People who do not realise how lucky they are....RANT alert!

BoolavogueDC said:
This stance gets on my nerves more than anything else - people bandying that opinion are one of the contributory reasons I sold my old horse! A horse doesn't want or need to be ridden nor does it want or need to be fussed over and petted and cossetted..so long as it's teeth and feet are done and its fed and watered adequately - who cares if the owner wants to ride it or not? It makes not one whit of difference to the horse - and shouldn't to anyone else either.

Just smacks of jealousy to me!!
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One is lacking in feed and teeth and it shows. Is it me being jealous to find it frustrating or is it me caring?
 
jokadoka said:
..." Besides there are more than enough people already on the yard who are convinced they know it all....am sure they would tell half the professionals how they should be riding their horses....:D
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"

Are you perhaps describing yourself here at all....??

Don't jump to such quick conclusions when you see somebody do something to their horse that you a) don't like, b) don't agree with, c) don't understand.[/QUOTE]


I have two lessons a week so clearly am not in the 'thinking I know it all boat'. Was asked my advice on someone's saddle the other day and didn't even pass comment as my knowledge on saddle fitting is limited.
 
My mistake boolavogueDC....just intensely frustrated by the whole situation and wish I could care for them and pander to their every need
 
justjoules said:
Personally I would rug an underweight ageing TB who is in a field with no grass, no hard feed and gets half a small haynet of haylage a day...
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Really? I'd put it on better grass and/or feed it more haylage.

Certainly know that I will not be asking for advice on here anymore as I feel you just get vilified!
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But you weren't asking for advice, you were vilifying others!
 
I think the problem here is that instead of biting the bullet and questioning some of the horse care you've seen, you're on here ranting about it. If someone was b*tching and moaning about me on an online forum I'd want to know about it. So ask the owners.
 
poppymoo said:
No offense......but if you don't know the horse(s) in question....then there may be perfectly good reasons for the owners doing what they are doing....

....even if one of my horses was incredibly underweight- right now I wouldn't be putting a turnout rug on it, even a LW one.....too sweaty in the recent heat.....
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This! My lad was incredibly skinny when we got him but it was a very hot summer so he went out naked. He would have sweated terribly and been very uncomfortable.

I would be careful of judging others too harshly, you don't always know the situation. If you had met either of my horses when we got them you'd have been shocked, one was very obese the other very skinny. Now both are gorgeous and fit and healthy but then they both looked like welfare cases!
FDC
 
Amaranta said:
Oh goodness, I must be really cruel, none of mine have rugs on even in the rain! Gosh will they shrink?????
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OMG You meany! Mind you I maybe just as bad, Fany was out in -10 degrees up the top of a fell (mountain) last winter with no rugs! However you did have to push your finger through her coat to the second knuckle to get to her, think giant Shetland. She was never cold and undercoat was never wet either. Still maybe I should have rugged her and have her sweat and overheat? :rolleyes:
FDC
 
I could tell you all a long drawn out story about how cruel and evil i was (and it was posted about on here...) by leaving my TB out in AUG in no rug :D
 
BeBopTalulah said:
I think it's great you take such an interest in other horse's welfare. It's also great that you're preparing to own your own horse. If I were you, I'd take this time as an opportunity to learn as much as you can, and ASK the owners why they do certain things. If something annoys you, question them casually. You might learn some perfectly valid reasons for rugging/not rugging in this weather. If the owners are doing something wrong, your question might be enough to make them rethink what they're doing.
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A very sensible post. If someone were judging me for the way I keep Kali, I'd much rather they came and asked why I do the things I do and then offer advice rather than just judging without understanding.

All horses are unique . . . some feel the heat/cold more than others, some are incredibly thin-skinned and get rug rubs easily, some have high metabolisms/some low . . . ultimately it's up to owners to care for their horses in the best possible way . . . and ultimately unless it's a welfare case it's no'one else's business.

I hope that didn't come across as harsh . . . I just would hate to think someone was judging the way I take care of my boy.

P
 
Unfortunately I seem to have kicked off a massive HHO issue again which was never the intention, I just needed to blow off some steam. I have not posted all the information about the two situations as felt that was unfair and am still not going to drag out all the details of why I said what I did as that is wrong.

To those who were offended I am sorry and can I just take this moment to say I was not judging anyone and would not dream to tell you how you should be doing things as I know I am one of the least experienced people on here.

Hope you all have a good evening and sorry again.
 
I have been told I'm spoiling my horse by rugging her during the winter....it gets to -40 here and you regularly see herds of horses with no rugs at all, no matter the weather. My girl has a fly sheet for the summer as the mosquitoes are unbelievable and goes into her lovely Rambo in November/December when it starts to get really cold. If I rug earlier she won't build up a nice fluffy coat, and I can't clip her as she needs the extra!
 
justjoules said:
Unfortunately I seem to have kicked off a massive HHO issue again which was never the intention, I just needed to blow off some steam. I have not posted all the information about the two situations as felt that was unfair and am still not going to drag out all the details of why I said what I did as that is wrong.

To those who were offended I am sorry and can I just take this moment to say I was not judging anyone and would not dream to tell you how you should be doing things as I know I am one of the least experienced people on here.

Hope you all have a good evening and sorry again.
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Hey not at all.
You've just inadvertently opened a can of worms. But that is what the forum is for, so don't worry just take it all the a pinch of salt and enjoy the forum.

Please remember that everyone on here was a novice at some point, whether they've been with horses for 40 yrs or 4. No one knows it all, and every horse is different and needs different care. Remember what Stephen Hawkins said "... the enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the pretence of knowledge." and if in doubt ask, what have any of us got to lose by asking for help, except our ignorance? :)

FDC
 
feel a bit bad for OP who was just having a moan, same as we all do, to let off steam
I'm sure the other liveries at my place think im mean for having mine live out all summer rain and shine with no rugs (but sometimes a fly rug if its not too hot), esp last night when it peed it down. My 30 year old is currently plastered with mud, shes loves it, no way do i want to rug them for rain and then have them too hot and uncomfortable. They will get wet and dry off just fine naked
 
in some respects JJ you are right, the horse world is a very frustrating place at times, i'm sure we have all seen stuff and said wtf under our breath;)
But you do have to remember that sometimes what we see is not the whole story, we often only see a snapshot of how someone is with their horse, there may be underlying reasons why someone does something the way they do, there may also be personal reasons why someone perhaps isn't paying as much attention to their horse as they normally would:) to some people where i livery i probably seem to spend very little time with my horses, what they don't see is the hours i spend down there during the day when they are all at work ( i work part time;) ) all they see is me fly down in the evening for a last check up and water bucket filling;)
when you get your own horse you will look after it in a way that suits you, but i'll bet you there will be people around you who will be saying WTF does she do that for lol, it's just how it is;):)
 
it seems like my posts have made others think i'm getting a dig in when i'm not. i will try and explain better (although not easy)

i can't ride my horse because of injury, if someones horse is injured or ill then it's understandable for it not to be ridden. however the people i'm talking about have horses which can be ridden a couple even NEED to be ridden on vets advice, the owners don't ride them, on nice days they don't ride, they have no interest in riding and come up with a hundred excuses why they aren't riding and none of them excuses are worthy of the breath it used to come out with them.
when it's raining, blowing a gale, icey, horse is actually injured or ill the owner sits there complaining that they want to go for a ride and can't wait for their horse to be better or for better weather...........when that happens they come up with the excuses again.

that's what bothers me, don't complain you can't ride your horse if you don't when you can. fair enough not riding but it's the complaining.

i also know people who literally don't do anything with their horse except get it in from the field, put in a stable then go and make a fuss of other horses or just go home, they then harp on about how much they love their horse, they spend 5 minutes with their horse and expect others to muck out/field check/feed/groom/etc, there is no excuse as to them not being able to see to their horse, it's not like they are at work or away on holiday.
i know horses don't need to be pampered and all that, none of mine are BUT i check them over and make sure they are ok, i also do the simplest of things like lead them in from the field and make sure they keep their manners, i also muck out and do the things that most horse owners can/are able to do. again i understand there are times when people can't do these things due to one thing or another.

hope that clears my comments up a bit better.
 
also my ponies don't get rugs on, they all live out in all weather naked, they are hardy little things and don't need rugs. my horse gets rugged but that's because he is old and arthritic now.
 
OP I doubt you have caused any offence.

Honestly with this humidity it would be worse for the horse to be rugged. My tb sweats in the field at the minute so couldn't dream of even sticking a fly rug on. Much better to increase the feed than to rug if concerned.
 
These types of threads get on my st moritz !!
TO RUG OR NOT TO RUG ??
this is not aimed at anybody its a general comment.
I have 3 horses, they are either rugged or not depending on my judgement of their individual needs, its nobodys business but mine, and if i had someone approach me to tell me how i should care for my horses theyd be told to gtf.:D:D:D
 
BoolavogueDC said:
I could tell you all a long drawn out story about how cruel and evil i was (and it was posted about on here...) by leaving my TB out in AUG in no rug :D
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Hells teeth. What does that make me? I put my Thoroughbred out rugless in FEBRUARY! And he is a Princess - hates the cold, doesn't like to get his feet wet. Didn't mind rolling though, in February, with no rug on :rolleyes:
 
This type of attidude pees me off :( My old boy was bought very underweight with horrendous rain scald, it was infected all over his withers back and quarters. I got the vet as i felt he would need a course of antibiotics. Vets advice was try and keep rug off were poss, he was a skinny tb and it was a really bad winter. Due to the rain it was best to keep him in.
Apparently people on yard were comenting on how cruel to keep a skinny tb in no rug during the day and how wrong it was for him to have 2-4 weeks with no TO.
It was a friend who went to see to him when I got stuck at work that told me.
Mind your own flippen buisness it was on the vets advice :(

Rant over :)
 
One thing I've learned since my OH opened his own yard is that out of a group of 10 people, you'll likely get at least 7 different opinions as to what should be done. Being a YO is like juggling hand grenades. This one has to have 3 rugs on if it drops below 5 degrees. This one doesn't like layering as the rugs get too heavy. This one has to have a rug on if it looks as though it might rain. This one isn't to have rugs even if it is raining. This one doesn't go out if it's raining as it doesn't like it. etc etc. Often it's nothing to do with the horse, it's the owner's perception of what is good for the horse. Some thing "[it]'s a horse". Others think "I'd really like to have [it] in my house where it's nice, warm and dry but I can't so I'll do all I can to make up for that". OH tiptoes through it, tries to keep everyone happy UNLESS the demands are going to damage the horse in which case he intervenes.

There can be so many reasons why an owner takes a particular approach and it's difficult to ask without causing offence.

There's a wonderful story about a third generation woman who used to cut her turkey in two at Christmas before cooking it. Her husband asked why and she said because her mother did it that way. The mother did it because the grandmother did it that way. The grandmother explained she did it that way because her oven wasn't big enough for the whole turkey.

We learn so much from the example of others - never hurts to question (nicely) why someone does something in a particular way....
 
There are many times that I often think to myself that certain people don't look after their horses as well as I do, but at the end of the day, as long as no horse is being neglected or the actions of the lazy/numpty owner are not likely to cause distress to the horse, then it's not my business to interfere, as I doubt it would do any good apart from causing bad feeling.
I know of a few people who keep themselves and their horses on a shoe-string. Again, it's none of my business if they've got debts, but the people I know who are struggling financially, seem to keep their horses better fed and clothed than themselves, and because they can't afford to go out a lot or on holidays all their leisure time is spent with their horse.

My horses got wet yesterday :p - even in the rain it was still warm and muggy, and a rug would have probably caused them to sweat and get itchy, and my TB is so extraordinarily sensitive he'd have probably come up in a heat rash. I think he found it rather refreshing to not have to worry about the flies for a day :)
If I'd have wanted to ride I would have rugged yesterday, but not otherwise.
 
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Hey justjoules - I get what you were saying. I currently share a horse, I owned a horse for many years in the past but current situations are not conducive. I simply can afford to own one and I simply dont have enough time to own one out right. That said I do 5 days a week, just couldn't get to the yard in the mornings and the horse does have an owner that has some part in his upbringing. She breed him, got him backed at 3 then fell pregnant and has now got two young kids.

I find that situations can be frustrating. I put as much time as I can into the horse. The only evenings I dont do are the ones the owner specifically requested that she do. However I don't think she is always able to put in that much time then. I started helping out one day a week as it was obvious the horse needed much more time than he was getting. He pretty much takes up all of my spare time. I don't live that close and can have a hell of a commute through city traffic to get to the stables. The two nights I dont see to him I'm sorting out stuff to ensure I have time to give him. I live on my own, so I dont have help round the house.

I'm sure I was trying to make a point so I'll get back onto that; Through all of the frustrations. The thing I have to come back to is that he's not my horse. I don't own him and I don't pay for his keep, I choose to look after him. I think he rocks and having him in my life makes me very happy and in truth, I can not afford to own one. If it wasn't for the fact his owner can't give him the time he needs, I wouldn't have the opportunity I do have. So I'm grateful for that and I have had to learn to sensitively approach anything I may disagree with.

I think I'm lucky in so much as the owner does recognise she isn't able to provide all the time he needs and is willing to listen to my suggestions.

I think we all need to vent from time to time but I think its always worth reminding yourself of what you have already got.
 
I am so thankful for the wonderful yard I'm on.

We all do things differently, don't judge others and are very supportive. No bitching, if someone has a problem it's out in the open straight away. We all help each other and advice is offered if asked.
 
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