Following on from KatB's thread - have you ever commented on/critised another rider..

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SplashofSoy

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on thier tack, riding etc without knowing who they are or the reasons behind what they were doing and why? We all seem to have an opionion on the draw reins but thinking it and saying it are different things.

I have only ever once spoken up to tell someone that what they were doing wasnt right but it was dangerous and putting everyone else at risk of an accident at a SJ warm up. I was the only one to say anything but two people came up to me afterwards and said thank you that they had thought the same but didnt want to say anything.

If what they are doing or the tack they are riding in isnt causing a problem to the horse or anyone else i would never dream of passing comment on what they were doing as happened to KatB.
 
I would ask them why they use it but I would NEVER tell anyone that they were wrong even when I do know the reasoning behind it! (unless you are someone who fits a hanging cheek snaffle on upside down - we have had 3 on my yard and all of 3 them questioned me when I advised them it went the other way up... Unfortunately them putting it on wrong was down do a picture in an advert of the bit fitted incorrectly... )
 
Apart from occaisonally mentioning to riders i pass in my car that its polite to thank drivers that slow down, no I haven't.
Unless I'm asked for my opinion I tend to keep it to myself.
 
A girl at my old yard was fitting a chambon to her horse ready to go out for a hack, he was wearing a 3 ring snaffle and a martingale already.
As I walked past I said to her that you can't ride in a chambon they are used for lunging only. The Yard Manager was there too and told her the same.
She replied that the girl in the tack shop told her you could ride in them so she was going to. Both me and the YM tried to persuade her to take it off but she was adamant she was going to ride in it.
Luckily her horse was a saint and she hacked him out and was fine!
 
I'd be a liar if I said I hadn't commented on someones riding, of course I have! In the same way I'm damn sure people have commented on mine, it's human nature.

We had a young girl out of equine college who thought 'gadgets' where fashionable the poor horse had everything on it and really only needed a snaffle, I knew the horse as her first owner had backed her beautifully and she was a fun forward going mare. I had to pull her up the day she had draw reins, grackle and hanging cheek, the horse couldn't move let alone go jumping as she intended. Funnily enough at a local dressage show I saw the horse (with a new rider) and she was ridden in a snaffle, no nose band and certainly no attachments and she was going beautifully..no sign of all the 'issues' her previous owner said she had!!:rolleyes:
 
I once told a rider I thought they were stupid for bringing their horse on the road, because I genuinely thought it posed a risk to other road users.
Generally, I will sometimes think "hmm, wouldn't wear that on that" but never actually pass comment on it unless asked.
 
Only once in the States, but the horse was being ridden in a SJ warm up with draw reins as tight as they could go, head hauled into chest, spurred hard enough to draw blood when it refused to move forwards and then ragged in the mouth when it leapt forwards. Every time they approached a fence it stopped and got a thrashing. I took the issue to the stewards for them to deal with.

I don't care what tack people use as long as it isn't being abused.
 
I did once shout at a teenager at the yard to stop yanking (and I mean properly yanking) her horse in the gob. She was cross and having a temper tantrum and I really didn't mean to do it but it made me see red. Her mother was sitting right next to me saying nothing and I don't think that helped. And the horse was five and she'd only ridden it three times since getting it. That didn't help either.

Normally though, no. I try to keep my gob shut!
 
if im teaching, or someone wants me to watch them ride - you can guarantee i'll refuse untill they agree to start in a snaffle bridle with maybe a running martingale as a seatbelt.

i hate fashionistas.
 
if i'm unsure or don't know the rider/horse then i will ask why they are doing whatever it is they are doing.

i do mutter to myself when i see some people doing stupid things when riding, people leaning too far back in the sadde, any further and they'd be lying down!
feet going right through the stirrups when in an advanced lesson and the instructor doesn't say anything.
people using martingale and strong bits as horse is too strong but wears spurs and uses a whip to make it go, confusing the horse in the process!
where i used to keep my horses there was a woman who made out she was an instructor, we know for a fact she wasn't, she would try and teach some people to ride but when she was teaching them the rising trot we cringed. one day my OH, YM, another livery, my kids and myself were there and she started to show them what was meant, we were in stitches and couldn't speak for ages.

she would rise but then tell the pupils that they should thrust their groin into the pommel of the saddle, lets just say it was a very sexual description (both visual and verbally!).
 
just to add, no one can comment on my riding as i don't give them the chance, i'm the first to criticise my own riding and then i laugh about it or ask for help, it stops others from being rude to me as they know i know my own faults! lol :D
 
I once told a young girl off for whipping her pony....she was going around and around over the same two jumps for about an hour......pony was obviously tired and fed up.

Oh, and I once pointed out that someone had a bit in upside down.

Other than that, I keep my opinions to myself...unless asked.

I'm on my own yard now, theres only me there..... so I tell myself off.:D
 
I once corrected a fetish couple for having a hanging snaffle in their mouths upside down... Let's just say they weren't too impressed!!

Had the full gimp outfit And human bridle on the one being 'ridden' too ilmao!!

In the horse world, unless there is a safety or welfare issue I don't criticise, but sometime have subtly suggested an alternative to the American gag and tight flash on a horse which needs a snaffle...
 
I try and avoid saying stuff to anyone unless they ask. However, because my sister and I tend to go to comps together we do discuss what we see.

I try and avoid saying stuff, because we've had our fair share of people saying unreasonable stuff to us. Why they felt the need to comment on my horse's bit (copper roller snaffle as he was a bit unstoppable...) or my sister's new saddle (jumping saddle, and we're saving for a dressage saddle- better to have the 2 than one allrounder for her...) is unknown to me!
 
Of course I have, generally not to their face:(:o I should think most people have if they are honest.

I don't now,

a) because I can't be bothered, and
b) because I've also been around long enough to engage brain before inserting foot in mouth - mostly;)

If I wonder why someone has their horse strapped down/in/up, wears this or that bit, blah, blah,blah and I'm interested enough then I'll ask. As for their riding, pah, no chance, I'm merely a passenger on a horse, most horses I couldn't even ride one side of and I'd look a total twerp if someone said "Well you do it better then!"
 
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Unless is safety or welfare then No, I would never assume to know better than someone else when it comes to their own horse.

I have suggested bits, or recommended products during chit chat but thats it. Im not the perfect rider so who am I to criticise anyone
 
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