Phrases that get up your nose?

"No timewasters" - always makes me think that unless I open an envelope of money (full asking price natch) within 2 minutes of closing the car door they'll be slating me all over the county as a timewaster.

I've also been told I'm "so lucky, she's so easy-going". Turned out when I was pregnant those who stepped in didn't find her so easy - to the point she was "impossible and unrideable"...
 
'You need to be the alpha mare' and 'You must demand respect from your horse'

An oldie I haven't heard for many years, hes a riding school plug, means dead to the leg and ploddy.

'Tickle him up with the whip'.. have you felt a whip? It sure as heck doesnt 'tickle'

'Hes submitting now, he's licking and chewing' Go read a decent book on behaviour, licking and chewing is a sign of fear not submission to some silly person chasing it round and round for hours.... in the wild it is a few short moments from a horse being exhausted and giving up to its predator.
 
I always wonder when folk use photos of a horse clearing a jump like a stag/giving it three feet more than it needed. Right ok, so does it always over jump like that because to me I'd be thinking no thanks. Those pics are nice to have of your horse but not as an advert photo it just looks like the horse is an idiot that's going to put you in orbit over a 1ft fence.
 
What on earth does that mean?!
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As far as I understand, it means getting after a horse in a very dominant manner if the horse has refused to submit to a request. Sometimes it is explained that in these moments the horse has to believe that he is about to die, and only then the establishment of the handlers' dominance can be valued as successful.
 
"COME-TO-JESUS MOMENT (figurative/nonreligious sense): An epiphany in which one realizes the truth of a matter – a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something; an aha moment; coming clean and admitting failures; moment of realization; moment of decision; moment of truth; turning point; critical moment; moment of reassessment of priorities; moment of realization that one must get back to core values; life-changing moment"

pretty much sums up the meaning. The implication, rarely stated explicitly, is some kind of "wrath of God" intervention - which in the case of a horse entails... well, I leave it to your imagination. John Lyons' "three second rule" in which one has 3 seconds to make a horse think it is going to die would come into that category.
 
amandap said:
I assumed "a come to Jesus" moment meant fear for it's life. Same as beat the s**t out of it etc.
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That sounds like an accurate description. How can people bear to treat an animal like that And what do they achieve long term except fear?
 
amandap said:
I assumed "a come to Jesus" moment meant fear for it's life.
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In practice, yes - although the definition of the phrase (which is also used in all manner of non-horsey contexts) would seem to apply only to what the horse is thinking, not what is being done to it. (Hence the "passive aggressive" suggestion?)
 
Come to Jesus Moment is like a Lightbulb moment.

My pet hate is Badders. Makes me cringe, its prep-school dormitory speak. Leave it there, we're grown ups.
 
Ah ok, got it.
Going to Jesus means death involved somewhere to me, I think the other meanings are rationalizations!
 
When we used to clean the fields with a paddock vacuum, we just referred to the mucker sucker, or that we were going to muck suck the fields.

EmmaB: I loathe the use of the words 'get rid of'. A horse, or dog or cat, is re-homed, sold, or placed. One gets rid of garbage, not a living, breathing, sentient being.
 
Ladyinred said:
'Tickle him up with the whip'.. have you felt a whip? It sure as heck doesnt 'tickle'
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I agree if you're meaning this phrase as a euphemism for give it a smack, but you can also use a whip to 'tickle' a horse - an irritating movement on the flank to generate more hindleg activity, no actual hitting motion required :)

I don't like 'longe' either, no idea why. 'Bronc' when your horse has tripped/lifted heels slightly, or 'bolt' when it goes slightly faster than you want it to/is just running off with you, also annoy me!
 
amandap said:
Ah ok, got it.
Going to Jesus means death involved somewhere to me, I think the other meanings are rationalizations!
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Hmm, those insufferable little children came to Jesus on his bidding - but as far as I am aware they didn't die. (At least, not at his hands!) Argh, now I am confusing myself. :p
 
Pearlsasinger said:
Actually I've had several 'bombproof' horses who haven't turned a hair with fireworks going off all around them, so I think I could use the word quite accurately. My pet hate is 'on the bit' when what the rider means is I've got a very firm hold of my horse's mouth and its nose is tucked in but I've completely forgotten to use my legs so its back end is in the next county.
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Agree - I had a lesson on mine with a phesent shoot in the next field. There was one particularly close shot (you could hear the lead shot hitting the barn roof) and my girl didn't even react....my instructor jumped out of her skin!
 
fburton said:
Hmm, those insufferable little children came to Jesus on his bidding - but as far as I am aware they didn't die. (At least, not at his hands!) Argh, now I am confusing myself. :p
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I realize it means 'see the light' (others want you to see) but that wasn't my first understanding of the phrase.
 
Fun Times said:
"How many were in the class" when asked in response to you saying that you have been placed. Roughly translates to "my god, I always thought you were utterly hopeless so presumably you were the only competitor and had I bothered going you would have been one place lower."
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^
This!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Diamond Dog - like you, I hate the word "poo" - can hardly bring myself to type it!!!! I always say that I "pick up droppings". Saying that, I must get off the Forum as I have to go and pick up droppings this afternoon - keep delaying the inevitable!
 
fburton said:
If I didn't know any better (which I don't), I would read "moves for fun" as an odd way of saying the horse likes playing around in the field, and my reaction would be "Er, okay... so what's strange about that?".

What is it supposed to mean??
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I suspect it's a take on 'jumps for fun' which is a pretty common and well understood phrase.

It means a horse that takes joy in its own athleticism and ease of movement. You know it when you see it. :)
 
PolarSkye said:
But what if the person using the words IS American? Or has spent rather a lot of time in that particular country? Or do you just object to Americans in general?

P
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Prob does and all the American cars - Mac Donalds burger king Asda as those are American origin
And what about those who ride western? the only way to describe the movements is jog - lope.

I cannot see how a word describing a western movement can get annoy someone.
My horse Broncs its the only way I would use the word describing his action.
 
PolarSkye said:
But what if the person using the words IS American? Or has spent rather a lot of time in that particular country? Or do you just object to Americans in general?

P
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Or what if we don't have a correct English equivalent. Gets up my nose when people give long names to their horses colour which are wrong or call their horses dun when they are buckskin ;P
 
keeperscottage said:
Diamond Dog - like you, I hate the word "poo" - can hardly bring myself to type it!!!! I always say that I "pick up droppings". Saying that, I must get off the Forum as I have to go and pick up droppings this afternoon - keep delaying the inevitable!
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Ha, I think I may have dropped into using laminitic to save me typing prone to laminitis especially as I now have to use the on-screen keyboard for half the characters!
 
dogatemysalad said:
Come to Jesus Moment is like a Lightbulb moment.
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It's a reference to Fundamentalist preaching/religious practice. If you've ever seen an American tv preacher, you have some sense of what they mean.

I'm not surprised it doesn't translate. I'm always a bit entertained by 'Americanisms' here as they are often quite out of context.


Mine is not a phrase, but it's around the word 'fazed'. If someone uses 'phased' it's not a spelling mistake, it's a fundamental misunderstanding. It also makes me think of Galaxy Quest. :)
 
HGA-12 said:
Prob does and all the American cars - Mac Donalds burger king Asda as those are American origin
And what about those who ride western? the only way to describe the movements is jog - lope.

I cannot see how a word describing a western movement can get annoy someone.
My horse Broncs its the only way I would use the word describing his action.
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'Jog' and 'lope' are specific gaits, too, not synonyms for trot and canter. It's actually more accurate if used correctly.
 
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