Has anyone ever made a rude comment about your horse?

In about 1974 I lent my beloved Bamber to a girl who'd paid for a place at a week's course with some visiting famous person (name long since forgotten) as her own horse had gone lame. Bamber was an aged somewhat stiff ex-riding school 14.2, but nothing else was available.

I went along and watched some of the classes. Bamber clearly found it very hard work and much of it was beyond his ability, but he did his best and tried his heart out. Unfortunately I was there at the last class when they all rode each others' horses then shared their opinions.

Apparently Bamber was useless, all sorts of other negatives and above all lazy. :( I looked at my poor old gentle, generous boy hanging his head with tiredness and it took all my willpower not to walk in there, push the rider off, give the over-privileged cows on their expensive mounts a mouthful and march off.

Now THAT is horrible. Not his fault. Makes me feel very sad.

I am as critical of my own boy who you would adore. Bit stiff now, before he's warmed up, but point him to a fence with anyone on and he'll jump his heart out for them. I am quite ashamed of his stilty gait and camel-like way of going but he's still lightning fast, is mental in the field and rolls right over/gets up and down no problem and on top of that, is kind as can be and the most genuine horse I have ever met.

The rearing was my fault and he would possibly still do it today if he got in the silly situation I put him in back then. Should have been me, maybe, needed a bullet for not thinking. Certainly not him.

I have an overheight chestnut Section B who IS Arab-looking in his head and has white spots on his neck.A proper reject, really! A few people have admired my Arab/Appaloosa :rolleyes: :D


This is the old lad on the right with a novice rider who he took safely round Somerford Park (thanks Davidevs and Helen, for the picture)

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Thanks for all the lovely comments about my wonderful old boy. Chokes me up thinking of him.

In his latter years I loaned him to a RDA group for a while, and he was their star, strong enough to take the bigger riders and could be trusted to take care of every rider however severely disabled.

By that time I was so allergic to him that we could spend very little time together. Eventually I was forced to part, and homed him to a lovely family I knew in Southport, where he ended his days as a beloved family pet, and won the fancy dress at the local carnival.

*sniffs*

Later in the 1970s with one of his RDA riders, who adored him:

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Well Flame I guess some people are sensitive. Me included and I should know better, but sometimes people are just nasty for the sake of being so. I had a person on another board berate my mare. Was quite nasty. It got to me even though it shouldn't have because it's "just a forum". But she is nasty to everyone but really singled out my pride and joy. I just don't post there as much because the board just got very nasty on a whole.

But I will tell the same story I told. Abba went to her very first show. She thought it her job to keep watch on every horse during warmup. She was a baby. So when she was going over a practice fence, she missed completely while watching horses and jumped through the wing. I was mortified as I was breeder and owner. This was my first I was sending to do this. Anyway one of the other riders said to my rider, "sometimes they just aren't worth it". I was obviously like a mamma bear protecting her cub, but said nothing. Abba refused the first fence that day and never another since. We took her out 5 days later to another venue and she was an absolute professional. Jumped her first double clear and never worried about anything else going on around her.

A month later we went back to the place of her first show. Mr. Mouthy rider asked my rider who the nice blood made was he was sitting on. So then I opened my mouth. I said that's the mare you said last month wasn't worth it. Hi I'm Terri, owner and breeder! He just smiled.

I try never to be over critical of anyone's horse. Any horse you see out there that puts a smile on an owners face no matter if it's happy hacker or GP dressage horse, is a reason to only say nice things and give support. I suspect most people wouldn't be keen on my TB warmblood crosses but you don't have to be. I enjoy people with their horses. Simple. This does greatly differ from is this horse for me or I'm having issues with my horse help. Still you don't have to slag them off to be of assistance.

Terri
 
awww Fiona, Bamber was a super star and obviously not at all useless, some people just don't know a decent horse when they see one:rolleyes:

I'm probably the rudest about my horses so most people don't have a chance to insult them as i've already done it:eek::D The only thing that makes me :rolleyes: is most people assume the big girl is a gelding because she is big and not pretty. :rolleyes:
 
Was that directed at me :eek:?
Or did it just happen to follow my post :confused:?

No, just in general. One person's superstar is another's complete waste of space. Same as one person's beauty is another's fell out of the ugly tree. That's the way it is, people are going to say so. I really don't think many of these are rude at all. :confused:
 
Kindness is free. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean you have to be rude. And no, most people don't say it just because they can.

I'm not really a big fan of ID's or Gypsy Cobs, BUT, that is my personal choice, not a knock on them at all. Actually I prefer a GC to an ID. Anyway I have friend's with both. I'm not horrible about their horses. Why would I be? What because I think my opinion is more valuable? Those horses make their owners happy so why stick my oar in? No need.

Oh and I'm also in the camp of pointing out all my horses faults so it's not like I'm barn blind. I'm very critical of them. But I just can't stand people being nasty because they feel they're entitled to. Makes no sense to me.

Terri
 
No, just in general. One person's superstar is another's complete waste of space. Same as one person's beauty is another's fell out of the ugly tree. That's the way it is, people are going to say so.

Maybe some ARE going to say so, but that seems extremely rude behaviour to me. I might think someone's beloved pet/child/spouse ugly but would never say so to them.

As my OH would, it's "very bad form". :)
 
Has anyone ever made a rude comment about your horse?

No, I don't think they have :confused:

People often ask if my KWPN is a thoroughbred :( I find it rude because she clearly is not.

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(not that I have anything against thoroughbreds)

But virtually all warmbloods are at least part thoroughbred, and some KWPN's have 100% tb blood, so it's hardly surprising :confused: I am not sure how on earth that comment could be construed as rude, unless it was preceded by a 'I hate tb's, they're all useless' type comment?

One of the biggest compliments my BWP was ever given was that someone thought he was a tb - this person was a very highly regarded trainer who was well known for disliking warmbloods! Fully fit he is very thoroughbred-y - as many warmbloods are supposed to be :D Maybe lots of people have been rude then - just without my knowledge ;)
 
Yes, but I really had to laugh about it! A girl declared when offered a ride on my Haflinger: "I do not ride native breeds originally bred to be used as packhorses in the mountains." :D
 
No-one's been rude about Mollie.

The dentist said she has poor manners and an old friend said she was getting fat once. But those are things I need to know, and do something about if I can.

If anyone said she was ugly, I'd think them rude as well as clearly quite wrong. ;)
 
I ve had nothing but negativity about my lovely ID x cob appaloosa few spot gelding who looks like a film horse and is stunning, until he went to my lovely trainer James Roberts in Wiltshire, where I heard nothing but praise for him and admiring comments from the wonderful staff there. It was most uplifting!

If you are hearing negative comments about your horse, its foundations mostly lie totally in jealousy. The horsey world can be a bitchy place.
I am also a Parelli student and ride in Parelli kit, bridle and horsemans reins and a halter for schooling and western saddle, you should hear the unending jibing and bitchy comments I've had about that, yet my horse is happy, safe and sane, and I delighted with what the world of Parelli has taught me, after 30 years of conventional horsemanship ( and still evidently clueless!) until I realised I needed to up grade my horsemanship.
 
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Someone once said to me 'oh dear, your pony is very croup high, thats bad conformation...' had to laguh as she was in fact standing down a hill.... :rolleyes:

And I always found it rude when people said my pony was a push button ride (she simply loved to jump and so did I!), wasn't until they got on a very quickly off again after not being able to stop that they would keep quiet :D

Mine was very croup high until he reached maturity at 6.5 years. People are often clueless about how long it takes heavier horse to reach their final weight and height.
 
Have been asked numerous times when I'm going to get a 'real horse', as ponies are clearly some sort of toy...also been asked if Henry is a donkey. More than once. Have you ever seen an exmoor's ears? They're TINY!
 
Nobody has ever on purpose as such but I could have been insulted a few times if I was sensitive. A lovely old couple pulled over to side of road for us and when we got level looked at my Fell and said oh it is not a shetland thought it was coming up the road what is it.

One of my neighbours was asking about my sec d how he was and said oh you know the fiery one with the mad eyes that thrashes around alot.

And when describing one of my dad's tb point to pointers a friend said you know the one that looks like a racehorse but it is a bit more gangly and scraggy and jumps around lot's. I have never said anything horrible about anyone's horses as it is so rude and to be honest you can always find good points in them.
 
yes- 'she should never have passed the vet.' A year after i bought her and this person had seen her and complimented me on her for all that time! One session of lameness and that comment. Perhaps she shouldn't but who knows? I didn't need to at that point. And alos of another horse; what on earth is that pile of dog meat?
 
A little lad started screaming donkey, donkey, donkey at my little grey horse. I was most put out until his dad said they'd been watching Shrek where donkey turns into a white stallion - that softened the blow!
 
Yes they have, and despite the fact that he would give them so much confidence, and he's kind and trustworthy, I would never let them ride him, as they are the kind of person who is never happy, never takes responsibility for anything that goes wrong, and always blames someone else.

My horse, my choice.

I do have a friend who rides my horse - she sees his faults, but loves him for the horse he is - she can ride him, love him, just be with him as much as she likes.
 
awww Fiona, Bamber was a super star and obviously not at all useless, some people just don't know a decent horse when they see one:rolleyes:

I'm probably the rudest about my horses so most people don't have a chance to insult them as i've already done it:eek::D The only thing that makes me :rolleyes: is most people assume the big girl is a gelding because she is big and not pretty. :rolleyes:

Heehee my boy gets the opposite - *everyone* calls him "she" because he is so dainty and pretty looking. Poor lad! I always feel bad for him if people say it in front of the mares ;)
 
Yep. I've had someone tell me my mares dressage test was far worse than someone elses, and worst of all when my mare died my own grandfather said, I am sorry to hear about the loss of your donkey.
I could have killed him.
 
Im so shocked at some of the nasty,hateful things people have said! Truly disgusts me to my core how people think they have the right to judge.

Ive had a very snobby older lady tell me my shire x is a "leg'less, talentless mule". We both where in fits of laughter when her fancy warmblood refused at a x-pole and she went flying (she was unharmed! xD)..I sauntered in on my "talentless" horse and he did everything like a pro - we waltzed past her...her face was like a baboon's arse! :p
 
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