Tail Ribbons

[davisn]

Hello, I'm planning my first even hunting experience in a couple of weeks. My horse has been known to kick over horses who invade her personal space, although she is good with people & dogs.

I have been advised that I should wear a red & a green ribbon in her tail. Should these be 2 seperate ribbons? I'm not planning to plait her tail as it's so thin, fine & wispy. Is there a good way to attach the ribbons?

There seems to be so much to get right....never mind once we actually start riding!

 

[AmyMay]

Sorry, but the better advise would have been to tell you not to take your horse hunting if she is a kicker.......

 

[k9h]

Red ribbon if she kicks, green if she is new to hunting.
Just make sure that her head always faces hounds as that is the worst thing to kick on a days hunting.

 

[davisn]

Thanks. She doesn't double barrel or anything that serious. It's only ever been a warning one leg thing that's never made contact whilst out riding, but I thought it best to air on the side of caution.

I'm going to a quite mid week hunt with no jumps. For our first time out I will hack there & stay near/at the back & only stay for an hour or so.

Am I doing the wrong thing? Perhaps I should rethink

 

[JenHunt]

red ribbon and stick to the back if you take her at all. people are so protective of their horses given they are about to gallop flat out over big fences!
k9h had some good advice too.

 

[AmyMay]

people are so protective of their horses given they are about to gallop flat out over big fences!

Was that an observation or aimed at someone?

 

[JenHunt]

no no, just an observation, and tbh i'm as guilty of it as the next person!

 

[kateknights]

Instead of using ribbon and the worry of it slipping off, I noticed a lot of people use electrical tape these days, it stays on better too.
Kate x

 

[Weezy]

Electrical tape is deffo better than a ribbon.

If you take a horse that is red ribboned it is only right to stay AT THE BACK - not NEAR the back! I get immensely pissed off if we have to go single file and there is suddenly a red ribboned horse right in front of me - IMHO it is up to YOU as the rider to protect OTHER horses as much as possible.

 

[Gucci_b]

Horses


All tack should be correctly fitting, in good repair and clean
Only plain black or brown numnahs/browbands/bandages etc. should be worn
Manes should be plaited (preferably), hogged or neatly pulled and brushed out
A novice horse should wear a green tail ribbon
A horse that is known to kick should wear a red tail ribbon and remain at the rear of the Field at all times

 

[j87]

Echo the stay to the back! And the leccy tape! I use green on my young horse mainly because it makes people think before they plough into him. I know he's not going to do anything hehe! Have a great time if you do take her! and remeber to try not to get her too "boxed" in if shes a kicker keep her away no one wants to get hurt

 

[livetoride]

I've used electrical insulating tape in the past.

Please be very careful if your horse is likely to kick and follow the advice above about staying out of the way at the back.

If she lifts a leg at another horse, or worse still, a hound, you will be expected by the rest of the field to discipline her, swiftly and severely (away from the other horses of course), so its probably best to carry a jumping whip. This is one misbehaviour you simply cannot take any chances with and, with any luck, one good hiding will prevent it from developing into a habit in the hunting field. If it doesn't, then she doesn't belong there.

It may sound a bit harsh, but half a dozen whip welts will soon go down but a shattered knee could end someone's lifelong riding career.

Take care.

Sarah

 

[wrighty]

"to discipline her, swiftly and severely"
I hope you don't discipline anything severely, discipline is one thing but hitting something so hard that "half a dozen whip welts will soon go down" is cruel.

(Please don't come back and say whipping doesn't hurt the horse because if it didn't it wouldn't work in controlling it)

 

[livetoride]

Sorry, Wrighty, but kicking is one thing that I, and most other riders who hunt simply will not tolerate. I cannot abide it when people do not discipline their horses properly for kicking. One rider a couple of weeks ago actually patted her horse after it tried to double barrel another horse, saying something like "there, there, did it frighten you?". There was a lot of tut-tutting amongst the other subscribers. The other rider was furious and said "don't pat it, beat it!". To make matters worse, it wasn't even wearing a red ribbon and she received no apology.

And no, I'm certainly not going to say whipping doesn't hurt the horse - it does and under these circumstances it's supposed to and I'll bloomin' well make sure that it does - but it does no long term physical harm (unlike the damage that a kick can cause) and should make the horse think twice before doing it again.

Call me cruel if you like, but under these (hopefully rare) circumstances I wouldn't hold back an ounce and would be rather more concerned that we had nearly broken another rider's leg or potentially cost someone's horse it's life than worried about a few welts.

I'm not in the habit of using the whip hard like this for punishment, but I feel strongly about kicking and this is one of the few occasions that I am more than prepared to do so.

Sarah

 

[wrighty]

If you think that about punishment I hope you don't have any kids.
Yes kicking is dangerous and it shouldn't be encouraged but hitting anything to actually hurt it is cruelty and should not happen even if "it does no long term physical harm"

How can someone who loves (or even just likes) horses use such violence against them.

 

[molehill]

I think it is important to either put a red ribbon in her tail or red electrical tape.I was kicked by a horse out hunting.It missed my horse and caught me in the leg and has left me permantly damaged(have to wear a plastic splint on my leg at all times now)
People have always rememebered it and frowned upon the horse and owner.Especially as the owner did not tell the horse off.

 

[wrighty]

"tell the horse off"
When people do this does it include "to discipline her, swiftly and severely", "good hiding", "half a dozen whip welts" or "wouldn't hold back an ounce"?

If these words were used when talking about disciplining a child people would be calling the police and Social Services, just because the horse cannot complain it doesn't mean it should be abused.

Pro's are always being accused of being cruel to animals and the lack of condemnation from others on livetoride's abuse of his/her horses doesn't help 1 bit.

 

[Taboo1968]

Lets hope there are no RSPCA officers around when you discipline your horse then?

Surely one smack is enough and one that does not cause Welt marks? Would you treat your children the same way?

I'm not against hunting, have 8 horses of my own, but would not lower myself to your way of discipline and in my opinion think that there is no place in the horse world for that type of behaviour - but thats only my opinion.....

 

[molehill]

I believe if a horse is naughty it needs telling off,not by having a hiding,but a short sharp smack with the whip behind the saddle.If i hadnt of done this to my horse it would never had been the horse she was,but a spoilt brat horse that was un-ridable.I believe all forms of youngster need disapline to teach them right from wrong.Take for example a cat and kitten.You often see mum swipping the kitten to teach it.I dont believe in a beating,you have to know where to draw the line.

 

[Taboo1968]

And hitting a horse until you produce welt marks is stepping well over the line! Yes I agree, one short sharp smack.....