Chinese people!

[dogatemysalad]

There's an undercurrent running through this thread which isn't pleasant. Substitute the word Chinese for Irish, Scottish, Black or Asian.

Generally, if in your local hacking area, you have a hazard that causes your horse to spook, you either avoid riding when the hazard is most likely to occur or you train your horse to deal with it.
A group of tourists is easier than the kids at the local comprehensive who view horse spooking as an out of school activity.

 

[teabiscuit]

I'd be terrified one of them would get hurt.
I'd be so upset.
And on top of my conscience bothering me, I'd be worried about being sued.
It's not just as simple as de spooking them.

 

[lizziebell]

Sorry, but I actually do find that offensive. I know that in this part of the world we are notably backward in learning languages other than our own (and sometimes including our own....), but it is not a joke.

I'm glad it's not just me.

I can't see how this is a helpful or polite addition to the topic..

For gods sake !!!!

No wonder the world is such a mess when people consider a post like this as racist.

I said on another thread, I believe some people actually enjoy being 'offended' especially on behalf of others who are not actually offended, and will search out any opportunity to do so.

Exactly Riboons. I've posted "learn Chinese in 5 minutes", and already caused "offence", but why?

It IS a joke. Trying to lighten the mood, taking note of people's posts saying to learn mandarin.

This "joke" can actually be found on some Chinese language websites, as a point that if you can read them, then actually learning Chinese pronunciation is easier than you think.

I have not been offended by anything in this post and I AM CHINESE, but thank you to those who have been offended on my behalf and that of my family/ heritage.

Also, my family have all posted "learn Chinese in 5 minutes" on their Facebook pages- gone down a treat with our English friends

Back to ops overall point. It's impossible to control outside influences, particularly given language barriers, and that it's different people every time. I doubt speaking to tour operators will help - half the time tourists (no matter what nationality or visiting country) don't listen to them, they just want to get off the coach and explore.

I can only suggest a bit of spook busting, and get friends and family to reenact being mobbed and having cameras. Turn it into an experience the horses love (being fussed). Maybe carry treats which you can give tourists to give to your horse so he associates nice things with these "mobs". Take the opportunity to educate tourists about horses - as someone else said, seeing horses is not an everyday occurrence for many from the Far East, so they will love going away with a bit of knowledge about horses to tell their friends.

 

[Dry Rot]

I'm part Irish and sometimes tell Irish jokes. What does that make me?

Do the Chinese have no sense of humour? Thinking about this, I'm surprised I got no adverse comments (not a single one!) to my advice on how to conduct a conversation in French without being able to speak the language. Perhaps it is because the advice was given to me by someone who is half French and the fact that I tried it out and it actually worked, something that my "victim" also found very very funny.

I can guarantee my Chinese friend would have found that post hilarious. You think they don't have the equivalent for us westerners? How pompous is that!

 

[j1ffy]

There's a big difference between a comment being 'racist' and 'race-related'. Yes, OP could have said 'large groups of tourist' but s/he wanted advice on how to deal with it either by learning some Mandarin or other suggestions - so I don't see how they could have asked this without mentioning their race.

Having lived in Hong Kong (where sadly there is a lot of racism towards 'Mainlanders') I have seen how the mobs of tourists can behave - my (blonde) stepdaughter was almost mobbed at a theme park in HK and even my husband was asked to have a photo with one guy. It is not done with bad intentions however worrying it may be at the time! Hong Kong has had to do a lot of education for the large tourist companies on what is acceptable there vs. what is acceptable across the border and progress is slowly being made, but it does take time.

OP - I think your approach is constructive and it's good to see that a Mandarin speaker has offered help. I would recommend finding someone who can say the phrases to you though as Mandarin is tonal - if you say a word with the wrong tone then it may not be understood. I did some Cantonese lessons and in that language 'Ma' can mean mother, horse, heroine (!) or a couple of other things depending on the tone used!

 

[ribbons]

I'm part Irish and sometimes tell Irish jokes. What does that make me?

Do the Chinese have no sense of humour? Thinking about this, I'm surprised I got no adverse comments (not a single one!) to my advice on how to conduct a conversation in French without being able to speak the language. Perhaps it is because the advice was given to me by someone who is half French and the fact that I tried it out and it actually worked, something that my "victim" also found very very funny.

I can guarantee my Chinese friend would have found that post hilarious. You think they don't have the equivalent for us westerners? How pompous is that!

Exactly this.
So many people seem to be losing the ability to laugh. All nationalities are different, we (all natonalities) have always found these differences amusing at times.
It is a world away from being racist or offensive.

This whole pc way of living our lives has got so far out of control its depressing. Laughter is so so good for human health, both mental and physical.
What I find so ridiculous is that so often the people being so vehemently defended are actually amazed that some one has thought they were being offended, degraded, or insulted. They sometimes find it quite patronising, and I can understand why.