Funnies please - silly mistakes you have made

Landcruiser

Landcruiser

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Following on from the thread "Oh dear lord" how about a silly mistakes thread? No criticism, we've all done something!

I'll start. 30 Years ago I was left to look after a friend's horses for a couple of days. I'd never fed sugar beet before, and had no idea how much I needed (she'd left me a bucket and a bin of sugar beet and said to soak it, thankfully!) So I just filled the bucket full of sugar beet and topped it up with water to the top. When I got back next morning there was green mush all over the floor, looked like an incontinent horse had stood in there all night! My friend thought it was hilarious when I 'fessed up:o
 
not me but when I based riding accident my mum went to the yard to turn my mare out
She managed to get the turnout rug with attached hood done up but inside out!

My sister drove me there in the evening and at first we couldnt tell why her rug looked a different colour!
Mum must have thought god this is fiddley to do up! :-)
 
When I was very much younger, I used to muck out my neighbours horses and do them first thing. They had 3 boxes in a barn in an "L' shape so middle horse had to walk through one of the stables to get out. Too much of a hurry ( I was only 11 or so at the time) and these were not small horses.. I didn't shut the middle door properly, cue one horse trying to join me when I was leading the other out and then I lost the pair of them. Just as well we were down 1/2 mile of driveway and all the 2 did was head to their field!
 
Christmas day a few years ago was mucking out my old Arab and had him tied on yard, finished mucking out hay, water etc, came back about 10 hours later to find him still died on the yard, I had forgot to turn him out when I had finished!!!! Bless him the poor boy no hay water nothing! I felt dreadful especially as was Christmas day, but he was fine and obviously very pleased to see me!
I did feel VERY VERY bad!!!!!
 
Couple of years back we trailered to a favourite hack, bit different for ponies so usually rather fast. Tacking up and daughter had forgotten her girth, her pony really not comfy bareback so I volunteered. As expected, somewhat exciting, daughter then had the gall to call me a wimp for being unwilling to canter down a hill with a corner at the bottom.
 
Recently I was going to a show, loaded all my tack etc in the living & jumped in. Drove down the drive. It wasn't until I thought
'Gosh, the lad is quiet' (he's a prolific pawer when excited)
That I realised I hadn't actually loaded him into the horsebox :D

Luckily I hadn't got far, not like my eventer friend who got 2 hours to an event before realising she's forgotten one of hers!
 
Mine was embarrassing, but I don't think it was all my fault. A few years ago, when first landlady died, I tried a livery yard when the remaining sister had said she may have to sell the land.

Anyway, when I turned up on the first day, I asked the YM what the deal was on feeding. Did people put feeds out for other horses, or just completely DIY it. She said that if I was first up and didn't mind putting her feeds out, that was fine, and she'd return the favour. Her two and a third horse were out in one paddock, right next to the block. I turned up first a couple of mornings later (this girl would spend hours there, so I knew I was first!) and saw three feeds in the feed room. I did wonder why they all looked exactly the same (you can see where this is going), but dutifully put them out, well spaced in the paddock, just before I left.

I came across said YM on the drive and told her I'd put their feeds out. Turned out only one of the horses even got a feed and she'd made up three days worth in advance!!! She belted up to the paddock and had to wrestle the buckets from the poor horses. I felt like such an idiot, but why didn't she say only one had a feed?!?

Best one I think is me thinking my pony was oh so bombproof I could lean over with my crop and pick up a plastic bag on the lawn that I crossed when heading back from a ride. Yep, pony shot one way, I shot the other and landed heavily on my shoulder. I tore the rotator cuff and ended up with physio on it. Wot a tit!
 
I once went home and left someones Horse tied up on the yard. I didn't drive then and couldn't get back to the yard. So I rung around frantically asking people to put the Horse in! He was so quiet I just forgot!

Planned a hack with someone and forgot my saddle!
 
One of my better efforts was the first time I put a Western saddle on my new Quarter Horse. I'd watched a video on how to saddle up, but it had only shown the cinching (girthing) from the near side, it didn't show you how things attached on the off-side.
On the off-side of a Western saddle is a doubled-over piece of leather called an off-billet. You hook this through the off-side D ring on the saddle and use it to attach the cinch ready to do up the latigo (girth tie) to the other end of the cinch on the nearside. You put both ends of the off-billet through the off-side cinch buckle to attach the two parts.
...Unless you are a muppet like me, who just buckles one part of the off-billet, so once the latigo is tied, your cinch is attached to... well, not a lot... whoopsie...
 
mine was going into my field (just my two horses thank god)! one being a very unhandled youngster and food posessive....

with a feed bucket :o


i was flung accross the field from her hooves.....could sit properly for a week (ribs but it hurt to move!)


stupid thing to do








2nd stupid thing i did was actually buying the little **** in the first place!!!!!!!!!! :D
 
when getting on my little arab mare I used to hop up and forward a little (as she had a habit of stepping forward just as you mounted). One day she decided to step backwards for a change, so of course I hop up & forward - ended up missing her back, going over her neck and landing in a heap on the ground on the other side of her! My friend and the instructor standing watching thought this was pretty funny, so did my mare I think!
 
A big moment was my first prelim dressage test which I had practised and learnt inside out. OH went with me to record the obvious certain placing that was coming my way.

After 2 movements of the test the judge sounded the horn, got out of her car and said that I had gone wrong :eek::eek: It transpired that the test had been updated and changed in places. I couldn't have a caller because I didn't know the letters :o:o. She then said that I could go "HC"

My non-horsey OH muttered under his breath "What does that mean? Horse Confused??" :D:D

I bought a new set of dressage sheets after that.......
 
When I was 17 I worked for a rather posh/arrogant lady, looking after her hunters. One day she was going hunting, marched through the yard without saying a word, jumped in her lorry and drove off.......her horse was still in the stable........it was really funny.
 
At our old yard the stables were directly in the field, so in the summer I used to let my boy into his stable to eat his tea to stop him being chased off it by the field bully. One day I turned up to do my daily check and feed and couldn't find him in the field. I'd put him in his stable the day before to eat his tea and forgotten about him. There were only 3 of us there so nobody else had been up and spotted him either so he'd been in there about 20 hours with no food water or bedding bless him. i was in a panick pinching his skin to check for dehydration. He was fine, I tried to get him to drink but he wasn't bothered, just wanted the grass!
 
A few years ago we parked up about a mile from a meet, I opened the front ramp and untied the horse and let it out expecting Mum to grab it as it came down the ramp - but she wasn't there!! So my saint of a horse trotted off to the meet without me in full tack only to be caught by the ex DC of the Pony Club! Very embarrassing!
 
As a child (about 50 years ago lol) I did a gymkhana. In the obstacle race the last 2 obstacles were apple in a bucket, then a sweet in flour. The ponies were held by a helper at the top of the lane. Know where this is going?



Yes, you've got it. I was well in the lead and got on the wrong pony as I couldn't see a thing due to flour in my eyes!
 
I have actually done this more than once, my old mare live out but I had use of the wash box on the yard to clean her up and tack up etc, at least a few times a month I would get down the road and have to turn back after leaving her double tied in there, once or twice I got home before I remembered and had to ring round to get someone to put her back out.

Another time I had just given my friends horse his breakfast and was skipping out round him, went to empty the wheelbarrow and left the stable door open as I would only be 2 mins and didnt expect him to go anywhere. So after a quick chat and getting distracted he was left with his stable door open most of the day, he didn't go anywhere bless him.

I used to regularly set off on a hack an get down the lane to realise I had forgotten to put my hat on.

The last 3 or 4 times I've been hacking it has suddenly occured to me that I haven't picked my horses feet out before going out. Not the end of the world but it has always been part of my routine and all of a sudden I seem incapable of remembering to do it!!

Reading this back I think I'm a bit of a scatter brain :)
 
I let go of the reins to put up a jump, looked up to see pony trotting off towards the open arena gate..luckily he took the long way..it only needed CCTV for an hilarous clip of me and the pony racing to be first to the gate..I won! Had a look round to see if I'd be witnessed!
 
I have gone to do my horse, got a call from mother in law asking me to feed her three as she couldn't get there, so i dutifully feed all horses, get on the bus to go shopping, do what i had to,on the bus home sat there thinking i can smelly garlic...... looked under the pram and i had left a full feed bucket under there.
So the poor pony had one very well traveled feed.
 
I've left a full water bucket outside of my lads stable, forgotten so many girths/stirrups/reins etc when going to shows. I forgot to put my trailer light cable on the back of the car (did get a lot of ribbing from the copper who pulled me over) and when I was helping a friend do pony rides I had a habit of legging people straight over the saddle (was working in a racing yard at the time so used to legging heavier people onto bigger horses!) :D
 
I gave my tack a very thorough cleaning, soap and leather dressing and everything. It looked fantastic. I then tacked up to go for a super shiney clean ride. It is my habit to hold the saddle flap up with my head as I tighten the girth before mounting (my horse is 16:2 and I am 5 foot 3). So I was pulling up on an oiled girth strap when my hand slipped off and I punched myself quite hard on the nose. I didn't know whether to laugh of cry.
 
I had turned my horse out in the school, and went to catch her. Instead of being sensible and going into the school, I opened the gate and let her walk to me. Horse had other ideas and promptly took off round the yard! Thank god she was a greedy cow and made for the feed room, rather than the 60mph road outside.
 
I was riding someone elses horse and had cleaned up all the saddle and bridle. I didn't quite spend enough time rubbing the saddle soap off.
An hour later everything was white and flakey :eek:

I also gave my Welsh Sec A 2 cans of Guiness on Christmas Day. Que a lot of snoring and a very quiet Minnie :rolleyes:

Oh and another one wasn't MY mistake. But -
to get to the back field you had to go through the indoor and leave the far gate open to get back into the yard through the indoor. I went to catch a horse. Someone hadn't realised the far gate to the back paddock was open and let the stallion in the indoor for a run. I came back with the horse to everyone histerically trying to find the horse. Yep, you guessed it, he was in the back paddock frantically trying to cover all the mares! Que about 6 of us chasing him round for about an hour!
 
Zonda I've done that many times :(

I dropped a pony off to his new loan home and managed to drive home with the trailer handbrake for the 10 mile journey home :eek: I have never made that mistake again!
 
this was ermmm yesterday... i emptied my wheel barrow into the muck trailer and started forking it up not really taking much notice of what im upto... i walk out of the trailer pretty satisfied with how the muck heap was looking pretty tidy now... walk around the corner and i am greeted by a wheel barrows worth of muck... my muck... which i had just chucked over the side of the muck trailer on to the floor... safe to say once i had cleared it up i did actually look where i was chucking it :o
 
I forgot to tie my highland up properly to the lorry when I got him out at a show. I went back in to get changed and when I came out he had gone! Cue lots of panicking until I heard someone shout 'what the heck' from inside a very posh expensive lorry across the ground!! Apparently they had nicer hay! Had to go in and get him with a very red face.
Recently I decided to long rein my mare over some jumps so carefully set up a few then returned with her only to realise that I was indeed very stupid as I'd set up the ones with wings!!!
 
I once walked all the way across 2 horribly muddy fields to get Ned in. YO had told me to leave the gates open so horses could go between the two fields.
I got Ned and walked back, opened the gate as instructed.
YO asked why I hadn't opened the gates. Turns out, I needed to tie them open. D'oh! Another long, muddy walk for me!
 
Many years ago a friend of the family was ill. She asked if I could pop up and feed her horses and turn them out. Feeling very important with myself, I fed them all and turned out her mare and two geldings. Then had to turn out her stallion who is normally as quiet as a lamb. Put headcollar on and led him out the stable where he then shifted up a gear and took me straight across the yard, rounded the corner to the barn at a spanking trot where we were suddenly faced with car and horsebox and room for one to get past, he kept going and I hit the car boot. Thankfully he headed straight to his gate which was open, went in and started grazing, lifted his head and looked at me as if I were an idiot as I took off his headcollar. I knew perfectly well that he was supposed to be turned out first but didnt that day. I absolutely pooped my pants as he is her pride and joy and am just thankfull that her curtains were closed.
 
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