Language used around horses.

pistolpete

pistolpete

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Following on from @Cloball’s comment about language used around horse behaviour. I would dearly love it it we could stop with ‘he’s taking the mickey!’ She’s takes the p!ss’. We need to start learning about more about the reasons why horses act the way they do and understand them so much better. They want an easy life like us most of the time. Is that wrong? Food for thought.
 
Completely agree. Constantly referring to horses as an ‘it’ turns them into objects, and we feel less responsible for having to be kind and sympathetic. ‘Kick it’ ‘it’s being a s**t’, ‘make it’ ‘don’t let it do that’. This is the language often coming down through professionals, the pony club etc. How are people supposed to learn to look at why their horse is behaving as it is rather than just stopping the behaviour through force. No wonder horses become ‘bad’. It’s the only way they’ve got of protecting themselves.
 
bluehorse said:
Completely agree. Constantly referring to horses as an ‘it’ turns them into objects, and we feel less responsible for having to be kind and sympathetic. ‘Kick it’ ‘it’s being a s**t’, ‘make it’ ‘don’t let it do that’. This is the language often coming down through professionals, the pony club etc. How are people supposed to learn to look at why their horse is behaving as it is rather than just stopping the behaviour through force. No wonder horses become ‘bad’. It’s the only way they’ve got of protecting themselves.
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I’m not a total bumny hugger, but believe they should be treated with respect and compassion. ‘It’ is one of my biggest bug bears, it is totally unnecessary. My gelding is often referred to as ‘she’ as he looks like a girl 😁 but that doesn’t bother me, I would be upset if someone referred to him as it
 
pistolpete said:
Following on from @Cloball’s comment about language used around horse behaviour. I would dearly love it it we could stop with ‘he’s taking the mickey!’ She’s takes the p!ss’. We need to start learning about more about the reasons why horses act the way they do and understand them so much better. They want an easy life like us most of the time. Is that wrong? Food for thought.
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I do wonder if it’s sometimes a good excuse to say this rather than having to stop and consider if the horse might be in pain???? Easier to just say he/ she is being “naughty”
 
Offensive language used to describe horses is one of the (many) reasons I hate Shiteventersunited. I agree a lot of 'naughty' answers are applied in the place of thoughtfulness arounf the why of a horse's behavior.

But I also think we need to be careful to understand what a person might mean by 'take the mick' - it can be shorthand for 'seeking to evade' or 'using learned behaviour'. Not all unwanted behaviour is pain, confuson, anxiety or worry. Sometimes it's 'occasionally on this ride I have manage to grab a bit of grass, so I think I'll chance my arm again'. Which was Lottie after a hack with grass at nose height. ONE hack where I let her do it, and she tried to eat for the next 2 months! She did know she was not meant to. But she wanted to, so kept trying.
 
I’m aim is undoubtedly a big factor to consider and is often complicated to prove or eliminate completely. But there’s also many other factors to consider. What else influences behaviour? So many factors!
Weather
Hormones
Age
Environment
Herd mates
Amount of turn out
Nutrition
Just a few!
 
Ambers Echo said:
Offensive language used to describe horses is one of the (many) reasons I hate Shiteventersunited. I agree a lot of 'naughty' answers are applied in the place of thoughtfulness arounf the why of a horse's behavior.

But I also think we need to be careful to understand what a person might mean by 'take the mick' - it can be shorthand for 'seeking to evade' or 'using learned behaviour'. Not all unwanted behaviour is pain, confuson, anxiety or worry. Sometimes it's 'occasionally on this ride I have manage to grab a bit of grass, so I think I'll chance my arm again'. Which was Lottie after a hack with grass at nose height. ONE hack where I let her do it, and she tried to eat for the next 2 months! She did know she was not meant to. But she wanted to, so kept trying.
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So the grass grab could be called intelligent learned opportunism?
 
Ambers Echo said:
Dolly was a master at intelligent learned opportunism!! Bless her pony heart.
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My pony mare was a terror for grabbing grass and every spring I (full grown adult) had a serious challenge to try to stop her.
She was flipping clever and I could see her working out counter offensives! (Including unseating me so she could eat in peace, that one genuinely took some working out. She had the upper hand for a while)
Definitely a learned opportunism. She wasn’t starved, she had learned what worked to get the grass she liked.
 
little_critter said:
My pony mare was a terror for grabbing grass and every spring I (full grown adult) had a serious challenge to try to stop her.
She was flipping clever and I could see her working out counter offensives! (Including unseating me so she could eat in peace, that one genuinely took some working out. She had the upper hand for a while)
Definitely a learned opportunism. She wasn’t starved, she had learned what worked to get the grass she liked.
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Intelligent calculating!
 
Somebody I used to share a yard with, a decent rider, had a very nice ID mare. She regularly called the mare really vile names and was generally quite derogatory about her, and every time she went out on a hack the mare would come back to the yard without her. Every single time. The mare was then sold to another woman, and her sharer, on the yard, they loved her to bits and had a good few years of fun and success with her. I'm positive that the mare might not have understood the previous owners vocabulary but she absolutely understood the vibe.
 
Sugarplum Furry said:
Somebody I used to share a yard with, a decent rider, had a very nice ID mare. She regularly called the mare really vile names and was generally quite derogatory about her, and every time she went out on a hack the mare would come back to the yard without her. Every single time. The mare was then sold to another woman, and her sharer, on the yard, they loved her to bits and had a good few years of fun and success with her. I'm positive that the mare might not have understood the previous owners vocabulary but she absolutely understood the vibe.
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I love that story!
 
pistolpete said:
Following on from @Cloball’s comment about language used around horse behaviour. I would dearly love it it we could stop with ‘he’s taking the mickey!’ She’s takes the p!ss’. We need to start learning about more about the reasons why horses act the way they do and understand them so much better. They want an easy life like us most of the time. Is that wrong? Food for thought.
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I think it does depend. If it’s consistent avoidance type behavior then I think you’re right.

If it’s Mim putting her head in the air when our less competent freelancer used to try to put her fly mask on, yet standing beautifully for literally everyone else…
 
Highmileagecob said:
Also really don't like people shouting at their horses. Horses are largely silent and communicate by gentle touch, or pushing.
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Tell that to my pony who yells his head off if he is turned out without his friend! Or he hears his lorry starting up and thinks he is going to a party. Or hears the rustle of polo mints in my pocket....
 
LadyGascoyne said:
I think it does depend. If it’s consistent avoidance type behavior then I think you’re right.

If it’s Mim putting her head in the air when our less competent freelancer used to try to put her fly mask on, yet standing beautifully for literally everyone else…
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Well if they were genuinely incompetent maybe in her head she was avoiding through genuine concern.
 
pistolpete said:
I’m aim is undoubtedly a big factor to consider and is often complicated to prove or eliminate completely. But there’s also many other factors to consider. What else influences behaviour? So many factors!
Weather
Hormones
Age
Environment
Herd mates
Amount of turn out
Nutrition
Just a few!
Click to expand...
I agree but I also think if you take it too far, you deny that an animal has a personality. Like people, they can be having an off day and behave like a total shit or have a good day and behave beautifully, however you want to describe it.
OH had a horse I always described as polite. He was a naturally big striding horse. I have health problems and he would always adapt his walk to my pace. He was an expert at escaping from his stable as soon as the door was opened but YM said he had never once knocked over a member of staff while doing it, unlike most regular escape artists. He seemed to regard it as an amusing game.

A horse at the riding school we went to would often grab the hose as she was being washed and turn it on the person hosing her. Again, the only motive for this seemed to be for her amusement. Not being naughty, just having fun.
 
I shouted at Herbie yesterday. It was tipping down with rain, Ishela, Rory and Coco all headed in. Where was Herbie...as far down the field he could be. Shouted him, he looked at me, so I walked half way down the field, shouted him, he stood looking at me. Thought I'm going to have to go and get him. Got up to him and he matched purposefully off with me shouting you have got to be kidding me at his arse. Nothing more frustrating than a 34 year old with a sense of humour in torrential rain.
 
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