by caf. » Fri Jan 04, 2019 6:12 pm
ack, i keep getting distracted each time i open this topic up! nevertheless, here i am lol, though i truthfully don't think i have too much to say.
we actually live in a semi-busy area (the horse is at a boarding stable about 20 minutes away from my house), but fortunately my neighborhood is still growing so we have some time. i definitely do need to work on their recalls, though, you make a good point. especially since the big dog is a rescue who presumably ended up in the rescue by running away from home, aha. it looks like i'm not gonna be able to convince my dad to use a leash with him, so i guess it'll have to do as the next best thing.
horse care is rough, i totally get it. since my horse is kept at a boarding stable, i'm not responsible for his care save for at shows and summer camp, but since i work at the barn part-time i certainly have gotten a feel for the labor-intensive work. that's exciting, though, best of luck to you! it took me some time to get started showing, but i haven't turned back since (though, to be honest, i'm probably done jumping after this year - by the time i have a degree and all, i'll probably want to turn more to training than to competition).
i take back my earlier statement, actually, thinking about my feeding job. so here's a story turned rant: there are two large, bay ex-racehorse geldings at my barn who are really almost identical in personality, except i love one of them and absolutely despise the other (funnily enough, my horse loves the same one i do and hates the other one, but that's another story). the horses - let's call them Z and T - are both...dumber than a box of rocks, for lack of a better term, and at the time of their purchase had all the ground manners of a freight train. both horses have repeatedly run me over, gotten away from me and bolted all over the property, bitten me, and so forth. the difference is, Z's owner recognized what a disastrous monster he was and got all over his case until he improved. he can still be pushy with me and i've had to chase him out of a stall once or twice, but his short comings are much more forgivable when i know his owner is trying to fix them. T's owner, on the other hand, believes that since she is his owner and nobody else works with him regularly, that she can let him get away with more. as a result, he's still an absolute monster; i really hate being overly rough with horses, but i've on several occasions had to turn to a whip or the end of a lead rope to keep from getting seriously hurt handling him. it really doesn't help that she works the same job i do, so she lets him get away with things when she's feeding him that come back to bite all of the other farm workers that have to deal with him. what frustrates me so intensely is that she cannot get it through her head that she isn't the only person who has to deal with T's nonsense; the vet, the farrier, the stablehands, my trainer, and anyone else who has to be near him all end up suffering for his behavior. moreover, as she is a minor, he is really her parents' financial responsibility, and due to his behavior, he's virtually worthless; should they ever end up in serious trouble and be forced to sell him, i really don't know that they'll be able to.
i know i'm preaching to the choir here, but it deeply gets under my skin when people don't realize that it's almost never just them that has to deal with their animals. the best favor i can do for my horse, i think, is to train him well so that he has a good shot at landing in good hands if he can't stay in mine. he may be a bit of a mess under saddle, but by god, does he tie, load, bathe, and lead like a champ. plus, i think it would kill me inside if he ever hurt someone as a direct result of a gap in my own training; the least i can do for the people i pay to take care of him when i'm not around is make sure he's good for them.
ugh, anyways, rant over. this is certainly something i hear in all animal circles, though, particularly from veterinarians, so i'm glad i'm at least in good company.
caf - they/them - bi
equestrian - vocalist - student
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