Are horses getting sharper or are riding standards dropping?

Of course, none of these useless horse owners who over-rug, overfeed, and don't ride their horses enough ever post on HHO, as everyone here is obviously a paragon of good horse ownership. Where are all these other people? They're obviously not us! :)
 
Caol Ila said:
Of course, none of these useless horse owners who over-rug, overfeed, and don't ride their horses enough ever post on HHO, as everyone here is obviously a paragon of good horse ownership. Where are all these other people? They're obviously not us! :)
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Facebook!
I KNOW I'm not the best owner in the world...but people on facebook make me cringe D: It does make me wonder, WHO are they?!
 
Caol Ila said:
Of course, none of these useless horse owners who over-rug, overfeed, and don't ride their horses enough ever post on HHO, as everyone here is obviously a paragon of good horse ownership. Where are all these other people? They're obviously not us! :)
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Well since they are fundamentally not going to be in agreement, they're hardly likely to be joining this discussion, are they?

Riding standards in this part of the world are not very high amongst average riders; or course there are bad riders in every riding population but I have had the privilege of living and working (with horses) in more than one country (several, actually), and can honestly say that methods of teaching and training are highly variable, to say the least.......
 
At the risk of repeating what someone else has said, and I think Webble and others have already, people seem to hack a lot less these days. For many people on my yard, a "hack" is half an hour round the farm's fields. They certainly rarely hack alone. Or in inclement weather.

It's a vicious cycle as if you don't hack, the horse 'won't' and if it 'won't you don't. Horses need to be educated to hack and it is, I think, one of the most important facets in their well-being and sanity. It'd be lazy to blame increasing bad road conditions entirely; the roads I hacked on as a teenager were just as bad as today. I accept this is partly to blame for reluctance to hack though. That, and the fact that there are readily available arenas to ride in so people choose 45 mins or less in the school instead.
 
I'm just amused by these threads where everyone goes on ad nauseum about how much everyone else sucks now and how great things were in the good ol' days.

I have noticed that things (how much people know or what they do when there's a problem) are quite different here than in the US. Other people who have lived in both countries also notice differences, but they might be quite the opposite of what I've seen. All that tells me is that it depends on who you know, what you do, and where you are.
 
Okay, I will go against the grain here - my mum competed to quite a high level in the 70's, and she said apart from a few exceptions, riding standards have improved. She says you get less kicky smacky sorts, and much kinder tack. That most people take a more educated approach to riding.

I also think sharp is a very subjective word. In my opinion sharp is a good thing - it is sensitive and responds immediately to aids. Others use sharp to describe forward, or spooky etc etc etc.
 
TrasaM said:
Riding in the rain is fun as long as you can keep your knickers and crotch dry :o if not..ouch ::( and I love going out in the snow too.
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Oh, god, yes, I remember coming back so soaked through that my knicker elastic had rubbed the skin off my - er - posterior - had to wear the big pants for a week after. And riding and leading in my elderly waxed jacket that had holes in the elbows that the rain would enter thru having run down my arms. Must admit that now I'm not riding I don't miss those days!
 
I must say I don't sit pretty on a horse but I can sit anything so always get asked to ride anything differcult.

I know far to many horses who are obese, feed up to the eyes and worked for 1/2 a day which is a walk round the block and that's classed as heavy work.

I think modern day riders lack bottle from what iv seen
 
Caol Ila said:
I'm just amused by these threads where everyone goes on ad nauseum about how much everyone else sucks now and how great things were in the good ol' days.

I have noticed that things (how much people know or what they do when there's a problem) are quite different here than in the US. Other people who have lived in both countries also notice differences, but they might be quite the opposite of what I've seen. All that tells me is that it depends on who you know, what you do, and where you are.
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Pretty much. :)

I commented on here the other day because I was taken aback how few people I'd asked knew how to take a horse's pulse or why one might do such a thing. But looking back, I would be surprised if many of the people I rode with as a kid even thought much about a horse HAVING a pulse, let alone why and how you might find out! The past, as they say, is another country. I'm sure all of us now "take for granted" many things that would never even have occurred to us a few decades ago!
 
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I think overall standards have gone up. As already mentioned, everyone is much more "visible" these days, and we have the WWW. I remember the "good" old days of riding, but don't miss the back-breaking grind. Mis-management and cruelty are just now more easily seen. The horse-owning population has changed, we have to adapt. I don't think horses are any different really, I recall some real homicidal cases.
 
I must be totally crazy! I ride whatever the weather, torrential rain and a howling gale, today, fog so dense you couldn't see the end of the school when you were at the other end. The only concession was that canter was only done in circles. Everyone on my yard though I was bonkers as they huddled in the barn watching. Like a lot of people here I have limited time available to ride, so, if it is not dangerous to ride, I will ride. It also gets the horse used to being ridden in 'scary' situations and builds their trust in you to keep them safe. We get the occasional spook, I can forgive her when things like blankets fly across the school during the gale we had a couple of weeks ago. Even then she comes back to you very quickly, with a gentle word and a little tickle on the withers and then let her have a good look at whatever it is that has spooked her.
 
My horse goes on strike when I attempt to ride her in a howling gale with horizontal rain. She says she is a Colorado girl and these are unacceptable working conditions. I'm actually a big softie, so I let her off. Guess that makes me one of the aforementioned useless owners. ;)
 
Its taken awhile to read through all the replies but a very interesting thread. I am getting old now but I remember not all horses lived out 24/7. Hunters tended to live in except in the summer and comp horses lived in except for their holidays and short time out grazing so really don't agree with turnout being the answer. Feed does play a huge part if it isn't working don't feed it is my motto.

I agree with the posts where time is just not given to the horse, rush in rug horse turnout do stable off to work back in the pm bring horse in, it might get 30 mins in the school or if weather nice a short hack out then fed huge amounts back in stable, its clipped so don't need to sort out any sweat, off home to feed the family…….

Horses take huge amounts of time and cannot just be limited to an hour at each end of the day which sadly many are. I never thought of them as just a fashion object until yesterday, one of my horses is for sale :(. Received a text from someone, no name, asking is he still for sale. Now they want to come and see him this week as their on holiday. I texted back that I have no rider until next week when I can then do most days and time. Their answer: That's ok, just show me around and where the tack is !!! Err, no I don't think so. They haven't asked one question or even spoken to me about him.
It's ok though because her friend has a yard and breaks youngsters so they know what they are doing. Not with my horse !

People need to realise that horses need time and thought and cannot be treated as a hamster in a cage and thrown food, water and that's about all.
 
Tarrsteps, I am one of those ancient ones that back in the day didn't know how or why to take a horse's pulse. Now I'm slightly wiser, and quite pleased my own pulse is still going (racing?).
I have found this thread most interesting because it has occurred to me many times how horses do seem to be spookier now, rather than when I was young. Thanks to a brilliant instructor, I now ride far better than I did back in those bad old days. Not a problem with that spooky behaviour, but it does seem to happen a lot more. Maybe, like children (mine included) they are just a bit more spoilt and fussy.
 
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