Do You Ride Horses? V.4

[vash ♡]

hey everyone! so i'm very, very new to the equestrian world and i actually have some questions about the fei shows!

so what exactly are the fei shows? i mean i love watching the show jumping livestreams but i'm always confused. how often are they held and in which countries usually? who can qualify to participate in the fei? what's the difference between the world cup and a national cup? are all fei shows the grand prix?

sorry if some questions are so silly but i can't seem to find any straightforward answer online!

fei is the international head of equestrian events. it depends on the discipline as to when and where they're hosted. im taking a hiatus from the sport, but when i was a working student in ocala for eventing you had to reach CCI* before you start competing under fei as those are where your international levels begin. i am not as familiar with show jumping but with most fei sports there's the national/international transitionary level that lets you begin to qualify for international competition and thats when it becomes sanctioned by them. also something to note is that the fei does not cover ALL disciplines, it only covers 10, with reining being the only western one (which is a shame, because even though ive taken a break from eventing i would love to go international in mounted shooting or reined cowhorse! international levels dont allow for as much versatility as national levels do and i am kind of an all-around rider)

in other news, i start my first internship for my equine nutrition degree in the fall! its under purina, and even though i dont necessarily like their philosophies or their product formulas and content, a company that big looks great on a resume and you can always learn something from anyone!

[ellyenchanted]

@vash- that's actually really cool! and ooo yeah an internship with a big company like that will definitely give your resume a more competitive edge! sometimes i wish i went the equine route in college, i bet it's soo fulfilling


this summer ive finally started riding again! its my current task to help condition a 6 yr old arab/standardbred gelding for endurance. he was started under saddle about 2 years ago but has pretty much been sitting around ever since. we've been riding 3x a week since July 15th.

this past saturday we completed our first "endurance" ride. it was only 12 miles and was just an intro ride, but he did so good! my legs and knees were absolutely destroyed at the end, but now i will have to prepare for a longer ride, as we aim to complete a 25 mile LD in two weeks.

our partnership and mutual trust has grown a lot in only 2.5 weeks, so i look forward to every ride!

[Luzien]

@minimire
No questions are silly great that you found interest into horses and there World (donkey, mule and trick or riding cow maybe too?^^)
Hope people can help you^-^

hey everyone! so i'm very, very new to the equestrian world and i actually have some questions about the fei shows!

so what exactly are the fei shows? i mean i love watching the show jumping livestreams but i'm always confused. how often are they held and in which countries usually? who can qualify to participate in the fei? what's the difference between the world cup and a national cup? are all fei shows the grand prix?

sorry if some questions are so silly but i can't seem to find any straightforward answer online!

fei is the international head of equestrian events. it depends on the discipline as to when and where they're hosted. im taking a hiatus from the sport, but when i was a working student in ocala for eventing you had to reach CCI* before you start competing under fei as those are where your international levels begin. i am not as familiar with show jumping but with most fei sports there's the national/international transitionary level that lets you begin to qualify for international competition and thats when it becomes sanctioned by them. also something to note is that the fei does not cover ALL disciplines, it only covers 10, with reining being the only western one (which is a shame, because even though ive taken a break from eventing i would love to go international in mounted shooting or reined cowhorse! international levels dont allow for as much versatility as national levels do and i am kind of an all-around rider)

in other news, i start my first internship for my equine nutrition degree in the fall! its under purina, and even though i dont necessarily like their philosophies or their product formulas and content, a company that big looks great on a resume and you can always learn something from anyone!

There is no more reinigen, or i think most of All Western sports alowed under FEI
To young horses, drugs and medication, wrong riding and training,killed or sick horses ,wrong tack ,mean spurs....

https://reiningtrainers.com/horse-welfa ... FhDeD0_6gC

Reining is no longer an FEI-recognized sport. So what caused this change? According to the reports, there is a disagreement both over the minimum age that horses can compete in FEI events and a lack of agreement over allowed drugs.

In terms of age, the FEI regulations restricted competition to horses ages 7 and above. There was an exception made for one WEG where horses aged 6 were allowed to compete. This is not out of line for other FEI disciplines: The minimum age for FEI dressage is 8; for Olympic/WEG level eventing it’s 8; and for show jumping it’s 7. In the reining world, where many horses are started at age 2 (or even at 18 months), junior classes are held for horses age 3-5 and the NRHA and many breed associations offer futurities for 3-year olds which have large purses — the NRHA’s snaffle bit futurity for 3-year olds pays out in excess of $1 million, with the Futurity Open Champion winning $125,000.

The argument against competing horses this young in such a physically demanding discipline is compelling: most horses haven’t finished growing at age 3 and many young horses are irreparably injured. The spins can cause concussion-type injuries on the fetlock and knee and slides can cause injuries to the hock and fetlock joints, stifles and sacroiliac subluxation.

Which brings us to medications. The FEI has very stringent drug regulations; however, many substances prohibited by the FEI may be used up to threshold levels under NRHA rules. Some people believe that the younger age of competition and the rigorous training for futurities means that reining horses are at a higher risk of being drugged to keep them comfortable. It is reported in some media that over the period of the agreement (from 2010-2018), the NRHA has the highest positive drug test results of all FEI sports.

Training methods in reining have also come under fire, although were not specifically called out by the FEI. Reining horses are subjected to riding techniques similar to “Rollkur” or hyperflexion. The video below, which shows the warm up at an FEI World Final, is pretty disturbing. Not only because of the hyperflexion but because the horses are basically run into the arena walls at speed to train the sliding stops. Even more disturbing? The rider featured, Martin Muehlstaetter, is one of the sport’s top trainers.

Horse Sport
https://horsesport.com › horse-news
FEI and NHRA Acknowledge 'Irreparable differences' Over ...

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When you want to know about FEI diciplines ,who are still there:D

https://inside.fei.org/

[June Bug]

Little update on my guy:
Last time I posted, he'd been not quite right for a while and considering all his issues I was seriously considering putting him down.
Well, we decided that since he was due for a trim anyway, we'd try a different setup, give him a week, and see how he did when we backed off the pain meds after that. Turns out, he REALLY likes pour-in pads (much to my wallet's dismay, lol)
He's been trucking around like a champ and we even trailered out to go swimming a couple weekends ago where he he a blast splashing around and trying to push the kid we brought along into the water (he eventually succeeded and I swear he'd have been laughing if he could).
He's been doing so well that he's now busy enough with students (I loan him to the school and he's a favorite) I haven't been able to ride since I would rather allow him a day off now and then than have him working 6/7 days a week, haha.

And so, because Granix has been a busy boy, my barn owner finally convinced me to ride her Oldenburg mare, who I've really bonded with over the years. I've been hesitant to ride her because she looks like a big mover and being built the way I am, having chronic back pain, and an uncooperative pelvis, I've been worried she'd be uncomfortable for me. All you riders who don't have those 'ideal rider' proportions will get me, lol. My barn owner is built very much like me and assured me she's got a lot of flash in the legs, but the motion is very smooth across her back and it won't bother me. So, I relented.

Now, this leads me to a somewhat interesting question.
Has anyone ridden a horse who could be called 'Autistic'?

I think part of why this mare (Radiant) and I get along is because I have a LOT of experience with autistic kids. I recognized the same thinking patterns in her and figured out really quick that if I communicate with her according to her patterns, she was more willing to listen because I wasn't making her anxious. I have severe anxiety so managing anxiety in horses has kind of become a specialty of mine. On top of her being 'quirky', she was also abused pretty horribly. So, a horse that was initially just a bit different is now dangerous if not handled properly.

We didn't really do anything because she hasn't been ridden in 2/3 years and I've only ridden a handful of times in the past year, but she was very interesting. We did a couple laps at the walk, but she was kind of tense. She trotted off a bit and just seemed uncomfortable so I let her wander around on the buckle for 10 minutes or so until she was relaxed. Then we just did a few directed walks in short spurts so I could let her get used to my leg and seat and to show her I wasn't going to force her to do anything or be too loud with my aids. I was on her for only maybe half an hour, but we were both pretty tired afterward, haha.

I figured it was probably a pretty mild first ride, but my barn owner (who was hanging around in case I encountered a new quirk under saddle so she could advise) was super impressed. Apparently everyone aside from her can't even groom and tack up without help. Grooming wasn't too big a worry, but usually even staff need help when the saddle comes out. The fact that she allowed me to prep her, take her out, and then get on, was huge because her trust has been so shattered.

I was a bit sad though when I passed Gran's paddock with her and he made the most offended noise, haha. I made sure to give him some attention too so he wouldn't think I'm abandoning him for another.



A bit of backstory on Radiant because I find her very interesting and you might too, lol:
She is 16, If I'm remembering her birthdate correctly. My barn owner bred her (and also still owns her aunt as well) with the intent of selling her as an eventing prospect. She was a dummy foal and required a lot of care for a while as a foal.
She's been 'quirky' since birth and it's unclear if she's just like that or if being a dummy foal caused it. As a youngster, she was easier as long as you respected that she thinks different. Unfortunately, after starting her and getting a good foundation on her, my barn owner sent her out to someone to just get some miles on her. Despite being given very strict instructions on how to handle her, she discovered after a couple of months that the "trainer" she sent her to ignored all of her instructions and was essentially traumatizing her to the point where he had a note on her stall that she was to be drugged for literally everything. She brought her home immediately, but the damage was done (and her owner still feels terrible for sending her to him)
She's now never to be sold because she would absolutely kill someone if they accidentally triggered a trauma response. Only people she likes can handle her and even then, we have to very aware of what we're doing around her because even something small like passing her with a pitchfork could spike her anxiety, causing her to lash out.
She can't really be disciplined the same way another horse can be. She's much like a dog that has developed a fear-biting response to stress. Undesired behavior has to be redirected gently/calmly rather than 'corrected', because correction will only escalate her from 'undesired' to 'violent'. She doesn't mean to be that way, she just can't regulate her responses to stress.
Despite the extreme trauma responses, she's exceptionally smart. When learning something new, we bring her in the ring to watch another horse do it before we ask her and she picks it up right away (if we don't let her watch first, she gets confused and frustrated). We had her in drill team for a few rides a couple years back and she'd sit out our first run through a new move, then join us and she'd pretty much do it on her own. Her rider was just there to be along for the ride, haha
As routine-oriented as horses tend to be, she cranks that up to 100. Within 3 days of starting a new routine, she is on it and her anxiety is MUCH better, which is why she lives at our boarding/lesson barn (where everything happens on a schedule) rather than out on pasture (where feed times are just kind of whenever) like a few others her owner has.
She's also the same horse every time you get on her regardless of how long she's been out of work. She only changes if she has a new rider on her, but as long as they don't make her nervous, she's fine. Once she trusts you, you can do anything with her.
She's a super nice horse and really athletic, but you need a really solid relationship with her


That was super long, I'm so sorry, lmao
It's been a while since I talked ponies, haha

[atychiphobia]

Has anyone ridden a horse who could be called 'Autistic'?

kinda
i know two horses who's behaviours overlap with asd behaviours seen in humans
now before i divulge, my only knowledge of asd is formed from working in equine assisted learning and therapy for people with asd and other special needs
the first is a 25 year old ottb who's history is unknown, but seems to have been a broodmare who was handled roughly. she gets anxious and 'cantankerous'. if shes tied too close to the fence, she pulls back, if her bucket is sitting 5cm in the wrong direction, she pulls back, if you stand in the wrong spot on her less preferred side, she pulls back, if the wind blows in the wrong direction, she pulls back, if im sick and the routine is slightly different due to a worker filling in for me, she pulls back. some days more, some days less. when she is walking next to her paddock mate, she will sometimes nicker very intensely and b-line for him, only calming down when she can sniff his nose. she is very similar to an anxious asd kid, although i think its very unlikely that horses can actually have asd, but im no scientist
she's also pretty standard to ride, only a little anxious, however she is calm enough and safe enough for our special needs participants to ride her
shes not in pain, she is just rather 'special needs' herself. as much as shes complicated sometimes, its nice having a horse that our participants can relate to

the second horse is my own. shes a 14ish year old wb x tb, has been highly strung and hot headed ever since i got her in 2017. no pain ever found. she's definitely highly sensitive, like a person with highly sensitive personality and/or adhd (literally me), even though i also doubt horses ability to have adhd. between 2017 and 2021 i lived with my family which was a very negative high stress environment which really negatively impacted my mental health, patience, rationalisation and reactivity. when my horse would react, i would react more. i didnt mistreat her, but i taught her that when she was worried, anxious, frustrated or scared, i was not a source of comfort and calm. we literally bounced off of each others stress and reactivity. we had some amazing rides, amazing wins, and some tear stricken, frustration filled rides. all the while, on her good days i could let tiny kids ride her independently, and i myself could ride her at liberty (again, on the good days)
when i moved out of home and cut contact with my family, i was able to re-look my relationship with my horse, and concluded that i was treating my horse like my mum had treated me, and that was a stark relisation. i realised i had to listen when my horse was upset, rather than trying to overpower her with my own upset (i would wait calmly for like 20 mins for her to calm down before myself breaking down). i used clicker training, transitioned to bitless and even bareback. however, the seed was long planted, and she disliked me more and more until she would run away from me in the paddock even though i had spent months simply grooming and feeding her. again, i didnt mistreat her, but shes just so utterly sensitive to being ignored or made to do anything against her will, that she wouldnt give me any opportunity to catch her
we're better now. she approaches me in the paddock (it makes me so happy!), lets me catch her, asks for pets and does her tricks for me. i cant really ride her still, when i hop on she jogs about and tosses her head about with her ears pinned. im a good enough rider to 'ride though it', but i dont want to ignore what shes saying. i tried to get my vet to assess her for any pain that i perhaps cant detect, but he shrugged me off. but she does remind me of an adhd person at the very least, but shes kinda like an asd person too in the way that her triggers stack and how it affects her

my new agistment has a round yard, so im hoping to use that to build up our trust better, and hoping i can start to ride her again. she gets such bad separation anxiety that if i ride her away from her friends, she jogs the entire ride (like 45 mins) neighing at the top of her lungs, and then doesnt let me catch her next time. its like she cant self sooth if shes not near her horsey friends
pic of my highly sensitive girl

Screen Shot 2023-08-15 at 8.29.35 pm.png (106.1 KiB) Viewed 205 times

[Luzien]

A small question to all...

Did anyone ever go to lessons on a horse riding simulator....?

(For rider fitness, improve basic skills and position, and gain confidence within a safe environment, any inaccuracies are eliminated as only respond to clear aids....)
I did see it in a video from matt h. and jesse drent.... and found a place where one can go for lessons... but im still a bit unsure..
....but i want to try to get back into riding...maybe.., and this could possible be first step there....


@June Bug
Great to hear that of your boy, that you found something to make his life better and he can life on and even is ridden and has fun with this from sound of it
And the Oldenburg mare...Sounds not really autistic.. more like a strong mare with ptsd from the bad abuse bevor...who needs a clear routine and right handling but could be wrong ...

Good that her moments are alright with your back and that she likes you

When she is not a full time all year out pasture horse, did you ever think about paddock paradise horse boarding for her? Small group of horses, sleeping area , a place to sunbath and roll around, feeding, hay feeding places, water, salt, pasture places you can open pr close up when needed, and trails around leading to them? She would have her routines but is more acrive and has to work brain and body and move around more...
I did read that can work often well with stressed horses too.

[Maven.]

Hello! I've loved horses since I was a kid and now I'm getting my first lesson and I'm super excited, I just wanted to know how did your first lessons go? Any tips for anxiety or nervousness?

[Luzien]

@ CowboyCanine

It is really some years back for me for first riding... but ....

- do you have the right footwear and do you need helmet(if you get helmet from them then maybe use antiseptics & disinfectants hand and item spray on it ,when they dont do it after euch rider....) ....or you can get this items in tack store for not all to much money or amazon, with good safe quality...ridingpants too, ...
When you want to to fully safe you can use a back protector vest ..there are also some you get for not to much money or get from the barn for the lesson...(you dont need the high prized fancy items, just some good quality safe ones for beginner riding and there are already some nice ones...)

- maybe make a list with questions you have, ....like maybe....about the tack, grooming item, the horse you possible will ride ...there character...how many rides it already had at this day(good when it is only ridden 1-2 times a day and max 5day a week..., and rest it goes on pasture or paddock with friends ...i really dislike stables who dont give there horse enough rest and free time)
...maybe ask if you can watch a lesson bevor your first riding day

....ask if you can bring treats for your horse ...like normal treats, or carrot and apple or even dry banana

.... see if you can tack and groom the horse with there help ,as some places just give you a ready horse what i myself find strange(it is a bit of bonding time that you have with the horse when you clean it and learn to tack it up the right way, and talk with it ...and you see if maybe back or leg hurt with this too)...

...try to mount from some mountingblock or stairs, or rock or what ever they have there ...way more healthy for horse back and you too, go on careful and soft, not like a bag of rocks
...hold rains in a soft grip and go with movements (.think there is a good animation and videos in google ...)

...mostlikely the will lead you first, explain to you what to do and how to move, then maybe lungline for first time:s riding..
....dont just kick or slap the horse(spurs and
whip/ crop should be a no for first lessons )

...when you think there is something wrong with the horse, instructor or lesson...it always best to ask questions, or go away when you dont learn or feel unsafe or teacher is mean,.. and look for other instructor or lesson barn


...come early enough first all this, so you stay calm and have enough time on hand^^

....really important i think is nice warm up for yourself too, not only the horse...good stretching will help you and the horse
(Did fast search...maybe look for more on other places :
Horse Nation
https://www.horsenation.com › fro...
From the FEI: 4 Stretches Every Equestrian Should Be Doing — 1. Hip Flexor Lunge Stretch. Combating tightness in the hip flexors can help you to achieve a relaxed and independent seat (and so on.....


...but...have fun, be careful and nice with your lesson horse, learn and ask as much as you can... it will be a fun time
Maybe you can tell how it did go^^

[Foreverfriends4ever]

I love riding horses it's just kind of hard to ride horses when you live in the city but I used to ride horses a lot when I lived in the country

[green.]

just started riding again after a break, kinda sad though because this is the only lesson barn near me and none of the horses jump higher than 2'3... im used to jumping 3'3 on the hunter/eq circuit lol, besides that though its fun.