horse snobbery, what is this nonsense.... rant , rant

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Shady

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As some of you know i own Shadow the wonder Arab and while he is the love of my life and i think he is very special i don't necessarily think he is better than the cute little pony that lives down the road, actually, scrap that, he took a chunk out of my new O' neill gillet the other day.... but you know what i mean.
i live in a rustic part of France, great riding so all the endurance Arabs come my way and there are 2 farms over the valley full of them, i see them all the time, they never ever speak to me and sneer openly at my horse, they charge past me on the tracks with never a word, so rude and lucky me again that Shadow doesn't spook with them yelling Allez, Allez at me
now my french is cr*p unless i am angry then i am quite fluent for some reason, as i am a cheerful soul though i spend most of my time floundering around with many a long pause. The other day i accidently told my farmer neighbor of 70 that i loved him AND his cows, he looked quite alarmed for a second then looked at my boobs hopefully!!
so, i am in the bar last night for a quick orange juice and catch up with some horsey english friends and who do i spy but a little huddle of the endurance riders, over i march and ask them why they are so rude and sneery at my horse , can you believe it , it's because Shadow is not an endurance Arab but a show Arab and therefor rubbish in their eyes , wrong head, shape etc, shouldn't be on their tracks etc, i cannot repeat here what i said to them in perfect french but i was truly stung by their cruel words about my horse. ok, rant over but is it true that my horse cannot do endurance?
 
Can't beat rudeness by being rude...and marching over to confront them in the pub is rather rude!

Just ignore them, why should you care what they think? It's only their opinion, as long as your horse does what you want it to do, who cares!
 
You don't need an arab horse to do endurance therefore it shouldn't matter what type of arab can do endurance. Maraday Mysteron is an anglo arab and a top endurance horse, I am not sure if he was specifically bred for endurance but his father, Maraday Mystic Morn, was more of a show horse. Just ignore them.
 
Nice to know snobbery exists in other countries apart from the UK. I hate the snobbery and don't see any point for it, the last yard I was on, I was introduced to a prospective livery as "oh this is blah blah, you'll get on well with her as she has a COB too!", (not to mention the fact that my mare is actually a trotter x).

Ignore them, they are not worth worrying about. Xx
 
We-ell... You did ask!

If someone asked me why I wasn't fawning over their horse when I met it out and about, I'd probably tell them too ;) And yes, I don't like other types of horses nearly as much as my own. If I did, I'd have bought one of them... Just as half the posters on here would be horrified if I tried to give them a free dressage highland :D

Different strokes for different folks - it really doesn't affect you what they think, so I shouldn't give it a second thought! :)
 
JFTD said:
We-ell... You did ask!

If someone asked me why I wasn't fawning over their horse when I met it out and about, I'd probably tell them too ;) And yes, I don't like other types of horses nearly as much as my own. If I did, I'd have bought one of them... Just as half the posters on here would be horrified if I tried to give them a free dressage highland :D

Different strokes for different folks - it really doesn't affect you what they think, so I shouldn't give it a second thought! :)
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you are right. i did ask! perhaps i phrased it wrong, my horse is special not because of his breed, i felt he gave me the best chance of riding safely when i bought him, i have never shown him, i was told this was what he was but i just like to ride him, i suppose my real gripe is that i thought you said hello to people if you met while out, nothing more, just hello and not be judged and found wanting.i guess i should have said nothing and just ' sucked it up! i usually do!
 
Oh stuff em. They are no use to anyone! It exists anywhere though. My neighbour always sneers at my lot cause he is a hunter/tb foaler and he thinks miniatures are a waste of life and my horses are usually ****. He likes my new mare though - finally found one that looks a bit more flashy than his! lol
 
This sort of nonsense exists in nearly every pastime I'm afraid, why I have no idea, I just put it down to tribalism and mass insecurity.

I know where you are coming from though, as a 6' male who chooses to ride a New Forest pony (there are no finer equines), some of the looks I get on fun rides or when XC schooling are priceless.

Enjoy riding your Arab, I would love one of my own, if I did not already have the best pony ever bred in the history of the universe!
 
They are just rude - it's nothing to do with them, and if they don't have the common courtesy to be polite and greet you when you meet out hacking then they're clearly not worth worrying about. What a peculiar attitude!
 
NeilM said:
This sort of nonsense exists in nearly every pastime I'm afraid, why I have no idea, I just put it down to tribalism and mass insecurity.

I know where you are coming from though, as a 6' male who chooses to ride a New Forest pony (there are no finer equines), some of the looks I get on fun rides or when XC schooling are priceless.

Enjoy riding your Arab, I would love one of my own, if I did not already have the best pony ever bred in the history of the universe!
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I have to agree, I personally think there is no finer equine than the New Forest. I love my beautiful angel to space!
 
Ignore it. Not saying that their opinion would matter if you were, but you're not participating in endurance anyway so what does it matter if they don't think he is an enurance horse?
 
NeilM said:
This sort of nonsense exists in nearly every pastime I'm afraid, why I have no idea, I just put it down to tribalism and mass insecurity.
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It's also often a lot of ignorance as well. They might be in the same hobby/interest, but anyone really into something knows that there are always lots of subfactions and groupings within the whole hobby.

You also get it where there is banter - its not meant to be insulting, but just different groups bantering at each other. You see it lots with products - eg in cameras Nikon and Canon shooters having a jovial go at each other.
Sadly with some people, especially when they are in a group, they can get carried away and things shift up a gear, sometimes without them intending to (esp if you spoke to them alone).


I suspect part of this group is like that; playing off each other and building a little clique that is more hostile than you'd likely find some of them if you spoke to them alone.



Dealing with it there are a few approaches;

1) Ignore it - if its hostile in action chances are most of it is designed to get a reaction from you. If you ignore it totally chances are they'll get bored and move on (or just plain ignore you back). It's often an effective way to stop it escalating - and if one of the others does escalate it its totally their fault.

2) Share - if its ignorance chances are just swapping and sharing can work at breaking some of the barriers down.

3) Beat them at their own game - nothing shuts up people than if you happen to show significantly more skill than them (knocks the wind out of their sails and puts more in yours). Course sometimes its also just going to make them try harder.


In general I'd say that what you've got, esp coupled with a bit of a language barrier, it would be best just to ignore them. Chances are one or two of the group are just going along with the flow of the ring-leaders - but otherwise they just sound rude and like they've already firmly made up their minds.
 
We get quite a lot of that here. A year or two ago, my friend was competing in a ODE, and due to poor organisation, they didn't get her time going round the xc. When she told them what she had on her watch, the organisers turned round and said: it's not possible for a cob to go that fast (the pony in question is a Welsh D)

Gotta love the French and their preconceptions ;)
 
Forty years ago when I kept my skewbald cob in London I would meet other horse riders some of them would not even acknowledge our presence when we passed them in the streets - no doubt because they considered my horse inferior to theirs. However as far as I am concerned I have had the last laugh as none of them ride anymore (probably lost their nerve) and I am still merrily riding out and enjoying it be it on another horse.
 
Gosh I wouldn't have given them the time of day, let alone gone over to speak to them and ask that question. But then I couldn't care less about what people think of my horses (unless they're buyers! :) )
 
Shady said:
you are right. i did ask! perhaps i phrased it wrong, my horse is special not because of his breed, i felt he gave me the best chance of riding safely when i bought him, i have never shown him, i was told this was what he was but i just like to ride him, i suppose my real gripe is that i thought you said hello to people if you met while out, nothing more, just hello and not be judged and found wanting.i guess i should have said nothing and just ' sucked it up! i usually do!
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You like your horse and find him special - that is honestly all that matters! :)

People make snap judgements all the time. It's life. They sound unfriendly when you meet them out hacking - some people just are! Or maybe it's a cultural thing? Either way, I wouldn't give it a second thought.
 
Well, not only are they rude and arrogant - but you can't blame them for that as it's a cultural thing - but they are also very ignorant - again, a cultural thing.... My little Arab is also a 'show' type, a most ridiculously twee dainty creature who still managed to get grade 1's in all his outings. I expect yours would too.
 
I was only talking about 'horse snobbery' this morning... I now have 2 scruffy cobs. I only hack/ do local shows and club when I can drag myself. They life out 24/7, blissfully happy with their new life. The amount off ppl who now look down on me because I am no longer riding the big tb's/ competing/ have all the latest gear...
You know what, we love our horses, they want for nothing... I am happy meandering around on my hairy mares... anyone who looks down on me can kiss my bum!!!
 
do you know what hurts the most, one of the stupid sods fell off once and despite them constantly nearly running me down and never speaking i stopped , got off and asked if all was ok, i got a short' oui, c'est pas grave', shaken off and ignored, embarrassed probably for being a rubbish rider!! ...
yes, perhaps i shall ask them all to kiss MY bum....... not!!!!
 
gmw said:
I've yet to meet a courteous Frenchperson. Ignore them, get on with your life.
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I concur ^^^ having lived amongst them for a number of years I did find it hard, even customer service staff had a stinking attitude ....

Ignore them..
 
I have gypsy cob and a german warm blood... I can't wait to take them both to the same dressage comp to watch the snobs faces ... I love it when combo beats the 'posh' horses... The fact that he's been placed at poys and qualified for hoys in the last couple of years bares no value to them... He's probably worth more than their horses but is still looked at like an alien... All good in my eyes when he beats the pants off them it's the best feeling in the world!
 
Any horse can do endurance so any Arab can, the more athletic Arabs are used mainly but there is nothing to say a show type cant, my Arab was bred for the ring but he does a bit of everything, we did a 15 mile ride in spring and he came back without a bit of sweat on him and I am sure he could have gone round again, you could always enter a few and make your point:)
 
I don't know where you are but we take our Shagya's and CB's out to endurance competitions. Our Shagya stallion has been very successful and we have had lots of help from other French riders. SOME are appalling, in fact one of our local organisers is retiring from the committee because she is so hacked off with the 'gallop flat out' set in France. These riders care nothing for their horses.

We are breeders and we have no competitions for young horses such as we have in the UK, the French don't get it.

The HPS in France organise an English Show every year. We took our Highland, ridden by our French stable jockey, who rode him for the first time the day before. He won his first class and was second in the next class. Our jockey loved it.

French breeders just don't go through the same sort of presentation classes as we do.

Don't let them upset you.
 
not quite the same as you have experienced direct comments so I can see why you are annoyed but so many people have a real chip on their shoulder when it comes to 'horse snobbery' I have several friends who constantly go on about what cobs can do for example, I love cobs and think them very versatile, I don't need convincing anew every time I see them *yawn*

I see constant streams of justification about people's choice of equine on Facebook pages etc people get paranoid and constantly shove their horses good points in your face

Even the most innocent comment on Facebook groups can set people off, its really quite ridiculous
 
Shady said:
do you know what hurts the most, one of the stupid sods fell off once and despite them constantly nearly running me down and never speaking i stopped , got off and asked if all was ok, i got a short' oui, c'est pas grave', shaken off and ignored, embarrassed probably for being a rubbish rider!! ...
yes, perhaps i shall ask them all to kiss MY bum....... not!!!!
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And now it's you who's making snobby comments. I have lived in France and most of the people I came across would be seemingly very abrupt and almost rude for quite a while until we were well acquainted. They are not always the warmest people to begin with, and the poor rider had just fallen off! We all fall off, it doesn't make you a bad rider. Tbh I find your attitude just as bad as theirs. If someone I had never properly met marched over to me in a pub and started asking me questions about why I supposedly, and only according to them, sneered at their horse, I would hardly be kind in my response.
 
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