Common assumptions about horsey people...

I've had a conversation along these lines on numerous occasions:

Person: Ah you have a horse! What do you do with them, racing?
Me: No, mine are all built for comfort not speed. I do dressage.
Person: Ooh, you'll be at the next Olympics then!

I get annoyed on a number of levels (and I know I shouldn't!). Mainly because the professionalism of horse sport is completely denigrated - the idea that the entire racing industry consists of one horse amateurs is ridiculous, but no more so than the idea that a one horse amateur in a more-than-full-time job can make it onto our gold medal winning Olympic team. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't say the same to a runner or hockey player or sailing enthusiast!
 
Question.

Are horse riders horse riders because they have a high pain threshold and don't get put off by falling off when learning like other people do

or

Do horse riders become immune to pain because they love the sport so much they just ignore the pain to be riders?


OH thinks the second but from personal experience I wonder if there's also some of the first?
 
j1ffy said:
I've had a conversation along these lines on numerous occasions:

Person: Ah you have a horse! What do you do with them, racing?
Me: No, mine are all built for comfort not speed. I do dressage.
Person: Ooh, you'll be at the next Olympics then!

I get annoyed on a number of levels (and I know I shouldn't!). Mainly because the professionalism of horse sport is completely denigrated - the idea that the entire racing industry consists of one horse amateurs is ridiculous, but no more so than the idea that a one horse amateur in a more-than-full-time job can make it onto our gold medal winning Olympic team. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't say the same to a runner or hockey player or sailing enthusiast!
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I think you need to take the Olympics thing as a compliment, CDJ and CH introduced so many non horsey people to dressage at the London Olympics, those "dancing horses" really captured the public's imagination.
 
millikins said:
I think you need to take the Olympics thing as a compliment, CDJ and CH introduced so many non horsey people to dressage at the London Olympics, those "dancing horses" really captured the public's imagination.
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It's a compliment to the great work the team did that it's now known by non-horsey people, but also suggests people think that it's a sport that doesn't require the dedication, professionalism and hard work of anyone aiming for a team spot (again, they probably think that the horse does all the work!).
 
cauda equina said:
I think starting young helps; I was rarely hurt falling off when I was a kid but as everyone says, you don't bounce when you're older
Start young enough and by the time you get to the not bouncing stage, you're hooked
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You've got a point. My own experience is that I've always had a high pain threshold and didn't ride until I was already a 10 stone teenager, so I'm probably a bit biased.
.
 
cauda equina said:
I think starting young helps; I was rarely hurt falling off when I was a kid but as everyone says, you don't bounce when you're older
Start young enough and by the time you get to the not bouncing stage, you're hooked
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My OH says the same about little kids learning to ski. I didn't try until my mid 20s and falling over on ice hurts so I gave up. Thought nothing of being propelled into an arena wall though!
 
ycbm said:
Question.

Are horse riders horse riders because they have a high pain threshold and don't get put off by falling off when learning like other people do

or

Do horse riders become immune to pain because they love the sport so much they just ignore the pain to be riders?


OH thinks the second but from personal experience I wonder if there's also some of the first?
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For me, abolutely the second. I dont think I have high pain threshold naturally, I think I'm bog standard normal, but I've learnt (without even noticing it) to just get on with things and ignore pain because nothing would stop me from doing what I love.
 
Our brains aren't wired right. Generally it's not necessarily a high pain threshold that we have but the instinct and knowledge that if we don't just keep kicking our animals won't get looked after. We can't just ask the neighbour to give them a quick walk round the block once or twice a day or give them a key to nip in and feed them. We just keep going until we have done what we needed to do before seeking medical advice ourselves. It doesn't matter if its an hour later, a day, a week or even 20 years when an old injury you never realised you had pops up. You will always keep ploughing on regardless.
 
Elf On A Shelf said:
Our brains aren't wired right. Generally it's not necessarily a high pain threshold that we have but the instinct and knowledge that if we don't just keep kicking our animals won't get looked after. We can't just ask the neighbour to give them a quick walk round the block once or twice a day or give them a key to nip in and feed them. We just keep going until we have done what we needed to do before seeking medical advice ourselves. It doesn't matter if its an hour later, a day, a week or even 20 years when an old injury you never realised you had pops up. You will always keep ploughing on regardless.
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100%

About four years ago I had a pulmonary embolism, nothing to do with horses, obviously. I called 111, spoke to nurse who sent an ambulance to the house, paramedics came in and started to examine me, noticed pictures of me competing, asked if it was me riding in the pictures, I said yes, then she asked if I had called 111, I said yes. At this point she stopped examining me, and said no arguing, she was taking me straight to hospital. The other paramedic questioned her, and she said "If a horse rider reaches the point where they actually ask for help, it mean they are in more pain than most normal people will ever cope with, so dont mess about, get them to hospital because it will always be serious."

I wanted to laugh, but laughing hurt, and she was absolutely right, I was found to have a pulmonary embolism, which is of course very serious, and she did save my life by not listening to me and getting me to hospital asap.
 
AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
I think non-horsey people always assume, usually just after having told us how they got 'bolted with' or thrown off when they were younger, that we haven't experienced the same and that if we had we'd be put off just like they were. Rather than we have experienced it a million times and some weird part of our brain just responds 'try it again, that was your fault'
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This is very true. We can’t have been thrown, bitten and kicked like they have been, or obviously it would have put us off for life like them. In fact we continually return for further lessons on the masochistic art of horsemanship. But why are we like this? The other thing I notice is that when on the receiving end of one of these anecdotes, I usually think their disastrous tale is a bit feeble!
 
ycbm said:
Question.

Are horse riders horse riders because they have a high pain threshold and don't get put off by falling off when learning like other people do

or

Do horse riders become immune to pain because they love the sport so much they just ignore the pain to be riders?


OH thinks the second but from personal experience I wonder if there's also some of the first?
Click to expand...
I think it’s a bit of both. I would also say as I get older, there is only one place I am comfortable really, and that is on the back of a horse
 
Time for Tea said:
This is very true. We can’t have been thrown, bitten and kicked like they have been, or obviously it would have put us off for life like them. In fact we continually return for further lessons on the masochistic art of horsemanship. But why are we like this? The other thing I notice is that when on the receiving end of one of these anecdotes, I usually think their disastrous tale is a bit feeble!
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I agree.. A friend of mine who was trying to get over a fear went for a walk on the lead rope on my last horse. He squeezed by accident and Jacob did a singular jog step but my friend delights in telling people he tried to gallop off 😂
 
AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
I agree.. A friend of mine who was trying to get over a fear went for a walk on the lead rope on my last horse. He squeezed by accident and Jacob did a singular jog step but my friend delights in telling people he tried to gallop off 😂
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Embellishments are a staple in the racing world. One of mine rodeod with me going down the gallops yesterday! Another used to frequently put his head between his knees and bronc to buggery! Some occasionaly absolutely bolt!

Read as - yesterday's horse put in a cheeky fly buck on the way down the gallop yesterday. Just the 1. Another used to half bronc to change legs at the same point on the gallop every day but if you pressed the right button at the right time he would do it with a fly buck instead. Bolting usually means the horse was having way too much fun round the fields and it took you a moment to pull up.
 
ycbm said:
Question.

Are horse riders horse riders because they have a high pain threshold and don't get put off by falling off when learning like other people do

or

Do horse riders become immune to pain because they love the sport so much they just ignore the pain to be riders?


OH thinks the second but from personal experience I wonder if there's also some of the first?
Click to expand...

cauda equina said:
I think starting young helps; I was rarely hurt falling off when I was a kid but as everyone says, you don't bounce when you're older
Start young enough and by the time you get to the not bouncing stage, you're hooked
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As I mentioned in another post, I think that falling from a horse is similar to falling from a bicycle, with the obvious difference that a horse is bigger so there's a bigger distance to fall.

Nobody thinks it odd for a small child to fall from a bicycle when first learning.

Oh, it's 05h56, here; the cicadas have just started chirping.
 
Time for Tea said:
This is very true. We can’t have been thrown, bitten and kicked like they have been, or obviously it would have put us off for life like them. In fact we continually return for further lessons on the masochistic art of horsemanship. But why are we like this? The other thing I notice is that when on the receiving end of one of these anecdotes, I usually think their disastrous tale is a bit feeble!
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I do wonder about myself sometimes... As a painfully shy child I rode in some absolutely awefull riding schools. I one I use to fall off 3 times in my hour lesson every week. Inevitably, after 3 falls, I would sit on the pony crying and refuse to do anything else for the rest of the lesson. I always went back the next week. I was primary school aged. I now have 2 horses of my own and show jump and have evented. Why?!!
 
I was at the same riding school with the same instructor from 7 to 22 and crying (it will scare the horses), not getting back on, or not doing what you were asked was simply not accepted. I am pretty sure if Sandra asked me to give her my car or life savings today I would do it immediately without thinking. She was as a God to me.

Yeah I do have authority issues. No, I will never admit that I've hurt or scared myself, I just smother it down into a little box to deal with at some later time. No, this is not healthy 🙃

ycbm said:
Why is it that when people who don't ride hear that you have a horse they think you'll be riveted to hear about the one ride they did 20 years ago?
.
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Sometimes I do enjoy hearing these stories! Talking to people who do other sports I struggle similarly and sometimes they hear about my 6 week camogie career when I was 10. People are just trying to connect 😭
 
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