Magnetic Sparrow
Well-Known Member
Perhaps it's my age - I'm a more mature rider - but I sometimes refer to horses as 'it'. It's not a particularly conscious thing, I do it to any horse including my own.
This morning I met a woman I don't know in the process of turning out a horse belonging to one of my fellow liveries, and giving it an absolute riot - shouting, yanking on the lead rope, dragging it round etc. I assumed it must have done something evil to deserve that kind of reaction and since the horse is known to bite I said something like 'Did it bite you, then?'
I then got an in-my-face full-on rant about how the horse was a him not an it and how dare I call him an it. Proper eye-popping, frothing at the mouth stuff.
I managed to keep a straight face and let her run on, but it did make me wonder if other people have a major problem with calling horses 'it'. Comments, please?
This morning I met a woman I don't know in the process of turning out a horse belonging to one of my fellow liveries, and giving it an absolute riot - shouting, yanking on the lead rope, dragging it round etc. I assumed it must have done something evil to deserve that kind of reaction and since the horse is known to bite I said something like 'Did it bite you, then?'
I then got an in-my-face full-on rant about how the horse was a him not an it and how dare I call him an it. Proper eye-popping, frothing at the mouth stuff.
I managed to keep a straight face and let her run on, but it did make me wonder if other people have a major problem with calling horses 'it'. Comments, please?