Has anyone stopped riding?

Sadly, on this forum if you dare to comment on something that some of the old faithfuls ( to put it politely). Don't like you get ripped to shreds.
I've even been called stupid. Don't get me wrong here I am very able to stand up for myself and I'm quite capable of being very nasty myself if the situation calls for it but there are some on here who act like a pack of dogs on a rabbit.
 
angrybird1 said:
Sadly, on this forum if you dare to comment on something that some of the old faithfuls ( to put it politely). Don't like you get ripped to shreds.
I've even been called stupid. Don't get me wrong here I am very able to stand up for myself and I'm quite capable of being very nasty myself if the situation calls for it but there are some on here who act like a pack of dogs on a rabbit.
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Oh goodness, chill out! You weren't called stupid by me- you were told it was a stupid statement.

Clever people say stupid things all the time. And do stupid things.

My boss said to me this morning "Well that was a stupid thing to do wasn't it" about an email I'd accidentally sent to the totally wrong person. I didn't for one moment think he was calling me stupid as a person, just my actions- which they were!
 
Michen said:
Oh goodness, chill out! You weren't called stupid by me- you were told it was a stupid statement.

Clever people say stupid things all the time. And do stupid things.

My boss said to me this morning "Well that was a stupid thing to do wasn't it" about an email I'd accidentally sent to the totally wrong person. I didn't for one moment think he was calling me stupid as a person, just my actions- which they were!
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I rest my case.
 
I am riding lightly, a bit of schooling at home and local hacking, keep horses at home so no issues with distancing. The village is practically deserted when I ride out, which is also my exercise time. I have even avoided DIY apart from a bit of flat pack furniture that only required a small screwdriver to complete.

All was going so well, until I washed the bedroom curtains the other day, and as I out them back up I tugged the venetian blind to put it back down having cleaned it, and it jumped off the wall and sliced my finger!

I said not he other thread, I have been following the rules, but don't feel it necessary to make up my own as well.
 
Upthecreek said:
Everyone must make a personal decision that is right for them based on their own personal circumstances. Of course we shouldn’t shame others, but everyone is entitled to express their opinion and this is positive because it helps us to see things from the perspective of others. I do think on this forum that is often interpreted as shaming or judging when it isn’t.
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There has been an absolute campaign by Winters100 to try to shame people into not riding. It's been across multiple threads and strongly put, with support from other posters backing her up to make up a pack who certainly appeared to be trying to either shame or bully people into stopping riding.

It did make me question whether I should be riding, and ironically that questioning actually made me ride defensively and less safely. I've felt much safer since I decided that if the government wanted me to stop riding they would tell me so.

.
 
ycbm said:
There has been an absolute campaign by Winters100 to try to shame people into not riding. It's been across multiple threads and strongly put, with support from other posters backing her up to make up a pack who certainly appeared to be trying to either shame or bully people into stopping riding.

It did make me question whether I should be riding, and ironically that questioning actually made me ride defensively and less safely. I've felt much safer since I decided that if the government wanted me to stop riding they would tell me so.

.
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I know what you mean. I just stopped reading anything about this subject for awhile especially Winters posts. The government even updated the Equine specific guidance which would have been an opportune moment to say not to ride and yet they still didn’t.
 
ycbm said:
There has been an absolute campaign by Winters100 to try to shame people into not riding. It's been across multiple threads and strongly put, with support from other posters backing her up to make up a pack who certainly appeared to be trying to either shame or bully people into stopping riding.

It did make me question whether I should be riding, and ironically that questioning actually made me ride defensively and less safely. I've felt much safer since I decided that if the government wanted me to stop riding they would tell me so.

.
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There was certainly some attempts and guilt tripping people, comments about people being selfish, that not riding is morally the right thing to be doing insinuating that if you did ride you were morally in the wrong.

It didnt make me question whether I should ride or not though, I am firm in my belief on that
 
I think people on this forum generally support people that share their own views. I would say the same is true of the people in the pro riding camp as those in the no riding camp. This is a subject people are passionate about and it runs deeper than riding. Much of the concern immediately after lockdown started was about people staying at home to slow down the spread of the virus.

Again I would say that people are entitled to their opinions and to express them strongly, but it does not need to be directed at an individual or be insulting. There is a difference between expressing an opinion strongly in a general way to everyone to directing that opinion at a particular individual. Some comments have been downright nasty!

Personally if I felt absolutely confident that I was doing the right thing there is nothing anybody on this forum could say that would make me change my mind. It’s very interesting to read other people’s take on things, but that’s about it.
 
Upthecreek said:
I think people on this forum generally support people that share their own views. I would say the same is true of the people in the pro riding camp as those in the no riding camp. This is a subject people are passionate about and it runs deeper than riding. Much of the concern immediately after lockdown started was about people staying at home to slow down the spread of the virus.

Again I would say that people are entitled to their opinions and to express them strongly, but it does not need to be directed at an individual or be insulting. There is a difference between expressing an opinion strongly in a general way to everyone to directing that opinion at a particular individual. Some comments have been downright nasty!

Personally if I felt absolutely confident that I was doing the right thing there is nothing anybody on this forum could say that would make me change my mind. It’s very interesting to read other people’s take on things, but that’s about it.
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Say it louder for the people at the back, I completely agree!
 
Upthecreek said:
Personally if I felt absolutely confident that I was doing the right thing there is nothing anybody on this forum could say that would make me change my mind. It’s very interesting to read other people’s take on things, but that’s about it.
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You see I regard self-doubt and questioning one’s own motives as a good character trait.
 
Sussexbythesea said:
You see I regard self-doubt and questioning one’s own motives as a good character trait.
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I completely agree. What I meant was if I have made a decision on what is right for me in my own personal situation, reading on this forum what decisions others have made, which may be absolutely right for them in their own personal situations, would not influence me to change my mind.

For example, I can understand the reasons why others have chosen to keep riding because that’s what they feel is right for them, but that has no bearing on my decision not to ride because that’s what I feel is right for me. It’s great to read other people’s opinions and points of view, but your decisions should be based on your own personal situation which can’t possibly be the same as anyone else’s.
 
I was quite annoyed about people’s attempts to shame people into not riding, particularly when it was said we weren’t doing the ‘right’ thing. However, I stepped back and decided that it might simply be an individuals way of coping with this situation. Perhaps having a lack of control over life at the moment has made them feel the need to try and control others actions. How ever they have interpreted the events and advice, they are trying to get other people to do the same. Maybe it’s the only way they can see a way out of this. So I decided to cut them a bit of slack and not get involved. That’s not to say I agreed with what they said or how they said it, but I think people just vary so much in how they deal with things.

My way of dealing with the situation is try and have some normality during my horse time and that includes riding. I can genuinely say that at the moment, it’s my only ‘normal’, and I need that.
 
I freely admit at the start of all this I went into panic mode and I just wanted everyone to stay at home to slow the spread of the virus and not do anything risky to burden the NHS. Whilst my opinion hasn’t changed fundamentally this forum has helped me to be more understanding that whilst not everyone is making the same choices as me it doesn’t mean what they are doing is wrong, it’s just different to my own choice.
 
Well today I had a near miss feeding my horses in the field. While my oldie was eating I started to undo his rug to change from fly to rainsheet and he suddenly spun around knocking me over, had a glancing blow to my nose and bruised my knee. It happened so suddenly and could have been so much worse. Thankfully I got away with it.
 
With horses the best we can do is plan for the predictable, they are, however, very unpredictable! Rug changing with a loose horse in a field is a dicey thing to do, (forgive me if he was tied up) but I expect we all do it at some time or other.
 
Sussexbythesea said:
Well today I had a near miss feeding my horses in the field. While my oldie was eating I started to undo his rug to change from fly to rainsheet and he suddenly spun around knocking me over, had a glancing blow to my nose and bruised my knee. It happened so suddenly and could have been so much worse.
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I hope you were wearing a hard hat? That was how my great aunt was killed and why I always wear a hat on the yard. Tho it makes me look odd one out. It is also why I myself didnt ride till later in life. Family pressure not to.
Richard Maxwell also suffered a head injury while leading a horse.
 
A friend of mine had to have her face reconstructed after she fiddled with an old stager of a horses legstrap in the field. Its very dangerous. He actually kicked at the dog but she was in the way.
 
J&S said:
With horses the best we can do is plan for the predictable, they are, however, very unpredictable! Rug changing with a loose horse in a field is a dicey thing to do, (forgive me if he was tied up) but I expect we all do it at some time or other.
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You’re absolutely right and I wasn’t following my own advice ??‍♀️. I always thought I’d never do it but must admit to getting a bit blasé. Will be reviewing my procedures.
 
Skib said:
I hope you were wearing a hard hat? That was how my great aunt was killed and why I always wear a hat on the yard. Tho it makes me look odd one out. It is also why I myself didnt ride till later in life. Family pressure not to.
Richard Maxwell also suffered a head injury while leading a horse.
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No and I’m not likely to even though I can see the benefit of it but I’ll definitely be changing what I do to prevent it happening again.
 
Sussexbythesea said:
Well today I had a near miss feeding my horses in the field. While my oldie was eating I started to undo his rug to change from fly to rainsheet and he suddenly spun around knocking me over, had a glancing blow to my nose and bruised my knee. It happened so suddenly and could have been so much worse. Thankfully I got away with it.
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Sounds awful. It’s amazing how quickly something like that can happen. Hope you’re okay.
 
stormox said:
A friend of mine had to have her face reconstructed after she fiddled with an old stager of a horses legstrap in the field. Its very dangerous. He actually kicked at the dog but she was in the way.
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I know two people who’ve lost eyes being kicked in the face in the field and one who fractured her face in several places. I also have a friend kicked in the jaw/ trachea whilst hand-grazing a horse that had been on box rest. Horses are so big but rarely mean to deliberately injure you. I should know better.
 
Glad you’re OK, SBTS. It’s often the older established horses that we take for granted and drop our guard with that can take us by surprise.

My 9yo spun unexpectedly this am just as I was putting her headcollar on to being her in. A stupid pigeon had nearly crashed into her. All good, but she came closer to me than was ideal.
 
Tiddlypom said:
So what’s behind this recent FB post from the BHS, then? Anyone know?

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I am no longer a coach, but think that it would be a better idea to explain that I am riding my horse instead of my pedal bike or going for a run. It is my form of exercise. Hiding it only makes it look like a guilty secret. Besides, on my social media I have included a lot of what I am doing, from scrubbing the stair carpet by hand, to bottoming out mum's paperwork, and yes, riding.
 
Tiddlypom said:
So what’s behind this recent FB post from the BHS, then? Anyone know?

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This, to me, is someone using a position of authority to peddle their own agenda and opinions. The government has not forbidden riding a horse any more than it has forbidden going for a walk, and plenty of people are posting photos of their walks/runs/bike rides
 
Tihama said:
This is another reason the other livery & I stopped hacking tbh ?

It didn't seem right to carry on as normal when others were stuck inside - just a personal pov not a judgment on others who are hacking at all.
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But no one is stuck inside, everyone is allowed out once a day to go for a walk, a jog, a bike ride or whatever they fancy
 
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