People blaming their horses past!!!

I bought a wee cob that I am in no doubt was jumped and jumped and then jumped heck of alot more, he's knackered now. do i blame his past, damn straight i do. Go on, call me a novice, I'm not sure how that would make me a novice right enough...
 
Agreed with sarahann1 - too many people treat horses as machines and when they start to say no, too many people just don't want to know.

Both my boys have been 'other people's problems'. One that bolted at everything and anything because he was beat and the other that was jumped and jumped as a 5 year old and when it starting napping at 6 it was 'too dangerous and not up for the job'.

They're both awesome, it's been a journey but we're out hacking, hunting, schooling, jumping and competing and enjoying life together as a team - safe and sound. I got to very lovely souls for a fraction of what they're worth now. I agree that they're pasts had a lot to do with the behavior problems they started with, but it didn't mean that they were stuck with them for the rest of their days. Hard work pays off.
 
Eek really need to check this more often, I agree with what some people have said but wether a horse has had a bad past or not. It's the future that matters right so why dwell on it? Maybe because I work with top SJ horses I find it hard to look at them as pets anymore? Ok I love them but I don't spoil them.
 
I think it's unfair to assume someone is a novice or inexperienced just because they take into account a horses past to explain their behaviour.

If I were to sell my mare without explaining how to bridle her the way I do, her quirks etc I can guarentee the new owner's would end up having problems and her education would go backwards.

Horses remember bad experiences- fact. But I believe if they learn to trust you, they will overcome their fears eventually.
 
I rather agree with Chan, blood_magik, Mardy-Mare, etc. It isn't a fair assumption to make that everyone who acknowledges a horse's past as a factor in their current state/future development is 'all the gear and no idea.' I've got a youngster who had a difficult start, with some handling that really really clashed with her personality and some that was downright nasty. I try to take that into account to find ways to move her forwards and create the nice, sane, engaged horse I think she can be, not the stroppy, opinionated, lash out first and think later one I bought. And yeah, I paid for her but, knowing the people she was with and the person who wanted her if I didn't take her, her future was pretty dicey. No, it wasn't a rescue, but there's an 80% chance she'd've been shot by now if I'd walked away. Also, another of mine had a rough year. One out of fifteen isn't bad, but until I took her on the fallout was never really dealt with, so some of her behaviour is still coloured by it. Again, I find it useful to know and to consider it so I can approach her problems appropriately and work on resolving them. It's also nice sometimes to look back and think 'well, that's what you were like and that was why, and look where we are now!' As a marker of progress, it's no bad thing; it's only when it's used to excuse ongoing rudeness that such remarks get my goat!
 
Spring Feather said:
It's my one BIG bugbear tbh. I deal with a lot of horses who have concerning pasts, and I know fine well that the only way for that horse to move on is for the owner to move on. People who constantly harp on about the hard, abused life a horse has had tend to be novicey people who don't really understand horses unfortunately ... and the horse remains in a constant state and never moves forward. Shame for them I always think when I compare them to the amazing progress made by the horses I work with.
Click to expand...

OMG, yes!!! I see it all the time on this forum and what really, REALLY annoys me is when people say the horse came from Ireland and of course it must have been abused there. Half of those people have never even bloomin been to Ireland and haven't the foggiest notion what they are talking about.
 
I was a long way from inexperienced or novice when I bought my horse. Given that she had come to me from a gypsy family who were notorious for cruelty and was witnessed being given a good hiding in the horsebox I think I can safely say that her terror of travelling, total headshyness on one side, collection of whip marks, running off when being mounted almost certainly came from a bad past. Likewise my cat, even after 9 years would draw back if I put my hand out to her from the front because she remembered being grabbed and mauled about by the horrible family that had her previously. So yes, past experiences can most certainly affect animals. Not being naughty, just once bitten, twice shy and we should listen to what they are trying to tell us.
 
Ok so I was mainly reffering to people that go on about their horses past even when their horses have had a nice past... I'm not denying that your horses have had bad pasts...
 
I bought a pony with terribly sore sweet itch last year but am careful not to slag off the old owners, they did what they could for him at the time but for one reason or another (beyond their control) they couldnt get on top of the situation - these things remind me of that saying about walking a mile in someone else's shoes......
 
Are you all sure (I'm putting on my hard hat now) that people are blaming their horses past all the time - not just taking their past into consideration? Being responsible owners who are trying to understand why the horse behaves the way it does so they can move on and correct it?

If the horse has experienced situations in the past that may now be affecting the way it behaves it takes time to put it right - perhaps the need is there to explain that it wasn't you that caused the issue in the first place, so others don't see you as a novice who allows/encourages that kind of behaviour?

Don't agree, sorry.
 
I'm a novice and I rescued my horse who is an ex racer. His previous owner didnt seem to own a brush and to my horse this must have been traumatic because he LOVES being brushed which is why I have posted a before and after pic of him on here for the world to see just how rescued and under brushed he was to how lovely and shiny he now looks ;)

There I said it, I have confessed that although I actually paid for my horse I say I rescued him from a life without brushes :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top