Things that get drummed into you re horses!

T

Taboo1968

Well-Known Member
Joined
20 May 2004
Messages
3,727
Location
The Moon
Visit site
after having read Boodles post about the Sugar beet.... and certain comments made about things being drummed into you..... whats the thing you remember always being told at RS or when you first had horses?

Mine was never to feed before a ride/exercise and to wait at least an hour after feeding before hopping on! yet at my previous yard, the YO and her sister always fed the horses first and then rode immediately afterwards??? In fact the horse was usually getting tacked up whilst eating!!! I did pass comment one day and was told that this gives them more energy unlike running on an empty fuel tank!

Its still something I would never do though!!
 
oh i could never ride my horse after its eaten straight away, ill be really worried about colic and other problems. people who do that are mad!!! its just like us eating a roast dinner then going to do 100 lengths in the swimming pool... its not good!!
 
I had a friend that did this(used to feed her horse a full breakfast,because she couldnt catch it otherwise),i used to look at her in horror
crazy.gif
!(however it never had any ill affect??,but then it wasnt eventing!Not something i would do)I was always told as you!!It is only like us,we are told NOT to swim at least till an hour after we have eaten as you can get cramps which will basically make you drown!!She asked me one day if i wanted h to have his brekkie before we rode out,NOOOOOOOO i cried,lol!!!
 
I was always taught the same regarding feed. hence why i feed, muck out, clean tack, then ride.



There was a guy at the RS who used to lose his temper with the ponies. My instructor told me that those who lose their tempers with animals do so because they cannot work out what the animal is saying, if you listen quetly, they're trying to tell you something.
I've kept that in mind and it's worked pretty well so far.
 
I've had it drummed into me to not ride untill atleast an hour after the horse has eaten!

And never to hold Joey for the dentist!! My gosh does he ever swipe at you!!!
smirk.gif
shocked.gif
 
1- ride a least an hour after feed
2- always have clean water available when feeding
3- pick out feet daily
can't remember anything else!!!!!
 
[ QUOTE ]
oh i could never ride my horse after its eaten straight away, ill be really worried about colic and other problems. people who do that are mad!!! its just like us eating a roast dinner then going to do 100 lengths in the swimming pool... its not good!!

[/ QUOTE ]


I thought this too but on QI with Stephen Fry the other week they actually said that there is no scientific evidence for this whatsoever and is just an urban myth!
 
i was told this feeding rule and have stuck to it ever since!
i also remember being told horses tummies were the size of a rugby ball, hence little and often.
age 9, my mum caught me with my hands in my ponies bowl, moulding it into a rugby ball shape!
she delights in telling people this story! apparently i thought id given him too much!
 
!) always wear a hat
2) Never ride after feeding
3)Don't leave a horse tied up outside unattended
4) Always have money for a phone call (In the days before mobiles
smile.gif
)
5) Don't use haynets (RS owner had a horse hang itself in one)
 
The obvious, never feed unsoaked Sugar beet!

Never ride without a hat. (Or risk getting pulled, by RI, off horse before your arse had hit the saddle!)

Always warm your horse up thoroughly.

"There's always a something" (Meaning, nothing's ever going to be perfect, so accept it).

Clean feet out everyday.

Always clean your bit.

No foot, no horse. (too true)
 
Always clear tools away into toolshed after yard jobs - riding school owner's voice still rings in my ears when I am doing my own horses. Anything left lying around would bring her wrath down on us poor kids (it worked though!).
 
Never leave a horse tacked up in stable or with headcollar on.

Never gallop on the beach and go straight into the water

Always soak sugar or speedibeet

Never walk behind a horse

Clean out feet everyday

Carry a hoofpick when hacking

When leading a horse on the road, make sure you are between car and horse

Warm up and cool down

Rub saddle area with a cloth after untacking

Never wear rings when riding, or carry things in your pocket that arent necessary
 
Talking of cell phones.......we always used to tell the PC children this:

Never attach your phone to the saddle.....no use if you are on the floor and your phone is heading at a gallop into the next county.
and
Never carry it in your waistband or a bumbag.....fall on it and you can hurt yourself badly.

Back to the old ones,

How about loosen your girth a hole or two on the way home, how many people do that?

Get off and walk the last half mile.

When jumping obstacles you don't know out hacking, check your landing site.

If it's green and everything else is brown, don't ride onto it.

Keep your distance from the horse infront. Ride up my horses tail and it's your own fault if you get kicked, step on my horses heels and I'll kick you myself!

Feed according to work done. You wouldn't feed a hunter just up from grass the same rations as one fit and hunting twice a week, would you?
 
So many things, but my favourites relate to behaviour around horses:
-have 'eyes in the back of your head', always try be aware of what's going on around you

-don't assume that because a horse is 'quiet', the usual safety measures don't apply.

-have consideration for those around you(So, if you know your horse can be a bit nippy, common sense generally dictates that you don't tie it up within 'snacking' distance of another horse-or the poor person whose trying to groom it!!!)
 
I only bought my first horse 18 months ago, and I have had soooo much contradictory info, mostly from other liveries!!

One says pick mud fever scabs off, the other doesnt.

One instructor (RS BHSAI!!!) tells me to ask for canter with two legs back (mind u that horse almost killed me)

One RS made me get on with a girth that was too loose without someone holding my stirrup and i ended up nearly breaking my leg on the mounting block

I hate the ones that dont practise what they preach!!
mad.gif


But now i make my own assumptions guided by my instructor with whom i trust 100%, i know my horse inside out out - what works for him, and when theres something not quite right.
 
When I was younger my pony was kept on 'proper' full livery ie. my parents phoned an hour before we were going up there and we would arrive, pony gleaming, tacked up and standing waiting in the stable. I didn't know any different because every time I rode I had a lesson or was just hacking with my dad who was telling me what I should be doing.
So therefore the thing that was drummed into me was never to ride with twists in my reins and to warm up properly. When I witness people riding with twisted reins or not warming up properly it drives me mad!
 
Interesting one that as Ive been told the exact same thing this week. Our horses are fed three times a day and the lunch time feed can be difficult for me to work around. It doesnt bother anyone else on the yard at ALL and they're often riding within 10 minutes of their horses having eaten which completly freaked me out (much to the amusement of everyone else who said it was a myth).

Had a vet on the yard this week who'd worked in the Uk for a while (so his english as perfect). I got chatting to him and he said the same
frown.gif
No scientific evidence for it at all and while he'd advise not doing very hard, fast, galloping work; there was nothing to worry about.

As for things that were drummed into me although a few have already been mentioned. One that springs to mind that i dont think has been mentioned...

Never wrap a lead rope around your hands
wink.gif
 
We always used to have to hack out with a piece of baler twine, 20p for a phone box and a bit of paper with our names, and emergency contact details in the pocket!
10 mins walk and the start and end of every ride.
Never use anything except a body brush on tails.
 
things I remember being drummed into me at the RS as a kid:
ALWAYS wear a hat
always wait an hour after feeding before riding
always have a hoofpick when hacking (and if it's in your pocket use a folding one in case it injures you if you fall off)
always tie a horse up to baler twine - not directly to a ring, fence etc.
never wrap a lead rope / lunge line round your hand
be wary of even the most placid horse
 
Always put the bridle on first and then the saddle
Don't put more gadgets on it, ride it better!
Make sure you give the horse an hour after feed before you ride it
Always dunk your but in the horses' water after riding.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Always put the bridle on first and then the saddle
Don't put more gadgets on it, ride it better!
Make sure you give the horse an hour after feed before you ride it
Always dunk your but in the horses' water after riding.

[/ QUOTE ]

I always put the saddle on first!
blush.gif
to warm the horse's back to it. lol

Oh and I presume you mean bit? Otherwise that'd be a bit cold and uncomfortable
tongue.gif
 
always tie horse up to bailing twine
wait 1 hour before feeding after riding
Always undo noseband before taking bridle off (although always forget
blush.gif
)
hoof pick on hacks (folding one)
alwasy have a phone
 
The key one which people no longer seem to feel is relevant is not to blame the horse when things go wrong. It is always the riders fault - never the horses.

Well it was 25 years ago, but don't think that's the case amongst many people I know who generally feel poor performance must be attributable to some mechanical issue or poor attitude on the part of their horse rather than their poor horsemanship or management.
 
i have always waited an hour after feeding before excercise, i wouldn't go running straight after dinner so why should my pony.

I have always been told since i started riding not to use the loop on whips to stick over your wrist, broken wrist in the making. Even now if i but one and it has a loop the first thing i do is cut it off
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top