How do you do things differently?

T

Tiny Fluffy Coblet

Well-Known Member
Joined
7 January 2011
Messages
182
Visit site
I am curious about how things are done differently with horses in different places. This was inspired by the thread about the poor girl having difficulty in France and one suggestion was that people thought she knew less that she did because of different ways of doing things between the countries.

A couple of examples I have come across:
- In the US (from what I have heared/read) cross tying is standard practice, whereas in my experience in the UK it is rarely done.
- When I was working in Ireland I noticed that very few people fed their horses from their hands - though this may have had more to do with the difference between working a professional SJ yard and with ammateurs as I had in the UK. I must admit it was very nice not to be bothered for food all the time by the horses.

So my question is (especialy for you multi-national type people) what is done differently where in your experience? (not a critical analysis thread just a curious comparison)
 
Right... In South Africa we never tied up with bailer twine, and regularly cross tie our horses for things like grooming and bathing.

I always fed haylage - never ever hay, no matter what, and everything was bedded down on paper. Everything got a bran mash in the evenings, with electrolytes in it to replace what they lost during the day, and boiled barley with nuts and chaff for breakfast, with salt in every feed to encourage them to drink.

We never opened gates from horseback - always either got off, or got someone else to do it, and all horses were used to shotguns being fired by the person riding them. If your horse was skittish with guns, you sold it or bred from it.

I'm sure there's lots more, but can't think of anything else right now...
 
Yep lots of things are done differently

In Europe it is not normal for horses to be tied to string, to be mucked out every day or to be tied at the head, cross ties are far more common (and fwiw i think it is better to cross tie)

I think the standard of care is generally lower in europe than the UK, i have been told on more than one occasion that the Brits are the best in horse care and have been considered so for the last few hundred years or more. This is why i get a bit down hearted when i hear of things in the UK moving more european style when we do it better in the first place, i am talking here about barning youngstock, bringing on horses "too quickly" and not giving young horses the chance to see a bit of life before they start on the competition road.

Loose jumping youngsters is different in Europe, here they tend to hold the horse untill a few strides from the first fence whereas in the UK we tend to let the horse run loose round the whole school before it gets to the jump. IMO the european way is better,


In the UK we seem to have far more "proffesionals" like farriers and vets and you can generally find a good one in most areas, in the "big" horse areas in Europe you tend to have very good people but in the more rural areas it is a bugger to find anyone decent.

I also think the Brits are far more open to alternative therapies, here in Austria people tend to smirk when i say i am having the physio to my horses when i feel they are not moving as well as they could, here they just clamp their gobs shut and kick em on! (same in France and some parts of germany)

Egypt is an eye opener, no hay, no turn out, no hacking, not great riding and MASSIVE egos!!! :D
 
cuppatea said:
in Aus, we fed LOADS of salt!! and corals were used and horses herded into them rather than catching one by one...
Click to expand...

I presume that is because of the salts lost through sweating in high temperatures, not something we have much of an issue with most of the year in the UK :D
 
MalagaatJames024-1.jpg


I'm just plain bloody awkward ;)
 
I only have experience with Europe and I have to agree with Allover that the standard of care is significantly lower in Europe (in general obviously). In France, even on a professional yard I saw there was no fly spray, poorly fitting saddles and the muscle build-up wasn't correct. Fly spray sounds very mundane but these horses were really suffering as there were so many flies around. Also, I find they are much less picky about ground and will happily canter pretty much anywhere whereas IME in Britain we choose carefully to make it safer for the horse.
 
One thing we noticed in France was the amount of day old baguette they fed the horses! Just as well, probably as there wasn't any grass or hay and 40 degrees of heat! But saying that, the horses looked healthy enough!

(I have tried to add a picture here, but it won't work)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top