I'm getting old and cranky, but ...

Mrs B

Mrs B

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It seems to me that many leisure riders now (leans on Zimmer frame) are just over horsed. When I were a lass (spits out wad of tobacco), there were loads of hairy equines of the Heinz 57 variety doing a really excellent job with riders who enjoyed riding them.

When my Grandad (a vet) was alive (ok - he was born in 1897 :o No- he really was!), horses were still often the only way to get from A to B, whether that was to see a friend, or to pull a cart to go shopping. But if your sensible Prince (Renault Cleo) suddenly turned into Kauto Star (Ferrari) on a blind bend, you may not have got to your destination in one piece. So you bought, fed, kept and cherished the horse that did the job.

So, why do so many people now seem to buy a horse that looks the part, sounds the business and then find they're too damned scared to get in the driving seat, let alone release the handbrake?

Hands up - I've bought horses that I thought would do the job and be fun, only to find that they were too much horse for me, so I sold them to grand homes where they fulfilled their promise and were given more specialised work than I could offer.

I've had folks say "How could you?" but I knew when I had too many cc's in the engine and in the end, it's not a car, it's a living creature that I can't just put in a garage and polish when I want to feel an owner's pride.

I've now got my darling M, who is mostly a saint, but when he's not, his naughtiness makes me laugh, not cry. And if I say you go from A to B, he goes.
 
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Can only agree with you Mrs B; I've no problem passing on horses with too much petrol in the tank for present requirements, but it seems that many people don't know when to admit defeat or error and continue to scare themselves and their horses witless for unkown/unfathomable reasons.
 
Those were the days!!! When you had to do things the 'right way' or were in trouble, and you did what your mount was capable of, not necessarily what you dreamed of!!!

I think it is part of increased expectation people seem to have about everything today whatever the sport or pastime, people do not realise just how much work it takes to become better than average, and when it involves an animal that with the strength to knock you flying ........
 
Because broken bones are in fashion at the moments gosh ;)

I love my little hairy sloth cob, she is a saint and just right for her role, not going to win the prettiest mare competition but i always get the last laugh when the local snobs are doing tap dancing around the road on their very handsome wamrblood looking horses and me and the tank plod past :cool:
 
Blame the parents and instructors who give them the idea that they need to move up, go bigger, move up go bigger etc etc etc. Usually pony club members of the 'not short of a bob or two' clan who have a pony for 6mths-1yr and then onto the next bigger one, rinse and repeat. They just about master the small one and it's whipped off for the new model ready to scare the cr*p out of them.....

Personally never seen the attraction of going bigger before you've grown out size wise and talent wise of the one you've got.

I'm a pony club mum of the 'hasn't got a bob or two' clan and our ponies are 12.2, 13.3 and 14.1 (we share them) and daughter has no aspirations to get a bigger one until she is out to work and can buy her own youngster, even then it probably won't be over 15hh if she wants my help as i'm a shortas* - LOL.
 
I love my 2 slightly short in stature, not the most agile, rather rotund in shape, hairy equines.

I have no need of a porche when my peddle cars do me just fine for wandering.

*like*
 
Interesting thoughts Mrs B ,
Here are mine, TBs are cheap and often fab with those who can cope with retraining them ( I have one ) but nightmares if it goes wrong .
Warmbloods are bred for trainability that means they learn the bad as easily as the good so those who are not for say conformational reason not suitable for competion work often don't make good horses in leisure homes.
Being over horsed is no fun and it's very difficult to advise people who are about to do this ( I have experiance of this ) for most I feel its something that has to be learnt .
A truely good safe all round school master is a valuable horse the one I sold achieved the same price as a good young event horse that horse would never jump more than a pre novice but trained her adult rider and was worth every penny .
We don't have the saying horses for courses for nothing.
 
I'll tell you something; if I was as scared as a lot of people I see with their horses there is NO WAY I would put myself through that sort of terror. It's supposed to be FUN, if it scares you DO something about it, either get lessons/help or sell the horse and get a more suitable one.
 
I agree wholeheartedly. But, at the same time, I believe that people give up on horses too fast in some instances.
I think all horses require a certain amount of work and compromise, its just down to both individuals whether they'll ever be a team.
 
That lifts my heart to read that there are other cranky old sods out there! :p:D

A good example of the 'old type' is my late Mum's old lad.

When passports were introduced, the vet came to do Benji's.

He looked. He sucked his teeth a bit. His pen hovered over the pristine passport and he wrote:
'Aged. Brown pony. Gelding. 14.3'

Yup! Spot on. He had the conformation of a better-than-average looking Warthog, a winter coat like a yak, the temperament of a gentle Tigger and the softest, most kissable muzzle in the world.

Until the end of his life (aged 29) he ventured out on every hack like it was the best treat on earth and he carried my Mum safely into her very late 70's.
 
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Clicking imaginary *like* button. I'm perfectly happy with my 14hh 1.2 Micra with 'Sport' button ;-).

I've seen many over-horsed people and those buying a perfectly well-mannered horse/pony and making it into a spoilt brat in a matter of weeks.

But using your car analogy - years gone by car owners knew how to maintain their own car and keep it until it is ready for scrap. Nowadays it's sold on as soon as something starts to go wrong - usually owners fault for not keeping it serviced, oiled etc..
 
You're right to a certain extent but those hairy's of yesteryear weren't clipped and had their mane's washed in Argan Oill. They never wore a sun/shower rug or had glitter hoof polish.

Even the grubbiest native can scrub up well on a yard with a hot shower and solarium.


Before the arrival of the internet, most horses were bought locally or from sales, so there was less chance of finding a creatively bred continental equine.

Many horses today would be just as tough and workmanlike as their great, great grandfathers if they had to work like they did. A tootle around a surfaced ménage and personal lorry to take them to a few parties doesn't take the energy out of the stabled, well fed prima donna's. Its not always the case that owners are overhorsed, sometimes its simply that the horses are underworked.

When did horses have their own transport ? They used to be the transport.
 
Elsiecat said:
I agree wholeheartedly. But, at the same time, I believe that people give up on horses too fast in some instances.
I think all horses require a certain amount of work and compromise, its just down to both individuals whether they'll ever be a team.
Click to expand...

I don't disagree, EC, but I'd rather see someone sell on a horse they're not sure they can handle to some one who can, than hang on for the wrong reasons and spoil a horse's life.
 
I completely agree. I bought an Arab. I should have bought the fell pony who made me giggle when he bucked with me bareback. Having said that, I always wanted an Arab, and the me of 20 years ago (that I thought I still was) would have bounced on, no probs. My lad is very quiet for an Arab. I am getting help with him, and gradually losing this strange fear I never had before. When he goes well (which is every time since my first fall) he makes my heart sing. I'd still go back and tell myself not to buy him if I could. I'd also still probably buy him anyway. But that really makes me a bit stupid.
 
It's all about image these days. People look down at my welshie and my trotter cross, but I'm the one who can hack out in peace without being bucked into orbit or bombed off with. I am the one who can load my horses unaided anywhere, I am the one who has no trouble bringing them in or putting them out - They may be boring but they are safe and fun to me.
 
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