HUGE RANT ABOUT NOVICE HORSE OWNERS

Excellent post Tia.

Some of the most stupid and down right cruel/arrogant things I have ever come across have been from experienced horse people, so surely as Tia says its more to do with the type of person than the level of experience.
 
Well said Tia.

However there used to be a girl at my yard who refused to accept any help or advice at all, and she was quite inexperienced but thought she knew it all.

there's nothing wrong with novice horse owners who know they need help and ask when necessary.
 
Very well put Tia
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and I think your boarders are very lucky to have you
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Everybody has to start somewhere and if the novices are prepared to learn, I have absolutley no problem in showing them or advising them as long as they show an interest in learning.I by no means think I am experienced and am always asking questions myself. The problem comes when they don't want to learn. There are PLENTY of places people can get advice from, even if it's posting on a forum board, at least they are trying to learn and should be helped.
The problems I have are with 'experienced' and 'know-it-all' people who really don't have a clue.
In theory, having a licence or something is great, but implementing it is an impossibility.
And should we also have to take an exam or something to own a dog or a cat, or even a hamster?
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Feu; I think you are in the wrong job where horses are concerned. With novice owners you have to have patience in helping them learn. You need to be competent at putting forward the correct way to do things without resorting to unkindness. You'll find that, in real life, if you advise people in a gentle fashion they are more likely to listen to you particularly if they see that you showing results with their horse.

How people choose to bring up their horses is no-one else's concern EVEN if you are being paid to work with these horses. If you don't like the way they do things, then quite simply, don't take the job.

I have a number of novice horse owners at my yard; two are backing their young horses themselves (with some input from me when needed) and they are doing absolutely fantastically well. I don't think it has to do with novice people being useless, it has more to do with them being intelligent enough to figure out that the teacher is showing them ways which will help them.

Inherent knowledge of horses does not come easily to a lot of people and these so-called rubbish novice owners are the product of being dopes who can't think logically OR because they have lost faith in their human mentor.....

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Ditto, well put Tia.
 
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I'm the creme de la creme of novice owners. Half the time i havent a frigging clue! To top it all I'm on a private yard, with no real 'help' either.

BUT, I do my best. Come hell or hugh water i'm there at 7am in the freezing winter, in the dark, mucking out and feeding. If he needs it, I'll buy it. I don't pamper him (he gets a turnout or a fleece in the very very coldest of weather) but to me he's as important as any big horse. Most importantly, if in doubt I ask. I'm never too proud to do that.
I've seen some BHS qualified people do thing to horses that I knew was terribly wrong, so to me a qualification means nothing.

If someones treating their horse in a way you personally wouldnt, well, that's up to them.

It's like saying you have to have an NVQ in childcare in order to have a baby...
 
Yes, well put Tia.

This may partly be a result of our changing world but I'm guessing there have always been bad owners. What horrifies me even more than an unducated novice making important decisions unaided is the person who says blithely, "I've been doing this/riding this way for YEARS!" And I think to myself, "Well, why aren't you BETTER then?"

Many of the novices I've seen are keen, careful and don't want to be ignorant, they just don't know what they've gotten themselves into or where to turn for help. And I hate to say it but I often see them met with derision/pity/dismissal from people who do know better but find it easier to dismiss than teach. And I don't mean "show once, quickly" I mean help someone through the learning process. It's very easy to get frustrated with novice behaviour but horse people seem to have a particular line in thinking everyone should just know what they might have spent years learning, even if they weren't actually aware they were being taught it.

Yes, people should not just buy a horse without knowing. But the catch is some of them don't KNOW that! And this is particularly hard for adults who might be years away from having been taught anything and used to making their own decisions. Many people still feel horse knowledge is "intrinsic" completely missing that used to be the case only when the whole of society was "horsey".

There will always be people who don't want to hear it. My guess is they're like that in everything they do and leave a wake of frustrated "would be teachers" behind them. They aren't ignorant, they are closed minded. And they are everywhere, at every skill level.
 
I did some "learn about your horse" lectures/social evenings directed at new and would be owners for a riding school/livery yard a few years back and was very cheered by the response. Many "mature" onwers were happy to get information they just didn't want to be lumped in with kids or talked to like idiots. I think it's too bad more of those sorts of short courses don't exist but I guess the problem is the people who are keen find their information somewhere else and the people who don't aren't interested.
 
I was plonked on my ponys back at the age of three! Fortyfive years on, Im still learning and intend to keep on learning
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. I have no problem with novices, we were all novices at some point! The problem is that there are 'too many horseowners and not enough horsemen' around these days
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. Im quoting someone here but I cant remember who-sorry, whoever you are
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. Mairi.
 
horses aren't teddy bears, and it sounds as if these people haven't realised that yet.
i honestly believe that you should have to pass a test and get a license to own a horse... for the horse's sake, let alone the safety of the rider/owner.
 
a lot of it is common sense, but it's better for the horse, and safer for everyone, if there's some guidance, surely? as you say, some qualified people do terrible things to their horses, though.
whether horses are suffering through ignorance or through misapplication of 'experience' , it is equally as bad, imho.
 
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