Recent content by Urban Horse

Just an off the wall suggestion... one place I worked where we had a lot of 'vet shy' horses, we found that dispensing with the white coat and asking the vet to wear one of our green quarantine coats often helped.... it just sort of broke the connection between the coat colour and treatment...

Thank you for the arrogance award.... I'll treasure it, and keep it polished, do I have to wear a tux when I come to collect it?;-) I think it was you that that actually raised the subject of others being able to train quicker than I, though how you know this is a mystery to me. As you know...

I'm always on the wrong wavelength... When I was young I thought I was out of step with the world, now I know the world's out of step with me.:-)

I don't want quickly trained horses.. we had an overdose of quickly trained imported cobs in this area a few years back... you might remember the internet postings on all manner of horsey websites... we even had a couple of them at our yard. I have never denied that other people's methods do...

It matters not what I think of your use of the whip, and it matters not what you think of the use of the whip... What matters is what your horse feels about it. For its use to be successful, the horse must find it an aversive; but people forget as in all things with horses, each time it is used...

So you used it twice.... perhaps it's not as effective as some other methods. It's a strange world horsemanship, were we working with other animals we'd be prosecuted by the authorities for whipping a dog or cat, yet in equestrianism it's an accepted practice. Horses of course have no...

Firstly an apology to the OP, I'm more than a little sorry that your initial request for advice has largely been forgotten, but I think if you follow Brightbay's advice you'll do well. My age?... well, I'll be 61 next year though quite what that has to do with it, I'm not really sure, but never...

Manners will only come from a horse for two reasons, they're either taught to fear the consequences of not offering manners, or manners and respect are given to them and they offer the same in return. What method do you feel most comfortable using? I wouldn't usually offer this, but anytime...

That's why (a) it never takes place in the same spot, and (b) a lot of days we don't stop at all..... It varies, we don't want to start a habit, or train bad behaviour in, do we, Oh and (c) they're never going to be sold, though we do know people that would have them in an instant. The strange...

No, the paddock and their time therein is not a reward, it's their right... a right that all horses should be granted, and a right mine would be given were they the most misbehaved horses on the planet. The reward is for their behaviour on the journey. If you think of the paddock as a reward...

We work in exactly the same way... only in our case we call it 'snacking'. The girls lead sweetly almost to the paddock gate, and as we approach I'll stop and tell them it's OK to snack. They have a few mouthfulls of grass, then it's through the gate and on to the paddock. Thing is they actually...

You might well be right... It was my old History Master (also head of the school riding club) that told us of the military connections, including the tent pegging and reasons for mounting from the nearside. That would have been back in the mid 1960s. He also told us that in WW1, when he was a...

No you're essentially correct I believe.... Pony Club games such as tent pegging have their origins in cavalry training.... and the old standard 'You must always mount from the nearside of the horse' comes from carrying a sabre which is always carried on the left side of the body. Mounting on...

I think you're right, I've long held the belief that horses are much more concerned with 'intent' than they are with the actual 'impacts' or 'events'. I know that many times in the summer months both mares have recieved sharp and unexpected slaps to the bellies from the palm of my hand as I've...

Yes, I've lost count of the number of times I've kicked 'elder mare' on the nose..... not deliberately you understand, just that she stands so close to the fence as I'm clambering over, and with my back to her there's an impact of wellie and pink nose. She never takes offence at it, but on the...