General observation, perhaps controversial but hey ho!

Pidgeon

Pidgeon

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Don't post in here very often anymore but still come in for a mooch around. Am amazed at people posting stuff and pics in here stating no crit and then when people offer constructive advice they get shot down in flames.
Surely most people who have horses strive to do their best and improve their riding or at the very least not do the wrong thing or hurt their horse, or am I just old fashioned?
I for one would not like to see this forum descend into one where no one offers any help or advice to others as surely this is what it is here for? I for one have learnt an awful lot from numerous people on here as the wealth of knowledge and experience is tremendous.
So just the musings of someone who would perhaps not like to see all replies to posts like this -
Lovely horse
Great jump
Your position is fab
instead of
Horse could do with more muscle, try these exercises......
If you hike your stirrups up by a couple of holes you will find it easier to keep your lower leg in the correct position and stable.....
etc etc
Thoughts?
 
I do try to avoid the introspecitve, navel gazing posts that this forum tends to be prone to, but yes I agree that constructive comments are a good deal more useful than those that may entrench the original poster into continuing bad habits through lack of correction

I guess there is a school of thought (more and more these days it seems) that considers that it is not the role or the right of other forum members to point out faults, deficiencies or unsafe practices. From a personal perspective if I am doing something wrong, or there is another possibly better way of doing it, then i want to know about it.
 
Trouble is that I think a lot of criticism on here descends into unconstructive slating.

I agree that constructive comments like you suggest are incredibly useful, but a lot of people find it hard to word critique so positively and end up causing offense even where none was intended.

I agree with you though - what's the point of endless 'Wow - you look great together' replies when there is clearly something that can be altered to improve the horse/rider/combination?
 
I dont post much but I visit several times a day and I must admit I switch threads the minute I see the comment of "heres pics but dont cc". I posted some pics yesterday of my daughters pony, I know her issues and would have been happy if people said try this or try that. Surely its all part of the learning process and I'm not being funny when I say that were else REALLY can you find so much experience in one place??

Interested to see other peoples views as well.

Liz
 
I still enjoy the diversity of posts on the forum, but it's all got a little too PC these days with many advice threads either offering no useful information, or descending into cat fights.

We used to have a few very knowledgeable people on the forum who were old school and would tell it like it is, but too many people took offence and so they either got banned or just stopped posting.
 
I have put pictures up and asked for no cc because they were of my daughter, who is only 13 . Whilst happy to show pictures of her and her horse she does not want to be ripped apart critically on a forum. However if I posted pictures of myself I would be happy to have CC.
 
I joined the forum for three main reasons...to learn, to help where I can and to enjoy the company of like-minded people. Its great to feel proud of an achievement, or feel sad if something has gone wrong or a loved one has been lost, and to be able to share these with friends. Especially the photos! As one who hasn't got the hang of modern technology, (Sorry folks, I'm very behind the times!) its great to see so many pics of other folk's horses and ponies but why worry about crits? Surely they are one of the best ways of learning if we can't afford an instructor every week to point out our weaknesses for us? There's a hell of a lot of knowledge and experience on this forum, coupled with a sensible and sensitive approach. Yes, there are a few blunter individuals, but rise above the sharp comments, learn from them as well as the constructive ones and enjoy the chance to share experiences and opinions. Its often a lesson in life as well as horsemanship on here, and I for one am grateful for that.
 
The other point to make is that I don't actually know the identity of most people on this forum (with a few exceptions!). How do posters filter out the opinions of people who know what they're talking about?

I've been here a while now and don't post that often, but when I do post looking for advice I generally have a feel for whose replies I will really take heed of because I have a formed an opinion of them over the years (not saying that I disregard new members, but it's sometimes difficult to assess whether an opinion is valid until you have a feel for someone's experience). A new young poster does not have that advantage - and it is often the new, young poster that posts pics of their beloved pony or horse. I suspect that it's really difficult for them to take on board everything that is said sometimes, especially if it goes against what a parent or friend is telling them in real life. How do they make a judgement about how qualified or experienced the people are that give criticism on an anonymous forum?
 
firstly, i love this forum. but i have to make a conscious effort to avoid trouble in order to keep enjoying it.

example: raff broke his leg a few months ago. it was very nearly the end for him. yet i did ponder about posting about it on here. because i knew that i was feeling so utterly awful and fragile, that if one person had said something like 'you should have him pts' or 'why was he able to get kicked' or anything like that, it wouls have really really really upset me. luckily no one did (although someone managed to work out who my YO was on here and sent her an abusive PM saying she shouldn't have allowed Raff to get kicked....).

there are definitely a small group of people on here who look for fault and dive like vultures. i'd probably never write 'no nasty comments' at the end of a post, but that's because i'm an adult, and i know it riles people on here. but i do see why teenagers/kids might say that. they might want genuine CC without nastiness, and think that's the way to get it.

i have a lovely selection of photos of raff and iggle, but rarely post anything on here - stemming from the time someone posted a photo once of their horse and got a barrage of abuse for having a haynet in the background that looked like it might be hanging a little bit low... so i expect my photos of raff and iggle in my garden last week, lying next to garden furniture would receive no end of abuse... ;)
 
I agree Bedlam but when lots of people are saying the same thing surely that tells them something? I know I have formed opinions of whose opinion I take on board and whose I ignore over the years too.
I assume these young people have had some sort of instruction in real life? Seeing how they reply on here god only knows how they react if their instructor tells them they are doing something wrong!
 
Constructive crit is a great thing and some posters do it very well indeed.

Unfortunatley there are some on here who seem to actively like to be as rude as possible and then pass it off as "I tell it like it is"

I know that life is not all bunny rabbits and rainbows and there are times when I very much feel like posting "stop giving pony club kicks it looks terrible!" or giving a confrimation critique of a horse that very obviously needs more work on its back end,but very much hold back as sometiems you know that the poster in question can not handle it.

Maybe we ought to ask Admin for a "Crusty Old Bat" section with a warning of hard nosed advice given here keep out if of a nervous disposition?
 
It takes time to know who's got enough credibility and in what areas, to really trust criticism here, constructive or not. Once one's established who knows what, then its far easier to weed out good from bad advice, but I always feel its worth asking a suitably qualified person one knows in real life for clarification or confirmation before taking too much, too seriously.




Unless its about weight of course :p
 
Personally I like constructive criticism (with the emphasis on constructive) - I've asked my instructor to be more picky with me so I can try to improve.
Unfortunately I don't have much opportunity to have photos taken when I ride - but a dressage one shocked me into action the other month. You could see that I was trying *too* hard and my position looked terrible! It's not often I get to see myself riding - that was nasty.
 
I'd rather be told (kindly). I'd prefer to learn than stay at my present level of knowledge forever. No one has been rude in their advice to me so far (but I haven't been here long, either).
 
I have to say, that unless it's something I am certain I know lots about, I usually keep my opinions to myself, and quietly agree or disagree with other posters, as I too am still learning.
This forum was my lifeline when Starla turned out to be in foal, and I could give you a list of names right now who were INVALUABLE to me at that time.
Infact, not once have I come on here with a question or concern that hasnt been asnwered by someone, somewhere trying to help me.
But I guess there is a difference between myself, and those who dont really want to TAKE the advice given by the more experienced members of this forum?
 
Chavhorse said:
Maybe we ought to ask Admin for a "Crusty Old Bat" section with a warning of hard nosed advice given here keep out if of a nervous disposition?
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I'm not sure I qualify as an 'Old Bat'. 'Old Git' would probably be a better description :D

I think there are a lot of genuine people on the forum who offer genuine advice, but there are always those who either wish to seem nice or who just want to start a fight. There is also, at times, a level of intolerance which I dislike, as it has to be accepted that some of the young posters who put photos and video links in their posts are actually fishing for compliments, and where as I am not a person who will flatter them (I never did it with my kids and I'm certainly not going to do it for someone else's) there are certainly ways of phrasing a reply which gets the message across without offending.

Of course, there is always the option, which I often take, of NOT posting a reply and just passing the thread by, unread.
 
surely if someone posts a picture of their beloved horse on here it would be downright cruel and unnecessary to say something horrible about it. However if they were riding and doing something that was 'wrong' then a tactful reply would be ok. I just don't like the holier than thou attitude of some posters.

Like I said in another thread, if you ask 10 people a question about horses you would get 10 different answers, take the advice of 1 of them and then you have p****ed of 9 other people!
 
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Pidgeon, your OP was a much more tactful version of something I've been wanting to post for a while :D

It's not just that people won't improve/will compound their faults without CC - it worries me that people post pics of themselves riding badly or dangerously, and they are told on here how wonderful they are, how well they are doing and how beautifully their horse is going :confused: I expect if they fell off and hurt themselves they would be told never mind, hurry up and get back on and soon you'll be jumping 1.20m :rolleyes:

However, not many people on here would know my horsey credentials so I don't feel I can say whoa!! you need to go get some lessons from a decent instructor who will work on your position and balance and not actually let you jump a cross pole until you can trot round a corner without wobbling off:):) unless I know the person concerned won't take offence.

But I might be a lone voice:)
 
I see where your coming from, a couple of months ago I posted a couple of videos of me jumping Koko asking for CC and except for one comment which really helped all I got was "wow you two look great together" and yeah its nice to hear these comments but I don't learn anything from them.

It would have been better to be "wow you two look great together but to improve more..."

Either people are too scared to give advice in fear that they may get shot down or they don't have the advice to give.
 
I am all for people being told that things are wrong, and how to improve.

However, I've just sat in tears reading through some of the really horrid replies on my post, suggesting that I can't look after my horse and am a horrible person.

There is constructive crit (and thank you v much to the people who have given that), and then there is downright bitchy, horrid and rude.

It also says something that I've just received FOUR PMs from people saying "I'm not going to post on your post because I disagree with the comments about her saddle and don't want to be yelled at". Surely we should all be entitled to state our opinions without feeling that someone is going to bully us?! Thanks to those who PMed me.
 
Kokopelli said:
I see where your coming from, a couple of months ago I posted a couple of videos of me jumping Koko asking for CC and except for one comment which really helped all I got was "wow you two look great together" and yeah its nice to hear these comments but I don't learn anything from them.

It would have been better to be "wow you two look great together but to improve more..."

Either people are too scared to give advice in fear that they may get shot down or they don't have the advice to give.
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See where you are coming from, but I am one of those people who tells everyone they look great :D Simply because I don't feel I am qualified to give advice on riding. There also a few people who seem to descend like vultures and comment several times on one post often in a rude way. I don't mind people saying their bit, but it's when the 'almost bullying' starts that I think it's wrong. There are some very knowledgable people on here and their advice sometimes get over shadowed by the vultures.

And using flamehead as an example, if it ends in tears, how is that even remotely right?

But forums are an odd place at times :)
 
I've always been really lucky whenever I've posted pictures of me riding, particularly one photo were I was very 'elbowsy' and someone PM'd me and said 'maybe you should work on that', which, although I had already noticed and gone to my self 'What was i doing there', was nice to know people around here don't always want to point fingers in public telling you have cr*p you are.

I know myself if I've had the odd comment that I think has even a hint of starting a war I will PM the OP and put it kindly to them.
 
It is a shame when all the very good advice gets over shadowed by the 'vultures' and teh problem is half the people being horrible don't actually know hat they are talking about.

There is one person on here who always leaves very nasty unhelpful comments, not just on my posts but everyone elses. If I asked for CC she would be like "Well why are you doing that, your hurting the horse" She then won't progress to say how to stop doing it and when you ask her to elaborate further she gets rude.
 
I think you'll find that the nasty ones, are actually probably quite insecure in themselves. It took me a while to spot the genuine 'say it as it is' ers and the 'i'll say it because I want to be rude' ers :D

Forums aye :rolleyes:
 
sarahsum1 said:
See where you are coming from, but I am one of those people who tells everyone they look great :D Simply because I don't feel I am qualified to give advice on riding. There also a few people who seem to descend like vultures and comment several times on one post often in a rude way. I don't mind people saying their bit, but it's when the 'almost bullying' starts that I think it's wrong. There are some very knowledgable people on here and their advice sometimes get over shadowed by the vultures.

And using flamehead as an example, if it ends in tears, how is that even remotely right?

But forums are an odd place at times :)
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Yes but you are unbelievably nice lol :D:D

I don't for a moment condone the "shooting down in flames" types, and I have seen some utter rubbish posted on here by people who clearly don't know the first thing about horses but think they do, but I do worry that someone is going to do themselves serious harm by believing all the "you are so wonderful/your horse is so gorgeous and stunning" comments :(

There are people in RL who I would go to for lessons/advice/opinions before asking on here about my riding - and if I did ask on here I think it would be by pm to people I thought knew what they were talking about :) You soon get to know who they are. And yes, forums are odd ;)
 
sarahsum1 said:
if it ends in tears, how is that even remotely right?
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The trouble is, this isn't a cross stitch forum, where it doesn't really matter a jot whether we like what another member has designed or whether they are using the stitch we think they should use. However, on a forum about horses, we are talking about living, breathing, feeling animals, so emotions are bound to start running high when an animal is thought to be in pain.

Having said that, I don't condone outright rudeness, particularly as it isn't always the best way of getting the message across. But sometimes a bit of blunt talking might just make people sit up and take notice.
 
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