The Pros and Cons of a One Person Horse?

(he had a hard past- bought at auction as a unbroke 8 year old stallion, mulitple people tried breaking him but most of the people failed, he was passed around, finally broke to ride at age 11, and now he's 13-16 years old and still tries to take advantage of other people)

Swoop is a one person horse mainly-mine. I got him as an abuse case so the trust took a long time and he doesnt trust easy at all. He'll let anyone lead him around but you can tell he's being good bc he knows he has to. There have only been a few people that have ridden him, one being my 15yr old niece that my horse and her grew up together for the last 5yrs so he trusts her and my best friend but he is only good and listens bc I am there. No one has been able to ride him as well as I have and we've been to clinics and I've had multiple trainers on him and they all say the same thing- he is a one person horse and he loves me, he gives his heart and soul to me 100%. It took my fiance 5yrs to win him over and that was only bc he fed him and scratched him a lot, I know it would b a different story if he tried to get on him... which my fiance knows will never happen lol he wont even ask to get on him! But it seems he will do whatever I ask him and let whoever I ask him to ride him as long as im there and the person listens to me as to what to do. Swoop will listen to you as well, as long as you ask him to do something instead of playing im the boss now you do what I say! To him our relationship is a partnership and he respects me bc I respect him. He seems to show compassion if he knows I care about the person, just like my nephew who is 6 and has been around Swoop since my nephew was 1yr and Swoop was 4, they love each other to death and I know I don't have to worry about my nephew on him bc Swoop knows I love him so he takes care of him. Ill even let my nephew ride around Swoop by himself and he makes sure to take smaller steps so that he will not fall off.

So sorry that is so long but there are pros and cons but I think there are more pros to having one person horses bc to me it shows that they love you more than anything and trust you and I believe you need that in a partnership esp when the animal outweighs you as much as they do.

My peruvian is a one person horse...and I can't honestly say that I am totally against it,but there should be a line. He started kicking at the walls when even the stall mucker went to clean his stall and that is definitely not okay....he HATES it when he sees me working other horses, he will pin his ears,pace,and nip. Which is ridiculous. On the other hand I know that he would protect me if we were trail riding and a cougar attacked....but...i do agree 100% if he is going to be a one person horse persay..he should still be able to be handled by other people. We are still working on getting him to let the farrier get near him :( he isn't mean....he just really doesnt trust anyone else..and with me he acts like a lost puppy...

I'm with Iride 100% - have said it before and will say it again - If you purposefully foister a one person horse, you are doing a huge disservice.

No one can guarantee that they will always own a horse or always be the one to handle it. Sickness, family illness/death, your own death, travel, relationships, etc. - There are a million reasons why someone eventually will need to be able to safely handle your horse.

All my horses can be handled by up to about 5 different people within a few weeks of me having them. In a few months, just about anyone could go catch them, groom them, pick up feet, check them over, etc.

Yet I still have a good bond with them.

I am also big on letting other people ride them - As long as it is done right, it fosters a tolerant horse - Which is one of the best traits you can give a horse. My little Arab, Wildey, has been ridden by probably 50+ people in the 9+ years I have had him. Begginers, experienced riders, in between, at competitions, at home, on the trail, at PC. We did squad for four years where he was ridden by 15 riders a day for two days a month. And yet he still gave that bit extra for me - There was things he did OK for others but excellent for me. It doesn't get in the way of a 'bond'.

At a show a week or two ago I had a younger friend there whos horse was put down not long ago. So I chucked her up on bundy to do some classes - And lo and behold she won a champion ribbon. I want all my horses to be like that - He was highly tuned, responsive and quick for me, and then just crusied around with the new rider without losing a beat.

It means that if I ever need to sell, I can guarantee that they will find a great home. I have always had people interested in my horses, for that exact reason. While they perform their best for me, they will get out and try for anyone.

Another time - I was on Bundy (In my avatar - Actually I think it was that exact weekend) at a MG comp - going pretty quick. A friends horse had gone lame so I offered Bundy - She was a 40+ mum - She hopped on and trotted through. She had a ball.

I don't understand why you wouldn't want to be able to do that.

"I don't understand why you wouldn't want to be able to do that."

Hm. That's funny. I think I specified already that I would LOVE to be able to do that. Its not as if I'm deliberately trying to make her so closed off from others that she will reject every single person except for myself. I'm just not that self interested nor naive to feed into that paradigm. I'm glad that your horse has had 50+ riders on him, he's been able to win ribbons with all riders no matter their skill level, and you have had the ability to socialize your horse in such a way.

Don't get me wrong, I've worked with such horses and they are a pleasure to be around. After being a trail guide for over seven years, I get that joke. My other mare is just such a horse. She will allow anyone to work for her, but she gives that so called "little extra" to me. But this isn't about that. It is merely about how I can go about acclimating Rosie to people and a world she has scarcely seen.

I find it extremely ironic that this disservice I am subjecting her to is in fact the complete polar opposite of what I am attempting to accomplish. That being, providing her with a happy and safe environment where she can live out her years and flourish. God forbid!

As I have stated previously, I DO worry about this. I understand that having a horse that is so one-person-oriented is an extreme drawback. And again, this is why I came here. I did not come here for criticism on my relationship with my horse. I did not think this question would be met with a barrage of "you are treating your horse poorly because you......"

I know this is rather harsh. But I really don't care.....I came here for advice, and a number of you have helped immensely, thank you so much. Your insights, stories, and tips have given me a better perspective on the matter.

Thanks-- T

Please, read that again.

I was in NO way directing that at you - if you do a search you can see that I have posted the same thing in almost every thread on this topic. It is something I feel very strongly about. I was speaking in general, and also toward some other people in this thread who have mentioned they like having a one person horse.

I applaud your attitude and think it's great that you are trying to fix this - So many people don't! Please don't think I was attacking you or accusing you of treating your horses horribly. I'm sorry it came off that way :(

My boyfriends mom's horse is definitely a one person horse. I really worked with her over the summer and we became quite attatched. I went off to college this fall and have learned no one else has has success on her, she was a devil with his mom and took off with my boyfriend, then jumped a pasture fence with a western wintec under her belly(part of that was due to tack error, my bf insisted she could be ridden both ways no problem (shes my english baby.))
When I went home after christmas break, the first thing I did was groom her, jump on her bareback, and start trotting over poles. We had a ball. She will let me do anything with her.

I have a seven year old gelding that I got when he was a weanling. At that time I didn't shoe my own horses so I took great pains to prepare my horse to get his feet done. I was the only one in my family to handle him because my wife isn't into horses and my sons were too young at the time. When the farrier came out to trim him my horse wanted nothing to do with him. It took fifteen minutes before he could pet him and reach down and pick up a foot. After that he stood wonderfully for trimming. I have never had a horse that was like that before or since. Now my horses are handled by me or my kids and they get used enough that they are used to other people around.

I have one horse that is probably what would be considered a "one man horse". It's not that he can not be handled by others or that they could not ride him. It's that he gives others little or no respect and does not behave when they attempt to ride him. He's definitely MY HORSE.

I have a mare that chooses who will ride her. She can be handled by most anyone, she's not what I consider enjoyable as far as her ground manners go, she doesn't stand real still and she doesn't really give you any respect. She allows children to walk trot her and have really enjoyable rides on her. The moment an adult gets on her, she's crow-hoppy and just plain sneaky. She's cold back so I need to have her back checked and I am going to get her teeth floated but for the most part, she's just a picky little witch.

I actually prefer a horse that anyone can get on and ride safely.