As riders are we quick to pass the blame ?

[tessybear]

Just curious on your views as riders on this subject, personally i would say yes we are rather quick to pass the blame. For example today when going to buy some bread from the shops, a group of riders hacked past and once they had just got past the local shop a young girl ran out of the shop, causing the door to slam, one horse spooked and charged forwards with rider screaming and shouting before telling the child never to run near horses ever. well i say "tell" if i was the parent of the child that woman would have got an ear full!

Are we quick now days to pass the blame on for our horses mishaps? Such as a horse spooking at a driver going to quickly, yes the driver should have slow down but at the end of the day it's your responsibility as a rider to ensure your horse can deal with that !

Same with dogs, i must admit i panic when i see dogs off lead or on lead walking towards us but i would never shout at a person for their dog not being used to horses and perhaps barking etc. As a rider in my opinion we should work with and ensure our horses can deal with these types of problems.

Of course there are time when accidents happen and horses are not machines but i do feel people are very quick to pass the blame on to others around them.

The world doesn't revolve round horse riders we have to adapt to it, what are your opinions on this.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Driver yes. Its the basic highway code to slow down for other road users like bikes horses and horse and cart. I remember it from when i was doing my driving test. The theory test actually had a horse in it at one point my brother told me (I did my test before theory was out) so really drivers have NO excuse.

Other things well $h!t happens IMO.

 

[AmyMay]

Yep, there's clear evidence on here of people generally to nervous to ride, and on the verge of a nervous breakdown at the mere thought of any minor 'incident' that might occur out hacking.

 

[Littlelegs]

Couldn't agree more. It really annoys me that a minority of riders seem to think the world should walk on eggshells on their behalf. There's nothing wrong with politely asking someone for a bit of help because your horse is green, wound up etc, but not to demand it or expect people to cease reasonable behavior on a permanent basis, rather than sort the gaps in your training. Same riders also expect other riders to pander to them as well.

 

[tessybear]

Driver yes. Its the basic highway code to slow down for other road users like bikes horses and horse and cart. I remember it from when i was doing my driving test. The theory test actually had a horse in it at one point my brother told me (I did my test before theory was out) so really drivers have NO excuse.

Other things well $h!t happens IMO.

I know it's a shame everyone doesn't stick to it really, im taking my theory soon and its in there

Yep, there's clear evidence on here of people generally to nervous to ride, and on the verge of a nervous breakdown at the mere thought of any minor 'incident' that might occur out hacking.

Couldn't agree more. It really annoys me that a minority of riders seem to think the world should walk on eggshells on their behalf. There's nothing wrong with politely asking someone for a bit of help because your horse is green, wound up etc, but not to demand it or expect people to cease reasonable behavior on a permanent basis, rather than sort the gaps in your training. Same riders also expect other riders to pander to them as well.

Oh yes i agree if it's done in a polite manner then a lot of people would actually help but it seems to be more and more people demanding things. Tess isn't a fan of horses up her bum, we pull over and let riders past wouldn't dream of making them wait behind her, although saying that we are working on bombproofing her in this

 

[ImmyS]

I think many horse riders do pass the blame a lot and expect non horsey people to understand the different things horses can act adversely to and as horse riders we know this can be pretty much anything! therefore it is our job to make our horses as safe as possible.

When hacking out we always pull in somewhere for any vehicle to pass, always thank drivers... If something or someone spooks my horse they often apologise for making her jump but I just apologise, say no worries and leave it at that.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Yeah I have to say Amymay I agree with you. You need to be confident to ride horses and having a melt down in the middle of the road isnt the best thing to be doing because your horse takes a few steps faster or shys Doesnt make the rest of us, to which a spook or a shoot forwards doesnt bother, look good either.

Is it still TB?? In the Hazard thingy? wow thats been in there for a while then, good

 

[PeterNatt]

I would suggest that although horse owners will spend large sums of money and time on schooling their horses within the environment of an arena or indoor school the same effort is not taken to teaching their horses to safely hack out (including in traffic).

Horses need to be able to calmy hack out as it is very useful when rehabilitating a horse that has suffered an injury.

 

[tessybear]

Yeah I have to say Amymay I agree with you. You need to be confident to ride horses and having a melt down in the middle of the road isnt the best thing to be doing because your horse takes a few steps faster or shys Doesnt make the rest of us, to which a spook or a shoot forwards doesnt bother, look good either.

Is it still TB?? In the Hazard thingy? wow thats been in there for a while then, good

Yes it is Its one i get excited over as i know it

I would suggest that although horse owners will spend large sums of money and time on schooling their horses within the environment of an arena or indoor school the same effort is not taken to teaching their horses to safely hack out (including in traffic).

Horses need to be able to calmy hack out as it is very useful when rehabilitating a horse that has suffered an injury.

Oh yes, to me a horse that can hack our safely with a sane rider is worth it's weight in gold. Hacking issues 9/10 can be sorted, people just need to put the time in

 

[weebarney]

Poor kid, the woman has probably just reinforced the horse wanting to run off if she screams and shouts everytime it spooks. I think the people who overreact or blame others for horse spooking are probably over horsed and bloody scared of it.

 

[RunToEarth]

Horsey people are just nutters, sometimes I have it pointed out to me by the outside world, and I think yes, nutters.

People who take their horses out hacking on the road, exercising their right, riding in the middle of the road "because we can you know" and then getting angry when someone tries to pass too quickly/too slowly/ too close/ curb crawls up your bum for three miles. It doesn't occur to them to perhaps get in to the side, because they have a right to ride in the middle, and then blame the car driver for whatever decision he makes.

Riders who have an uncontrollable fear of cyclists/dogs/other horses/school children/pushchairs/brollies and grab hold of their horses head to make sure everyone knows just how terrifying this is for them, wind the horse up and then complain at whoever for the outcome. Sometimes, I really do wonder why some people have horses. Sorry - can you tell how many encounters I have had with the local numpty yard this week...

 

[tessybear]

Horsey people are just nutters, sometimes I have it pointed out to me by the outside world, and I think yes, nutters.

People who take their horses out hacking on the road, exercising their right, riding in the middle of the road "because we can you know" and then getting angry when someone tries to pass too quickly/too slowly/ too close/ curb crawls up your bum for three miles. It doesn't occur to them to perhaps get in to the side, because they have a right to ride in the middle, and then blame the car driver for whatever decision he makes.

Riders who have an uncontrollable fear of cyclists/dogs/other horses/school children/pushchairs/brollies and grab hold of their horses head to make sure everyone knows just how terrifying this is for them, wind the horse up and then complain at whoever for the outcome. Sometimes, I really do wonder why some people have horses. Sorry - can you tell how many encounters I have had with the local numpty yard this week...

Brilliant Think you summed up exactly what i wanted to say but in a better way

 

[Shantara]

I don't think I've ever passed the blame. I'm usually the first to say "Silly horse, sorry!!"

 

[Norfolk Pie]

Horsey people are just nutters, sometimes I have it pointed out to me by the outside world, and I think yes, nutters.

People who take their horses out hacking on the road, exercising their right, riding in the middle of the road "because we can you know" and then getting angry when someone tries to pass too quickly/too slowly/ too close/ curb crawls up your bum for three miles. It doesn't occur to them to perhaps get in to the side, because they have a right to ride in the middle, and then blame the car driver for whatever decision he makes.

Riders who have an uncontrollable fear of cyclists/dogs/other horses/school children/pushchairs/brollies and grab hold of their horses head to make sure everyone knows just how terrifying this is for them, wind the horse up and then complain at whoever for the outcome. Sometimes, I really do wonder why some people have horses. Sorry - can you tell how many encounters I have had with the local numpty yard this week...

Totally!

I once got asked to sign a petition against a local gravel pit opening up, as the lorries would have to come through the village (main road, 20mph, speed bumps)
There were lots of local riders up in arms at the idea, it would make hacking unsafe. They honestly couldn't get why I refused to sign. I patiently explained that horses needed to be traffic proof, and as a rider it was my (their ) job to make sure horses could cope with what they might meet, not to try and prevent a perfectly legal vehicle coming along a road that I might be riding on, but they really didnt seem to get it

 

[mynutmeg]

I think some riders are but at the same time I think it's the riders fault a lot of the time - over-reacting when the horse spooks just re-inforces that the thing is scary. Horses are spooky creatures and will jump at unexpected things but if you as the rider, remain calm and collect your horse back quietly then they will learn.

 

[Orls]

I completely agree with this! However, I am one of those people who says no, my horse has to suck it up! For example, many people at my yard walk on eggshells around my three year old, for example refusing to ride in the school when I'm riding her in there, asking if it's okay to turn on the hose pipe when she's tied up across the other side of the yard, leaving the barn door open because they're afraid the sound of it closing with spook her etc. This is a horse I have worked hard on to make sure she's unflappable - I've held an open umbrella over her head while mounted, she's had plastic bags rubbed and flapped all over her, she's watched the tractor remove the muck heap etc and TBH she's steadier than my 7 year old.

I think a lot of horse people are too cautious, they deliberately avoid situations because they are afraid of how their horse will react which does not instil confidence in their horses at all! I try to be the opposite, any scary happening and I'm there with my little baby. I want her to experience everything now before she gets too big and strong to argue with

 

[Elsiecat]

Hmmm. If something is someone elses fault, then it IS someone elses fault. Eg, the horse spooking WAS the childs fault - but she wasn't to know that the horse would react that way. She is probably none horsey. Which means as horsey people we have to be ready for such events. So it's not really about blame as there was no bad intentions by anyone, it was just a simple case of bad timing that will hopefully be another experience under the horses and riders belt.

When my horse is being an idiot, I apologise for inconveniencing people.

When somethings happened that's my fault, I apologise for inconveniencing people and I apologise to the horse.

When something really was someone elses fault eg. Car getting up my bum on a single track road instead of allowing me to pull into a gateway and my horse getting edgy, then no if she say, kicked car - I wouldn't apologise.

I think it is easy to pass the blame but some things really ARE just accidents all round!