Know it all walkers

[blitznbobs]

There is a foot path that goes through the single track road at the front of our house.

This afternoon a group of walkers knocked on the door to complain about the horses in the field opposite our house were being ‘abused’… (they are not my horses and it’s not my field but I do know who owns them - very good horsewomen tbh)

What was the nature of this abuse? Well apparently the 6 horses that were turned out together should’ve

A) been turned out individually

And

B) were in too small a field…

I felt that this was unlikely but went to look

What I saw was their 5 yearlings/ 2 year olds with their nanny horse in a small paddock with the gates open to the massive (probably 30 acre field behind) I pointed to the gate and said they have plenty to eat , fresh water and horses were herd animals that should be kept in groups… it was pretty much the perfect set up… But if they wanted to speak to the owner she lived over there.

I shall ring neighbour later … she is a old pony club dc of the old fashioned super scary type… wish I was a fly on the wall if they went round actually… I doubt they are still alive!!

 

[Bonnie Allie]

Please give updates……………I know they are well meaning kind folk who care but gosh that conversation is going to end badly for them.

 

[DirectorFury]

When I see this title in the thread list my brain keeps reading "walkers" as the much ruder version where the "l" is an "n"

 

[Fransurrey]

I had a walker once tell me I shouldn't be riding on the footpath...except the footpath went through my field and I used it to access the same...I politely told them that trespass was against the owner, and that I would have a stern word with myself once I was finished with the horses.

 

[Burnerbee]

As a walker and rider (cyclist, driver…) can I just point out that those walkers were silly and don’t know much about horses. We may all walk but we are not all the same

 

[Polos Mum]

Similar to those who remove the nasty "blindfolds" from horses next to footpaths !

 

[Titchy Reindeer]

I find it sort of alarming that these walkers' perception of horses is that they should be kept individually. They've obviously got that idea from somewhere...

I also find it strange how people in general seem to be worried about horses left out in (in no particular order) the dark, the rain, the wind, the cold, etc... But nobody seems to think it odd about cows or sheep. For example, my neighbours will ask me if I'm going to bring my horses in when it starts raining. Nobody ever asks the local farmer if he's going to bring his cows in.

 

[starbucker]

Nothings better than being told off by my well meaning other halfs nan for "letting your horse get all covered in mud out in the field" when "back in their day" the horses stayed in all winter in a stable. My mare goes in a grump after being stuck in during really bad snow and ice for a couple of days.. heaven forbid she ever has to go on box rest!

 

[Gloi]

I had a walker interrogate me about my Muslim pony. Yes, the one with sweet itch, wrapped in his Boett rug and hood.

 

[kerrieberry2]

I had a walker once tell me I shouldn't be riding on the footpath...except the footpath went through my field and I used it to access the same...I politely told them that trespass was against the owner, and that I would have a stern word with myself once I was finished with the horses.

we have a track through the farm where my horses live, and it is also a footpath! but mainly a track for the farmers and I got told I shouldn't be riding my horse along there too! I asked them how they propose I get in and out of the farm where the horses live? they soon shut up and stopped talking!

 

[smolmaus]

I had a walker interrogate me about my Muslim pony. Yes, the one with sweet itch, wrapped in his Boett rug and hood.

I always say the SI rug is her little nun's habit!

 

[sbloom]

I had a walker once tell me I shouldn't be riding on the footpath...except the footpath went through my field and I used it to access the same...I politely told them that trespass was against the owner, and that I would have a stern word with myself once I was finished with the horses.

To be fair this caused carnage where we used to live but needn't have. I guess they owned the land but it was a neatly mown path up the side of some houses from the centre of the village to fields and beyond, and was heavily frequented by dog walkers. This stretch was about 20m long, 2m or so wide with a solid fence one side and high hedge the other and one day when I had our Dane on a walk, the teenage daughter of the presumed landowner rode her horse past/through about 4-5 dogwalkers (and additional friends, going both directions) rather than wait. She did get moaned at, unsurprisingly.

 

[SEL]

Similar to those who remove the nasty "blindfolds" from horses next to footpaths !

Along with the cruel & evil device to stop her eating

My best was when the old boy Ardennes was allowed out in the field with the footpath to eat it down and a walker said she didn't like it when he was there. I was wondering if she'd been mugged but apparently he "looked at her funny"

Same old boy learned that the gate lock was iffy on one yard and if he wiggled it the gate would open a bit. Enough to squeeze a chunk of a draft horse belly through & he'd end up on the farm track which was also a footpath. Stealth mode obviously engaged because many a dog walker went past him and never ratted on him to the yard staff. Although I have a feeling polos were sniffed out of passing pockets....

 

[Amy May In A Manger]

Although to be fair, if it hadn't been for someone walking the plight of the horse, strapped down in tack in his field, wouldn't have come to light.

 

[Tarragon]

I was out walking and spotted a horse caught up in its rug, and knocked on the nearest door to inform someone, and luckily they were in and it was their horse. I wasn't sure what I would have done if there had been nobody in. I don't think I was confident enough to walk up to a strange horse in a field and try to take off and put back on a rug!

 

[Exasperated]

I had a walker interrogate me about my Muslim pony. Yes, the one with sweet itch, wrapped in his Boett rug and hood.

We’ve had one like that -‘why is that horse wearing a burkha?’
Bit lost for words, in case we got accused of cultural appropriation, or worse.

 

[HaplessHorse]

I got “is your horse a biter or the horse version of Hannibal Lecter?” from someone on a wine tour when Cob was wearing her grazing muzzle

I struggled not to start giggling at them!

 

[dottylottie]

not a walker, but OH’s mum once mentioned the pony up the road that was muzzled to stop it biting the others bless her i said it’s to stop it eating too much, but as it’s a shetland i wouldn’t put it past it taking a chunk of out of its bigger mates’ ankles!

 

[Caol Ila]

To get between the mares' field and the stables, one walks past the indoor arena, where there are often non-horsey parents hanging around, watching their kids' lessons. I led Hermosa by the indoor, and a concerned parent saw her Darth Vader grazing muzzle and was like, "Oh, my God, is that one dangerous? Does it bite?" Sounding tired and grumpy, I replied, "No. She's basically got horsey diabetes, and grass is full of sugar. If she eats too much of it, bad things happen. This stops her from eating too much grass." Then I marched off to the stable.

It was probably a legit question from a non-horsey person, but I am chronically tired and pissed off, so....

 

[Cloball]

I was out walking and spotted a horse caught up in its rug, and knocked on the nearest door to inform someone, and luckily they were in and it was their horse. I wasn't sure what I would have done if there had been nobody in. I don't think I was confident enough to walk up to a strange horse in a field and try to take off and put back on a rug!

I mortified my sister knocking on doors trying to find the owner of a horse whose shoe was stuck in some wire fencing that was lying in its field, not confident enough to go in the field to sort it. Couldn't leave the poor love he was quite calm about the whole thing though.

 

[JenJ]

To get between the mares' field and the stables, one walks past the indoor arena, where there are often non-horsey parents hanging around, watching their kids' lessons. I led Hermosa by the indoor, and a concerned parent saw her Darth Vader grazing muzzle and was like, "Oh, my God, is that one dangerous? Does it bite?" Sounding tired and grumpy, I replied, "No. She's basically got horsey diabetes, and grass is full of sugar. If she eats too much of it, bad things happen. This stops her from eating too much grass." Then I marched off to the stable.

It was probably a legit question from a non-horsey person, but I am chronically tired and pissed off, so....

Sounds like an informative, reasonable answer. Perhaps delivered a little gruffly, going by your description, but a good answer nonetheless.

Mine aren't currently muzzled, but their field adjoins a busy byway with a LOT of walkers going past, so I've given almost exactly this answer many times.

 

[Cragrat]

A few years ago we repeatedly found our obese mares muzzle neatly hung on the gate. The field and gate are visible from the road, and many locals walk their dogs past, so we weren't sure ( though had suspicions) as to who was removing it. In the end we left a note on the gate explaining what the muzzle was and why there was a good chance laminitis would kill her painfully if she didn't wear it.
The muzzle stayed on after that.

 

[AppyLover1996]

I've had many a funny interaction with well meaning walkers when riding Baggs - I've listed some of my faves for everyone to have a smile at :

1) For context - Baggs wears Scoot Boots on his front hooves as he struggles to keep shoes on, but can't go totally barefoot :
I was out hacking one day and stopped to let some walkers go past. They were all staring at Baggs' feet as they went past (and were also saying thank you at the same time) - so naturally I leant forward slightly to see if there was anything to be concerned about and when I couldn't see anything, I asked the walkers if they could see something I couldn't. One replied "Oh we've never seen a horse wearing trainers before - is he royalty or is he setting a new fashion trend?". I admit I did giggle and said "Apologies for giggling but Baggs would totally agree with you guys on the royalty front aha - they're actually a replacement for him wearing metal shoes. Unfortunately traditional shoes wreck his feet, but the hoof boots that he has on keep him happy to go hacking, as he gets sore over rough ground without them on." The walkers at this point were very interested and we had a lovely conversation about how I look after Baggs' feet and why I choose to ride him with out a bit. Baggs loved all the attention he was getting and point blank refused to move afterwards - which they found funny but kindly let the spotty twit follow them till we had a change of routes....

2) Being asked if I paint Baggs' spots on him each day. He's half Appaloosa half New Forest but has inherited all the Appy traits such as their spotty coat, intelligence and general zest for causing as much carnage as possible whilst looking totally adorable! People are always surprised to hear that he is naturally spotty and a few have asked if he is contagious as he has spots like chicken pox - I've never seen Baggs look so offended in my life aha!

3) Baggs used to wear a fly mask when riding if the weather was particularly sunny or the hacking route was going to have a lot of flies on it. I once heard a mother tell her child that "the nasty rider is blindfolding her horse because she can't control it and needs to learn how to ride". I was rather miffed at the comment so as I went past I politely stopped (it was a narrow pathway that required frequent stops at certain points) and said "The fly mask is on to protect him from the flies as he gets very upset if they land on him, and also too bright sunlight makes his eyes water. So wearing a mask is the kindest option for him. He's had several investigations done and this method has been approved by my vet. Good day and enjoy the rest of your walk". To be fair the mother actually apologised and asked if she could come and say hello to Baggs with her child. I said that she was welcome to but he does sometimes bite so be careful and don't move fast. She walked up to Baggs, gave him a stroke on the neck and apologised for upsetting his feelings and then went on her way.

The Human race do say and do some entertaining things at times.......

 

[Caol Ila]

1) For context - Baggs wears Scoot Boots on his front hooves as he struggles to keep shoes on, but can't go totally barefoot :
I was out hacking one day and stopped to let some walkers go past. They were all staring at Baggs' feet as they went past (and were also saying thank you at the same time) - so naturally I leant forward slightly to see if there was anything to be concerned about and when I couldn't see anything, I asked the walkers if they could see something I couldn't. One replied "Oh we've never seen a horse wearing trainers before - is he royalty or is he setting a new fashion trend?". I admit I did giggle and said "Apologies for giggling but Baggs would totally agree with you guys on the royalty front aha - they're actually a replacement for him wearing metal shoes. Unfortunately traditional shoes wreck his feet, but the hoof boots that he has on keep him happy to go hacking, as he gets sore over rough ground without them on." The walkers at this point were very interested and we had a lovely conversation about how I look after Baggs' feet and why I choose to ride him with out a bit. Baggs loved all the attention he was getting and point blank refused to move afterwards - which they found funny but kindly let the spotty twit follow them till we had a change of routes....

Oh, we get that all the time. My horse wears Renegades in colours you can't miss, so people are always saying, "Oh, look, it has trainers on."

I usually say to OH or my horse (if hacking alone), "It's bigger on the inside...." My own wee in-joke due to the frequency of comments on the boots.

When people ask why, I'm usually like, "Cause she doesn't have metal shoes on but still needs something for the rocks."

Now and then someone notes she's bitless. I can't say I have ever had an in-depth conversation about why. It's usually, "Oh, you're not riding with a bit?" Me: "Nope."

We did get one dog walker who told me angrily, "Horses shouldn't be allowed on these narrow trails that people use!" I just looked at her. Okay, whatever, lady.

 

[Widgeon]

I get quite a lot of comments on Scoot Boots as well, but I do find people are usually genuinely curious and interested when I explain the reasoning.

The Muslim pony / burka pony comments creased me up, I just find the logic process (or lack thereof) hysterical.