Minor Irritations

[wiglet]

Had a rubbish week and I feel I need to vent about some minor things...

'It'. Why do people refer to their horses as 'it'? I love my horse, she's not always lovely but I NEVER refer to her as 'it'.
I know, the horse has no idea how you refer to him/her but still. My YO refers to a lot of the liveries horses as 'it' and I find it disrespectful.

Parelli. I don't get it. I'm told, if practiced and timed well it makes for a well educated horse. I've obviously never seen it practiced or timed well. All I see is an owner shaking ropes violently to make a horse stop or turn - god forbid the horse gets it wrong because the rope can get very erratic! Don't even start me on the flags...

'Work him/her (usually it) through it'. Sometimes I agree with this but if your horse starts bucking or napping and it's out of character, there's probably something wrong?

Last one. For now...
Let him/her/it shiver weight off. Yeah, turn your fully clipped horse out with no rug, in the depths of winter and let him shiver. This happened a lot at a previous yard. Apparently he was a hot horse and didn't need his fur and definitely didn't need a rug.

These are just my personal irritations to get you started - what about you?

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

People that shriek for there horse at the gate in the most high pitched pathetic voice which then causes the whole field of horses to gallop about while your trying to ride in the school.

 

[coblets]

Anything about showing the horse 'who's boss' or dominance
The increasing popularity of join ups even though I've never once seen it done where the horse doesn't look stressed
People jumping every time they ride
Shod horses who have no need for shoes
Dogs who come running up behind the horse, out of control, and all the owner does is yell at them from the distance to come back even though it's clear the dog isn't listening to a word they're saying
90% of the excuses people make for dressage professionals as to why the horse is obviously uncomfortable
Smacking a horse with a stick before every jump
Horses wearing martingales when there's no need for them
People who spend the whole hack with short reins jabbing at the mouth to get their horse 'on the bit'

I could go on...

 

[Esmae]

People that say when you say things are expensive or difficult at times. "Why don't you get rid of it?"

 

[milliepops]

normally i am firmly in the camp of letting it wash over me everyone does their own thing and there's no point getting wound up about it.

but i'm getting a bit narked about the folk renting the yard next door who have completely overwhelmed the communal muck heap with straw, it's well over the concrete plinth it's meant to stay on so the tractor can scoop it up, and gone completely out of control all over the gravel! I keep making forked up areas that I can get my heavy poo picking barrows up and come back the next day and my entry hole has been re-filled with mountains of stinky straw! arghhhhh. YO put more forks out but they still won't fork it back. I gave up on a tidy muck heap long long ago but it's never got this bad yes. Narked

 

[The Xmas Furry]

Being told by people that my mount doesn't need shoes (really, you know them better, you know the ground I ride over daily? What makes you an expert on a Fuzzy you dont know very well if at all)
'People' who are not in my life deciding what tack I do/don't need on my Fuzzy, why? You don't blooming ride her, don't coach me on her, so stop interfering or making snap decisions based on 2 minutes watching or even a photo....

People..... people.....

If you dont know, if you don't understand by all means ask but dont assume the high ground that you are correct in your assumptions.

Right, lunchtime...

 

[Labaire]

I don't mix with other horsey folk, so I don't have any.

 

[Caol Ila]

I've stopped worrying about what tack other people use, etc., so long as it doesn't effect me.

There is, however, a special place in hell for people who let their badly-trained dogs run wild in a busy park with horse riders, kids, other dogs, etc., and have zero control over said animals. You know them when you see them. They're shouting, "Pookie!" at the top of their lungs while Pookie does whatever the hell he wants. Or they're like the guy having an intense mobile phone conversation, paying no attention to his two lurchers racing in and out of the trees -- and traveling some distance -- on the side of the trail.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Lost fly masks.

The mask is white, the grass isn't very long. You'd think that I could find said mask, but no. Plus the horse won't tell me where they put it. Hopeless.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

Lost fly masks.

The mask is white, the grass isn't very long. You'd think that I could find said mask, but no. Plus the horse won't tell me where they put it. Hopeless.

I've got a dog for this. She also finds lost shoes. I did not formally train her for this ? it's definitely convenient though.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I've got a dog for this. She also finds lost shoes. I did not formally train her for this ? it's definitely convenient though.

Hmmm no dogs here... I could try to train a cat?

 

[Marigold4]

People who make out to non-horsey people that they are successful competition riders when you know their horses rarely leave their field .

 

[little_critter]

Anything about showing the horse 'who's boss' or dominance
The increasing popularity of join ups even though I've never once seen it done where the horse doesn't look stressed
People jumping every time they ride
Shod horses who have no need for shoes
Dogs who come running up behind the horse, out of control, and all the owner does is yell at them from the distance to come back even though it's clear the dog isn't listening to a word they're saying
90% of the excuses people make for dressage professionals as to why the horse is obviously uncomfortable
Smacking a horse with a stick before every jump
Horses wearing martingales when there's no need for them
People who spend the whole hack with short reins jabbing at the mouth to get their horse 'on the bit'

I could go on...

I'll put my hand up to using a martingale when 90% of the time it's not needed. You just can't be sure when the 10% it is needed will be. Besides, it literally does nothing when it's not in play so there is no harm or discomfort for my horse, and it provides a handy "oh s**t" strap.

 

[My Boys M&D]

People who moan and complain over every little thing but don't make any effort to resolve the problem like speaking to the YO or looking elsewhere. I had a fellow livery complain to me yesterday that her horse got wet and he hates getting wet so would be grumpy to ride but in the next breath said she'd be cross if the staff had brought him in early! I've got very good at nodding and letting my mind wander or suddenly needing to do something important 'over there' and walking off but it really bloody annoys me!

If a yard is a bad as the complainers say, just leave instead of moaning daily about the fact that their feed bin had been moved 6 inches (another one I had last week).

 

[Marigold4]

Horse one-up-manship

 

[CanteringCarrot]

I try to take the "let it wash over me approach" but alas, I am but a petty human.

My list of minor irritations is infinitely long, I'm afraid. B*tching (mostly to myself, thank goodness) is a hobby of mine ?

Horse one-up-manship is a good one and relevant one for me. Oh boy it is. It's actually gotten quite strange and mildly creepy. Insert tune: I always feel like somebody's watching me.

Then there's the "your horses all have problems but mine is perfect." Perfectly...lame and in pain but they're too blind to see it/don't want to see it/come up with odd excuses. Will give them a voucher toward the local equivalent of a Specsavers. Maybe some glasses will help?

The lass who thinks she is the only rider in the school. Rules don't apply. She rides her way and you better stop and bow down to her.

Then there's the one with too many horses and they never leave their stables. Maybe once a week for a photo op. Y'know, whenever the mood strikes for the owner.

I suppose I'm a salty person (the Dead Sea has nothing on me). I generally don't let it get to me, but I will rant when the invitation is open ?

 

[wiglet]

Ah, it's good to hear everyone's minor irritations. And nobody has judged me for mine...
I have finally found my tribe

 

[scats]

Another who tries not to get too wound up about things others do, but as an eternal problem solver, I get very frustrated at people moaning about things with their horses/yard/riding issues but having every excuse under the sun for why they can’t fix or help overcome it.
I get that sometimes people just want to moan, but I really struggle when people dismiss sensible ideas because it ‘won’t work for their horse’. Or they fail to see that perhaps what they have been doing isn’t quite enough and sometimes you need to try something different or make changes.

 

[Caol Ila]

Nope, still f*cking dogs. And their owners.

This evening, I was on a hack with OH on foot and another rider, and we'd had a lovely time and were on the home stretch, coming out of some woods and crossing about a kilometer of open moorland before the carpark, when I saw three other riders from my barn vaguely coming towards us. The first indication of trouble should have been Foinaven getting quite nervous and bouncy as we approached them. He's normally quite sensible about encountering other horses on the trail. As we got closer, we could see that their horses were very tense and wound up, and they were just kind of milling in one place. At first, I thought it was because they'd seen us. But when we got up to them, my friends said that they'd been attacked by a dog. It jumped out of the brush, snarling, snapping, and leaping, and the horses panicked and scattered. One of the riders, who I don't really know and usually doesn't ride into the park, had fallen off. They asked the dog owner to put a lead on it, and he started ranting about "freedom" and "horses shouldn't even be in the park." Two of the horses are very experienced, sensible trail cobs who have seen hundreds of dogs, so the dog must have been very scary indeed to freak them out. Like gazelles and zebras, they know when a predator is actually dangerous.

The inexperienced rider was panicking; she'd dismounted and was leading her mare, but struggling to control her. One of my friends asked if OH could help (we'd split at this point...there's a boardwalk dodging a muddy bog, but horses go through the bog and OH was on the boardwalk). I said he's been getting good at controlling my scatty youngsters, and then, when he met back up with us, I told him to grab the mare. He's not yet horsey enough to see problems developing at the speed which we can see them, but he follows orders well. Mare settled once someone calm and strong took her bridle.

Then another dog flew through the bushes at us. Foinavon and one of the experienced cobs spooked, but settled once they realised it wasn't a threat. We may have been screaming, "Put it on a lead!" in not the most tactful manner.

That all said, 95% of dog owners in the park are well behaved and put them on leads when they see us. But there is indeed a special place in hell for the other 5%.

 

[Dave's Mam]

Nope, still f*cking dogs. And their owners.

This evening, I was on a hack with OH on foot and another rider, and we'd had a lovely time and were on the home stretch, coming out of some woods and crossing about a kilometer of open moorland before the carpark, when I saw three other riders from my barn vaguely coming towards us. The first indication of trouble should have been Foinaven getting quite nervous and bouncy as we approached them. He's normally quite sensible about encountering other horses on the trail. As we got closer, we could see that their horses were very tense and wound up, and they were just kind of milling in one place. At first, I thought it was because they'd seen us. But when we got up to them, my friends said that they'd been attacked by a dog. It jumped out of the brush, snarling, snapping, and leaping, and the horses panicked and scattered. One of the riders, who I don't really know and usually doesn't ride into the park, had fallen off. They asked the dog owner to put a lead on it, and he started ranting about "freedom" and "horses shouldn't even be in the park." Two of the horses are very experienced, sensible trail cobs who have seen hundreds of dogs, so the dog must have been very scary indeed to freak them out. Like gazelles and zebras, they know when a predator is actually dangerous.

The inexperienced rider was panicking; she'd dismounted and was leading her mare, but struggling to control her. One of my friends asked if OH could help (we'd split at this point...there's a boardwalk dodging a muddy bog, but horses go through the bog and OH was on the boardwalk). I said he's been getting good at controlling my scatty youngsters, and then, when he met back up with us, I told him to grab the mare. He's not yet horsey enough to see problems developing at the speed which we can see them, but he follows orders well. Mare settled once someone calm and strong took her bridle.

Then another dog flew through the bushes at us. Foinavon and one of the experienced cobs spooked, but settled once they realised it wasn't a threat. We may have been screaming, "Put it on a lead!" in not the most tactful manner.

That all said, 95% of dog owners in the park are well behaved and put them on leads when they see us. But there is indeed a special place in hell for the other 5%.

Horrible. Hope you are all ok now.

 

[GreyMane]

People who won't reverse their vehicle and expect you to back 50 yards when they could have backed 5.
Twisted my back today looking behind, it's hurting.

 

[Season’s Bleatings]

People who cannot successfully operate round bales….. all you have to do is, you know, follow it round.

 

[fredflop]

people who tell me what tack I should/shouldn’t wear… or how to train my horse.

loose dogs.

people hogging the school

 

[Dave's Mam]

People taking ridiculous amounts of hay and straw from the free allocation on the yard, then throwing it on the muck heap next day so the whole yard ends up having to chip in for more because some sh1t's wasted it all.

 

[Caol Ila]

Horrible. Hope you are all ok now.

Yeah, not ideal.

Complicated by the tw*t in question miling about aimlessly, throwing sticks for his dogs, on a grass track about 30m from the main track. We sometimes use it as a canter run when it's dry enough. I met the other riders on the main track, and they pointed him out to me. "That's the guy." The grass track leaves the main track, runs parallel to it, and then rejoins it, but the guy wasn't moving in any direction with any purpose -- he was just playing with his dogs -- so we couldn't tell if he would move towards the visitor centre or towards the East carpark. One or the other would have been fine! We could have gone the opposite way.

Given that, we did some frantic milling, trying to figure out the safest way to get as far away from them as possible. Theoretically, that was down another grass track that descended a steep grassy hill, which would take us to a main path that was nowhere near the dogs. We started descending the hill. Two riders got down the steepest section, to a point where it levelled out, then the third, the most inexperienced one, couldn't control her horse's speed. The mare tried jogging, lost her footing, and fell. I was behind her and my only thought was, "Oooooooh f******ck!!!!" Thank God, rider and horse picked themselves up off the ground, unharmed. That was her second fall of the day (the first being when the dog attacked), so it's no wonder her confidence was shaken. If there's one thing Foinavon, as an ex-feral, is good at, it's negotiating funky ground, so I wasn't worried for myself. But my friend, riding behind me, said her gelding was being wild, and she didn't think she could control his speed, either, and she was worried that she would also be hitting the deck if she tried the hill. Subsequently, we all climbed back up and took our chances on the track adjacent to the dogs, just praying that the owner didn't rejoin it while we were there. OH saw him wandering in our direction at one point, and urged us to keep moving and get out of the park ASAP.

 

[Bonnie Allie]

Dogs with rubbish owners who have not trained in a useful recall.

The overuse of Wilkie bits on ponies. WTF is that all about?

Chancers……….the dear young girl, with her dopey boyfriend and dog in tow, who dropped in to see if we would take her on as a livery. Sadly she could only afford x which is about 25% of what we charge and she tried to tell us we would be lucky to have her. She was sweet but really dim.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Just thought of another one the lane I live on is very narrow in places only room for 1 car but there are pull in passing points, however some people think these are parking spots and bloody park there cars on them, 1 day last week some idiot parked a mini bus on one on a blind corner with it half sticking out and the farmer couldn't get him combine past ?

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

People that shriek for there horse at the gate in the most high pitched pathetic voice which then causes the whole field of horses to gallop about while your trying to ride in the school.

Oops, you’d hate me! I call for mine and he comes even from the bottom of a huge field. Fortunately he’s super slow so never causes the others to gallop.

Lost fly masks.

The mask is white, the grass isn't very long. You'd think that I could find said mask, but no. Plus the horse won't tell me where they put it. Hopeless.

Same, 2 trawls round the field, forked out for a new one, came yesterday, old one found this morning in someone else’s stable so obviously been found and put there, despite mine being the only one of that brand with a nose. So cross when I bloody messaged the group!

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Oops, you’d hate me! I call for mine and he comes even from the bottom of a huge field. Fortunately he’s super slow so never causes the others to gallop.



Same, 2 trawls round the field, forked out for a new one, came yesterday, old one found this morning in someone else’s stable so obviously been found and put there, despite mine being the only one of that brand with a nose. So cross when I bloody messaged the group!

Ha ha ? it is mainly 2 people and although they are at the yard next door I can hear them from my house! One of there fields is directly behind mine and said woman and her daughter were literally screaming ? I had to run round to have a look because I honestly thought someone was in trouble it was that bad it was like they were being attacked.

But no the 2 of them just stood at the gate waiting for the 2 horses to come down.

And the other one has hers near the school and that will come galloping down with all the others and sets all the other horses off nearby, and quite often I am trying to ride and there Arab's and find it highly exciting ?

But I definitely don't hate you.

 

[vmac66]

People who can't, or don't ride commenting on how long I've been having lessons for.
Horses that have been in for days getting turned out just as you go in the school.
Jumping every time you ride.