Minor Irritations

[SO1]

Road users who do not slow down for horses and who ignore requests to do so.

People who think that just because you don't spend every penny you have on your horse and all your spare time with them that you don't care for them. If I had a job that paid mega bucks it would mean less horse time, if I had a less demanding job I wouldn't be able to pay my livery and others costs, sometimes you just can't do right unless perhaps you marry a rich person so you don't need to work but can spend lots of money and time on horse.

I have a fairly demanding job head of department for a charity so have to be on part livery but at same time don't earn enough to have all the expensive tack, and have to think carefully about what thinks like physio, and experimental or alternative therapies not covered by insurance, though I do have decent rugs - Rambos. I do actually like to have a bit of a social life and holiday and spend time with family. I sometimes feel incredibly guilty for perhaps not being so devoted as some people on the forum.

 

[Christmascinnamoncookie]

But I definitely don't hate you.

?

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

Mainly I'm chill but there are 3 things guaranteed to p!$$ me right off.
1) Horse being uncharacteristically "naughty" and owner/rider etc assuming it's being a brat instead of getting it checked out for pain.

2) Having schooling issues snd automatically going for a gadget to "fix" the problem; stronger bit, strapping the mouth shut etc instead of going back to basics and working out where it's all going wrong.

3) This is one that's REALLY p!$$Ed me off this week...big time.
Long thread of several hundred comments on FaceAche this week about mares vs geldings. I personally prefer geldings and find mares hard to get on with..it's just one of those things but I got called a woman hater (Erm, I AM a woman..!!!) and ignorant simply because I said I prefer geldings. The general thread was people (with mares) saying that people with geldings were, ignorant, that mares were wonderful, best partnership ever blah blah and saying how stupid geldings are and that you don't get the same "bond" etc. I feel this is grossly unfair. Say one word against mares and everybody and their dog likes to tell you how biased and wrong you are but it's fine to ridicule and slag off geldings..??? Nope, not going to happen. One person told me that women who dislike mares are usually really bitchy with other women etc..!!!!!

And I've just thought of another
4) PEOPLE, ABSOLUTE F**K KNUCKLES ?

 

[Gloi]

People who look down on my pony for being a pony rather than a Warmblood or ex racer.

Bitchy comment deleted ?

 

[SpeedyPony]

Oooh dogs! Thankfully nothing so bad as your run-in Caol Ila, but the people who let their dog run right up close around the ponies legs and, when I say please call your dog, I don't want him to get kicked, reply with "oh it's okay, it'll teach him/her a lesson".
Even if you're fine with having your dog possibly killed/permanently lamed in the name of a "lesson", I don't want my horses' tolerance and good behaviour around dogs ruined just because you didn't bother to stop Fluffy running right under their legs/nipping at their heels! ?

 

[Keith_Beef]

I'm glad his daughter is now old enough to make her own way to the yard and back home again, but her dad was my pet hate...

Every other week, he would bring her to the yard and leave his car in the car park while he went for a jog.

He'd get back after one hour, which is to say before the end of the lesson; we arrive half an hour before (though he always brought her ten minutes before), to tack up, and then we groom afterwards for however long it takes...

But when he decided it was time to go, he'd honk the car horn and expect his little girl to come running. If she didn't, he'd honk again.

It didn't put her or me in danger, but there was another class in the arena and sometimes another in the covered school as well...

I talked about the danger to the instructors and yard manager but they were reluctant to talk to him...

So I talked to his daughter... I've seen her fall a few times in the school when a sudden noise had spooked the horses and she understood.

From the following week, no more honking.

So I suppose her dad was neither stupid nor obnoxious, he simply didn't know how his actions could have provoked an accident.

 

[Auslander]

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 ?

People do that in the passing place opposite my gate. It drives me wild, as a- people then drive on the grass outside my fence to get past, and b-they sit there with the engines running/music blaring - about 5m from my (always open) windows. Particularly infuriating at 6am - I have been known to storm out there in my dressing gown!

 

[FestiveG]

People who block single track lanes, to go and do work in one of the houses, so that you have to go searching for them to move their vehicle, so that you can get to the place you live or are visiting. Also people who drive round blind bends on the wrong side of the road and then get cross because you are on the road (on"your" side of the road!!) Both of those happened this afternoon!

 

[Griffin]

As of today mine are:

Car drivers who shake their heads saying "Horses shouldn't be on the road" as they go past out their open window.

Cyclists who don't give a warning "Hello" as they overtake from behind.

Gates that are not horse or human friendly.

People who think sawing at a horse's mouth is "putting it on the bit". Just no.

 

[scats]

Fellow yardie had an altercation with a dog walker yesterday. Same walker has persistently failed to put young and very lively dog on a lead when walking through the farm and horse fields (public footpath) and has repeatedly been asked to. Yesterday the dog was tearing up and down the path beside my paddock and set my girls off- P is recovering from lami and we could do without her doing anything too daft. My friend shouted to walker, who had ear phones in and couldn’t hear so friend ran after her and a bit of an argument ensued. Walkers response to being asked if she could please keep her dog on a lead through the Farm was to smirk “what you going to do, call the police?”
95% of the dog walkers we see are lovely, very considerate of the horses and we’ve made friends with a lot of them and always say hello and fuss the dogs, but occasionally a self-entitled idiot comes through.

 

[Sossigpoker]

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?

I have to say I'm irritated by the same things!

(I might refer to a horse as an it if I'm talking about a theoretical or hypothetical horse but never a 'real' one.)

 

[Sossigpoker]

"All horses can be barefoot "

Don't even get me started on that!

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

People do that in the passing place opposite my gate. It drives me wild, as a- people then drive on the grass outside my fence to get past, and b-they sit there with the engines running/music blaring - about 5m from my (always open) windows. Particularly infuriating at 6am - I have been known to storm out there in my dressing gown!

We have 2 gates on our property and people pull up all the time and just sit on the entrance to the drive having a good old look, the dog goes mental and they still don't move I do run out there quite often and ask what they want drives me nuts.

There is a pull in point right opposite us as well but if I see anyone try and park I run out there and tell them they can't park there, I am probably referred to as the old bag that comes out and shouts at everyone ha ha I don't care ?

 

[Lipglosspukka]

Martingale and gag combinations

People who keep overweight ponies on a postage stamp piece of ground and expect them to survive on fresh air (I appreciate they do but IMO ponies in these circumstances should get some oat straw or well soaked old hay handfuls through the day, not just left starving hungry)

People who don't tell the whole truth. Someone local always putting pics of their horse up saying things like 'came first in my class today' but fail to mention they were the only one to enter or similar. I suppose that's social media though, painting a picture prettier than it really is.

 

[Chianti]

People who strap flash nosebands so tight that their horse can barely breath.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

Martingale and gag combinations

People who keep overweight ponies on a postage stamp piece of ground and expect them to survive on fresh air (I appreciate they do but IMO ponies in these circumstances should get some oat straw or well soaked old hay handfuls through the day, not just left starving hungry)

People who don't tell the whole truth. Someone local always putting pics of their horse up saying things like 'came first in my class today' but fail to mention they were the only one to enter or similar. I suppose that's social media though, painting a picture prettier than it really is.

The whole truth thing...I suppose it doesn't affect me AT ALL, but I know someone who constantly does this. Her (grown) daughter came 5th out of 5th in her division at a weekend championship for our region. She then said her daughter was 5th in rank in the entire region, overall, out of all riders. Which isn't true. The 5th in rank for the entire region for dressage is someone else. Her daughter is 5th out of 5 in her division and overall had the lowest scores.

If it were me I would've just been like, "good comp, lots to learn and some homework to do." Not making my self sound like I rank in the top 5 of our region ?‍

Just odd to me because I guess I'm not quite like that.

 

[mini_b]

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.

gotta dream big, shy bairns and that! ?

 

[FireCracker238]

Does my own ineptitude when it comes to riding count? ?‍

 

[Baywonder]

Other people borrowing your stuff and not putting it back afterwards ?

Yes, I used to love hunting around in the dark trying to find my head collar/lead rope / brush/fork because someone couldn't be arsed to return it!!!

 

[tiga71]

When other horse people tell you how lucky you are to have such easy going horses that are lovely to ride and you can take anywhere. Even when they have seen me fall off LOTS of times, seen me have to be led into a dressage arena, know that I go to millions of lessons and clinics and work flipping hard to improve them. Yep, I am just lucky.

Losing fly masks and grazing muzzles in a 33 acre field. Really hate that.

 

[GreyMane]

People writing "predominately" when it should be "predominantly".

 

[PurBee]

People who block single track lanes, to go and do work in one of the houses, so that you have to go searching for them to move their vehicle, so that you can get to the place you live or are visiting. Also people who drive round blind bends on the wrong side of the road and then get cross because you are on the road (on"your" side of the road!!) Both of those happened this afternoon!

Oh you’d love ireland - its common for the rural roads which are wide enough ‘just’ for 2 vehicles to pass if you also have your left wheels rolling along the verge, to suddenly be travelling along, hit a blind bend, and there’s someone stopped there, chatting to someone they know….on a friggin’ blind bend!
Not only that…you may aswell turn off your vehicle and browse on your phone at that point because despite seeing you turn up behind them, they’ll carry on nattering as if they’re not in the middle of the road blocking traffic! ? Took me a while to get used to that behaviour….narked me at first, until i realised that many are so rural it’s probably the only time they get to chat to someone for a week or two…so they make the most of any socialising opportunity!

 

[DizzyDoughnut]

When people say I'm lucky my ponies are so well behaved! Like it just happened by some magical accident and not in any way the result of training in everything we do with them. Normally said by someone who's horse is busy walking all over them while they make no effort to teach the horse the right way to react and behave.

 

[bonnysmum]

Oh you’d love ireland - its common for the rural roads which are wide enough ‘just’ for 2 vehicles to pass if you also have your left wheels rolling along the verge, to suddenly be travelling along, hit a blind bend, and there’s someone stopped there, chatting to someone they know….on a friggin’ blind bend!
Not only that…you may aswell turn off your vehicle and browse on your phone at that point because despite seeing you turn up behind them, they’ll carry on nattering as if they’re not in the middle of the road blocking traffic! ? Took me a while to get used to that behaviour….narked me at first, until i realised that many are so rural it’s probably the only time they get to chat to someone for a week or two…so they make the most of any socialising opportunity!

Sounds just like where I live ?

 

[SEL]

Another one for out of control dogs - farm has lost 3 chickens this year to dogs on the footpath despite keep on lead signs.

After last weekend I'm adding cycle events. One teeny tiny signpost, no stewards and literally 100s of cyclists. Many slowed down (big thanks to Maidenhead cycle club - huge group) but others just went past flat out. Microcob is very good but even she started to get jumpy.

 

[cauda equina]

Birds crapping in the field water
I'm fed up with emptying and refilling water tubs, sometimes 3 times a day

 

[ycbm]

Birds crapping in the field water
I'm fed up with emptying and refilling water tubs, sometimes 3 times a day

Ditto food buckets in stables.
.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Foxes crapping in food bowls in the field.

 

[Winters100]

I really don't care what tack or shoes others want to use, but I am quite irritated when I receive unwanted opinions about my own choices. As an example I have one horse who came using a very harsh bit. I put him in a simple snaffle, but he hated it and threw his head around, so we went back to using what he came with. Interestingly someone on this forum told me that the bit we use is often liked by horses with fat tongues, so I guess that could be it. I don't even remember what this bit is called, but it is a gag, loose ring with 2 quite narrow jointed bars. In our discipline we anyway ride without contact and I hardly ever need to touch his mouth, so if the horse is happy then I am happy. I did not really appreciate being told that this was 'too strong' for him, especially as the comment came from a fellow livery who barely knows the horse.

My other irritation is the yard 'complainers', who never actually leave, and mostly do not raise their issues with YO, but will complain loudly and at length to anyone who will listen. Now I simply say, 'I'm sorry, I don't own the place so I can do nothing, I suggest you speak to Mr X about it'.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

Yard complainers. Ugh.

Livery: says some complaint.
Me: did you talk to YO/YM about it?
Livery: Well, no.
Me: can't help you if you can't help yourself.



I have an acquaintance who grumbles about buying and adding her own bedding to her stable (it's included in full Livery) when she thinks it's a bit low, but rather grumble then talk to the YO about it. I have just asked if I can have more bedding if I feel my horse's stable is a bit low (sometimes different people clean the stables and not all are so good at adding bedding) and YO always says she will do it, or if she's busy allows me to do it. Simple.

We use a specific pellet and it can get a bit dusty during really dry weather in my horses open stable. I then mix in some flax straw (a bale a week or so) and this helps. I told this to YO and have no problem with doing it on my own because it's "beyond what they provide" I suppose I could've just grumbled on forever and done nothing and talked to no-one ?