change my mind - what controversial/guilty horsey things do you do and not feel guilty for??:)

[Keira 8888]

Gloi, you just reminded me of the time I tightened my girth whilst cantering down a nice wide grassy track!

(I was trying to keep my time up whilst out competing endurance, and couldn't justify the time it took to slow down and tighten it at a slower pace)

Bloody hell! I’m in awe! You must be one hell of a rider!!!!!!! ?????

 

[crazyandme]

Bloody hell! I’m in awe! You must be one hell of a rider!!!!!!! ?????

Not really, just an absolute saint of a pony who I trusted to keep going at the same pace and direction! It would have taken far longer to have had the discussion with her about slowing down, actually slowing down and doing it than letting her just canter on and doing it very carefully!
Thanks though!

 

[Darcey22]

Thanks for the insights - i can see the sense having them in a headcollar to quickly get them out if anything happens.
I really do have travelling anxiety with horses and want to be prepared!

Im not familiar with quick release snaps - can you show me a link of the type you mean?

I think to each his own! I am considering travelling without tying but just a headcoller. My horse pulls against anything she is tied too. I have a IW hb506 trailer and she has a partition in. She can’t turn round and would have a job getting over the partition or breast bar. I think she travels better when she can get into a position she feels comfortable and clear her airways x

 

[maya2008]

- Fling rugs on;
- Don’t tie most of them - they eat grass/haylage while we tack up, lead rope on the floor. Younger ones in an enclosed area, older ones not.
- Use treeless saddles;
- Back and ride away without them setting foot in a school (I introduce the school later). Ponies seem to really like doing it this way.
- Allow them to express how they are feeling in polite ways so they can tell me if something is wrong. Very useful and builds a huge amount of trust.

 

[rara007]

I probably hack my main horse once a year, if that! He’s not died of under stimulation (yet).
Plenty of treats, rug throwing, I’ll leave them tied with headcollar around neck too..!

 

[lynz88]

Oh dear...where do i begin with this...

I too, am a rug flinger even on young ones. Best that they get used to stuff flying around them at an early age.

I also ground tie my horse. Taught from an early age. Everyone is always amazed for some reason as this is somewhat standard to teach a horse back home.

I am also one for no hat or gloves when lunging....and yes I have suffered rope burn when mine decided "cantering" meant bolting off when he was younger.

I also tend to put hoof boots on when I bring him in from the field as it's easier for him to cope. I normally just fling the lead rope around his neck while I pick out his feet and put the boots on. He nornly busies himself with eating leaves or whatever while I do his feet.

I don't use anything on the legs unless the horse brushes. I don't even boot or bandage for trailering unless there is a specific need. Especially don't like putting boots on if hacking. Know someone who had a stick somehow slide up a boot and slice a tendon.

 

[Peglo]

Oh so many ?

-never wear a helmet around horses unless riding
-I slide into the saddle off the mounting bloke/wall without putting my feet in stirrups and she always gets a treat once I’m on. Her attention is always on me this way.
-very rarely do up me girth once I’m on
-I will kneel down, rest a hoof on me knee and have a good look/pick out a hoof if I’m going to be there a while.
-if Peg doesn’t want her head collar on to bring in I just don’t bother. She’s nearly 32 and has had impeccable manners her whole life. I’m not insisting on it now.
-rug flinger here too
-I put rugs on when they are eating their bucket feed. I don’t tie them up to do it either. Field or stable.
-I hand feed treats and give them out for no reason if I fancy it.

think that’s all I’ll admit to just now.

 

[WBGG]

I am also a horse hugger/kisser (much to my horse's disgust!) and serial treat giver. I push my wheelbarrow to the muckheap (on the way to the field) with my mare following behind me on a very loose rope. Saves me two journeys ! My GG also puts herself away in her stable. She's a very sensible girl and I trust her not to misbehave.

 

[Pmf27]

Another rug flinger here ??‍ I also go one further and adjust when it's on the horse. I've always been wary of the whole "it's uncomfortable for them to have their coat dishevelled under the rug" but neither pony I put rugs on seems to mind...

 

[Starzaan]

Oh god I'm terrible at this.

I'll lead as many as I can get ropes in my hands - one trip or die trying. My record is nine.

Ride and lead (used to be a polo groom) and will do anything riding and leading that I'll do on just one, including jumping, fast work etc. Used to ride one and lead eight on sets so you get used to it. Also, as above, get off one straight onto the other without touching the ground.

I sit on the floor under my big horse if he ever needs any sort of bandaging etc.

I will happily jump on one without a hat and ride and lead back from the field.

I have banned haynets on my yard for anything other than travelling. People can be very funny about this! The same with feeding salt.

Everything is fed ad lib forage, including horses here to treat for EMS and PSSM etc. - they may not get ad lib haylage, it may be soaked hay and straw mixed etc., but it is ad lib.

Horses go out all day, every day, not matter what. I do not do "duvet days", and have not yet had a horse rushed to me for rehab as a result of getting wet. The only horses that don't go out all day are box rests, but we keep these to an absolute minimum and only in the most severe cases. Yes, even the fatties and the laminitis prone, and no, I don't use muzzles. I have an amazing success rate with metabolic horses, and people are often shocked by the fact that I don't starve them!

I hate boots and won’t use them unless a horse genuinely needs them. Can’t stand booting ‘just in case’ and cooking their tendons.

All horses that I back get done outside of the school, in a field or around the yard, and then they start hacking out alone immediately. This way they don’t learn to cling to the arena fence/a friend.

Despite working with them, it takes an awful lot for me to call a vet. I need something to be almost dying before I’ll call them. The vast majority of issues I can handle myself. I’m aware this maybe is because I specialise in rehab.

My most unpopular opinion is probably that the VAST majority of horses in this country are on insufficient beds, don’t get enough turnout, and are fed completely the wrong thing.

I'm sure there's more... haha

 

[ElleSkywalker]

Let my horse pick where she wants to go for a hack when we are on our own

 

[Getbackboys]

have the little clip on the stirrup leather attachment (cant think of proper name) UP, when riding race horses cantering uphill in short irons, horses rearing i want to know my slip leather is not going to slip out. latest rule at work when doing tack checks these are being put down without riders knowing some have fallen off because stirrup leather has slipped out.

so the rule is down for some reasons but there are many scenarios when it should be up, at least tell the riders the latest rule, bearing in mind you dont have to go thru any gates where the stirrup iron could get caught on the latch, the mind boggles, not everything is fixed in stone

 

[Getbackboys]

Darcey22 - one of the reasons for tying up when travelling is so they dont turn around, could get awkward in a tight space, diff if travelling a long distance and no partition up.

 

[MuddyMonster]

I have to admit, nothing annoyed me more than paying for a professional to bring in or turn out only to have mine led as one of far too many. I'm just not convinced any horse is safe being led (a kick could be lethal to one stuck in the middle) or navigating gateways when there are numerous other horses crammed in.

 

[Ddraig_wen]

Fling my rugs on from when they're young.

Work youngsters and projects alone from the get go.

Turn the stallions out together out of season, two stay together in season (no mares around) . People are often horrified that they're out all let alone together.

Use jumpers or clothing as temporary leadropes in an emergency.

Barely groom anything in winter. Fluffy, muddy and fat.

 

[smolmaus]

I have developed many non-PC habits since the first time this thread did the rounds (non-pony club I mean, I'm not teaching the pony to be a bigot)

Slither into the saddle, let her bring herself to where we need to go if possible, still give a treat for lifting her feet nicely or standing still, will sit underneath her to groom feathers, let her scratch on me if she wants.

- Allow them to express how they are feeling in polite ways so they can tell me if something is wrong. Very useful and builds a huge amount of trust.

Yes! Communication has to involve "no" on both sides sometimes.

 

[Birker2020]

Jumping, hacking and long reining down the lanes in a dually.
Flashing lights on hi viz.
Put on horse walker before/after feeding.
Lunging in the dark to avoid having to pay extra for the electric meter (years ago) before hopping on when warmed up!
Pulling partition across inside trailer so previous horse could gaze out over the door when top door was open, whilst I went to pay for parking. She loved to do this. I took the headcollar off just in case she got caught up on anything!

 

[MuddyMonster]

Mine are:

• Not always scrubbing out feed bowls & just power hosing them out
• Using hoof lotions & potions - much to the disgust of many a die hard barefooter
• Hack my horse miles barefoot (or in boots) - controversial in both die hard barefoot & shod camps ?
• Use synthetic and biothane headcollars & tack so I don't have to tack clean
• Hacking in the dark using head torch & lights
• Sometimes choosing to ride on the road instead of off road (not in the dark though I hasten to add)
• Not liking bling
• Occassionally hiding a poo rather than taking it out - especially if as I'm leaving
• Have taken natural horsemanship lessons & learnt a lot i use day to day
• Don't use any gadgets, gizmos or training aids
• Lunge in headcollar
• Regularly get on from the ground
• Expect my horse to be turned out & ridden in bad weather

The list probably goes on!

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Ok so fessing up:

I don't "school" mine in the arena. End of. We don't have an arena so not an option anyway. We school on hacks. Pony is 9 now and has been in an arena ONCE since I had her as a just-backed 4yo and that was for a TREC clinic which frankly we were both bored to death with within 10 mins. Ohh the shame; the BHS lot would shoot us I think.

We wear brightly coloured neon hi-viz: all different colours all at once. Bridle is neon blue, pink, orange & yellow. We're not fussed what we look like as long as we can be SEEN. End of. The local horsey "fount of all knowledge" turns her snooty nose up at us but we do not care.

We did not canter my girly under saddle till she was a 6yo - her body was just not ready for it, end of. Makes me cringe when I see ad's for horses that have jumped 90 as a 4yo etc etc coz you know by the time they're in double-figures they'll be wrecked.

We ride in a TCS (Total Contact Saddle). Not everyone's cup of tea and there'll always be someone somewhere that says OMG how awful. We do not care. It suits us right now.

I do not tie up to pick out hooves etc; I trust my girl to stand politely for me both in the yard and outside on a hack if we need to for any reason. The only time we do tie her up (or I hold her) is if we have a professional visit such as vet or farrier (or other therapist) where for H&S reasons yes we do just to make everyone feel safe.

We are not shod; all the horses on the yard (I'm a YO) are barefoot. Owners choice not my dictat.

We do not travel with boots on; don't even have any. Neither do we rug up to travel.

We are on a Track system. Again, not everyone's choice but works for us very well and the horses decide when/if they want to come into the covered yard & stabled areas as it is part of their Track.

 

[Maddie Moo]

I have a royal blue synthetic bridle with a plaited leather broadband and black synthetic reins. No it doesn’t match but it does fit him perfectly and to me, that is all that matters!

I fling rugs on, mostly due to the fact I’m short ?

I will lead two in or out together if needed.

 

[MagicMelon]

Also guilty of hurling rugs on wherever they happen to be standing in the field. However I did get one scare on a partcicularly windy stormy day when my 17.2hh at the time decided to lauch into the air and do a massive buck kick catching the tip of his hoof on my head. Enough to leave a scrape mark. That was probably the one time I thought I was extremely lucky I didnt just get killed. Still didnt stop me chucking rugs on though...

 

[MagicMelon]

I also ignore the ‘fastenings to the outside’ rule for chest clips on rugs and throat clips on head collars. This, however, unlike my other breaches of pony club protocol, is intentional and not just laziness. I’ve seen those clips on head collars get caught on hay nets and I suspect there’s a possibility of the same sort of thing happening with rug clips, so they all go to the inside (and I try to buy cheap head collars without throat clips).

Isnt it fastenings / clips to the INSIDE? I always put mine to the inside after having had one horse clip himself to a fence once. I always thought inside was the correct way is it not?

 

[SafeInSage]

Mine are:

• Not always scrubbing out feed bowls & just power hosing them out
• Using hoof lotions & potions - much to the disgust of many a die hard barefooter
• Hack my horse miles barefoot (or in boots) - controversial in both die hard barefoot & shod camps ?
• Use synthetic and biothane headcollars & tack so I don't have to tack clean
• Hacking in the dark using head torch & lights
• Sometimes choosing to ride on the road instead of off road (not in the dark though I hasten to add)
• Not liking bling
• Occassionally hiding a poo rather than taking it out - especially if as I'm leaving
• Have taken natural horsemanship lessons & learnt a lot i use day to day
• Don't use any gadgets, gizmos or training aids
• Lunge in headcollar
• Regularly get on from the ground
• Expect my horse to be turned out & ridden in bad weather

The list probably goes on!

Where did you take natural horsemanship lessons? Online or in person? I’m really interested to get into it more.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I fling rugs on and will change rugs while they are just stood in the field not tied up.

They take themselves to and from the field.

My horses have no routine some nights they are in normally weather related but they are brought in and put out at all different times fed randomly and ridden whenever.

In my youth I used to ride in a bikini top shorts and trainers.

 

[Keith_Beef]

I do not tie up to pick out hooves etc;

Neither do I, with most horses.

There is one that I ride fairly frequently who can be a real pain until I get a headcollar on him, but safety that he will stand still for me to brick and tack up, but he will rarely lift his feet to have his hooves picked out.

I don't tie up any others at the riding school, and only tie one that I ride for hacking from a different yard, and even then I only do so every third or fourth time,l. It depends on his mood; some days he's very compliant, other days he needs to be tied.

 

[catembi]

I only use a head collar for holding for the farrier or travelling. I have four horses at home; they know which is their stable & they know that I feed them in pecking order & everyone puts themselves where they are supposed to be at the right time. I pick out feet while they are eating. It is fine...everyone knows the drill and when someone new arrives, they soon slot themselves in

 

[AntiPuck]

I ride my horse in a TCS and I don't turn myself inside out trying to achieve spinal clearance underneath it.

I ride 'off piste', over logs, sticks, ditches, etc. on hacks alone as much as possible to teach my horse to watch where she puts her feet and build better body awareness, rather than looking for flat ground.

Won't hack out on roads without a hat camera, and am report-to-the-police-happy.

Don't boot up for anything except for hi viz leg wraps and ice boots post-exercise (and a photoshoot once!).

I deliberately sweep up around/under my horse, between her legs, etc. so she gets used to that sort of faffing around her.

Don't believe in 'I can get on my horse after 6 weeks/months/years and they're fine'; this isn't fair on the horse. I build her up gradually again after longer breaks.

Treat my horse all the time, as well as using clicker training for a lot of things, and never worry about her mugging for treats; she doesn't.

 

[Miss_Millie]

Consent based training - the opinion of my horse is heard loud and clear and is as valid as my own. If she does not want to be ridden, I will not ride her. I'm still working on developing consent cues with her for different things. I see our relationship as an ongoing collaboration rather than a dictatorship. I'm very against dominance-based horse training of any kind.

 

[maya2008]

Consent based training - the opinion of my horse is heard loud and clear and is as valid as my own. If she does not want to be ridden, I will not ride her. I'm still working on developing consent cues with her for different things. I see our relationship as an ongoing collaboration rather than a dictatorship. I'm very against dominance-based horse training of any kind.

Your understanding of dominance is perhaps negative reinforcement? True dominance in a horse herd is a very different thing. The lead mare expects to be obeyed and will back that up with hooves/teeth yes. But there’s rarely any damage to any horse other than a bit of fur, it’s mostly posturing and threat. In return for letting her lead, she protects and guides them - she organises who will sleep on what rotation so there are always guards; she ensures everyone gets a drink and that they drink at regular times; she makes sure everyone has a share of the hay; warns the young ones off bad plants to eat; shows them where to stand in the storms to keep safe (in the middle of the field in a thunderstorm yet under the trees in the rain); helps them to learn how to behave nicely and politely as they grow up; determines whether things they meet are safe or not. Mine once directed her herd mates to protect my children from a fox. One on either side of the buggy, one to chase it off. Under the leadership of a good mare, a herd is happy, settled and harmonious.

In my herd, and in training, I am very much the lead mare. I control where their feet go, I give them instructions and expect to be obeyed. Yet like the lead mare, I do take feedback and always aim to do the best for them. So they learn quickly that I can be trusted - if I say it’s ok, it is. They learn they can tell me if there is a problem and I will investigate, and that everything we do together will be fun. Ours always want to be ridden, and the young ones quickly learn that the outside world and being ridden is great fun. Regular hacks are the best thing for improving catching issues - they basically follow me out of the gate after a few weeks of being ridden, because they want to come out riding!

I don’t want a horse where I say ‘stop’ and they don’t, or where I need them to wait patiently and they choose to walk off. I definitely don’t need ponies who stop mid canter/walk to have a snack and dump their riders! I need good ‘friends’ I can rely on to help out, to follow instructions and to be safe. So yes, I am dominant in my training - but as a result of some good body language and an attitude that expects to be obeyed, I rarely have to tell them off in any way.

 

[Miss_Millie]

Your understanding of dominance is perhaps negative reinforcement? True dominance in a horse herd is a very different thing. The lead mare expects to be obeyed and will back that up with hooves/teeth yes. But there’s rarely any damage to any horse other than a bit of fur, it’s mostly posturing and threat. In return for letting her lead, she protects and guides them - she organises who will sleep on what rotation so there are always guards; she ensures everyone gets a drink and that they drink at regular times; she makes sure everyone has a share of the hay; warns the young ones off bad plants to eat; shows them where to stand in the storms to keep safe (in the middle of the field in a thunderstorm yet under the trees in the rain); helps them to learn how to behave nicely and politely as they grow up; determines whether things they meet are safe or not. Mine once directed her herd mates to protect my children from a fox. One on either side of the buggy, one to chase it off. Under the leadership of a good mare, a herd is happy, settled and harmonious.

In my herd, and in training, I am very much the lead mare. I control where their feet go, I give them instructions and expect to be obeyed. Yet like the lead mare, I do take feedback and always aim to do the best for them. So they learn quickly that I can be trusted - if I say it’s ok, it is. They learn they can tell me if there is a problem and I will investigate, and that everything we do together will be fun. Ours always want to be ridden, and the young ones quickly learn that the outside world and being ridden is great fun. Regular hacks are the best thing for improving catching issues - they basically follow me out of the gate after a few weeks of being ridden, because they want to come out riding!

I don’t want a horse where I say ‘stop’ and they don’t, or where I need them to wait patiently and they choose to walk off. I definitely don’t need ponies who stop mid canter/walk to have a snack and dump their riders! I need good ‘friends’ I can rely on to help out, to follow instructions and to be safe. So yes, I am dominant in my training - but as a result of some good body language and an attitude that expects to be obeyed, I rarely have to tell them off in any way.

No, I'm not talking about negative reinforcement. I use both positive and negative reinforcement in my training.

I see dominance as giving the horse no choice, no say in the conversation. And using escalating pressure and punishment to force the 'correct answer' when they say no. This can lead to seemingly obedient horses, who have learnt that their 'no' will never be heard. So they don't bother trying anymore.

Consent based training doesn't mean having a horse that will walk all over you. In fact, I have found it to be the opposite. By showing my horse that her opinion truly matters and that I hear her 100%, she has become incredibly willing, curious and loyal. It also doesn't mean that my 'no' is empty. Or that she can do whatever she wants, whenever she wants. Sometimes I will ask again if I get a 'no'. Or we'll do something else for 5 minutes, and then I'll get a 'yes'. There is always a reason for a 'no', and I try to look objectively at why this is. At one point when I was getting a lot of 'no's from her in succession, it quickly became obvious that pain was at the heart of the issue and she was not physically comfortable doing what was asked of her. A lot of people told me that she was being 'naughty' and to 'ride her through it'.

A 'perfectly obedient' horse, one which has been conditioned to have no say, is a horse that I would view as dangerous. I don't want my horse to shut off their instincts and just trust that I will keep her safe, because sometimes she has a better idea of if the footing on a hack is safe or not and could lead to an accident, if a strange horse approaching from the other side of the woods will try to kick and she feels safer going extra wide or standing until it passes etc. I listen to how she feels and she listens to me. I have witnessed so many accidents because people did not listen to their horses and pushed them to the point that they exploded.

I don't find comparing horse herd dynamics to horse-human interactions helpful. Horses have their own language and primarily learn from humans based on reinforcement history.