Do You Ride Horses? V.4

[Whippet.]

Haven't posted here in a long time lol about a month ago we got a new horse! (Well, pony lol) She's a grey welsh B mare and is 11.3 hands. She's currently in harness and will be backed and broken to saddle in the next few months. She's spooky so wears blinkers (a hood) when in the sulky. Very snorty and has that crazy white eye (more so on the side the judge will see AHAHAHA but quite good in harness (does have her moments). A nutter at the tie-ups though lol She has always been headshy which makes bridling a pain but has come a long way before we got her broken, couldn't even touch her neck. We have a show coming up this weekend (her first) and are taking her in the led classes but had only practiced in a halter. Was going so well until we had to bridle her without the hood on - she thought the reins were going to eat her *facepalm* and lost the plot again. So that's going to be fun at the show!

She's a guts and will take food from your hand and is fine for the first part, then remembers she's headshy when there's no food left lol but has major issues with syringes or anything that she thinks will go near her mouth. We think as a youngster at the stud they might have been a bit rough with the worming. Although she isn't getting better with stuff near her mouth we're working on it and she's improved heaps with other things (being touched all over, picking up her feet etc.) She's a sook and you can touch as low as where the noseband sits providing you come from the top of her head (over her poll and down the middle of her face).

Q: Does anyone know of any other things we could try and help with the 'mouth-phobia'?

I work with her every day, slowly patting/rubbing closer to her mouth (can pat her cheek bone but no further) and try to encourage that things that go in her mouth aren't always bad (using molasses etc.) but she just freaks thinking everything is poison She's going to take some time but it's been 2 months of consistent handling and work without much progress. Thanks in advance!

[larki-darki]

Why do people even ride horses? It's not like you need them for transportation; you live in 2017. Is there really any reason to beat and bully an animal and force it to carry you around when they don't -want- to? Genuinely curious.

Horseback riders always say their horse loves x, or that their horse loves y, but then turn around and go on threads like these and talk about how their horses are "sassy", or how they didn't listen or they didn't want to do this or that.

I don't get it.

[~SpotOnAppy~]

Why do people even ride horses? It's not like you need them for transportation; you live in 2017. Is there really any reason to beat and bully an animal and force it to carry you around when they don't -want- to? Genuinely curious.

Horseback riders always say their horse loves x, or that their horse loves y, but then turn around and go on threads like these and talk about how their horses are "sassy", or how they didn't listen or they didn't want to do this or that.

I don't get it.

Well. You've obviously never ridden or you would have realised what a silly question that is... Riding is amazing, its freedom, its a hobby, its a sport, its exercise and it can even be a career.

My horses love to be worked. If i don't go down to the paddock to ride for a day or so they all stand at the fence waiting. If I ride one, the others get jealous and try to butt in for attention. And who the heck says we all beat and bully our horses? Get an education. Its a partnership. My horses genuinely enjoy their work and love the attention, yes they may be disciplined at times, but so are children and dogs etc.

Its like owning a dog. I bet you own some sort of animal, right? Well, whats the difference with horses? You train dogs to walk with you and do tricks, its the same with horses.

How is it that you know they 'don't -want- to'? Have you asked them? Have you ever actually had anything to do with horses?

I think you need to learn a bit more about it before you go accusing horse riders/owners of bullying and beating. Hmmm.

[buckskin.]

@larki-darki
Okay, I see where you are coming from but you have no idea what you are talking about. Horses used to be a form of transportation, yes but people who ride now do it because they love it, it is our passion and what we love to do. I don't know where you are getting your information from but I have never seen people beat or 'bully' their horses and anyone who does cannot call themselves an equestrian. Horses used to be treated as a form as transportation and that only, so I admit that the way they were treated one hundred years ago wasn't the best but now they are seen as family, as our best friends and our babies.

Like SpotOnAppy said, whats the difference when it comes to dogs? Like they said, you train dogs to walk on a lead, to sit, lay, roll over, give hand shakes, stay etc on command. I could use the point that i'm sure your dog doesn't want to do that, he doesn't want to be restricted on a lead just to get out of a yard, right? Oh, but your dog loves going on walks, right? Well thats how it is for horses, my mare loves what she does and what she loves is sporting.

Yes I personally have days where I call my mare sassy and stuff like that but most of the time it's as a joke, she does have days where I can hate her for a bit but I'm not going to go give her a beating for not doing what I want, maybe I was doing something wrong or maybe she was having an off day. Who knows but most riders know that when something goes wrong, there is a 99% chance there was something they could have done to prevent it from happening. Of course she doesn't want to do this and that, I doubt you want to do everything but sometimes its beneficial to do those things so you can't go around calling "abuse". Horses, like people, are bound to not want to do certain things but those things aren't always avoidable. I personally hate maths but I have to do it because it's part of school, my horse hates hacking circles because it doesn't give her enough mental stimulation but it's a good way to work on the base of what she loves to do, if she cant change leads when we're hacking how can i expect her to change leads in bend? She loves bend, but by hacking we are working on stuff we can incorporate into bending, flags, mug, barrels etc. and those are all things she gets excited to do.

Please do some more research before you come here trying to bash on people who genuinely love their horses.

[wibeke]

Larki-darki: Welcome to the thread!
It's perfectly fine to ask why people ride horses, it is pretty interesting that our uses for horses have changed so drastically over time and from the outside it can appear pretty cruel, but you'll probably get much friendlier responses if you don't imply that the people here mistreat their animals.
also if you ever get the chance you should definitely try riding a horse sometime, it's a ton of fun and it might help you understand the appeal of it a bit more!

Personally, I have a hard time articulating why I ride horses because it's kind of hard to explain if you've never ridden one before. It's really amazing to be able to communicate with an animal 10 times your size while using a language that you both have to work with eachother to understand. I had a really hard time communicating with people as a kid, so that hooked me into it.
It isn't and has never been about bossing animals around and beating them for me or anyone else I've met. If I thought a horse really and truly hated being ridden, I wouldn't ride them or at the very least would find a way to make it enjoyable for them. I used to ride a grumpy old horse that basically refused to move for most of his riders and would just trot one or two steps until they eventually got off. I absolutely loved that horse though because whenever I rode him he happily trotted around and galloped without a second thought because I was much more gentle and clear with my cues than his other riders. I have no doubt that he enjoyed our rides together, and I feel the same about the horse I currently ride. He has his moments of stubbornness and bucking, (everyone has bad days and horses are no exception) but he generally seems to enjoy being ridden and we're always trying to find ways to make it even more positive for him.
There are absolutely people out there that do not have their horses best interest at heart and who abuse and over work them for their own personal gain and these problems desperately need to be fixed, but the equestrian community is made up mostly of people that love these animals and want the best for them. You won't find anyone in this thread that's here to beat and bully their horses.


Also, on a much more practical note, the reason horseback riding in its current form is so popular is because horses are ridiculously expensive and not particularly useful to us anymore. Cars have replaced carts, machinery has replaced plow horses, etc. We could (and sometimes do) use them for meat, but that's an entirely separate argument and not one that I'd imagine someone concerned about their quality of life would advocate.
So now you have an animal that doesn't work, won't be eaten, and isn't being ridden. Great, you now have a wonderful companion animal! Your companion animal requires lots of open space to run, food and hay, a farrier to come over roughly every six weeks to trim their hooves (an expense that you absolutely can not spare- their hooves will overgrow and lead to problems that will eventually kill them), vet visits, blankets, and all sorts of other expenses that add up to several hundred dollars a month. There's also daily maintence to make sure their environment is safe, feeding and watering, and grooming them. That's either taking a portion of your day to complete, or you have to pay someone else to do this. Consider multiplying all of this by at least 2, because horses are herd animals and they're happier living together.
This is very feasible when it's a cat or a dog or even some goats, but for most people this simply isn't something they can justify spending their time and money on no matter how much they love horses. Even if you can spare the time and money, having such an expensive and labor intensive pet may not appeal to them. If we all collectively stopped riding, the end result would effectively be that many owners can no longer afford/justify having horses and those cast off horses would be sent to slaughter because that is the quickest way to get rid of a horse that no one wants.
What we can justify, though, is caring and providing for the horse in return for a bit of riding every day. Paying for a horse sounds much more reasonable when you're given the opportunity to do something that you enjoy. It's not a huge inconvience for the horse, either. Riding comes with lots of human interaction on the ground, and most horses really do seem to enjoy even the riding aspect. Or they hate the entire thing and you need to reevaluate everything about how you're riding and trying the horse. Either way after roughly 45 minutes of exercise they're untracked and groomed some more and then they get to go about their normal horsey lives as usual. At best they get to have fun and be with their human every day, at worst it's an annoying but short aspect of their day.

Not to mention this hypothetical companion animal horse is probably crazy out of shape and fat as hell from sitting around and munching on grass all day. That's not very healthy for them. You're going to need to exercise them somehow, whether it's by talking them for long walks or putting them on a lunge line (long rope) and encouraging them to run around. You'll also need to train them to respect humans and how to be lead safely. If you don't, you now have a massive, spoiled ball of pent up energy that has absolutely no idea it can seriously hurt or kill you without even trying. That's a recipe for disaster.
A lot of the training thats necessary for making sure the horse can safely be around humans is also useful for teaching them to ride. Horses are taught to move away from pressure, which is necessary on the ground for both safety and convenience (if a horse, say, accidentally pins you against a wall you better make sure it knows to move away when you push on it and not to just completely ignore you because you're puny and weak) but also translates very well to riding, too! If I squeeze my horse with my leg, he knows to move his body away from it. The pressure from the bit tells him which way to turn his head, and with those signals combined it's easy for him to figure out where I'm asking him to go and what I'm asking him to do. They learn vocal cues for changing gaits when they lunge, which can then be used when they're learning how to be ridden and gradually replaced with a cue from your body. Though there's a lot of other skills they need to learn, being ridden isn't necessarily a huge leap from what we already do with them on the ground and a good trainer makes sure that transition is as gradual and non stressful as possible.
And riding is great exercise for them. Not only do they blow off some extra energy, but they build extra muscle and stamina. A lot of horse back riding focuses on training the horse to move as efficiently as possible and building the muscles necessary for carrying a rider. A well balanced rider on a properly muscled horse won't feel heavy to them at all, and by being ridden they grow much more fit than they would be without riding.

Long story short people need a reason not to eat horses and horses need exercise. Riding is the easiest solution to both of those problems.

[Hime]

@larki-darki: Your first missconception is that we beat and bully and force horses to carry us. We do not, it's fine art of communication to train a horse so that it's okay and understands what we ask of it. Honestly if the horses were dead againts carrying people, we would not stand a chance. Just think about it, the horse weight 10 times more than average person, even the smallest ponies are at least double people's size. You really think we stand a chance if the horse really desides it doesn't want anything to do with us? Some also come to you when you go pick them up from the paddock, I don't a think an animal that doesn't like what you are doing to it would act like that. Most animals probably don't want us to do all the things we do to them (like visit the vet, get vaccinated or wormed), but so it is with little kids. To be honest if we weren't little selfish with our reasons of keeping pets, we probably wouldn't have pets at all. And that I feel like is a great loss as they give us so much joy in many ways and we return that by taking good care of them.
Just because we sometimes say our horses were acting sassy or not behaving, that doesn't make us love them any less. Horses often have their reasons for certain behaviors, it's up to people to learn to read them and act accordingly to situation. Sometimes they act out because they are scared or hurting, and sometimes they just are cheeky.

As for why we ride horses. Mostly because it's fun and we like it, and there's many many smaller parts behind those reasons. Isn't that the reason behind any pet or hobby? Riding is no different in that sense. We've been riding horses since ages ago, so it's part of the culture that we have chosen to keep alive to this day. Pleasure riding actually really started when cars and machines started to replace horses. So we should maybe ask, why did the people of old times choose to keep riding horses after the cars and machines could have replaced them? I think they must have given the people of that time something that the machines couldn't. Which I still think is true.
I think we use riding(or driving) as the reason to have horses in the first place. Wibeke made good points also about why is that so. If we had no use for the horse, how many horses would there actually be then? Probably very few, or they may be ferral and we all know what eventually happens to ferral animals. There's also lot of culture and history behind the use of horses, so I think by riding and also driving we are keeping bits and pieces of that history and culture alive.
________________________________
Was going to post pictures of clipped Heta and puppies(which are about ready to leave for their new homes, I'm going to miss the little furball terrors), but apparently photobucket no longer allows that without some updated account... Any suggestions were to post photos that can be shared, without them getting shared to general public on that page?

Heta's been good to ride last couple of times, still bit too clingy and not that eager to turn to left, but better anyway. Rode her with single joint snaffle couple times, which first felt fine and then not so much so switch back to our usual bit.
I also had a proper trail ride with Tý accompanied by Heta and M. That went super well, except one hicup when a car didn't understand my stop signal (raised hand, unfortunately most drivers think we are just saying hi....). Like we had planned to route so that there was only one spot for maybe 5 meters were it was likely to encounter a car. The road we took to get to the forest trails usually has pretty much 0 traffic. We come to the cross road were we need to go right and walk that 5 meters or so on the road before again turning right to the forest path. I hear a car coming somewhere from the right before we even see it, so we stop at the cross road(Heta felt like not stopping and walked on little to the road, but me and Tý were 'safely' still on the less used road). The car soon comes and slows down when he sees us, and I think okay this goes great as first trial how Tý reacts to cars. But nope... The car then turns it's signal light left aka it's planning to turn to the road we are on, and it's not very wide road (can't fit two cars)... I try to signal it to stop so we could get out of the way, but nope the driver just happily waves back to us... -___- I go like 'sh*t' and think all the things Tý could do. Tý tenses up and for moment I he's almost on two legs trying to figure out which direction to jump to (back on the car going behind him or forward out of the way)... Then nothing happens. He stays put, minus the couple anty steps, and we keep moving on our planned path after that episode. I have no words how proud I was of him, even though it was obviously very scary situation for him and we came across some people just shortly after the situation and he thought they were bit scary too in his adrenaline rush(which I also had, as my heart was beating like crazy for some minutes afterwards). But rest of the ride went really well and he was super chill. The previous time I went out with someone he was quite antsy, so I'm thinking going with Heta as the 'safety horse' was a good choise. Though Tý is clumsy as heck. XD He literally will not watch were he puts his feet, he just plops them down and rocks etc. and then is startled when he slips or stumbles because of that.

One of my classmates is able to borrow me a trailer next week, so Heta will be moving on Tuesday or Wednesday most likely instead of week after. I have yet to start any sort of packing, but that shouldn't bee too hard... I have a feeling I have Heta's stuff all packed and ready to go before my own.

[gremlin]

Why do people even ride horses? It's not like you need them for transportation; you live in 2017. Is there really any reason to beat and bully an animal and force it to carry you around when they don't -want- to? Genuinely curious.

Horseback riders always say their horse loves x, or that their horse loves y, but then turn around and go on threads like these and talk about how their horses are "sassy", or how they didn't listen or they didn't want to do this or that.

I don't get it.

I don't post here like at all, heck I'm new but... i used to think this. truth is that Horses are herd animals who need a leader, and in human captivity they look to the human for direction. Sure not all horses like being ridden, horses with bad backs aren't, wild horses or nervous horses have to be worked with quite a bit before they can be ridden. Horses have been proven to enjoy doing work, they get bored without it. Carrying a human allows them to test both their limits and their riders. "sassy" horses are horses that tend to try out boundries quite a bit. I used to think lunging and riding was bullying, it's not. It entertains them. They think it's fun. Real abuse is... welll look it up. Horses have personalities and they do like and dislike certain things, sometimes horses are butts to their rider, to test bounds. Hope this helps
I work with horses, I used to ride but I don't any longer. I work with professional trainers and help train and rehab horses

[Whippet.]

The new pony's first show tomorrow! Decided to wash her today, after 3 hours, anyone thinking about buying a grey - just don't Proud of my efforts considering she had a brown tail and fully brown legs instead of white! She's got 4 white legs (2x 1/2 cannons and 2x full cannons) and considering she's so light you can't even see them, decided to spruce them up with some baby powder. Mixed the baby powder and water together to form a paste, painted it on and turned her out this morning. Came to bring her in tonight and her legs are as bright as when I let her out The gods must have been looking down on me for that horse not to roll lol wish I took some pics but a great hack for getting those legs extra white

[Livid-Silver]

@Larki-darki; everyone else has pretty much covered it, however I did want to add that a lot of the time when a horse is described as sassy,argumentative, naughty ect. (excluding in times where the phrase is used as a term of endearment) the behaviour is usually due to pain,illness or if the horse is being pushed too hard too fast in its training. Just like people, horses have different levels when is comes to what is 'too much too soon' so it is the job the rider to assess whether the behaviour is due to pain, anxiety ect. Working with horses is a too way street and requires a lot of conversation between the handler/rider and the horse. When done properly, riding can actually be very beneficial for the horse, it helps to keep them sound for longer and often times they do enjoy the work if it is done in a non-stressful manner. So in turn, the rider/handler has a responsibility to the horse to ensure that the work is at a level at which they can cope and that they are safe when with their handler. Plus, I think the great majority of horses enjoy their owners company, I know my two do

@Whippet; To be honest, if she were mine I don't think I would be taking her to a show just yet. She sounds very insecure with a great variety of things and you don't want her overface her at her first show. Bridling is a basic 'life skill' so you really want her to be confident with that. My train of thought is if you have to bridle her in an open area (eg. at the truck/float) rather than in a stable and what would happen if she did happen to get away from you. I will say, I have seen that mares tend to be a little more standoffish than geldings or stallions, so that might have something to do with her headshyness rather than previous treatments if she is a 'delicate' type. My advice is practice everyday until it becomes boring, which is going to require all the patience in the world. Make sure you don't 'sneak' around her when petting her face/bridling/whatever, as it won't really help the issue. Be nonchalant about it really, bussiness as usual. Eventually she'll come around, but its gonna take time and patience. If she's good with a halter, practice putting that on and off, then once she's solid with that, you can tie a bit to a piece of bail twine like a head slip. You basically have one long piece attached to one side of the bit and then a shorter piece to the other side, so instead of going over her head, you can slip the bit in from the side and then tie the two pieces together. My instructor uses this method to get the breakers used to bridling, before the actual bridle comes out to play. They seems to usually take to it better than approaching from the front as they have a bit more warning its coming. Also, be careful to not bang her in the teeth when taking the bridle off as that's not a pleasant feeling If you want a picture of how the bailing twine bit works, just let me know as I don't know if I've explained it well lol

@Hime; Urg I am also swamped with assignments and its driving me nuts ;-; They always seem to end up being due at the same time as one another, but I guess that's where the whole 'time management' thing comes into play Ty sounds like he's going good as gold! What a brave boy when the car went past If that's going to be his response to scary things, I wouldn't say that's half bad lol Heta sounds like she is a very good safety horse to go out with and I'm sure she enjoys hitting the trail too His canter will come along with time, though he does have the added disadvantage of being 5-gaited. I can't imagine that making things any easier lol We're having similar issues with the weather atm Too cold at night for light rugs but as soon as the sun comes out all the horses are cooking. Its driving me nuts! Reggie's started dropping his coat, not that he actually had much winter coat this year. Would you consider clipping Ty as well as Heta? Or is he not getting too hot just yet? I must say, I do love the feel of a nice clipped coat, they usually go so soft and silky <3 Chestnuts usually go that funny colour just after being clipped though and I can't say I'm too fond of that stage lol With her bit issues, could a different noseband do the trick maybe? Reggie's changed heaps since I've had the drop on him, so would something like that work with Heta? Or if you have her in an eggbutt maybe a loose ring would suit her more? I know Donny liked to have a little more movement in the bit, which the loose ring gave, where as Reg is the complete opposite and likes you to be as still as possible. I would agree that a curb isn't going to help in his situation. Could it even be something as simple as she gets tired and then drops down because of that? I know Reggie does that sometimes when he gets tired and looses the push from the back end. Other option is to just borrow different things and see if anything makes a different. Some things work with some horses when others don't so its a bit of guess and check in my experience
As for image hosting sites, I'm pretty sure Tinypic and Imgur allow pictures uploaded there to be posted to other sites, so they might be worth checking out? It is an awful pain that photobucket decided to go down that route

[tenturo]

hrmm
i'm headed out to spend my weekend working with Sassy, and I was wondering if any of y'all had some suggestions for me as far as things I can do to help her stay a little calmer under saddle? I feel like part of it is just pent up energy, but when she gets moving she tends to really pick up her pace and when I try to get her to turn, she lifts her head up and trots and turns really widely.
im not sure if it's just her lack of experience under saddle or if she just has a lot of energy, but if anyone has suggestions for things we could do together before or during our ride that should help her relax and move smoother/slower that'd be lovely <3
i'm starting to recondition 'Gus now that his injury is healed (even though it healed like a month ago, its been over 105° here and I didn't want to push him too hard in that heat)
He's almost 22, goodness... i'm thinking about making him some special treats to celebrate, but i'm not sure which ones. i should do.
any suggestions ? last year i made these ones with molasses, oats, carrot slices and apple slices, he seemed to like those a lot but they're kind of sticky.