'i've been around horses for.......

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Ibblebibble

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oh how often does that get thrown into a conversation/argument to back up a persons reason for doing something. of course people who have been around horses for a long time have probably seen more and experienced more than someone who has only just started, but have they actually learnt more ?! are they always right just because they've been doing it for x amount of years?

on the 'hit horses' thread i saw this comment and i love it

Me, well I,m still learning about horses ,have been for the last 55 years. (mike007)

if only more people thought like that ! so refreshing to see someone who doesn't feel that they know it all just because they've been doing it so long.

i was only thinking about this kind of thing earlier in the week as in the field next to me is a chap in his late 60's early 70's maybe, drives sections A's, buys them as youngsters from the sales and breaks them himself, sounds like he should be a font of knowledge, except this guy thinks the way to teach a horse to behave when it's tied up is to tie it up for 3 days continually with minimal hay and no water! seems he's previously tied one up like that for 5 days until someone stepped in. when he lunges or long reins he does it on a short rope or reins so that he can hit the pony with the stick he carries. i could carry on listing his lovely methods but i won't,:mad:
oh and when he was questioned over his tying up of the ponies for days on end... his reply, 'been doing it for x amount of years so i think i know what i'm doing so mind your own fekking business!!
 
You can do something the same way for 30 years, but if it was wrong in the first place, it will still be wrong.

Human ego's and arrogance are the horses worst enemy.
 
I've always said that those that think they know it all r the most dangerous around horses, frequently said it to my ex YO but unfurtunately he never took the hint lol x
 
I left work the other day, stating that I was off for my riding lesson that night. My boss said "I thought you'd learned to ride years ago". My response was "I'll never know enough". I'd like to think that I'll continue to think this way and not become a know-it-all that seems to be quite prevalent in the equine World.
 
9tails said:
I left work the other day, stating that I was off for my riding lesson that night. My boss said "I thought you'd learned to ride years ago". My response was "I'll never know enough". I'd like to think that I'll continue to think this way and not become a know-it-all that seems to be quite prevalent in the equine World.
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My uncle said something like this to me last year when I was off for a show jumping lesson - "what for, you're an instructor yourself aren't you??"
 
"Jack of all trades, Master of none"

"A closed mind, opens no doors"

"More ways than one to skin a cat"

The list goes on, I think the vast majority of people on here freely admit that they learn something new all the time, just as well really, we'd never progress at all otherwise.
 
Dobiegirl said:
Trouble is a lot of horsey people have egos as big as their heads.

I was always taught that once you know it all its time to give it up.
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Surely Big Ego syndrome is universal to anything though and not exclusive to horses don't you think? I know some massively inflated egos in the dog breeding world.
 
The big ego syndrome is definitely universal ...
I always feel a little concerned when I realise in conversation that I know exactly what degrees my conversation partners have despite it not being of any relevance whatsoever to the discussion. Then I feel a secret thrill of smugness by NOT telling them anything about myself and hoping, secretly, that they might find out later and feel a little bit mortified.

In the horse world, years get thrown around like degrees, in an attempt to shut other people up with an "I know what I'm talking about" attitude. Generally, the attitude and the advice stink at about the same level. The more stuffy and set in their way, the less I want to listen. I always make a point to my clients that I take riding lessons of my own, that I am learning always and forever. To my young clients and pony team, I explain that while they're now at an age were they know everything, if they're lucky they will in the future grow out of knowing everything and learn to sit back and let their mind soak up the wonders of what they observe and what other people know.
 
MT - that reminds me of Aikido training. Our instructors would tell us about going through the grades and then one said "Then it's the black belt, and that's when you start to learn about Aikido."
 
I think that the length of time someone has been around horses is only relevant if that person has been prepared to learn and explore new methods/ideology. Even if anything new is discarded after some thought, it has at least been considered.

When interviewing for a new trainee instructor a few years ago the best candidates were surprisingly the ones who hadn't been riding too many years. The candidate who had been riding all their lives had never even ridden in a school and was clueless about how to ride properly.

Saying that, some of the most arrogant horse folk I've met are recently qualified 'experts' that don't have the humility to realise that they have a lifetime of learning ahead of them.
 
I've been around horses for over 40 years, have had my own horses or ponies for 39 years and have tons left to still learn. The day we stop learning we are in a box in the ground I think.
 
Its always the "experienced "I-have-been-around-horses-since-I-was-In-the-Womb" People that drive me mad.

I knew one lady that bought a dominant horse. She put it in a pressure halter instead of teaching it some manners without one. (The horse would drag her everywhere, rear up when told not to etc. You just needed to stand your ground, be firm, and demand she stayed out of your space! The problem then transferred to riding.. the rearing.)

When I said to her they problem could be rectified easy without the need for expensive pressure halters as the mare was just allowed to run riot.. the answer I got was..
"I've had horses since before you were born, I know what I am doing!"

More like it was too much like hard work.

Funnily enough when the mare went on part livery and I had to handle her I demanded manners of her as I did with them all and she was fine :o

If people would only accept when they are out of their depth and that nobody truly knows everything about horses (and other things in life) it would be a much happier place!

I know when I bought my big, sharp mare I was having two lessons a week to learn how to ride her! Instead of trying to muddle on through myself :p
 
My horses teach me something new almost every single day. The day I stop learning is the day I give up horses :) Oh and I have been around them for more years than I care to admit :o
 
I have been around horses for about 6 years, and my YO who has been around them for 30 still asks my opinion on things because I have a fresh eye and changes things when new things that are actually better come around, she is great, fab balance of years of knowledge and experience but always listens to my opinion and never makes me feel silly when I ask dumb questions :)
 
When I was 15 I knew everything about horses. Nothing scared me and my self belief was 100%. Hell, I'd been riding since before I was born so yep, had ALL the answers. :D

When I was 20 I almost entertianed the idea that there might be the odd bit of info I was missing. ;)

When I was 30 I'd admitted there were areas that my knowledge didn't extend to but that wasn't a problem. I'd got by without these items of knowledge so far so they couldn't be important. :rolleyes:

When I was 40 I knew my knowledge wasn't quite as good as I might have assumed 20 years ago but I kept the doubt well hidden from the other horse experts :o

Now as I pass the 50 mark I once again have 100% belief. Only difference is now I'm 100% sure I know diddly squat :eek:
 
JunoXV said:
When I was 15 I knew everything about horses. Nothing scared me and my self belief was 100%. Hell, I'd been riding since before I was born so yep, had ALL the answers. :D

When I was 20 I almost entertianed the idea that there might be the odd bit of info I was missing. ;)

When I was 30 I'd admitted there were areas that my knowledge didn't extend to but that wasn't a problem. I'd got by without these items of knowledge so far so they couldn't be important. :rolleyes:

When I was 40 I knew my knowledge wasn't quite as good as I might have assumed 20 years ago but I kept the doubt well hidden from the other horse experts :o

Now as I pass the 50 mark I once again have 100% belief. Only difference is now I'm 100% sure I know diddly squat :eek:
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hehe , excellent Juno, i think we all think we know everything at 15, not just about horses lol.
i really like the fact that there is still loads for me to learn even tho i've been playing ponies for over 30 years:D
 
i have found that the people who say they know everything actually know nothing and tend to run to other people for help/advice.

i've been around horses all my life, it's all i've ever known. i know enough about horses to get me through day to day ownership but every horse is different so what you can do with one horse might not work with another, same goes for treating of wounds etc.
 
all my life and I'm in my 50's. The older I become the more I realise that I know not half of what I should. Horses are facinating and its a life long learning curve.
 
JunoXV said:
When I was 15 I knew everything about horses. Nothing scared me and my self belief was 100%. Hell, I'd been riding since before I was born so yep, had ALL the answers. :D

When I was 20 I almost entertianed the idea that there might be the odd bit of info I was missing. ;)

When I was 30 I'd admitted there were areas that my knowledge didn't extend to but that wasn't a problem. I'd got by without these items of knowledge so far so they couldn't be important. :rolleyes:

When I was 40 I knew my knowledge wasn't quite as good as I might have assumed 20 years ago but I kept the doubt well hidden from the other horse experts :o

Now as I pass the 50 mark I once again have 100% belief. Only difference is now I'm 100% sure I know diddly squat :eek:
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love it Mr H:)

there is a saying in teaching

someone can have 30 yrs teaching experience or the 1 yr repeated 30 times
 
i learnt to ride four years ago, i hadnt been around horses before that.
in that time ive done a fair few exams, im now aiming to do my stage 4 care and maybe the riding if i get my confidence up, im also doing an NVQ 3 in Management at the yard i work at as the yard manager.

So i dont think people can really use the phrase 'ive been around horses for XX years'
i know some people who have been around horses alot longer than i have and they still dont have a clue what to do if a horse gets an abcess or colic or cut.

I know i have a hell of a lot to learn still, i know i will never stop learning but i love it. A new day brings a new challenge where i work! :D
 
I've seen both sides of this.
We had a older person who had been at yard for about 55+ yrs.Sadly some think she's a batty old woman but she used to judg/teach etc -not that she tells folk that just found out through chatting.Not saying take it all as gospel but there must be a lot of knowledge there to tap into.
Feel sad that people just discount what someones said because of age - young or old alike.
So I try not to discount any source of info.(don't always succeed I'm sure but do try)
 
Thank god people know that we'll never stop learning around horses!

One lady I know who runs riding holidays won't let people speak to her about the number of years experience they have - as she quite rightly says, they could have had 20 years practice at being very bad horse people!
 
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