Only in america!!

Hey AJ, nice to meet you fellow yank! Yes, things are different here for sure. We all must remember that there are some seriously idiotic people around, and in the States, there are a much greater number due to the country's size.
AJ, enjoy the cold weather, I will be heading off to Charleston, SC soon, looking forward to sweltering heat and southern hospitality (Born in NY, lived in Mid Sussex, then London...then Charleston!)

So, if there are normally stirrup covers on a western saddle, why did that saddle not have any? Is it only sometimes? I don't know anything about western, aside from that it looks immensely comfortable, and the only way that my dad has ever ridden (and claiming that he was so good as to also be able to jump in a western saddle, sounds uncomfortable for a bloke to me!)
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I don't think there are normally stirrup covers on the saddles when they are sold, but most barns I went to put them on the saddles which the "beginner" horses use. Oddly, even the trail-riding facilities I have seen used them, though they didn't require helmets--you can fall on your head, just don't get dragged! I'm not sure if they are common in the rest of the States, but certainly saw them a lot on kids and beginner saddles in California. Maybe the 4-H circuit was more into safety than the rest of the horse world! Some of the covers I saw were so big, they may not have made much difference for tiny feet, though. I will grant that I didn't do much western riding except through 4-H when I had to do goat-tying and pole-bending on my H/J TB mare (the one in my avatar--and in my show clothes!) who was not impressed.

Enjoy SC, I am heading for NH in another year or so, and will take with me a great deal of new knowledge. I expect it will be different on the East coast than it was in either CA or over here!
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Yup, very different between West/East! I have been to CA once, on a school trip, and my mind boggled! Totally different, but in a good way.

So, to totally change tangent on this thread (people seem to have dozen off), I guess you did pleasure riding? Like Equitation sort of thing? (ok, so I rode with my cousin in VA, and they ride very differently, English but not!). I suppose I could say that they way I ride English is more like dressage, whilst they all rode with very elongated necks (horse!) and not much impulsion. There is also the chance that my cousin was teaching me sh*te though!
 
That is horrible
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I do know of an accident at our old yard that happened a couple of years ago where the child was put in a basket type saddle which had a bungee holding the child in. The horse bolted and child ended up hanging by feet, dangling by the horses hooves
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From memory the child was not wearing a hat
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Luckily for them the child survived and is ok but it was touch and go.
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I read this thread before I watched the video, and can honestly say the video contains nothing that you do not see in some unfortunate incidents in gymkhanas. I couldn't see the child's feet were tied to the stirrups, and when she entered the arena she looked confident and happy. America is a vast and diverse country; saying 'only in America' is not only insulting to the vast majority of Americans, but a lit like saying 'only in Europe'. Obviously the barrel racing is unique to northern America, but accidents are not.
 
Ok, firstly .. was the child's food actually tied? looked like it got stuck to me .... her other foot came free?

Secondly .. QH are one of the quietest nicest breeds and personally I would rather stick a kid on one of them than a naughty welsh pony! The horse got up and stood stock still - that in its self a testament to the quietness of the breed.

We see in the UK have plenty of tiny kids jumping ponies over HUGE fences .. can anyone say JA? where may I add many parents tie stirrups to girth to control the lower leg - if the kids foot runs through the stirrup this is just as dangerous.



ANY horse fall with a kid involved is gut churning ... in what ever country.
 
I just wish the child was wearing a hat!
But I know that's not common practice in some countries. Indeed my own mum says she never used to wear a hat when she was younger unless at PC. That has changed in Britain so maybe it will filter through elsewhere...

I think that safety stirrups would also have helped. ETS - also a body protector!!

I am not a mum but I think when/if I am it must be awful to watch them on horses.
The horse in that video did nothing wrong, it just slipped.
It seemed very calm too but I still think it looks far too big for that child. That's probably just because I am British and kids ride little ponies over here
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I also don't think it's fair to generalise against Americans.
A lady who used to be at our yard was far stupider with her kids and her nutter horse...


ETS - i should probably say that I used to be a Risk Manager so it's ingrained in me to mitage risks where possible!!
I'm into - safety stirrups, body protector when jumping, hard hat when riding AND lunging/groundwork, high viz on any hack, knee boots when doing roadwork etc etc
I am a worrywart
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When i watched this video i kept saying "sh*t" because it really is scary.

QHs are lovely, but i really don't think kids that young should be allowed on any horse/pony, however nice, without a lead rein or being on a lunge.

There's plenty of time to be compeitive when they're older.

In that clip, a horse falling on a rider like that may break the rider's leg or possibly paralyse them at very worst instance in the same circs, but that child's whole body could have been crushed.
If the people helping hadn't been so quick, the horse may have fallen on the child again as it struggled to get up with that strap holding it in...

arrgh.

Things like this really scare me.
 
I don't see that the child is tied to the horse.
If the horse hadn't fallen we'd probably all be saying how cute it all was..

My daughter had a fall a few weeks back during her lesson..the horse she was riding fell very similarily to the one on the video. She didn't get her foot caught, horse got up, she got back on, my heart jumped back into my chest and all was good..

However, IMO..no hat in such a situation just seems madness
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Firstly I have never seen, or heard anyone ever tying kids in any way to any horse.

Watching the video I noticed to things - firstly how good the horse was, secondly how quickly the were people by the girls side and how well they handled the situation.

I know some of you want to be critical of a small child riding such a large horse, but in all honesty we could sit here in America and look at some of the fox hunting pictures with the kids going over the solid fences, with the protesters, etc and be like how dangerous.

We all love our kids, would never intentionally put them in harms way, but out here our comfort level on different things are different.
 
I agree with everyone that wearing a hat is better than no hat. I also agree that body protectors are better than no body protector. It is just not as much a part of the culture here to wear them as it is in the UK. I am not saying that is good I am just saying that is the way it is here . As said by someone above though, the hat is far more common now and becoming more of a mainstay in all types of riding here. I still think it looks odd to see a grown man riding Western wearing one
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. I think it is a good idea though and in my previous posts I was only trying to say that they will not always save you in an accident . Accidents can happen with any size equine in any form of riding.
 
pudpud

I wanted to say that I am sorry for implying that you may be a lunatic. Although I stand by everything else that I said, name calling is out of line and not the way to discuss your thoughts with forum members. That is out of character for me and you have my aoplogies.
 
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I'm a bit late to this thread...and to save me reading all of it can someone tell me who I should be insulting?
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Just go with the safe bet and insult the Americans
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I'm a bit late to this thread...and to save me reading all of it can someone tell me who I should be insulting?
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Just go with the safe bet and insult the Americans
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Stupid Americans.
Can't ride, too loud, don't know etiquette, ride ugly common QHs which have sh1tty temperaments.
Americans are almost as bad as the English.
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PS How am I doing?
 
You are doing well but you forgot to add that few of us hold a passport , We think nothing exists outside our borders,We cannot even find our own country on a map, we dress our young daughters up like hookers and parade them around a stage for amusement & glory, and most of us speak like Forest Gump
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If you havent watched the video (that made me feel physically sick being a mother) then suggest you dont comment. I find most of these stupid ideas come from the US, tying your kids feet to stirrups!! - never heard of it before at ALL in this country, have heard of it three times now in the US, its just mad.

BTW not generalising just saying what I have seen with my own eyes, have rellies in US!!! Its common practice apparently!
 
I did wind up watching the vid and there is no way I think that child was tied to anything.


I "suggest" you read the entire thread and ALL of my responses before you "suggest" anything to me!

I can comment about whatever I like ( in this case the title of the thread)
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BTW...what you have "heard of" and what is fact are very different. I have LIVED here my whole life and have yet to see any child tied to stirrups and I rode in the seventies when there was no such thing as safety! . Your "rellies" must hang with shady horse people if they tell you it is common and if you saw it over here I hope you are not naive enough to think it is the American way

fact : there are far more people in this country than yours so I suppose what you have "heard of happening" here and what you have "never heard of happening" there could be true. More people = a greater opportunity to encounter a few stupid ones. I am sure you have your share there too though person by person
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If the girls feet were tied to the stirrups then it is a practise that should be stopped no matter what the country is.

As for saying only in America... well having been to a show last weekend and nearly getting run over several times by kids on out of control ponies I think parental stupidity is definately a global problem!!
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Horrible, horrible accident which could of been much worse had the horse not been so good.

However, I cannot see that the kids feet were actually tied to the stirrups, I think it was more a case of one foot getting stuck in too big a stirrup - which could have happened on any size of horse and in any country and not 'Only in America'. I agree that seeing the poor little mite going all limp made me feel sick and as a mother myself would have preferred to see some form of head protection, but who are we to tell other countries what to wear when they ride? Is that not displaying the arrogance that we so readily accuse others of?

TBH I totally understand why Jade got so upset over the title of this thread, if I were an American, I would have reacted in exactly the same way
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