Funny examples of startling lack of knowledge in a horse owner?

Not a horse owner, but someone who came to see my horse for loan got her in whilst she was there, tied her up, said let's groom before we tack up, lady picks something from the grooming kit 'shall I use this' erm, 'that's a stirrup tread, try this one'...
 
Zero00000 said:
Not a horse owner, but someone who came to see my horse for loan got her in whilst she was there, tied her up, said let's groom before we tack up, lady picks something from the grooming kit 'shall I use this' erm, 'that's a stirrup tread, try this one'...
Click to expand...

I was introduced to a lady as "she is a horse trainer in Germany," yes "someone sent her a showjunoer to freshen up so stabled it for five days!
She asked me to show her how to muck out , as apparently she had no experience of manual tasks!
 
Last edited:
webble said:
Reading this thread just shows how mean spirited the horse world is. I'm sure we all asked silly questions or misunderstood something once, I would hate to think someone was mocking me for not knowing
Click to expand...

I can mock myself, I have done some truly stupid things and am really old enough (with horse owning parents) to know better.
 
MagicMelon said:
Watched a thought-she-knew-it-all pony club mum years ago "brushing" a pony with a metal curry comb... (ie. the kind you only use for cleaning brushes).
Click to expand...

Standard practice for me when a hairy is shedding - its no different to using a shedding rake or whatever they are called.
 
Ex YO would NOT admit that my horse who was on full livery was very fat. She dismissed his footiness as needing shoes, not the LGL it was. She looked me in the eyes and told me that my trimmer had crippled him, even though he was slightly sounder after his trim. When I asked her why she told me when he walked his frogs were touching the floor and that it was crippling him! Hardly surprising as she sat me down and asked me if I really couldnt see he had lost weight. He'd put nearly a 80kgs on, admittedly on a weight tape, but he'd still piled weight on. And sadly, that was just one of a ridiculous number of things she said!
 
Pocketr@cket said:
I'm going to buy a baby so we can learn together.
Click to expand...

Haha if I had a pound for every time I've heard that!

- Good one the other week, from someone who confesses to being naive but is learning from partner and others at the yard.
"Will you ever breed off him?"

..him being my gelding.
 
I asked my YO whether I should be concerned that Jake had a lot of white snot coming out of his nose after schooling, he just had got dust up there as the school was a bit dry.

I asked today what the function of the chain on a pelham is as I have been advised to ride him in one for hunter classes.

I told her that her pony's sheath looked a little swollen and he was kicking towards his stomach.. He just has a big willy and feather mites.

I am a horse owner, I admit I am a novice horse owner in some areas of ownership that I haven't yet had many dealings with.. I would rather ask and be labelled stupid than miss something important, or do something that will cause Jake discomfort.
 
A mate told me she never picks out her horse's feet as he kicks the door and shakes it all out. I was like :eek3: What about the back feet and the lovely sharp stones lodged in there?

Fun Times said:
Standard practice for me when a hairy is shedding - its no different to using a shedding rake or whatever they are called.
Click to expand...

I don't see the difference between a shedding blade and a metal curry comb. I've used plastic pan scrubbers on mine before, it gets out all the dead skin.

I'm constantly amazed at the lack of knowledge about various things. I watched in dismay as a newbie at my yard started cantering and jumping her new pony within minutes of getting in the school. She's pony club, I thought they were taught to warm up first. :(
 
Last edited:
There is a novice-y lady at my yard who insists on feeding her horse a full feed as horse comes in from the field before riding, and then then again immediately after the horse has been ridden.

Several concerned staff members and liveries have approached her over the years and she has never listened, insists this is fine.

Fortunately the horse in question has never been ill from it. However this does nothing to dissuade her from continuing to do it :(
 
Did make me laugh a few years ago when a friend of mine asked to come riding with me. She had ridden 'a lot'as a teenager and was more than capable of coming out in the mountain for a hack with me. Asked the YO if I could borrow her lovely quiet mare and arranged to ride. Asked friend if she wanted me to tack up but she said she was fine with that. I led my mare out onto the yard where my friend was waiting with a very confused looking horse whose saddle was on backwards! Both had a giggle over it and had a great ride.
 
EBHouse said:
There is a novice-y lady at my yard who insists on feeding her horse a full feed as horse comes in from the field before riding, and then then again immediately after the horse has been ridden.

Several concerned staff members and liveries have approached her over the years and she has never listened, insists this is fine.

Fortunately the horse in question has never been ill from it. However this does nothing to dissuade her from continuing to do it :(
Click to expand...

It depends what shes feeding though! Fibre feeds are fine immediately before riding and can actually be beneficial if you have an ulcer prone horse :)
 
FrankieCob said:
It depends what shes feeding though! Fibre feeds are fine immediately before riding and can actually be beneficial if you have an ulcer prone horse :)
Click to expand...

yup, I discovered by accident that our Sec A was happier ridden after some chaff. Also took his mind off food as he had a food obsession.
 
Zero00000 said:
Not a horse owner, but someone who came to see my horse for loan got her in whilst she was there, tied her up, said let's groom before we tack up, lady picks something from the grooming kit 'shall I use this' erm, 'that's a stirrup tread, try this one'...
Click to expand...

Probably looked (and would have worked) a lot like a rubber comb - excellent for getting mud off!
 
Not from horse owners, but from when I was helping with the RS.

We had a birthday party of smaller children, some who hadn't ridden much if at all. Whilst they would be on the wee ponies, I had to lead one of the lovely (but not much of a looker) coloured cobs past them into his stable.

One of the children pointed and yelled 'IS THAT A COW?!' very loudly, and her friend (I assume she had ridden more) replied even louder, 'THAT'S NOW A COW, THAT'S JASPER! DON'T BE SO RUDE!'

I was glad the horses stable was round the back, me and my friend spent a good 5 minutes laughing.

also had another incident where friend was asked by a little boy why couldn't he extend himself like his pony, and unfortunately it was very specific to a certain part of male anatomy. Friend didn't know what to say, so she replied with something like 'it's to make sure there's no splash back'
 
I have been trying to think of some, but the only one that really came to mine was something I did! I was having a group riding lesson and the instructor was telling us to "pull". I would "pull" (ask for halt) and the horse would obviously stop. She would then tell me to get back into a trot and then once I was established she was say "now PULL" I didn't want to yank the ponies back teeth out, but I again asked the pony to halt. This went on for about 10 mins until a very frustrated me stopped in the middle of the arena near the instructor. After a couple of minutes of confused conversation I figured out by pull she meant jumping position. I had never heard it called that before. The whole group including me had a good laugh about it. I did learn that if in doubt see what everyone else in the class is doing. I could have figured it out for myself a lot sooner doing that or just saying to the instructor in the first place that I didn't understand what she wanted!

Also related to sasquatch's post, kids say the funniest things! I worked in a trekking centre and the wee ones always asked if the coloured horses were cows. Of course my other favourite was family group treks. The wee ones would think they were riding the baby horses and that their parents were riding the Mummy and Daddy horses. Kids are so cute.
 
I've related this on here before but for those that haven't previously seen it: When I was young a lady we knew of had two nondescript ponies, she called one an arab and one a thoroughbred though they clearly weren't. She had started breeding from them and for the sake of conversation I asked if she would like fillies or colts this time to which she replied she'd like geldings this time as she'd already had a filly and a colt. My parents quickly changed the subject before I embarrassed them by enlightening her!
 
EKW said:
A girl that works in the yard, has ridden and worked with horses for gawd knows how many years (is totally useless btw!) bought a horse to point to point to prove to us all that she can gallop a horse and she can jump one - something we do not, under any circumstances allow her to do with the racers because she is not capable. So she buys said horse, sight unseen, and says to us - they told me he was sharp but I don't know what that means.

And people wonder why I don't even contemplate tolerating her...
Click to expand...
Jeepers. I was at work and had my fiance phone to enquire about a New Forest and although they had sold her, they had another but she was sharp. My fiance mentioned that would be ok because she was primarily a companion. (I was proud of him for knowing and being able to discuss my needs in a horse as he is not horsey and had minimal contact with mine at that time).

AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
.....
I am a horse owner, I admit I am a novice horse owner in some areas of ownership that I haven't yet had many dealings with.. I would rather ask and be labelled stupid than miss something important, or do something that will cause Jake discomfort.
Click to expand...
This is as it should be. I am always happy to help others on the yard and regardless of my experience, still ask questions on why/how others manage their horses as you never know what useful nuggets you will learn or be able to impart something to them.

sasquatch said:
also had another incident where friend was asked by a little boy why couldn't he extend himself like his pony, and unfortunately it was very specific to a certain part of male anatomy. Friend didn't know what to say, so she replied with something like 'it's to make sure there's no splash back'
Click to expand...
I would have NO IDEA how to answer that one and so glad it has never come up.

EventingMum said:
I've related this on here before but for those that haven't previously seen it: When I was young a lady we knew of had two nondescript ponies, she called one an arab and one a thoroughbred though they clearly weren't. She had started breeding from them and for the sake of conversation I asked if she would like fillies or colts this time to which she replied she'd like geldings this time as she'd already had a filly and a colt. My parents quickly changed the subject before I embarrassed them by enlightening her!
Click to expand...
Blimey! Just. Wow.
 
I remember working at the Open University and talking to a man, who's wife was buying a horse, because she was bored of her yacht! Could she ride? Nope! Thankfully she was going to get some lessons after she'd bought it. Hopefully it went well!
 
EventingMum said:
I've related this on here before but for those that haven't previously seen it: When I was young a lady we knew of had two nondescript ponies, she called one an arab and one a thoroughbred though they clearly weren't. She had started breeding from them and for the sake of conversation I asked if she would like fillies or colts this time to which she replied she'd like geldings this time as she'd already had a filly and a colt. My parents quickly changed the subject before I embarrassed them by enlightening her!
Click to expand...

Oh my dear god, words fail me :-(
 
Not really about horse owners but I found this too funny not to share.
Last summer I was working at a trekking centre and there was also a children's riding holiday running, one of the kids(who had become a know it all, aged 8 after a week of riding) turned to one of the daily trek people who just came for a once off ride and said " you will probably ride Amber gecause she's fat and you are too". I tried so hard not to smile as I then had to inform the man that he would riding Amber!!
 
Owner who used to smack her horse every time it had "relaxed ears", because she thought that it was ears back and the horse was going to bite her.

And plenty who have fed what it said on the bag, because that was what it said on the bag.
 
I don't want to poke fun at novices because I can remember some of my mistakes when I started. When I was only 10 I would help with the hunters next door, mucking out etc. Still remember my fury when having mucked out, one of the visiting sons offered to help and asked me where I wanted the water bucket. I pointed to the front of the stable only to see him then pour an entire bucket of water out! Or people who for s long time, thought I called my son "Spot" because I always wanted to get home to "put my boy to bed"....
 
When I was 14 or 15, I used to occasionally help out at a stables. One day another girl and I were tasked with mucking out of the back boxes. After we had taken about 3 barrows of heavy, wet, stinking straw out of one box we were stopped and asked what we were doing... only to be told after that these boxes were deep littered and they only needed the poo taking off the top... oops!
 
MagicMelon said:
Watched a thought-she-knew-it-all pony club mum years ago "brushing" a pony with a metal curry comb... (ie. the kind you only use for cleaning brushes).
Click to expand...

I read a very old horse book once, that had a section on how to treat and instruct your groom. Apparently you should dismiss a groom that uses a metal curry comb on a horse as its slovenly and lazy behaviour.

Used gently its quite good for pinging mud off!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top