Fess up - what things do you do to your horse that others might criticise?

I rug my unclipped, in light work pony :)
He is often let free to eat by the muck heap / wander round yard etc
I walk him out with others (I am too tall to ride him much) in a headcollar and often run while he trots and canters too.
Often lead him about yard with a rope round his neck or pushing a wheelbarrow next to him.
I brush his coat, mane and tail and check his heels most days, but only remove the mud once maybe twice a week.
I make up my own clip for the other pony in summer as I really, really find it helps his shocking sweet itch, gets a few funny looks out hacking :S

:) xx
 
Only groom on the weekends, I don't have time during the weekdays.

Pick hooves out 3-4 times a week, instead of every day.

Smack her.

Don't put boots on her, unless jumping.

Never wear a BP.

Have ridden without a hat, bareback.

Went on a bareback hack on the roads (with hat, I might add!)

Feed far too many treats!

I used to let my old share Horse decide where he wanted to hack out :o
 
Nailed said:
I would LOVE someone to criticise me for rugging Cate even though shes not clipped.. all hell would ensue!!!

I dont think its up to people to criticise anyones care of their own horse is it works.. if it isnt working then I can understand it..

Lou x
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How do you know if it is working or not? Horses unfortunately can't tell us if they are too hot (over rugged), too cold etc
 
Oh my word I am shocking. BUT my 5 horse are happy , well fed and content!

-i dont pick out feet unless the farrier is coming

-i do not stick to a regular farrier schedule I go on how there feet look (and yes i have 2 full shod, 1 with just fronts and 2 bare!)

-I fully clip my anglo-arab and leave her out rugged without a neck piece!

-iv never had a saddle fitter I tend to judge by eye and with my instructer

-i have never poo- picked we rotate around 400acres

-i worm twice a year more if they look wormy

-i have been known to forget vacacinations for up to a year ( i think the first 2 years of vaccinations are the most inportant after that i dont think there vital)

-i own 2 lead ropes which are permanently in the horsebox my horses are all trained to stand for as long as i need them to

-i never lead in to or down from the field i open the fence and leave them mooch down the lane at there speed

-all my fencing is electric wire AND to show them its scary when we get a new horse we shock there nose ( refencing 4 fields after a rogue pony turned into an expensive istake)

-i ride in there grazing field

-i tend to exercise 3 horses together do my XC course on my main horse and my ponies follow!!

-i dont school or jump at all over the winter I hack and do x country

-my worst one.......... if its yuk outside i just tend to look out my window and i can see everyone is upright and rugs are all in place.....
 
I am much better behaved now... but I used to
- ride ex racer in from field with no tack except leadrope around neck
- never held him for vet/farrier/clipping. Vet actually dug a barb out of his neck with no anaesthetic, he just stood there
- fed vast amounts of supplements - but they worked to keep him happy
- let him load himself, with no headcollar. Ramp down and he trotted up
 
hessy12 said:
Loving the replies!

Mine - feed polos to my lad daily.
Smack him (NOT beat) if he's naughty. (same as kids really, but I believe that I now banned, so should I be in prison?)
Change rugs looses in field.
Dismount the wrong way (swing leg over withers)
Trot or canter on people's lawns in front of their houses. (the bit between the wall and the road).
Trespass all over private land (catch me if you can)
Swear (politely) at farmers who tell me to get off their land.
The rest are MUCH too wicked to say in public.
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Oh er! Rather incriminating!
 
Too many treats
Dont give her a full groom every day
Rug her up , she is unclipped but lives out & the other day she was shivering so I relented.
Constantly talk to her on the ground & when riding - if horses could talk I would be in trouble:rolleyes:
Fuss over her more than I should when she achieves what I have asked of her
Give her an extra big feed when she has done a great job
Hang onto her Mane when she goes onto Cat leap mode over fences!
 
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- My 19 Year Old TB ex-racer with leg problems gets ridden MAYBE once a week (don't know why this is a sin, but always feel like I have to justify myself)

- Said 19 YO TB gets away with murder

- Said 19 YO TB still gets 2 hard feeds (sugar beet and chaff) and three hays daily even though he isnt in work :D

- I have a tendency to over-react if any of mine even cough :/

- Hardly ever clean my tack

- Let my horses itch against me

- give treats by hand

- Ride in shorts

- Rug up all my unclipped horses and it only gets down to about 10 degrees here :rolleyes:

- bareback my ex-racer with just a headcollar

- Jump without a body protector on

- Happy for my horses to not get ridden IF they're happy :D
 
Idiotpony is led normally with me wandering about at the very end of his leadrope rather than at his side.
The one time he did try to pull his head down to eat in this method I belted him with the end of the rope and he's never done it since.

I trot regularly on the roads and will hop into peoples driveways if I need to, to let traffic pass.

I school in the spare "resting field" as I have no where else.

I have no issue with getting off and leading him while hacking if I feel him getting nervous.

I rarely brush his mane or tail.

I don't weigh his feed, I just chuck a small handful of chaff in and a small half scoop of supplement and he's good to go
 
Secretly believe that I 'borned' her and that she IS my baby.

Feed supplements as preventative measures.

No rug yet.

Check the temp every day.

Feed treats and put Rosehips in the bottom of her muzzle so she doesn't hide at the back of her stable.

Excuse her grumpiness as personality.

I can't think of anything else.
 
I bought my first ever cob this year. She is only a baby (just 5) but a dream to do everything with - but it's making me develop awful habits ....

- put hi-viz leg wraps on one side then crawl und her tummy to do the other side
- dismount swinging my leg over her head, or for something different slide off the back
- let go of her after a hack while I unlock the inside gate (she just stands there)
- leave her tacked up and untied while I go off to fetch what ever I've forgotten
- turn her out by opening the stable door and let her wander out, then walk right behind her as she todles off to the field they are in ( we hAve our own yard and e stables are directly in the fields so it's not as bad as it sounds)
- clip and hog her totally and hardly ever brush her huge tail!

Probably countless more bad habits I have developed too!
 
I put lightweights on both my shetland and my woolly mammoth because I can't be doing with brushing wet, muddy coats.

Sometimes I ride in my wellies.

I stable them in their turnouts so I dont have to change rugs in the morning.

My horse understands "Oi!" better than he understands "No!"

Sometimes its so long between rides my bridle gets mouldy. Sometimes I just wipe it and get back on. Other times I just get back on.

Last year I clipped one side of Alfie including half his face but the other side I only got his neck off before he got bored and kicked off. I just left him like that;

IMG_3041_zps6d87e3f3.jpg


Because I'm a sucker and I fall for this face every time;

alfiesgrumpyface_zpseb9f82e2.jpg
 
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The list is endless :D

Rug loose in field.
Leave horse rugless in -17 and snow.
Clean hooves loose in field.
Trim hooves, loose in field, including hooves up on hoof stand.
Lead all without lead rope.
Lead when out on traffic free track without holding reins or lead rope.
Hack out bareback and bitless. Yes, I have insurance for this :D
Tack by calling horse to gate, grooming, putting saddle on and adjusting, then finally putting bridle on.
Horse rears on request.
Hand feed. Hand feed lots and frequently. Train horse how to behave around open bags of treats ;)
Bucket feed two out of three horses loose in field.
Only make one hay pile for 3 horses.
Ride out without a whip, in fact, don't own a whip or stick of any kind.
Never reprimand horse by hitting, smacking or whatever euphemism you prefer.
Never kick horse.
Never use behaviours I want horse to do well as punishment (e.g. backing up).
Only clean tack when is dirty.
Don't clip, trim or pull hair off any of the horses.
Only groom the part that are in contact with tack.
Ride with no tack at all in an open field.
I'm sure I could think of another 2 or 3 hundred :D
 
Loving this post!
Ride in wellies
Ride out in day light with out masses of reflective gear
Clean tack once in a blue moon - but do clean for an occassion......
Ride out on the roads - often (argghhh - how dare I ??)
Continue to ride to the standard I was taught 30+ years ago - so that is pretty traditional - i.e I still think that a snaffle is a good bit, I still think from that from time to time I need to use my 'crop' in an assertive fashion, and I have no truck for all that waving ropes at horses and to chase them around in circles
Trot my horses up steep hills to get them fit
Rarely ride my horses in a school, thinking that hacking them out is quite good fun
 
eldest mare gets away with murder if she wanted..... :D

youngest i lay down the law with daily as i dont like her as much.......




yes.... I HAVE A FAVORITE HORSE!!!

:D:D:D::D:D
 
I love this thread, but many 'sins' seem more like time saving...

Mine is a sin and I think I'm going to have to hide after I post this...

I play IT with my horses....

Yep, It started with my mums Section A when she was young, had a habbit of creaping up on me when I was poo picking and nipping me and running away, so I'd chase her to tell her off.. it then developed into a game, that our 3 have all picked up on over the years (Annie was 2 then she now 22)

Now there are some safety measures, Annie no longer nips me to start the game (we put an end to that) but generally she trots round the field showing off, with a chase me expression. IF I am happy to play I run at her waving my arms and thats it; game started.. All 3 horses run wildly round with me in tow, I then stop and pretend to leave and they all snort and trot up behind me until I turn around and off they go. They know that if I don;t respond to the trotting I'm not interested in play so just look grumpy and go backto eating.. But all 3 now play..

In defence all our horses are happy to be caught, never try this on with anyone other than me, and my husband (he's learnt to play with me), and they never kick out, bite and know that if we don't want to play not to try and make us. It's also a good way to excercise 3 horses..

I'm ready for my punishment now :o
 
Finally a place to relive my sins!!! :D


I feed my horse a treat everytime I walk past the stable if her head is poking out! (She's obese)

Despite my horse being a shire x TB and being built more like a shire and carries her weight well all year round I still feed her a dinner through the summer because I can't take the way she looks at me if I put her out with food.

When I'm schooling she prefers the right rein so if I'm on the left rein I've been known to give up an move on to something else (working on this with lunging so forgive me!).

I will not throw a rug away until its falling to pieces I'd rather spend hours sewing it back together and reproofing!

I've bought my horse all sorts of boots and bandages because they looked nice in the shop and never really used any because she doesn't need them.

I always look if there's a homemade cheap option before buying something horsey.

I used to clip my horse because I thought it looked good... (I still think it does).

I blow rasberries in my horses face when she invades my personal head space with her mammoth shire head, and I laugh when she pulls mean faces back!

I have yet to take the mirror down from the stable becasue its too funny when she squares up to her own reflection or tries to bite it!

I tweek my horses neck skin/fur if she gets a bit bargey with me.



I insist on kissing an cuddling my horses much to her annoyance (does that make me a bad owner)

I let my horse nosey and occasionally lick things that she shouldn't! I.e - parked cars, small children, windows, unattended show gear and pint glass.


I often get off the wrong way or by swinging my leg over her withers!

I never brush her tail because its wild!

I excuse occassionally rude behaviour as spirited. (kicking the stable door, )

I overly trim her beard and whiskers!

I only ride with a saddle if I'm jumping because my big fatty is so comfortable without.

I tell people (mainly OH) that she only likes me riding her and can be funny with different people, which is probably not 100 % true I just don't like people that aren't as confident as me with her riding her!

I probably have many more bad habits but I can't think of them off the top of my head!

:) :D
 
OMG the list is endless!!

If its hammering down with rain and i have to bring my boy in i lead him in whilst driving my car with my arm out the window :eek:

I clip my lad in september

Wear flipflops to do all chores except riding

I will smack a naughty horse

I spend too long talking to my horses (tell them everything!)

I dont always change my mares rugs daily

I shave my horses whiskers off every week

Two of my horses are barefoot

I bribe my boy with polo's to get a clear round - im sure he understands!! So gets fed mass amounts of polos!

I dont always check them twice a day

I guess whatever you do someone will critisise but me and my horses are happy :D
 
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Used to give way to many treats but I've stopped now!
let her rub on me when she's itchy, I don't think that's a sin though.. It's so cute!
Ride it muddy saddle cloths.. There only going to get worse with this weather!
 
I ride my 4 year old in a grackle and breatplate? Naughty

He does have a nathe snaffle though!

I even sometimes wear spurs as he isnt very self motivated.

I sometimes dont pick out feet

I sometimes use draw reins on my mare

Ive clipped the mare twice already and she has a duvet on as I am not clipping in two weeks again!

Bad me ;)

Oh they also wear shoes, have short manes and tails and no feathers or whiskers :O
 
I leave him out naked even when it rains

He is barefoot

He doesn't get fed any hard feed, just hay and a bit of fast fibre for his supplements

I ride in a treeless saddle

I hate schooling and so does he so we don't do it

I give him hugs and kiss his nose (he hates this but has given up now)

I give him treats and sometimes, but rarely, a bit of my chocolate as he has mastered his cute scrounging face and I cannot resist

I only brush the saddle area and bridle area if he is muddy in winter and I want to ride

I bib clip him and still turn him out naked
 
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