To all the old timers on here...

bumper said:
This sort of post, whilst with it's own wonderful integrity regarding old friends lost, stops newer people from posting at all. The inference is that only "old timers" have a place on this forum, and others will be tolerated only if they can be laughed at as "trolls" or "numpties".
Be careful here. Some "newbies" will have something intelligent to say, but will stop themselves due to this type of post. All of us started out somewhere :)
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I dissgree. Why in earth would it stop new people posting?
That is quite an inference to make.

This forum is very welcoming of Newbies. I have rarely seen anyone accused of trolling who isn't actually a troll.

Which makes me think... haven't seen a troll in ages. Where have they gone?
 
Apercrumbie said:
Inevitably similar threads reappear all the time so I often start typing out a reply but then can't be bothered. I imagine that happens with many of the 'older' posters too. I do miss many of the old hands.
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This! I am a 'new-timer' on this forum but an 'old-timer' with horses and have already got bored with putting down the same advice over and over, then seeing another thread pop-up from the same person wanting a short cut.
When I started riding if you had problems with your horse then you weren't riding well enough (not counting the horse having something actually wrong with it of course) but now it is frequently the horse's fault because it acts like a horse (yes horses shy, get fresh sometimes, have a startle reflex, like to look at what's going on around them, bounce occassionally, like to be ridden with correct aids and soft hands, want to show other normal horse behaviour, don't like change, don't like being cooped up, aren't bright enough to solve problems by themselves, are not armchairs, don't train themselves, etc. etc.).
Another issue seems to be that there are a lot of instructor's out there that are not solving the rider's problems - of course, not everyone has the answer to everything but I do worry when people describe a fairly common problem and they are having lessons without improvement.
And yes, it is so PC that you have to word things so as not to offend even when it is obviously the rider's fault.
However, there are genuine people that need help on the forums so it would be a shame if experienced people gave up on it completely. Perhaps Horse and HOund could do a FAQ section which would take out the more commonly repeated threads, then people could read those first??
 
vam said:
Yep miss loads of people on here and I'm finding I'm spending more time in the club house than anywhere else.
What I miss the most is being able to spend hours in comp riders going through peoples weekend reports. It was full of the good, the bad and the ugly, lots of pics and vids and it was the place I felt the most comfortable in. Nearly all the old guard are gone and there are very few reports posted, if I had a horse I wouldn’t bother as I just don’t see the point. I learnt a lot from reading stuff in there and often found it was a bit more common sense when the tack room got a bit fluffy.
I can understand things change but I do miss it and I have no idea who most of the poster where so couldn’t use fb to follow them.
There is an awful lot of knowledge lost which is a huge shame, don't get me wrong there are still loads of people on here but I'm not sure if most can be bothered to post any more. As Enfys said you type out a reply and then delete it, I normally think 'whats the point'. You'll either get ignored or laid into.
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Totally agree with vam, and everyone else. I have learnt so so much from hho over the years, so many useful ideas, off some of those old timer names i consistantly recognise giving good advice. It has been killed off by facebook, but i hate facebook and would never join in there. I see the same questions on fb as i have done here for many years, always, what rug, what feed, do i need a vet, yadda yadda yadda!
 
I wonder if increasing use of smart devices in particular smartphones has contributed to the slow down as although you can post from almost anywhere I find it a cumbersome to type out stuff accurately. I also keep accidentally posting before I've finished!
 
milliepops said:
I've been posting for 7 years or so, and I always wonder whether I've been a HHOer for long enough to qualify to respond ... so yes, I do agree!
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I think people are frightened to ask questions sometimes especially newbies for fear of getting laughed at.

I asked a perfectly reasonable question about rugs a few months back and was told (most probably sarcastically) that with all my experience I shouldn't need to ask such a basic question! Well it blew me away!

I've been on here before with a different user name for three years and then came off before re-registering as Applecart14 five years ago. I do agree that the same questions keep being repeated. So much so that I have compiled some useful paragraphs to save myself typing the whole sorry story out again. Then I can just flip to them in my folder on the computer and copy and paste them onto the screen. Saves a lot of time and effort.

:)
 
I'm a long-time lurker and do miss the speed of new threads in the old days. There was some nastiness but, hey, it's the horse world and there's lot of it out there!

I think there is still a fair amount of wisdom to be gleaned and I have learned new things, even from repetitive threads. I do like the idea of a FAQ section - might make it easier for people who haven't seen old threads on rugging, feeding, etc to find the answers they are looking for.

With regard to the frequent "call the vet" responses to any problem, I guess we don't know how much experience and/or knowledge that particular OP has so I suppose it is always with the horse's welfare in mind which has to be a good thing. I'm very much in the "give it a day" camp for many issues and ailments but that's based on my own experience and knowledge. I dare say if I had lost a horse through delaying, I would think differently!
 
I've been around for a while. There has been a name change this was because of threats made to me by another poster because I 'dared' to challenge them on some old contentious threads....so it wasn't all rosy in the past 😏

I used to love the competition area...but the reports have pretty much dried up. I think the success of the Twittaeventing FB has seen that off.

Club house I don't feel like I fit either. I shoe, don't aspire to leave them out 24/7 through winter & I'll happily pile on rugs to keep my horses as warm as they need to be 😂

I know a lot of experienced posters got fed up with keyboard warriors & the like.
A friend of mine joined here whilst she was injured & not riding. This woman has a yard of horses, teaches (including being heavily involved with BE) has ridden at 4*, produces event & dressage horses & quite frankly knows her stuff.
She spent ages typing out advice in response to someone's post on a schooling/training problem. She ended up getting into a bit of an argument with a couple of other regular posters because they were suggesting stuff that she didn't think would help & they got the hump that someone had challenged them, the OP then ignored her excellent advice & started asking more about the advice being given by someone who had a picture in their sig of them belly flopping over a 2ft cross pole. 😂

As you can imagine she didn't stay registered long 😆
 
I find most threads quite boring these days and rarely spend much time on here now. It used to be fun reading the massive threads with everyone getting their knickers in a twist, or the entertaining threads where everyone could get involved (Starzaan and Hovis spring to mind). Not that I ever did get very involved, but I enjoyed reading them nonetheless. I also used to find that I would learn so much from reading all the comments; these days I can pretty much predict what the comments will say and god forbid anyone should dare to contradict or question them. The only threads I actively look out for at the moment are AdorableAlice's - I love Ted and Alice!
 
I miss the troll threads, they were epic!

I have noticed quite a few posters have gone in the last few months and I now find the forum quite boring and slow.

My biggest concern this year is Secret Santa and the loss of Finnish Laphund and JFTD who posted all the threads on Clues and Hints, they were amazing and made it all the more fun. I hope they come back for it.
 
There are a few people I miss SlinkyUnicorn and Mrs Mozart in particular. I think they both still post now and again but not that often.

Kitsune was always entertaining (if a little argumentative :)) too - I think she changed her username?

And lots of others whose names I've forgotten but whom I'd remember like a shot if I saw them. Was it Kenzo who had a horse called Mr Mackenzie? I remember his antics.

PapaFrita's advice thread was one of my favourites. That kept going for months.
 
The major change to this forum was when moderation was introduced. Prior to that it was a free for all (yes I've been here for longer than my join date suggests as lost password and had to get new account).
Agree that a lot of the knowledgeable group have left or are not posting much any more and I can understand this.
The forum mirrors the amateur equestrian world which is sadly becoming less and less experienced. Competitions standards are being lowered to the lowest common denominator. Far too many posters have read stuff on the internet then repeat it here as if they have actual experience even though their advice is completely off the mark. This is often lapped up by the person seeking advice because it sounds good yet would not have the experience to use the advice even if it were appropriate.
Given that adult SJ now starts at 40cm, a sponsored ride is 5k or 10k, a hard hack is 45 minutes with a couple of trots and working a horse hard seems to involve riding 3 times a week, is it any wonder that equestrian forums (not just this one) are dominated with questions about rugging, when to call a vet and what's the best colour for my bay pony etc.
The knowledge to have a serious discussion is now in short supply.
 
I miss the old forum this admin lot killed my naughty sense of humour..
Ps thanks qb for the mention..mem bore me these days..luckily for the hoards of young fitties that are here these days..and of course Alec..
 
PaddyMonty said:
The major change to this forum was when moderation was introduced. Prior to that it was a free for all (yes I've been here for longer than my join date suggests as lost password and had to get new account).
Agree that a lot of the knowledgeable group have left or are not posting much any more and I can understand this.
The forum mirrors the amateur equestrian world which is sadly becoming less and less experienced. Competitions standards are being lowered to the lowest common denominator. Far too many posters have read stuff on the internet then repeat it here as if they have actual experience even though their advice is completely off the mark. This is often lapped up by the person seeking advice because it sounds good yet would not have the experience to use the advice even if it were appropriate.
Given that adult SJ now starts at 40cm, a sponsored ride is 5k or 10k, a hard hack is 45 minutes with a couple of trots and working a horse hard seems to involve riding 3 times a week, is it any wonder that equestrian forums (not just this one) are dominated with questions about rugging, when to call a vet and what's the best colour for my bay pony etc.
The knowledge to have a serious discussion is now in short supply.
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Yes, this, this! It seems to be true in 'real life' too though - I really don't consider myself an expert, but I'm so tired of holding my tongue when being lectured by someone who has turned up with their shiny new horse and shiny new tack (usually being used incorrectly), having done a year in a riding school. :(
 
PaddyMonty said:
The major change to this forum was when moderation was introduced. Prior to that it was a free for all (yes I've been here for longer than my join date suggests as lost password and had to get new account).
Agree that a lot of the knowledgeable group have left or are not posting much any more and I can understand this.
The forum mirrors the amateur equestrian world which is sadly becoming less and less experienced. Competitions standards are being lowered to the lowest common denominator. Far too many posters have read stuff on the internet then repeat it here as if they have actual experience even though their advice is completely off the mark. This is often lapped up by the person seeking advice because it sounds good yet would not have the experience to use the advice even if it were appropriate.
Given that adult SJ now starts at 40cm, a sponsored ride is 5k or 10k, a hard hack is 45 minutes with a couple of trots and working a horse hard seems to involve riding 3 times a week, is it any wonder that equestrian forums (not just this one) are dominated with questions about rugging, when to call a vet and what's the best colour for my bay pony etc.
The knowledge to have a serious discussion is now in short supply.
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100% especially where you say standards have dropped & advice being off the mark! I'm sometimes gobsmacked at what is rolled out as 'advice' - & that isn't just here!
 
Is this forum just reflecting what is happening to all public discussion? Anyone who offers an opinion that is not cosy, middle of the road and PC is likely to be subjected to abuse and being shouted down. As an example, the Oxford Student Union have just banned a contentious feminist from their debate in case she offended "trangens"; they then had to ban the slightly less contentious male speaker so as to appear balanced.
 
Ive been here a lot longer than 2007. But changed everything

Yep I agree with all that's been said.
I also have not only posted less but also changed the way I reply to threads seeking advice.

in the old days I may have said wack it, now I say have you had back/teeth/saddle/ full lameness and blood test /animal communicator/sauna/massage therapy/5 star holiday in the sun

Before I say wack it 😆
 
Look Queenbee I've returned after 5 years....what more do you want......I loved it when we got the trolls it came alive then.....and people where still posting overnight.....it moved really fast....hence why I disappeared for awhile(no I was not a troll ....just for the record!!!!)....did love the SS stuff....got some good pressies did it over a few years.
 
I'm relatively new (2011) but in that time have seen a lot of repetition of themes but just when you think it's covered. .along comes something new.. Atypical Myopathy etc. There seems to be less trolling (which if I'm honest I do miss) I have also been gripped by unfolding dramas, horses being recovered from loony YOs/loaners , Kelly's Cobs ! How amazing was that thread! Better than tv.
 
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_OC_ said:
Look Queenbee I've returned after 5 years....what more do you want......I loved it when we got the trolls it came alive then.....and people where still posting overnight.....it moved really fast....hence why I disappeared for awhile(no I was not a troll ....just for the record!!!!)....did love the SS stuff....got some good pressies did it over a few years.
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Oh god yes, I was only just grumbling to myself last night that there are no insomniac posters anymore to keep me company! So, you going to enter SS this year? (Go on, you know you want to!)
 
Yeah will do just for you........will send me details later....promise.....just for the record my requests consist of any thing that is chocolate,more chocolate .....chocolate.....give me chocolate.....getting the idea Queenbee.........love _OC_ x
 
_OC_ said:
Yeah will do just for you........will send me details later....promise.....just for the record my requests consist of any thing that is chocolate,more chocolate .....chocolate.....give me chocolate.....getting the idea Queenbee.........love _OC_ x
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So you don't want chocolate then? Right, got it!! ;)
 
Queenbee said:
Oh god yes, I was only just grumbling to myself last night that there are no insomniac posters anymore to keep me company!
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I am 5 hours behind the UK :) So it's just gone 10am for me here. My day is just starting (and incidentally it is sunny, I am off for a ride in a minute ;) ) Even if I come on at 10pm it is 3am in the UK, you are all asleep.
 
soulfull said:
Ive been here a lot longer than 2007. But changed everything

Yep I agree with all that's been said.
I also have not only posted less but also changed the way I reply to threads seeking advice.

in the old days I may have said wack it, now I say have you had back/teeth/saddle/ full lameness and blood test /animal communicator/sauna/massage therapy/5 star holiday in the sun

Before I say wack it ��
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pmsl. Are we still permitted to say that? ;)
 
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