Experience vs. cash ---> horse care

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annret

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There was something in Jr's C-word post which prompted me to start a post on this...

Generally, I think that novice owners who really care about their horses on the whole take advice very well, buy new tack fitted to their horse & get the vet out for the smallest amount of problems & do things by the book in a way that more experienced horse owners don't.

However, I think there is a point when doing things 'correctly' & spending money isn't half as good as knowing WHAT you're doing.

There's plenty of people who's horses live out unrugged, who make their own hay, whose tack is of indeterminable age who avoid lameness and illness & have long careers just because of knowledge and intuition.

I'll quote the part I mean here -
"this is the COMICAL thing about some of the posts on here....


Ohh boo hoo hoo... the horse isnt being looked after. the horse the horse the horse LOL


lets face it... there aint one person here ( oh sorry one person actually) who DOES know me. and KNOWS this horse is MORE than looked after.... trust me okay when i say this.


My horse gets ANYTHING it needs or wants. the ONLY thing she doesnt have is an experianced owner.


but thats what i pay vets and farriers for isnt it?


god... chill out"


In my eyes, giving a horse everything it wants is a sure-fire path to ruin...I wish I could rewind my first few months of horse ownership & have opted for a tough-love approach because I created most of my own problems through my nervousness... I am still incredibly novicey but I have made a massive effort to concretise my limited knowledge and put it into practise, and take onboard everyone's advise.

Sorry. Just felt that there's definately too much emphasis put on tangible things when considering horse care - a monoflap saddle doesn't make up for being able to identify issues more than just obvious in-your-face signs.

Perhaps back, teeth, saddle wouldn't be the answer to almost every 'problem' post if people were more aware how a problem somewhere can manifest itself in difficult behaviour/changes in rhthym/stride.
 
Well, I suppose novice owners have got to learn somehow but she should atleast be willing to take on board the advice that people are trying to give her.

My family has owned horses since I was 12 and I've been around them on and off since I was 4 but don't consider myself really experienced but I can notice when her saddle doesn't fit, if she is stiff or lame ect. and things like that are not something you actually know to get the vet or saddler out for if you're inexperienced. Experience is always important.

[ QUOTE ]
Perhaps back, teeth, saddle wouldn't be the answer to almost every 'problem' post if people were more aware how a problem somewhere can manifest itself in difficult behaviour/changes in rhthym/stride.

[/ QUOTE ]

They might not always be the answer to the problem but they are common problems and if the horse is playing up for an unknown reason would usually be the first things to check unless you have had them down very recently. Checking the bridle should be on that list aswell, though.
tongue.gif
 
i agree annret. i think its great that people come on here and ask advice ( i don't consider myself novice or inexperienced but i frequently ask for advice on things i don't know about)
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i think its great if people are willing to pay the professionals too but i would encourage all novice owners to either find a good supportive yard or at least go on some sort of practical course- TBH i'd be scared of looking after a horse on my own without at least knowing the basics!
 
I've come across quite a few rich but clueless families recently and whilst i agree that the horses or ponies in these cases get everything they could possibly need, often fundamental things are overlooked. I've also found that sometimes the novices will have one "friend" in the background advising them or pushing them into their own way of thinking meaning other advice is pushed aside. Having seen how these families can be completely ripped off by professionals i know i would much rather be as i am with not much money but enough experience to know ways around the lack of cash. There is a difference also though in novices with cash who care and those with cash who pay others to care the latter being the real problem
 
This is interesting, I have been riding since I was 4 but haven't had my own since I was a teenager and coming back into it has been a bit scary.... For starters I have spent all my savings on the horse of my dreams (unfortunately that sounds more than it is I have never been much of a saver). But anyway I would consider my self a novice owner, to compensate for this I do call the vet or get the vet out for things that I could probably sort my self but until I can trust myself enough to cope with whatever the situation is (and we are getting there slowly) then I will still carry on doing the same. It takes something to happen once for me to know how to deal with it again so maybe by the time I am forty I could just about manage a poultice . just kidding I have an accident prone horse anyway so ill be a master of all things horsey by the time I am 26!
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One thing I do appreciate is this forum, I do avoid asking general advice up my yard apart from by my friends. It's a big yard and plenty of people to criticise I have on a few occasions been made to feel about this
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big I will always take advice graciously even if I do not agree or use it that at the end of the day is my choice!
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TBH i'd be scared of looking after a horse on my own without at least knowing the basics!

[/ QUOTE ]


Me too and we have had horses since I was born lol.

I like having people around to run things past, it is reassuring.
smile.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
Perhaps back, teeth, saddle wouldn't be the answer to almost every 'problem' post if people were more aware how a problem somewhere can manifest itself in difficult behaviour/changes in rhthym/stride.

[/ QUOTE ]

They might not always be the answer to the problem but they are common problems and if the horse is playing up for an unknown reason would usually be the first things to check unless you have had them down very recently. Checking the bridle should be on that list aswell, though.
tongue.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

Oops! Sorry if I didn't make myself clear - regardless of experience level, it seems that a fair few ignore this mantra & I was pointing it out as the obvious place to start!
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
Perhaps back, teeth, saddle wouldn't be the answer to almost every 'problem' post if people were more aware how a problem somewhere can manifest itself in difficult behaviour/changes in rhthym/stride.

[/ QUOTE ]

They might not always be the answer to the problem but they are common problems and if the horse is playing up for an unknown reason would usually be the first things to check unless you have had them done very recently. Checking the bridle should be on that list aswell, though.
tongue.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

Oops! Sorry if I didn't make myself clear - regardless of experience level, it seems that a fair few ignore this mantra & I was pointing it out as the obvious place to start!

[/ QUOTE ]

Oops, sorry - just misunderstood what you meant.
 
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