all winter if she could to help with her body and confidence level . She is only 10 yrs old.
Any thoughts on this ? thanks

Yeah I take lessons on a lot of different horses. It's nice to try different horses and different riding styles

I ride the 2 lesson horse at my barn and it gives me a way to apply my riding to different horse than just one! I will help in the long run but also riding you horse has Many benefits! Personally a win win would be do both ride yours and others

I am about to take up jumping lessons on another horse. My own horse is recovering from stomach ulcers and can't be ridden, plus he is relatively new to jumping. Therefore, I will take a few lessons on this jumping horse to work on my own jumping position. I think it is a splendid idea to take lessons on another horse, as lesson horses are meant to be teachers. When I ride a lesson horse, I can focus more on myself because the lesson horse is experienced and solid. With my horse, I have to focus more on him because he has a lot to learn. Lesson horses also work wonders for riding confidence. I ride one particular lesson horse every Sunday for free, to get the "kinks" out of him after his week of schooling beginning riders. With my own horse, I ride him with my trainer because that helps my horse and I more than if I were riding a lesson horse. It all depends on what you want to accomplish. If you want to work mainly on yourself, or work on something that is new before you try it on your own horse, then a lesson with a lesson horse is a great idea. If you want to improve your horse and your horse and you as a pair, then riding your own horse in a lesson is a wiser option.

I have in the past, with my old trainer (she was really more of an instructor).

My trainer now has no lesson horses, I only take lessons on my horse. She would have thrown me on a lesson horse/other horse, had she had one a few times when I needed to ride a horse to get a feel for something, but it is what it is. :P

She has been riding her horse for about a year, riding in a western saddle although her horse really isnt a "western " horse.
She has an instructor that has been very good for her as far as controlling her horse and she has mastered trotting both ways of the ring and feels pretty confident on him.
My daughter is in 4H and really would like to show him in some fun shows and 4H shows (walk/trot) and feel until we work on the western neck reining and switching the bit etc...that English would be a better choice for her horse. My daughter was reluctant at first to switch from her western saddle to an English saddle but she is coming around and liking the idea. She even picked out some cute half chaps and colorful pad for her new riding endeavor.

I dont know all the deatails yet but I know another instructor who teaches at a barn with an indoor while we do not have access to one so this would be a chance for her to work on herself a little more . I have to beg, borrow and steal for use of a trailer ..lol so trailering her horse to the indoor really isnt an option right now. I think that it is important for her to ride her own horse too so maybe she can take lessons from both instructors? That kinda brings another situation however, each instructor teaches differently....

I would encourage you to let your daughter take lessons on another horse. I am sure that the lessons horses are well broke and will teach her to be brave as well as how to ride english and then she can go back and practice on her pony. Also the more horses she rides the better she will get and more experience's she will have.

Yep, I agree with the post above me.
I find that when I constantly only ride my own horse, I tend to fall into bad habits, where as if I ride different horses I can't get those habits. Riding more than one horse teaches you to be a better rider and gives you great experiances.

Lately I've been riding my own horse during my lessons, but I'm going to start riding some of the lesson horses to further my riding skills. My instructor is very supportive of this and encourages her students to do so.

Different horses will help you build the skills. With own horses you know already what they like, how they move, etc. During bad winter months I take lessons in barn on "lesson" horses. During good months I still prefer to ride mine, because they need schooling.

I take lessons on my own horse. I'm at a training barn where lesson horses aren't even available. If I was just starting out I would use a lesson horse that was quiet and a confidence builder.