Boasting about bad behaviour

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Dobby

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Grr...is it just me or are people who boast about how naughty their horses are REALLY irritating?

Girl I know is loaning a 5 year old and from what she's been saying, he bucks and rears. She says she thinks it's funny and goes on and on about how he does it and she thinks its hilarious. She's never brought on a youngster before and she's not mentioned anything about sorting this issue out.

Just - wouldn't people rather have a well behaved horse!? Surely it's something to be prouder of to have a horse you've schooled really well and has no big problems like this?

Just a vent. Grr! :o
 
Agree completely. Some people seem to think that because they can sit on a horse bucking/rearing they're obviously an incredible rider. To me the person who can work through that issue (whether it be a ridden issue or back/teeth etc problem) is the far more talented rider and horseperson. I think it's really odd that people who have a well-behaved horse are assumed to have bought it that way and people riding a 'difficult' one are wonderful for coping with it's behaviour - when it fact it's usually something they are doing (or not doing when it's a pain issue :() that is causing the problem. Highly frustrating!
 
I hate it too.

My horses and ponies are always described as "boring" because they do their best and are well behaved. I have children and a young neice who I wouldn't dream of letting on a bucker or rearer...
 
Personally I love the fact that my lad is so good. I boast about him being so good!
I am proud of what I am achieving with him as when he came to me he was basically a very good lad but through insecurity did on occasion threaten to rear and have the odd good buck when he got confused. Now he trusts me he hasn't done either in a long time to me that is much better than saying oh he does this and that and I just laugh. I worked through it because I didn't like it!! It wasn't funny

I can understand someone who says they just laugh if they are also dealing with the issue as.....

Not sure if this will make sense but

Micah's only real issue now is he gets over excited and can bounce and throw his head all over the place including somehow looking over my shoulder :eek:
At first I found this really scary but now while I do correct him it does make me laugh, not because it is funny because he is being naughty but because he is daft and doesn't mean anything by it,
I don't encourage the behaviour and hope that by correcting him when he does do it that he will eventually stop this too. It is only funny as he just gets so excited he can't control himself and it is a phase he is going through, if it was an ingrained habit it would NOT be funny AT ALL as I would see it as a behavioural problem not a baby issue to work through

Personally I think the 'line' so to speak is whether it is an ingrained habit and it is thought of as funny cos they can sit to it and not be scared rather than just a baby thing that can be laughed at and worked through
 
oh don't even start me on this one........
my mare is referred to as dull as she doesnt buck/rear/bolt/attack passers by & does stay tied up where she is left/ can be shod & clipped without twitching & sedation:rolleyes:
no, she didnt come totally like this - but over the years we have worked on issues & inforced boundaries to ensure her "dullness":rolleyes:
if she was ever to really buck or rear [ as opposed to a little "are we running here" buck] - i would know that there was something VERY wrong - i do wonder how people whose horses routinely behave badly can asses for problems?
 
On the other side of the coin, our horse does indulge in the odd bit of bad behaviour such as napping, rearing, bucking and things like that and my daughter is constantly trying to improve her riding and make sure the horse is happy and things have got better. All the horse people who have advised her all told her that if she wants to get anywhere with this horse she has to ride through the tantrums and have a tough attitude, and this has been hard for her to develop. To me her bravado about it is a coping mechanism but I guess you can't please everyone all the time.
 
I also get fed up of people boasting about badly behaved horses, and then encouraging that behaviour, then deciding that they don't want the horse any longer, then some other poor sap ends up sorting it out, or the horse doesn't sell and does the rounds of the markets a sad out come for all involved.
 
I hate this, trying to make yourself sound like a better rider as you managed to sit a million bucks followed by loads of rears! I am proud that Pickle is fab and I could let anyone ride him :)
 
It annoys me as well. My horse has a buck in him when he is feeling too well or excited but i dont find it amusing/funny or something to be proud of. He has excellent manners and in all other respects is a dobbin. The vast majority of people comment on how well behaved he is and he is a favourite with livery yard staff because he doesnt have a bad bone in his body and never causes any problems.
 
Glad people agree!
Way I see it, if you've had a horse a while then their behaviour is a tribute to your ability; how calm and well mannered they are etc. Just because you can stick on a bucking horse doesn't make you talented, it means you lack the ability to school it properly!
 
skint1 said:
On the other side of the coin, our horse does indulge in the odd bit of bad behaviour such as napping, rearing, bucking and things like that and my daughter is constantly trying to improve her riding and make sure the horse is happy and things have got better. All the horse people who have advised her all told her that if she wants to get anywhere with this horse she has to ride through the tantrums and have a tough attitude, and this has been hard for her to develop. To me her bravado about it is a coping mechanism but I guess you can't please everyone all the time.
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100% agree with this. My old boy was extremely talented and was bought for quite cheap due to his behaviour :( he was a 17.2 bucked took off stamped front feet would squeal. While handling him wod rear and box down on you a livery yard refused to have him on there as he was such a danger:(. He was bought this way and took 3 years to change into an amazing loving boy that wouldn't harm a fly :). When finished in the school I would laugh off our bucking and tantrum fit while having a coffee and a fag. I was not boasting it was my way of dealing with a t@t of a beast. :D
I couldn't have been more proud to have took him back to the livery yard that refused him 3.5 years later. He would follow you like a dog, was always in top 3 in dressage and sj he was a little star. Yes he could still throw occasianol tantrum but that was his temperament.
Funny enough I was looking into his breeding after he was pts and his grandsire who was Nijinsky was ap exactly the same as a youngster
 
skint1 said:
On the other side of the coin, our horse does indulge in the odd bit of bad behaviour such as napping, rearing, bucking and things like that and my daughter is constantly trying to improve her riding and make sure the horse is happy and things have got better. All the horse people who have advised her all told her that if she wants to get anywhere with this horse she has to ride through the tantrums and have a tough attitude, and this has been hard for her to develop. To me her bravado about it is a coping mechanism but I guess you can't please everyone all the time.
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I agree, I think in some cases people make light of the situation in order to have a positive attitude while they are trying to overcome the issues.
Of course everyone would prefer a well behaved horse, it isn't a great deal of fun hoping on something unpredictable.
But you do find a lot of people completely over exaggerate, whether that be how bad they are, how big they jump ect. Thats the horse world I guess
 
personally I cant wait to tell people how good my horses behave, but some feel that having a badly behaved horse (or making it behave badly) makes them a better rider! I took the children out on sunday for a bike ride and some girls approached us on 5 ponies most of whom just walked on by but one girl was shouting watch out he will kick, whilst jabbing her pony in the mouth and yet still pony club kicking him in the side whilst wearing spurs I had to walk away as I was very cross but didnt want to get into it in front of my children.
 
Don't get me started OP, is a bugbear of mine. Have started a thread like this before, or posted on one. It gets right up my nose!

I can't abide also seeing people on a mug's ride...dancing sideways, usually at the front of the hunting field, usually mounted by a woman/young girl in full makeup. It makes me seethe - I would have SO much more respect for you if you were making it walk out properly, rather than being sat there all "look at me on my difficult horse".

It happens on here too, just look at the number of replies to threads going on about their horses spinning, bucking, rearing...the list is endless, and every time I would fair bet the horse in question is easy as they come. I cannot abide a decent horse being "done down" in this way. Mine has impeccable manners, ground and ridden, and I am so proud of that it's a miracle I don't burst. How people can brag about bad behaviour is always beyond me, but unfortunately they do, and they do it a lot :(
 
Dobby said:
Glad people agree!
Way I see it, if you've had a horse a while then their behaviour is a tribute to your ability; how calm and well mannered they are etc. Just because you can stick on a bucking horse doesn't make you talented, it means you lack the ability to school it properly!
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Amen, well flippin said!
 
There is a lady on my yard who has said ' you are so lucky to have a well behaved pony'. No. it is because I don't tolerate bad behaviour. He does try to drag his rugs off the door when I change his rugs, he does try to avoid having his feet picked out before leaving his stable, but I do insist.

I spend time with my boy. I have explained that it is training and consistancy, to no avail.

She just shouts at her ponies so they don't even know when they are being good! I have never seen her ride and never want to!

Jane
 
there was a girl on my last yard, who i used to bump into as i was getting to yard and as she was leaving, who used to do the whole;

SIGHHH"Hi how are you, you riding tonight, ive just ridden, god she put in some impressive rears, mind you got her over the 4ft jump that was up! haha, she kept napping to, drives me mad sometimes but i couldnt sell her, no one else could ride her and she wont hack! she only lets me ride her as she loves me! mind you with the help of the gag though. Im clipping soon, gonna get it all off, hopefully it will cool her, maybe the overheating is annoying her"

This conversation would normally go on for 10 mins or so, consisted of lots of "oh, mmhumm, really, wow, naughty!" comments from me....

Reckoned her mare was a 14.1 WELSH D.

Till i saw her ride one day..... pony was a NF and 13.1 at a push, very underweight and had been fully clipped and was in a 3 ring gag while she wore spurs and carried a whip and put the poor thing over crazily high jumps....
 
I have a horse that when he came 3 months ago was prone to 'a moment' lots of cantering on the spot, bucking, boulshyness (sp?) when on the ground.
I had his back and teeth checked straight away and we have been working hard together and I must admit I do boast all the time about how well he's doing- and the 'moments' are happening less and less and his manners when I'm on the ground are now almost perfect (almost :)).
So proud of him! :D
 
Ha! I'm with you on the rant; recently I told someone I go to school with about my horse's bucking/rearing, telling her how I was thrown off in the middle of the road before my lad bolted. I said about doing some schooling etc with him and that someone was looking at his back. She just laughed at me and said 'Ooh I love it when they buck and mess about, it's really funny - i love falling off!' I'm glad she finds it funny, I found that it kinda hurt, at least I know I'm going the right way about trying to sort the problem out!
 
Fany is considered boring I think. She does not rear, buck or nap. In fact she has no undesirable habits.
Captain does, when we bought him he'd rear in hand and under saddle, was bolshy, unleadable, nappy would not leave the yard and would happily spin and take off with his rider back to yard, a nightmare to tack up and generally a pain in the ar*e.

Now , thanks to Elizabeth's extremely hard and patient work over the past three years he is a new horse, he rarely rears, although he still does very occasionally, will hack out in company and is a perfect gentleman on the ground.

I will at times tell people about his bad behaviour but as to boasting, why? I do believe in credit where credit is due, Elizabeth has done a fantastic job with him but why anyone would boast about bad behaviour I don't know.Get on and sort it out don't laugh and condone it, what trouble are you storing up for the horse's future?

FDC
 
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My boy can be an arse but it doesnt make me a better rider to tell people as they have all seen him get me off lol!!!

But I see the point people think having horse that s norty mean that f they can ride it hey are the best. I dont immediately think that when people tll me that so i think that people who do immediately jump to that conclusion need to take a look at themelves to find out why they feel like that :)
 
Dobbs, she must be young, and senseless!!! My sister, as a teenager, taught her cob to rear, thought it was funny. thank god, she got sense. This girl sounds silly, and doesnt really know how to bring on horses. God help the horse!!! And any "new" riders!!!
 
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