Red Ribbon to wear or not to wear?

[Dizzie]

Interested to hear other folks' views on the topic of a red ribbon. Our little Welsh A is basically a good girl and has never offered a hoof to anyone other than one of our naughty; and more amorous, TBs when he insisted on caressing her bottom which he no longer does We have been to PC camps, shows and games with her and she has always been fine until the other day when someone leading a young child failed to stop their pony and used our mare's bum as a buffer. naturally, she squealed and kicked out because she had a stranger tanking into her arse. The person leading had a meltdown because we had "no warning" on the tail, largely because she has never done it before and also you are meant to be responsible for controlling your own mount or in this case, lead rein. Someone said to put a red ribbon on her tail but I am old school and my objection is that marks her a "kicker" which she is not. I was always taught to keep a good half a horse distance from the one in front i.e. you're on a 14hh behind a 17hh you keep half the 17hh distance back because they have a long reach! Should I use a ribbon or put it down to being followed by an idiot on that occasion and see if she does it again?

 

[ponynutz]

While accidents do happen I challenge anyone to find a horse who wouldn't have reacted in some way to that situation.
No, I don't think she needs a ribbon.

 

[SEL]

It was a ridiculous situation like that which started one of my mares kicking out at horses behind her. She'd never kicked anything until someone used her backside for braking.

I wouldn't red ribbon unless she starts to get tetchy and you feel she is going to become a mare that kicks.

 

[SDMabel]

Funnily enough I had the same conversation with a friend recently when out bloodhounding.

I have a cob who has an ample backside and people seem to think it's perfectly fine to use her as a method of stopping - she doesn't kick even when others have run into her full pelt. But its not fair on her and frankly it gets right on my ***s that people think it's acceptable to do.

If i do ever go out again, I shall be putting a red ribbon in her tail to try and prevent it from happening , I don't mind being labelled as a kicker if it stops idiots running into her.

If you are really concerned about the stigma of a red ribbon, maybe pop a green on in and it might have some effect !

Edited to say : Sorry i went off on a little rant there and misread your post ! No - I don't think this warrants a red ribbon , if you choose to pop one on to try and prevent it happening again that's another thing !

 

[conniegirl]

I would put it down to experience, if she does it again then pop a ribbon on her.

If she starts doing it when things get a bit to close then she needs a ribbon, but very few horses wont kick out when someone goes into thier backside.

My lad wouldn’t kick in that situation but i realise he is a rarity

 

[Widgeon]

Absolutely not. I think many horses would react like that under the circumstances. I'm not very impressed that the leader allowed that to happen, AND then had the audacity to blame you rather than apologize for her loss of control.

ETA - but I would keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't start reacting in defence when other horses get too (in her opinion) close. If she does then yes I would put a ribbon on.

 

[Pedantic]

Put a Red Ribbon on the child and the Mother, your pony did nothing wrong

 

[catkin]

Now I understand concerns with a child's pony getting an undeserved dodgy reputation, however I actually found it quite useful with a pony of mine to wear a ribbon in so much as she was always given space in crowds..... (yes, I also know that makes me a cantankerous old bat.)

 

[FlyingCircus]

Honestly depending on the situation I've found a red ribbon doesn't help much. People still tried to crash into my mare (wearing a red ribbon) who wasn't a kicker as such but would object to horses running into her. The amount of people I had to tell that she'd kick their horse if they didn't give her space was ridiculous.

She probably wouldn't have kicked their horse. She happily hacked next to horses, infront, behind etc but she did have a penchant for manners and barging and crashing into her would have received a swift reprimand from her. Don't blame her to be honest!

 

[Barton Bounty]

I would say no to the ribbon

 

[Dizzie]

Now I understand concerns with a child's pony getting an undeserved dodgy reputation, however I actually found it quite useful with a pony of mine to wear a ribbon in so much as she was always given space in crowds..... (yes, I also know that makes me a cantankerous old bat.)

Not as cantankerous as me I suspect LOL

 

[Dizzie]

Thank you to everyone who has responded it has given me confidence in my own judgment that is, if she does it again pop a bow on her beam end but this time give the benefit of the doubt as it was a first.

 

[Dizzie]

It was a ridiculous situation like that which started one of my mares kicking out at horses behind her. She'd never kicked anything until someone used her backside for braking.

I wouldn't red ribbon unless she starts to get tetchy and you feel she is going to become a mare that kicks.

It's strange how certain folk think it a good idea to ram another horse up the bottom to stop themselves. I always tried to turn or at the very least come on the inside and yell "passing" as we hurtled onward (I had ex-racers who sometimes forgot themselves)

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

As said above I think most horses take offence to being run into by another horse so I wouldn't say she is a kicker.

My friend has a mare she does affiliated jumping with and she gets very upset in a warm up sometimes seems worse when a stallion is around, she will reverse into horses and really means it so she always puts a huge one on her tail which I think is very sensible.

 

[Dizzie]

Honestly depending on the situation I've found a red ribbon doesn't help much. People still tried to crash into my mare (wearing a red ribbon) who wasn't a kicker as such but would object to horses running into her. The amount of people I had to tell that she'd kick their horse if they didn't give her space was ridiculous.

She probably wouldn't have kicked their horse. She happily hacked next to horses, infront, behind etc but she did have a penchant for manners and barging and crashing into her would have received a swift reprimand from her. Don't blame her to be honest!

Me neither! It is akin to letting a door shut in someone's face or barging in front of someone by pushing them out of your way. There are ways to avert it as I said to someone else, I used to try and circle or come on the inside and yell that I was passing if temporarily out of control - it happens.

 

[Fred66]

I’d agree you weren’t at fault for this incident but going forward you do know that your pony will kick if another pony runs into it. So it makes sense for all concerned to put the red ribbon in.

 

[Irish Sally]

I wouldn't put a ribbon on. I'd be more vocal though. If someone runs into you just tell them f*ck off. Some people just need to be afraid of you.

 

[MidChristmasCrisis]

No ribbon….the offending person won’t do it again!

 

[Rowreach]

Put a Red Ribbon on the child and the Mother, your pony did nothing wrong

I'd put a bl00dy great warning triangle on them.

 

[Orangehorse]

On balance no I wouldn't put a ribbon on for this case.

But I think out hunting there is always going to be some jostling and crowding and if you think your horse might kick then put on a ribbon and keep out of the way of other people. Just putting on a red ribbon and expecting people to keep out of your way in a crowd isn't polite. A horse rammed up the back by an out of control rider will very likely object, but it shouldn't be likely to kick out with purpose.
I had a mare who would just hump her backside as a threat, she never kicked out, first time anyway.

On the other hand I had another mare that would kick out at the slightest provocation and she was a pain in the proverbial in any busy situation and I had to make sure she was a safe distance away from everybody.

I heard of a hunt master who paid a lot of money for his new horse, but he sent it back after a short while as it would kick out at other horses and he didn't think it was suitable for his position at the front.

 

[Fred66]

I wouldn't put a ribbon on. I'd be more vocal though. If someone runs into you just tell them f*ck off. Some people just need to be afraid of you.

So a small child just off the lead rein runs into a pony that whilst generally good will kick if run into and your response is to tell the child to f*** off !!

Have a feeling that it wouldn’t be an issue for long as that response would result in not being in pony club for long.

 

[silv]

I often go on treks with about 50 other horses, some people are clueless and insist on letting their horses walk right on my mare's tail. She won't kick but hates it so I put a ribbon on and it seems to make them a bit more careful to stay away. Your pony was absolutely not at fault so you are not obliged to put a ribbon on her.

 

[Irish Sally]

So a small child just off the lead rein runs into a pony that whilst generally good will kick if run into and your response is to tell the child to f*** off !!

Have a feeling that it wouldn’t be an issue for long as that response would result in not being in pony club for long.

I would tell them to stay away all right. If they're still doing it after i would tell them f*ck off.It's extremely dangerous for them and myself to do it so of course I'm going to say something. If children are planning on sticking with horses they're going to hear fowl language sooner rather then later.

 

[Fred66]

I would tell them to stay away all right. If they're still doing it after i would tell them f*ck off.It's extremely dangerous for them and myself to do it so of course I'm going to say something. If children are planning on sticking with horses they're going to hear fowl language sooner rather then later.

I would agree it’s dangerous and they should be told and where a pony is known to kick it should have a red ribbon.

They might hear foul language but if an adult told a child to f*** off then I would hope that they would be told that language of that sort is not acceptable at pony club. To be honest it’s not acceptable anywhere to swear at children

 

[southerncomfort]

It was a ridiculous situation like that which started one of my mares kicking out at horses behind her. She'd never kicked anything until someone used her backside for braking.

I had the same thing.

He'd never kicked out until someone's horse reversed past him then swung in to his backside. He can't tolerate any horse behind him now.

 

[Widgeon]

Some of these responses seem massively over the top - I don't think anyone is really suggesting that the OP swear at toddlers or that the pony is going out hunting. This was a very specific situation at a lead rein event where the leading adult *should* have had the other pony under control, and didn't. I think most ponies would kick if another one ran into their backside at full pelt! It's a pony for goodness sake, not a stuffed toy.

 

[Widgeon]

I had the same thing.

He'd never kicked out until someone's horse reversed past him then swung in to his backside. He can't tolerate any horse behind him now.

So frustrating :-( It's like when a previously friendly dog gets attacked and becomes anxious-aggressive - and so often the owners of the attacking dog or bargy horse don't take responsibility or recognise the impact of their actions.

 

[irishdraft]

No I wouldn't put a red ribbon on your pony, the mother leading the child behind was at fault.

 

[Fred66]

Some of these responses seem massively over the top - I don't think anyone is really suggesting that the OP swear at toddlers or that the pony is going out hunting. This was a very specific situation at a lead rein event where the leading adult *should* have had the other pony under control, and didn't. I think most ponies would kick if another one ran into their backside at full pelt! It's a pony for goodness sake, not a stuffed toy.

The point I was making was that lead reiners do come off the lead rein and that unless OP plans on her child changing ponies at this point there is a good chance that this situation would happen again. The red ribbon lets the instructor know to be extra vigilant and to reinforce distance especially around that pony.

I genuinely can’t understand why someone wouldn’t put the ribbon in. Also my observation from hunting and pony club is that most ponies/horses don’t kick even if another horse runs into it.

I actually asked one poster whether they were seriously advising telling a small child to f*** off and their reply was yes and that children will learn bad language at some point.

I agree that the OP was not at fault in the circumstances she described and yes whilst the pony is on the lead rein it shouldn’t be an issue but is it a hill worth dying on ?

 

[Polos Mum]

I tend to put a red ribbon in mine for certain venues, he's never kicked and never shown any inclination to ....
But it stops the idiots (mostly) running into the back of you !

The bigger well managed venues I don't bother but some - where there's a tonne of wizzy kids on ponies it helps us have a calmer warm up.

I actually use a piece of red electrical tape around the tail - much easier than ribbon