Rose tinted glasses or bad manners?

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not_with_it

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We all look through out rose tinted glasses and think that our horse is the best ever and has the best manners.

Actually Gin is far from perfect and has her bad habits but would never dream of tanking off when being led or jumping on her handler even when excited. I consider her to have manners and I would be mortified if she ever took the pee out of anyone who was handling her. A quick growl is enough to make her stop and think.

Today as a favour I said I would bring another liveries horse in from the field. Said horse is supposed to be bombproof and good to handle. Half way back from the field said horse began snorting then throwing itself around with me holding onto the end of the leadrope. So much for it being a dope on a rope! Another pony on the yard also did the same thing a couple of weeks ago but began rearing and trying to bite me. Said pony is supposed to be a childs pony but nearly everyday this week pony's owner has left a message asking for pony to be turned out as child and mother cant handle it.

I have worked with some big competition horses and never had a problem but since being on a DIY yard my eyes have opened.

Is it a case of these people having rose tinted glasses rather than teaching their horse manners? Are these people in denial? Or it is that horses just dont like me?
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I think a lot of horses aren't taught manners and their owners either don't realise that they should teach their horses to behave better or have horses that are too much for them. I think we often get used to our horses bad habits whereas someone else notices them.
 
I see alot of horses that need to be taught some manners, bad manners drive me nuts.

I am incredibly lucky in that my mare has had the most beautiful manners on the whole in the 17yrs I have had her, I some times wonder if it perhaps me that has a warped view , because my mare is such a sweetheart compared to other horses I know!
Horses are large potentially dangerous animals so I think manners are vital
 
I think you may have hit the nail on the head. These horses are treated like babies an handled by novice owners.
My horse is also my baby but will get told off if she steps out of line. Like I said before I would be mortified if my horse misbehaved with someone else.
 
We have had several horses come to us like that, but the YO and other senior staff are very good at getting people to teach their horses manners (nicely!), so with consistent handling they usually come up okay. We do have one or two that are just unpleasant though.
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They both belong to experienced horsepeople and get all the right handling, but they're just grumpy buggers!
 
Agree! i take in my yo's 7 horses every night plus my 18month old tb x it is an absolute nightmare they pull you about, spook, walk into you try kicking eachother its chaos however i'v got used to it but it still does my head in, my boy is brilliant and he'd be bloody told if he wasnt! 3out of the 7 of hers are well behaved the rest are idiots
 
its a bit of both imo. Daisy can be a complete sod on the ground at times, I know some people think its my fault but funny how none of them ever offer to try and handle her.

Some horses are just awkward, please don't assume that means their owners are incompetent.
 
"he's only a baby" is the phase that drives me crazy! Being young is no excuse for bad manners! Unfortunately on DIY yards a lot of the horses don't get the consistant handling from experienced people. Also there is the old teenage girl love of taming their wild beast!
 
Fudge used to be a sod to handle but is now 99% for me, he will take the mick out of others given half a chance. I think he has good manners providing he respects that person.

Lady can be handled by anyone, be it a small child or a complete novice.

In my opinion there is no excuse for bad manners, although some horses are naturally bolshy/cheeky.
 
The BEST favour anyone has EVER done me is when they said to me you need to teach your new horse some manners he is really ignorant.

My word I was offended but they were so right he has gone from a bargy 16.3 er to a perfect gent. Forgets himself occassionally but doesnt need much of a reaction to tell him he has overstepped the mark.

He is perky but respectful. It was silly things like teaching him to be led not barging off keeping his distance not walking through you etc

So why oh why have they never said this to the owners of a very ignorant bargy little sod of a 14.1 Connie cross I wonder. I bet its sizest!!!
 
I'd say my horse was a gentleman, but he does try it on with new people, especially if they seem competent. If they don't react well, he just plays the fool. I think you'll have to handle these horses more than once to see what they're really like... My horse is a gentleman who plays the fool. In the wrong hands he'd be mental!
 
I agree with katieconnie - and I think the problem is people are far too soft. The reason you find big competiton horses are often so easy and nice to handle is they have been taught manners in a no nonsense way. The average DIY horse is often a big pet in most cases underworked and over fed.
My horse's are far from perfect, but any competant person can handle them, they get a wallop if they try to trample over me or take charge and on the whole all 3 are relativly easy to do - But I wouldn't trust any of them with a total novice or anyone who was very nervous!
 
I have to say this is one of my pet hates. Both of mine are a doddle for anyone to handle. I bought my 7 year old when she was a foal and was always very careful to be consistent when I handled her and always make sure she behaves.

We had a livery move on didn't have a clue, having had a break from horses for 10 years, she was only in her early 20s) she decided to by a 5 year old 17.2hh from project horse and they were going to live happily ever after!!

Surprise surprise she didn't have a clue how to handle the horse so totally took the mick. I looked after him for a couple of weeks and he improved no end, but went back to square one when she was back.
 
My horse can be a git to lead - he does know better and is told off for bad behaviour, but will still try it on once in a while.
I am careful who I ask to handle him as I know he will spot someome he can push around a mile off.
 
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I think people spend too much time in the saddle rather than working on the ground now and again.

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You're right there Lucyfer.

Too many riders try to solve prob;les in the saddle that are best solved on the ground first - generaly the horse is not being malevolent

Contrary to the words we use - "evil" "nasty" "brutish" - horses don't actually do "malevolent"

What they do is dominance, herd games, fear, claustrophobia, excitement.

I find it helpful (I'm a parent of course) to think of my horse as a three year old child that has to learn how to express himself appropriately, to show respect and to have good manners - what that means is I have to think about how I comunicate so that they can understand it, and not to use fear or punishment as a way of teaching it! (as I watch happening so often).

So any of the novicey handlers I see in my yard who have problems with leading horses are using those ridiculous little lead ropes, holding the horse's head under the chin, getting under his feet, taking him too close to the doinant horses i nthe field, taking him into a space between the dominant horses and the fence.....folks need to be aware of these things becuase that's often why they are having issues.
 
I must be grouchy this week as I was getting so grumpy this morning listening to horses banging their doors whilst I was mucking out! Mucking out should be quiet time
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I hate seeing horses walking all over their handlers.
 
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Actually Gin is far from perfect and has her bad habits but would never dream of tanking off when being led or jumping on her handler even when excited.

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I would have said that about Beans before she got broken...
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This is one of my hobby horses
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We ensure good manners from our horses by dint of consistent handling. How fragile this is was brought home when we hqd a lady helping us in the mornings, putting the 'girls' out and mucking out. I then spent every weekend re-educating our horses that it is unnacceptable to walk out of the stable until told to, that they lead either with me by their shoulder, or behing me if that is a better option, NEVER pulling infront. We now do it all ourselves again.
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Personally I put a lot of bad manners down to the early handling of young horses and their owners who do not start them off early enough being handled and led. They leave them in a field drag them in to break them in a week then sell on to some poor unsuspecting novice purchaser. I don't know how long the lady with the child's pony has had it but obviously it needs to be taken in hand if it is young enough or sold to someone who can cope with it's bad manners.

Although I do have to admit some ponies/horses develop bad manners again due to novice owners not knowing how to handle them and letting them get away with dragging everyone around.

Sorry rant over
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Ooh goody this is a soapbox issue for me
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This is one of the many reasons I think it should be a legal requirement for people to take a test on basic horsemanship before being allowed to own a horse. I think a lot of horses get into bad habits because their people don't know how to correct it, or don't understand the importance of why you need to correct bad manners.

I mean, fine, so you can handle your shetland pony who jogs out to the field every morning, good for you... can the next person who owns him do the same? Will they WANT to? What if the horse is taken ill and has to go into horsepital, will the staff there appreciate it trying to barge out of the door whenever they go in to treat it? And if you are hospitalised, is your non-horsey OH/hired groom etc going to be able to manage? If the horse escapes can a member of public get them to a safe place? The list of reasons why you should extends beyond "I think its funny/I can handle him/ its not really dangerous..." YES IT COULD BE!

I must admit I have come across a very few horses I wouldn't like to re-educate. But on the whole bad manners behaviour can be easily traced back to its origins, and corrected as soon as it happens with consistent and patient handling. I had a pony barge out of his box this morning when I was turning out: it was but the work of a minute to lead him back in, make him stand next to me with the door open and then go through it sensibly. Result: a bit grumpy but begrudgingly better behaved pone!
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Yes good call OP, it is amazing what some people put up with!!

At our yard in winter when it's blowing a hooley and they're all charging about, you just know a few poor s0ds on the yard are going to get towed through the mud bringing in!

I am far too much of a wuss to have a bad mannered horse on the ground - the only times horses have ever really hurt me has been on the ground.

Also mine has impeccable manners for his own benefit - if other people have to handle him for me, which they do sometimes, or he's rude in the field to another owner, he's going to get a wallop - I've done it to other people's horrendously rude horses to get the things out of my way.

I have brought mine in through and past fields full of horses charging about, I do always use a long rope and also put it over his nose if it's really mad. But he never needs it, he's fab. I could even turn him out with a ripped ligament in my knee when I could barely walk.

The other thing that chuffs me off royally is horses who don't respect your space - my lad has been out with a few who their owners probably consider "friendly", they come straight over to you (probably because there owners treat them, another pet hate of mine) and you can't get them out of your space, because they haven't been taught to. No they're not malicious but what if another one charges at them when it's on top of you trying to get in your pockets?!
 
Exactly.
A wallop or two works wonders with something which is not nervous but extracting the urine or just plain bad-mannered.
However, being only 5 foot and a squeak, I find a Chiffney invaluable.
If a horse is not safe and sensible on a HC, then use a Chiffney.
As easy to put on as a HC, they won't argue with it and therefore, so much safer for all involved.
I just cannot understand why some people will not give their bad mannered, "goo-goo babies" a wallop?
Answers please - and waiting now for the flak!!
 
My friend loaned her horse to an experiened friend of hers. He came back to the yard for a month when the loaner was working abroad.

Boy oh boy - having left a year previously with excellent manners he came back extracting the michael at every opportunity. A couple of days later with consistent handling he was back to his mannerly self.

Having an old injury which affects my balance I have to have horses that are well behaved on the ground. Ours are taught from foals to respect our space, lead properly, etc.
 
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