Dumbest thing a supposedly clued-up horse person has told you?

[ester]

Totally agree. Never use draw reins on a rearer. They learn to go up with them and then cannot rebalance themselves as they are unable to stretch their necks forward to save themselves falling over backwards. On a rearer, draw reins can be lethal.

I did say sometimes, obviously not for those well practiced

 

[applecart14]

Some horses struggle bring ridden the day of shoeing but i was told its normally those with tendon injury because the angle of the foot has altered although that would be for the better i would have thought. its not the mormal rule of thumb lol

 

[EventingMum]

Oh and another one - A family were buying a small horse for their teenage daughters without any experienced advice. They arrived at the yard with the new horse which immediately started windsucking like mad - even if allowing for it being stressed in a new place this was horrendous.

When I voiced my concern they told me she was just burping and that she did that after eating. I said this vice should have been declared and they said the vet had put on the vetting certificate has been noted to burp after eating :eek3: When I said it could cause problems and might make her hard to sell once the girls out grew her they didn't believe me and called our vet out for his opinion - at 9pm on a Saturday night! He reiterated what I had said so they called the vendor who said they could have their money back if they returned her the next day. The parents decided they didn't want to upset their daughters so kept her.

I lost count of how many bouts of colic we had to deal with whilst they owned her, when you changed her rugs she would press her chin on you and windsuck, she struggled to keep condition on, even in the field in summer she would windsuck more than she would graze but despite the vets bills incurred they still said she just burped. They supposedly sold her a couple of years later for a profit - proving my lack of knowledge! ETA - just in case anyone thinks we were negligent she always had adlib forage and any suggestions of ulcers or other pain were dismissed as nonsense.

 

[Auslander]

Sorry made me laugh. Bet she made you get back on too!

Scary woman - she judges the dressage at Chilham BE and it's binos on the judges cars to see if she's the judge in your arena as she is harsh (but fair). Doesn't mince her words in the comments.

I was a bit of a loon back in those days - was sraight back on it, without any encouragement!

She is one of the most straight talking people I have ever met. I learned a lot from her. Except how to hold the neck strap and NOT fall off

 

[Cobbytype]

Many years ago I had my yearling on a livery yard which was close to an equestrian college. A lot of the liveries were students at the college. I arrived at the yard one day to an 'emergency' with my yearling, who was apparently just about to die from choke. His stable was full of students frantically rubbing his throat to get rid of the large lumpy obstruction.

I didn't have the heart to tell them he was ewe necked.

 

[orionstar]

Equidae Sweet Itch is an allergic reaction to midge bites, no amount of delousing powder or decomax injections or anything else that kill lice are going to have any effect on a horse that has sweet itch. Louse infestations are louse infestations and will generally have the same itchy affect on a horse if not treated correctly, the two are completely separate.

 

[_HP_]

Quite often sweet itch is caused by lice

This is wrong....sweet Itch is a midge allergy.
Lice is just ....well, lice

 

[_HP_]

The prescription only sweet itch remedies are the same active ingredient as the louse treatments - draw what you will from that

ETA - clever marketing as no one likes to think their horse has lice.

ETA 2 - clipped out my friends sweet itchy horse and sure enough little biddies...

If you found lice then it was lice not sweet itch.

 

[JillA]

This is wrong....sweet Itch is a midge allergy.
Lice is just ....well, lice

But a lot of summer itching is labelled as sweet itch, it seems to have become a generic term rather than just allergy to the saliva of the culicoides midge. I always refer to mine as an itcher, to differentiate

 

[FFAQ]

One of my clients was told years ago by a very well-known barefoot 'specialist' that horses need to go through a period of footiness on the road to rock-crunching-ness, and therefore no pain no gain - keep working them through it. It has taken me 18 months to finally convince her that this is a cruel rule to follow and that her horse with very thin soles must have hoof boots.

Several people have informed me that neat bleach is the best remedy for thrush!

 

[poiuytrewq]

Sarcoids are basically big zits if you squeeze them hard enough they just pop out and the horse will be really grateful because you've relieved the pressure.......
Worms are caught from dirty water troughs (after being questioned by a vet as to when a horse was last wormed and lying about it in front of me) He keeps the trough clean so there is no need to worm....
Youngsters must be goaded into rearing on the long reins as part of breaking. They can then be pulled over to teach them not to rear, even if said horse is showing no tenancy or desire to rear

 

[ycbm]

FFAQ, ref your earlier post, thin bleach is a very good cheap remedy for thrush. I was told to use it by a very experienced horse vet. Tesco thin bleach is perfect.

 

[j1ffy]

"I can't get my horse scoped or bone scanned as I don't have loss of use on my insurance." Defies all logic, the poor horse.

"Oats!!! Oats won't help condition or energy. You should feed barley or show mix." Advice from a former YO for my barefoot horse.

Me: "Where's your new horse from?" Former YM: "Holland. Or The Netherlands. Actually I think it's The Netherlands."

Ok the last one is more geographical numptiness than horse numptiness. It was day one on a new yard for me so I was desperately trying to keep a straight face!

 

[ycbm]

'Horses can't be 'happy athletes', they don't have emotions'. From a long term horse owner and breeder.

DSLD doesn't exist in this country, by a horse vet warned in advance that we wanted to discuss it as a possible diagnosis So why is the biopsy for it done at Leahurst then ?

Putting clay on legs will help cool tendons. Still widely believed and products sold to apply it.

Don't hose a sweating horse all over, you'll give it colic!

 

[Woolly Hat n Wellies]

A student instructor who got on a horse which was known to rear and bog off, rode it into the corner of the indoor school, and attempted to ride it up the wall, booting it in the ribs, before handing it over to me for the lesson with the words, "there, he'll appreciate you now" ... he didn't.

Me: "I don't think this saddle fits very well any more [on loan/share horse]."
Owners: "No it definitely fits, he's just grumpy because he's lazy and knows it means work."
Me: "Ok, but I'd really like to get it checked. I'm happy to pay for it."
Very experienced member of owners' family: "No, it's good enough for him"
When I bought him it turned out the saddle didn't fit at all, it was sitting on two points on his back, and had made him so sore he had to have three months on groundwork only to let it rest ad reteach him not to hollow away from the pain. But I suppose here I'm the numpty for a) not insisting, and b) falling in love and buying him anyway!
(family member IS very experienced, she knows far more than I do, and I wouldn't claim otherwise, but for some reason she seems to really hate my horse. Whether it's just him or cobs in general I don't know, but she says he's thick, and it never seemed to matter if something was painful or uncomfortable for him.)

Not to me, but the woman who told the previous owners of my horse that:
You shouldn't clean your girth because then your saddle will slide off.
You should train your skinny TB to eat faster by feeding her and the greedy food-bolting fatty next door at the same time, and taking away both buckets when fatty finishes.
Your aforementioned skinny TB is fine turned out unrugged in winter, it's not cold if it's belly isn't tucked up.
The cure for headshaking is to get a crank noseband and tighten it as far as you can. This makes it headshake more? Oh no, it's just being rude, beat it with your stick.
and the classic:
"I'm such a good rider I don't need to have lessons any more"

 

[sarahann1]

and benzyl benzoate resolves itching regardless of it's cause.

Unless your horse is allergic to it, which one of mine is.

 

[Mike007]

Someone I know, who has forgotten more about horses than I will ever learn, is emphatic that it's high levels of protein in feed that makes horses fizzy, rather than sugar or starch. Is that a thing?

He is right.

 

[_HP_]

But a lot of summer itching is labelled as sweet itch, it seems to have become a generic term rather than just allergy to the saliva of the culicoides midge.

I agree...

To say that having lice is sweet Itch is just plain wrong (and silly)
Sweet Itch Itch management is very different to getting rid of lice....ifI clipped my sweet Itch cob he would be even more exposed and vulnerable to midges

 

[autumn7]

micropony is correct - protein content has no bearing on horses behaviour. Sugar and starch content is responsible for fizziness.

"Protein is needed by the horse for growth and repair of new cells and tissues, the production of muscle tissue and for growing youngsters. Quality of protein is just as important as quantity of protein and all Allen & Page feeds contain high quality protein, that is they contain good levels of amino acids (the building blocks of proteins). Various old wives tales surround protein, however it is not responsible for laminitis, tying up or fizzy behaviour." (Allen and Page website)

 

[Sukistokes2]

I had one YO,on a livery I was visiting, advise me to shoot my traditional gypsy cob because there was something wrong with him if he had blue eyes.

I also had a horsey woman approach me at a show, when I was riding my Shire X , to tell me off for him being fat, because of his big belly. This was the day after the vet complimented me for his prefect condition. I tried to explain he just had a big barrel but she wasn't having it. Some people really can't tell weight when it comes to cobs.

 

[JillA]

He is right.

No he isn't - protein for building soft tissue and immune system, carbs for energy

 

[Apercrumbie]

No he isn't - protein for building soft tissue and immune system, carbs for energy

This is indeed the theory (and certainly holds up well for humans) but I do wonder......where in a horse's normal diet would they get protein from? And if they can't get it from a normal, non man made source, then surely it would be unwise to supplement it in this manner? As far as I'm aware, horses are not designed for a high-protein diet. Could someone enlighten me?

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

But a lot of summer itching is labelled as sweet itch, it seems to have become a generic term rather than just allergy to the saliva of the culicoides midge. I always refer to mine as an itcher, to differentiate

That doesn't mean people are right though. So many say they're depressed because they feel a bit sad that week, doesn't make them genuinely ill does it, people misuse terms all the time. Sweet itch is a proper condition, people claiming their horses have it when they don't doesn't change that.

EQUIDAE sweet itch isn't caused by lice.

On the subject of lice...on one yard there was a 30yr old emaciated pony who'd recently dropped the weight off almost overnight, living out on sparse grazing in winter and wearing a no-fill turnout rug instead of the usual heavyweight one. When I asked the owner why, with a view to lending her a warmer rug if hers was broken or something, she said the YO told her to do it "because the cold will kill the lice".

 

[ycbm]

No he isn't - protein for building soft tissue and immune system, carbs for energy

I've done some research on this today. Apparently, excess protein in the gut causes calcium uptake to be blocked. There is at least one calcium based calmer sold for fizzy horses due to lack of calcium.

Also I agree with apercrumbie, a high protein diet is very unnatural. And it's my belief that a lot of fizzy horses which are not simply being fed too much for their work are like it because of a disturbed hind gut. Perhaps there is also some of that behind this belief that too much protein makes a horse fizzy.

 

[JillA]

Protein is in grass - and cereals which are a form of grass. I just had my hay and haylage tested and the protein levels are around 10% which is actually quite low. As trickle feeders they get lots and lots of low level protein in their food, I think a lot of it is in the seeds, which is why June cut hay is sought after because the seeds haven't dropped out. You can supplement it - there are various forms of amino acids which make up proteins, lysine is the one they are most likely to be short of, methionine is the one for feet and skin. Look on the Forageplus website, there is plenty of information on there.

 

[Evie91]

Interesting thread. Seems a lot of people quick to label other folks advice as 'dumb' are none too clever themselves!!!
Reminds me of the old adage 'people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones'!!

 

[Apercrumbie]

Protein is in grass - and cereals which are a form of grass. I just had my hay and haylage tested and the protein levels are around 10% which is actually quite low. As trickle feeders they get lots and lots of low level protein in their food, I think a lot of it is in the seeds, which is why June cut hay is sought after because the seeds haven't dropped out. You can supplement it - there are various forms of amino acids which make up proteins, lysine is the one they are most likely to be short of, methionine is the one for feet and skin. Look on the Forageplus website, there is plenty of information on there.

Thank you for this - it is interesting to know about the protein levels in grass. I think I will have to do some research though, because as many people who are clued up on nutrition know, there is protein and protein. Grass will have a fairly limited range of the different proteins in existence. I would be wary of any feed claiming to have several of amino acids/proteins when a horse probably wouldn't normally have access to them. As I said, I definitely need to do my research.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

The one that springs to mind is when I was told that 'horses shouldn't be turned out together because they encourage each other.'

There was no explanation as to what exactly it was that they encouraged each other to do. This meant that every time (for the next few days) that I looked at my horses chilling out together, I wondered what they were plotting or encouraging each other to get up to? Raiding the feed room perhaps? Train robbery? Jackass style challenges?

 

[StephBiscuit]

You don't need to bother learning a dressage test if you have a reader!

 

[rowan666]

Loaners vet told her the old fella's mallenders was mites!!!!