Do You Ride Horses? V.4

[minimire]

Hey guys, sorry to randomly pop in here but does anyone know about the “famous” equestrian youtuber raleighlink14?

[Luzien]

Hey guys, sorry to randomly pop in here but does anyone know about the “famous” equestrian youtuber raleighlink14?

nope, i dont think i did run into this name, are they good? what do they do?

[ryukrem]

that is great^^ with some more training over the winter season you will get her ready till spring-summer, dont worry.
i did read that some do pulling/driving and forest or trail training in autumn-winter , so they dont do to much but still build good muscle and work on small problems they have...or do groundwork and brain work.
Did you alreay make a plan with your trainer?
hardcore bootcamp...Sounds like fun good luck and fun^^

basically gonna work on her from back to front. she HANGS on my hands and im tired of it so we are going to work on getting that fixed. and then focusing on straightness and working on some more lateral movements like leg yield, shoulder-in, etc. ive also been doing some lounging with side reins which is a whole other situation on its own but shes getting better xD

Hey guys, sorry to randomly pop in here but does anyone know about the “famous” equestrian youtuber raleighlink14?

haha i do. shes an interesting character, though this isn't the place to talk bad about people so i'll keep quiet.
if you've got nothing to say, say nothing at all, right? xD

[steve rogers.]

she's not the nicest person in the world lets just say that c:

[Rising]

I'd never heard of her before but I've just watched a few of her videos now and the only one I really want to pass comment on so far is her one about whether horse riding is vegan. She is vegan herself, and argues that riding itself is only a tiny part of being an equestrian, and that riding a horse more than a couple of hours a week is unnecessary and physically harmful, and that equestrians should focus more on spending time bonding with their horses without riding them, in short. There's more to it but I won't link since her videos have swearing in them and that would break cs rules. This video just especially interested me because I'm also vegan, and my views on riding are completely different. I'm not against bits or sticks, or riding a horse for several hours a day several days a week. Yes all of that can be abusive if done badly, but I honestly believe that for anyone with a knowledge of horses, to abuse a whip or bit, or to work a horse hard enough to cause physical damage and exhaustion, you'd have to be deliberately cruel. Beginners could well fit bits incorrectly, use sticks unnecessarily and work a horse beyond its capacities through ignorance but all of that can be avoided through education. It's ignorant or cruel people that harm horses, not the bits or sticks themselves. And as for only riding a couple of times a week, most of the horses at the stable I worked at would be ridden 4-6 days a week, and knowing how fit they were I honestly believe horses are happier when kept in regular work and good physical condition. Not to mention some of them live a ridiculously long time, one of them died at the age of 39 a few weeks ago and there is another 39-year old still living there. Both of them were born there as well, so had 4-6 days of work a week for most of their lives, reduced as they aged of course. There are plenty of other horses there who are/were working well into their 20s and 30s. As for another issue she discusses of whether horses enjoy being ridden, I agree with her that different horses enjoy different things and you shouldn't force a horse to do something it consistently shows distaste for. But I also think she really underestimates how much horses can actually enjoy being ridden.

Actually I just watched another video where she said she's no longer vegan. She also discussed visiting a racing stable in that video, and she seemed a lot more open-minded in that one than in some of the others I watched so I just thought I should mention it.

[northy.]

@ξƞçɧαƞtєđ ; so sorry for the suppper late reply but thank you for the suggestion! also, cute photos, they're fuelling the want for a horse thats been burning for about 13 years now haha (:

i chose to do the following topic ;
'the conformational differences between dressage and showjumping horses and what makes a great event horse based on that whilst also exploring whether conformation plays a bigger role than personality in successful horses.

[Brynmala]

... She is vegan herself, and argues that riding itself is only a tiny part of being an equestrian, and that riding a horse more than a couple of hours a week is unnecessary and physically harmful, and that equestrians should focus more on spending time bonding with their horses without riding them, in short...

I've not come across this character but this sounds very much like the attitude of the bitless brigade, and a lot of what is really bad about "natural horsemanship", as bandied about by people who appear to be scared to go near their horses. You spend more time bonding with your horse than actually asking it to do a job of work, and a lot of the time completely missing the point about how herds work.

My partner's Arab arrived with a bitless bridle and it seems to suit him so we've kept it. She joined various bitless groups to find out more. It has been quite enlightening in a rather sad way.

[And this doesn't mean that I think all bitless and natural horsemanship is wrong or bad, just that there's a lot of people who take it to silly extremes, and tar everyone else with being cruel because they don't agree]

[MoonfallTheFox]

I've been so MIA I'm making it my goal to be active on this thread. The discussion here are so amazing.

Baby girl has been going so well lately. She's uber chubbs from being on grass all summer and gets real peeved when I ask her to move her hind end, but regardless shes been very well behaved and this winter will be hardcore bootcamp in hopes to be ready to show first level next summer.

What are your "off-season"/winter goals?

I want to work on getting back into more riding shape, whether it's on my gelding or my filly, in order to be a better rider for Spider as she enters the working stage of her life.

I want Spider to get more confident and safer, and become more solid so we -can- work together.

Winters here can be utterly brutal so if it gets too bad my goal will be to survive lol. Last year we got dumped with snow and unless you've got an indoor arena, forget trying to ride. Ice is a problem for horses, and you can't haul anywhere because the roads were a death pit even for 4 wheel drives, so there's no way I'd ever get out there with a trailer unless it were life or death. If it's milder (they say it's going to be bad..) then I will try to ride all winter at least some.

[Livid-Silver]

@MoonfallTheFox; Welcome to the thread! Both your horses look lovely! With your two year old, would you consider just tipping her out for a bit? Could she just be a bit immature mentally and 'nope' out of work? I've known a few young horses to be like that. Then once they get brought back as 3-4 year olds, the behaviour seems to disappear. Like they're still green of course, but they seem to have a much better mind set when it comes to work. Either way, she looks like a nice little type! What are your plans with her?

@Trico; If your mare is hanging on your hands, work on straight first If they aren't straight, they're not using each hind leg evenly and they physically cannot be through and light. Lightness comes from the horse working correctly and lifting their shoulders, basically carrying their own weight lol Also forward is important too, not fast, just keep those hind legs moving. If you find she gets low and heavy, you can just lift your hands up towards your chin. Do it slowly so you don't jar her in the mouth and make sure she keeps going forward, but that should help get her off the bit. Once her head is back where you want it and she's working, slowly put your hands back down to a normal position. Keep in mind, if she's not used to using all these muscles, she'll probably only be able to hold a proper working frame for a few strides at a time, so a lot of breaks and chances to stretch will be needed My instructor has always told me you work them either high (as much 'collection' as the horse is able to manage for their education/physical capabilities) or down (stretching over the back) and to not let them linger in a middle ground, as it often doesn't achieve anything productive.

@My winter goals; We've actually just come out of winter (Yaayyyy!!), but usually just to keep the horses in work lol Our winters are cold and wet, but it doesn't usually stop you from riding. We don't get ice or snow or anything like that. Winter is mainly arena work, but if you get a nice day I'll usually take the horses out on the trail for something different. In spring there's usually a lot more trail work done, to get the horses fit for competitions and things like that. Like this year, Reggie spent a lot of time just working on froward and straight over the winter. Very boring work, but means we can do more fun stuff in the spring and summer when the weather is nicer

[ryukrem]

@Trico; If your mare is hanging on your hands, work on straight first If they aren't straight, they're not using each hind leg evenly and they physically cannot be through and light. Lightness comes from the horse working correctly and lifting their shoulders, basically carrying their own weight lol Also forward is important too, not fast, just keep those hind legs moving. If you find she gets low and heavy, you can just lift your hands up towards your chin. Do it slowly so you don't jar her in the mouth and make sure she keeps going forward, but that should help get her off the bit. Once her head is back where you want it and she's working, slowly put your hands back down to a normal position. Keep in mind, if she's not used to using all these muscles, she'll probably only be able to hold a proper working frame for a few strides at a time, so a lot of breaks and chances to stretch will be needed My instructor has always told me you work them either high (as much 'collection' as the horse is able to manage for their education/physical capabilities) or down (stretching over the back) and to not let them linger in a middle ground, as it often doesn't achieve anything productive.

Thank you!! I'm also working on my own position this winter too. My hands tend to get low and wide which I am working on. It's not the worst thing my hands could be doing but also not ideal. As for straightness, her butt has a mind of its own xD we are working on that as well and just keeping her butt on the line going down the long side is a struggle xD

Winters here can be utterly brutal so if it gets too bad my goal will be to survive lol. Last year we got dumped with snow and unless you've got an indoor arena, forget trying to ride. Ice is a problem for horses, and you can't haul anywhere because the roads were a death pit even for 4 wheel drives, so there's no way I'd ever get out there with a trailer unless it were life or death. If it's milder (they say it's going to be bad..) then I will try to ride all winter at least some.

Don't even get me started on winter xD
I am blessed that we have an indoor arena. Once the end of December hits (sometimes earlier) we are stuck in until about mid-April. The horses get stuck inside too in their stalls until the ice clears up and the footing is okay enough for them to be out in their paddocks. Winter is a struggle, which is why I'm going back to the basics and not pushing TOO much !!