Problem Horses - are there more around today?

[Grumpy Herbert]

I've been thinking about this for a while. It seems to me that there are many more horses with "issues" around these days than when I was younger. When I first started riding, there were plenty of genuine horses, who did a bit of everything, and who you could have real fun with. You don't seem to find them now. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm interested to know what others think!

 

[vicijp]

Id say its likely to be more crap riders, rather than problem horses.

 

[piebaldsparkle]

Yep because too many people get over horsed, what happened to all the native cross riding club types.

 

[Grumpy Herbert]

My point exactly, piebaldsparkle! They were what we all used to learn on, and they seemed kind and forgiving of novicey mistakes. I suppose, as you say, people get over horsed, make mistakes and problems develop.

 

[PaintboxEDT]

yes i was talking about this the other day
when i was growing up i had some great horses but now there are more problem ones around and it is because of the rider i think !!
more horses are being spoilt by lets get a horse type people that havnt got a clue then ruin it by bombing it around,smacking them and just generally bad care and horsemanship well thats my opinion dont shoot me lol lol

 

[piebaldsparkle]

Trouble is everyone wants a hugh continental warm blood these days. **SIGH**

 

[LEC]

Horses have become increasingly affordable for a lot more people who perhaps do not have the time, knowledge or be willing to learn to be able to deal with them.

I would also stick my neck out and say the quality of instructors has gone downhill.

Also too many horses are pets when they should be treated as horses. They are working animals unlike a lap dog.

 

[PaintboxEDT]

yes lec i agree with you the quality of ri`s has gone downhill as well it is so easy to do training and easy work thats why alot of youngsters do it !!! sorry dont shoot me again !!!

 

[Halfpass]

Unfortunatly because its seems cheaper to buy a horse than have regular lessons these days the riders buy these horse and ruin them. There isn't enough people around that want to take on these poor horses that have been ruined to put the problems right. We ahve just bought a young ID x TB that has obviously been backed at some point - very very badly I might add. We have had him 3 weeks and are in the process of re backing him. Poor mite is such a nervous wreck. He was being sold cheap and I dread to think what type of horse person could have and already has got their hands on him!!!! Its a sad world but thats how it is these days.

 

[Happytohack]

When I got my first horse 30 years ago (gulp), most people had Irish cobs or Irish hunter types. Very few people had TBs. Also our horses did a lot more work - we used to go on all day rides and think nothing of it. Of course, there was far less traffic then so we didn't have to worry too much. The feed was different as well - there weren't the selection of high powered mixes available. If you look through the horses for sale adverts now, you are hard pushed to find a good cobby type with a leg at each corner.

 

[piebaldsparkle]

Then there are the gadgets.................when I learnt to ride EVERYTHING was either in a snaffle (mainly) or a kimblewick, nosebands were normally just a caverson and martingale were rarely seen, now evrything seems to be trust-up like a Christmas Turkey. Additionally most people didn't have transport or sand schools, so everything hacked and if you competed, you normally hacked to the show and back.

 

[PaintboxEDT]

yeh thats rite i had a kimblewick and thought it was great and would use one again if needed and yes i use to hack to shows and back it was all part of the fun and the horse had a work out so by the time i got there and ready to go !!!
not now its all trailers and lorrys even if its just round the corner lol

 

[debradley]

Yep, I'd agree, trying to find that *ideal* first/second pony or horse is definately becoming much harder they are few and far between; generally you now seem to chose one that has most of the attributes and the rest you can work on. But definately when I was younger (I'm not saying how many years ago - too many) it seemed much easier to find the good allrounder that just ran on straight basic tack and would have considered a training aid an instrument of torture.

 

[dozzie]

More people compete now so they want a more competitive horse. Also people are willing to pay a lot of money for a good horse without necessarily the experience or knowledge to ride it. And inevitably it goes wrong.

This has been happening for all the time Ive had horses- 30 years- but people definitely seem to have more disposable income now. People are not satisfied with a safe genuine horse to plod around on and enjoy the odd show. The one thing that seems to have changed is that more people are having instruction on their own horse which has to be a good thing.

I have seen so many people have a good pony, do well at local level etc. They moved onto horses and bought youngsters or jumping machines and it all went wrong very quickly. I think possibly because they had non-horsey parents. Friends who had parents who had had horses were bought safe schoolmasters for the transition. And they continued to ride.

The others gave up when the going got tough!



But perhaps it is because we only hear about the problem horses or only remember the bad things- human nature!

 

[the watcher]

I agree that horses are different these days, in fact that is one reason I want to get into breeding natives and native cross horses and ponies - I think they are a good starting point for any rider.

There is simply more money about, and pretty much anybody can buy a horse with no background in horses, little training and a desire for a quick fix that seems to dominate society now.

All these add up to more horses that owners simply can't cope with

 

[LEC]

I also think people expect to have the perfect horse. We have never bought the perfect horse or indeed found one.
Everything I have ever had has had an issue except one pony who was 11hh and he only ever had 3 owners and died a couple of years ago aged 26 ish - he just stayed in the families working his way through all the children.

It takes effort and time to produce a good horse and even if you buy one you still need effort and time to keep it good.

 

[PaintboxEDT]

i also agree with that,people do expect to much,after the 500 odd horses weve had done here over the years id say only 20 or 30 of them have been problems so i supose in a way i have been spoilt by the quility and goodness of the horses ive had here,im not looking for the perfect horse as they are few and far but i dont want satan !!!
i expect a few probs but nothing that is gona make it dangerous !!!

 

[Tia]

Back then, we expected far more from our horses/ponies. They were ridden, and I mean RIDDEN, pretty hard I'd say. None of this quick hour around the block, they went out for all day rides, on main roads, through towns, hacked to shows (sometimes many miles) and did sj, dressage AND the gymkhana and when that was all over, they hacked all those miles home again to rest overnight and then be taken out for hours the next day!

I would think that the standard of riding had to have been better in those days, mainly down the amount that people rode. Perhaps not world-beating stuff but all of my friends (and me) rode anything and everything and most ponies were the same as none were field ornaments. They had a job to do and they all complied happily.

When I was growing up, we all had had riding lessons before our ponies were bought for us, then they generally stopped as we had ponies so why would we need riding lessons LOL!! I wouldn't say any of us were that spectacular riders and we sure as heck didn't know much about the care of the ponies. We just got them out of the field and off we went; no pandering to them. We very quickly learned though! We had to, there wasn't someone twitching at the net curtains every time we were with our ponies, or someone "offering help" at every stage; we had to figure these things out ourselves. Little cuts and grazes were dealt with by a puff of wound powder or the dreaded purple spray (god forbid!). Vets were rarely called out and in turn the pony had to be tough to weather everything we threw at them.

Parents were never involved with me, nor were they with any of my friends ponies; we just muddled along together. We probably did tonnes of things wrong, things that would be seriously frowned upon nowadays but this was the start of our equine experience and we learned from all of our mistakes.

Where children and ponies are concerned - I think this has been the biggest single difference between then and now. Parents these days seem to be SOOO involved in what they child does on his/her little pony. They are not too far short of managers these days. I have tried not to do this with my children and I think it makes for a better natural rider who will continue with horses for longer because they remember it as a fun thing to do. These days the "fun" seems to have been lost because the parents become so involved and don't allow the children to experience things on their own or learn by their own mistakes. My daughter, who is 10, rides around on her pony and horse and has a great time around the farm. I watch her and yes sometimes I do frown upon some of the things that she gets up to, I may ask her afterwards if she thinks what she did was right or fair.....she thinks on and generally understands what I am hinting at and next time she rides she backs off but not so much that she misses out on the "fun". I fully believe that she should learn as I did; by trial and error; and this seems to be what is happening. She's only ever had two 15 minute lessons in the whole of her life! Can she ride? Hell yes! She is a fantastic little rider and will ride absolutely anything. She's a natural, but she is also a self-taught natural.....by far the best way to be in my opinion.

These days there are too many people who are too controlling over what they do and what their horses/ponies are allowed to do - the fun aspect seems to have been lost by a number of equestrians today and I find that sad. Mainly I find it sad for the horses and ponies.

 

[PaintboxEDT]

tia i agree,god we use to get up to all sorts going out on hacks bareback !! was such fun and tought you to use your seat and stay there !! blimey we used to do so much ive forgotten !!!
but like you say lots of things that would be frowned upon today but thats how we rode and learnt,i supose i was lucky in a way having horsey parents and owning a livery yard i already had a head start but they left me to get on with it no pressure i use to go everywhere and do everything,oh what fun that use to be,roll on when i find another g i dont think id do much different,use to love my sj and want to start doing that again !!

 

[dozzie]

[ QUOTE ]
Back then, we expected far more from our horses/ponies. They were ridden, and I mean RIDDEN, pretty hard I'd say. None of this quick hour around the block, they went out for all day rides, on main roads, through towns, hacked to shows (sometimes many miles) and did sj, dressage AND the gymkhana and when that was all over, they hacked all those miles home again to rest overnight and then be taken out for hours the next day!

I would think that the standard of riding had to have been better in those days, mainly down the amount that people rode. Perhaps not world-beating stuff but all of my friends (and me) rode anything and everything and most ponies were the same as none were field ornaments. They had a job to do and they all complied happily.

When I was growing up, we all had had riding lessons before our ponies were bought for us, then they generally stopped as we had ponies so why would we need riding lessons LOL!! I wouldn't say any of us were that spectacular riders and we sure as heck didn't know much about the care of the ponies. We just got them out of the field and off we went; no pandering to them. We very quickly learned though! We had to, there wasn't someone twitching at the net curtains every time we were with our ponies, or someone "offering help" at every stage; we had to figure these things out ourselves. Little cuts and grazes were dealt with by a puff of wound powder or the dreaded purple spray (god forbid!). Vets were rarely called out and in turn the pony had to be tough to weather everything we threw at them.


[/ QUOTE ]

Aaah those were the days......

Riding to shows, could take three hours or more, and entering the jumping, showing and gymkhana games! I suggested to someone they hacked to a show about a mile down the road as they couldnt borrow my box as I was using it and they
were horrified

Bareback gymkhana games in the field were fun too!!!
We'd hack for miles and thought nothing of taking sandwiches stuffed in our pockets for a dayride!!

And I agree lessons stopped once you had a pony. Worming happened once a year and flujabs were just coming in! Vets were only called when pony was dead!!!

You bought a saddle and it was for life. No saddle checks or back checks were ever needed!!!

White powder, purple spray and salt water was all you needed in your first aid box plus a few tail bandages. Poultices were bran or Kaolin with sacking.

No-one worried about trotting on the road and funnily enough horses were, back then, capable of schooling on grass!

They could also jump in mud!

If a horse pulled you put a martingale or pelham on!

Most horses lived out without rugs all year round unless they were really posh!!

And a shine on a horses coat was achieved by grooming!

not supplements!

Life was simple then....

 

[PaintboxEDT]

so true,never had or needed to call the vet for mine !!!
purple spay or green oils or vasaline for mud fever !!
also stockholm tar !!!
a set of shoes for 10 quid !!!!lol
funny that whats schooling on grass nowadays its nearly a sin
one loan horse i was thinking of getting had to be schoold in in a school despite the fact weve got a lovely grass paddock specifically for schooling,these days it doenst get used much anymore but in my day we were never out of it !!!!!

 

[Tia]

[ QUOTE ]
I suggested to someone they hacked to a show about a mile down the road as they couldnt borrow my box as I was using it and they
were horrified

[/ QUOTE ]

PMSL!!! Oh you've got to do it again - you get miles of entertainment out of that one!

[ QUOTE ]
Worming happened once a year and flujabs were just coming in!

[/ QUOTE ]
Yep!!

[ QUOTE ]
Vets were only called when pony was dead!!!

[/ QUOTE ]
Oh my! You are sooo right!

[ QUOTE ]
If a horse pulled you put a martingale or pelham on!

[/ QUOTE ]
Ach we didn't care whether the horse pulled or not - these gadgets were cool and wanted to look super-cool, so what the heck, shove it on and see what it does, LOL!!

[ QUOTE ]
Most horses lived out without rugs all year round unless they were really posh!!

[/ QUOTE ]

I was posh!

Mine had Jute rugs and then Lavenham rugs came out!!

Oh my they were the best! My ponies lived in during the winter and when they went out in the field through the day they had New Zealands! The really "nice" ones with the roller

. No surcingles back in those days.

Life really was quite simple back then......I liked it.

 

[dozzie]

[ QUOTE ]
Ach we didn't care whether the horse pulled or not - these gadgets were cool and wanted to look super-cool, so what the heck, shove it on and see what it does, LOL!!



[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah thats it COOL!!!!!! And I had white rubber reins too!!!! That was dead cool, especially with my white string girth, sheepkin noseband, white numnah, white bandages etc.

Hacking out bareback in a headcollar was cool too!!!!OMG! You just couldnt do that now.

And I was so proud of my first Jute rug.

And later I got a canvas NZ rug!!!! I was going up in the world.

Green oils- damn good stuff!!!

Stock holm tar for the feet in the winter and hoof oil in a red tin for the summer, applied daily!

Did horses have allergies??? Tough luck if they did!!! I think the fact that most lived out meant they didnt get hay allergies. Well lots didnt get hay anyway! Grass was enough!

And I just thought- feeding! Bran, Pony nuts ( I was quite modern!) and oats. With Barley, Sugar beet and Linseed added in the winter, all home cooked!! Well not the sugarbeet.LOL

 

[Tia]

[ QUOTE ]
And I had white rubber reins too!!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Ahh you were posher than me, or maybe younger, LOL!! There were only orange ones - and not the thin ones you can get nowadays!

[ QUOTE ]
Hacking out bareback in a headcollar was cool too!!!!OMG! You just couldnt do that now

[/ QUOTE ]

*gulp* I do

. I don't think I ever grew up

. That's why I only have 2 horses and the rest are all ponies

. Big ponies, but still ponies nevertheless.

[ QUOTE ]
Did horses have allergies??? Tough luck if they did!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Allergies?? What in the heck were allergies? That was not even a WORD back then

.

[ QUOTE ]
Bran, Pony nuts ( I was quite modern!) and oats

[/ QUOTE ]
Yes! But do you remember Main Ring??? Oh when that came out it was VERY posh to feed it.

 

[the watcher]

funny how all the bad memories fade and the good ones stay. Who remembers wet canvas rugs that seemed to weigh a hundredweight and took days to dry and nasty shiny nylon jods?

 

[PaintboxEDT]

allergies !!!! yes what where they !! lol

hoof oil in red tin,yep use to love that would plaster it on so that i could make the hoof shaped make on the floor !!!

use to sell second hand tack as a kid so i could pay for my classes at shows !!!
those where the days i miss them and all my friends we use to have a whale of a time,remeber my freind trying to vault on to my pony and kept going straight over the other side !!!

mounting blocks !! back probs saddle fitting !!! nah get on and go !!!

 

[Tia]

You know - you may have hit the nail on the head here Watcher! You're right though, if I think REALLY hard then I would say that with all the pitfalls and hardships we had back then, horse life was waaaaay tougher than it is today......but only the good memories have a place in my mind-banks.....don't shatter the illusion, LOL!!

 

[dozzie]

*gulp* I do . I don't think I ever grew up .

I would but for the traffic!!!!

Even up to a few years ago I would ride and lead up to the fields up the road, bareback in a headcollar!!!!Traffic is too fast now and perhaps i am getting a sense of self preservation!!!

[ QUOTE ]
Yes! But do you remember Main Ring??? Oh when that came out it was VERY posh to feed it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah I remember it was the first compound feed!!! I think i bought one bag but went back to Bran, PNs and oats as it was very expensive to feed Mainring.

I think I only tried it so I could honestly say I fed my horse Main Ring!!!

The white reins came out when I was about 16! Up until then it was orange rubber or leather. Do you remember the coloured nylon plaited reins!!!! My friend had a green pair, I had a yellow pair and another friend had a red pair!!!!Nice!!

If your horse pulled you got rope burns!!

MY god Im feeling old but its so funny to think back!!!

Tia we are sounding like two little old ladies!!!!!!

 

[Tia]

I used to do that too with the hoof oil!!!

I used to ride bareback....backwards!

Obviously with no hat on...... Went for a canter one day backwards, pony took off with me, friend who was also backwards and in front managed to control her pony to block off my exit into the unknown, my pony stopped sharply, I rode up her neck and she just stood there waiting for me to scramble back down onto her back! How we laughed LOL!!!

 

[Tia]

Oh yes I remember those disgusting nylon plaited reins.....weren't they wonderful in the rain and mud! Almost as good as the plain leather ones which were about a mile and a half long and as thick as a plank of wood!

Those were the days..........ahhhhh!