Totally insignificant horsey pet hate

[Snow Falcon]

There's only one mention of one of mine:

baler twine not cut at the knot!

 

[yhanni]

Love that knot thing - have saved it to my favourites!! I love knots although I am totally crap at them and have to practice a gazillion times before I can get it to stick in my head.

I hate horses being overrugged and then the owner saying "Oh, I think I overrugged last night, she's/he's a bit sweaty" FFS! And horses being turned out in tendon boots to stop 600kg horse from 'straining a tendon'!!

 

[little_critter]

People who can’t be bothered to figure out which light switch does what (there are only 2) and just turn them all on. Who do you think ultimately pays the electric bill? Us liveries.

And the person who doesn’t see why she needs to shut the yard gate. 😡

 

[Sussexbythesea]

I think I must be the Yard nightmare I do loads of the things that are people’s pet hates on here. I used to be pretty strict about doing everything the PC way but then I realised that unless it was a welfare or a safety issue then most it was a waste of precious time.

I use a chain across my horses door (not left for hours alone though).
I leave stable door open in summer especially to dry and air the stable.
I clean tack infrequently but numnahs and girth covers are regularly washed, I’ve never had anything break in 40 odd years of riding.
I don’t undo both sides of girth - why bother when you’re going to have to do it up again when you next ride?
I leave some items such as hoof-pick, fly-spray, sudocreme, foot spray, gloves on the window ledge so can grab them easily at turnout and bring in.
I don’t wind my lead-rope up when I hang my head collar up - why bother when you’ve just got to unwind it again to use it?
I use a haynet.
I’ve apparently never mastered the quick release knot :O
Sometimes I don’t pick my horses feet out when turning out in a hurry.
Sometimes I leave his turn-out on over night.
Sometimes I ride without brushing all the mud off.
I cut my baler twine randomly
I wear matchy matchy and in summer my horse wears a matching fly bonnet.
I have a couple of blingy browbands.
I leave my head collar on the floor outside my stable where I tacked up to ride.
And much much more.....

How on Earth have I survived this long

My pet hate is the Yard hags stirring their cauldron.

 

[tallyho!]

Dirty bits..... i.e. bits not rinsed and cleaned after a ride

 

[Reacher]

^^^both of these!

Also people who don't seem to know how to tie a quick release. You don't put the rope through the twine first, you make the loop through the twine. Otherwise it's not quick release. Do they just not teach this any more?

It sounds like you are saying the way I was taught to tie up a horse 35 years ago is wrong! The way I was taught is as illustrated in this link. I agree if you pull the rope to release you end up with rope through the string loop - but don’t get how are are saying it should be tied?

https://www.horsejournals.com/horse-care/illness-injury/prevention/how-tie-quick-release-knot

 

[only_me]

I didn’t realise that having a chain across a stable doorway was a pet peeve of some, Billy’s left overnight with just the chain across the door all the time, I haven’t closed the door on him in a long, long time
When he was on box rest in a larger shed there was just a chain across as well!

 

[little_critter]

It sounds like you are saying the way I was taught to tie up a horse 35 years ago is wrong! The way I was taught is as illustrated in this link. I agree if you pull the rope to release you end up with rope through the string loop - but don’t get how are are saying it should be tied?

https://www.horsejournals.com/horse-care/illness-injury/prevention/how-tie-quick-release-knot

Both methods are valid. I'm struggling to explain how you do it without threading through the string, I just kind of do it.
Instead of threading the loose end through the string, you put a loop through the string (left to right), put one twist in it (twist once away from you) then put your finger and thumb through the loop, and grab the bit of lead rope nearest the loose (non-horse) end. Pull that loop through the first loop and pull tight.
Then when you undo the knot by pulling the loose end, instead of needing to unthread the leadrope from the string, the whole knot falls away.

 

[Shavings]

People who just expect!

one springs to mind and just often expects me or another livery to do her just because we are doing our own and she "cant be bothered" but there is never a thanks.. i stopped doing it now and semi look at the floor when i was past the horse as i do feel sorry for him but i am not doing his bed because his owner is just bone idle!

not running stirrups up on your saddle when done!

people who say nasty things when they dont even know whats going on

example for this one was when Levi was in rehab work for SI damage in the early stages he could only be walked in hand and some one walked up to me and said "don't know why you own a horse you haven't ridden him in weeks! Its cruel"

P*** off and go ride your own horse was my thoughts!

 

[Cortez]

People sitting/slouching/texting/gossiping on their horses when not riding them - if you're not riding it; get off! Horses aren't armchairs and their backs don't need you lumping on them all day. People reacting to my perfectly behaved and very friendly stallions as if they are wild, ungovernable beasts......and the haynet knot thing.

 

[Donkey66]

I'd probably drive you lot crazy.
Imo the bit of concrete outside the stable needs sweeping and washing down once a year. On a nice sunny day, so it dries quickly.
The hose pipe is best left lying on the ground in a long snake all year - this helps desensitise the horses.
You can cut baler twine where you like so long as you pick it up and tie it on the loop by the door (for easy removal, once a year), and so long as you replace the yard knife on the hook next to the door.

 

[Embo]

Agree with lots of these! A couple of others to add...

- When you've filled a bucket of water but someone else comes along and uses it and doesn't refill the bucket.
- When people open the feed room/tea room/gallery down the side of the school (used for storage) and leave the doors open and lights on. They then head off home leaving it for someone else to deal with... and that is usually me! This is mostly weekday evenings where I am often the last one there. I have no issue locking the tack room/switching main lights off but I have no reason to go into the feed room or gallery so it's just annoying having to shut the whole yard up. What happened to "If you open it, close it. If you switch it on, switch it off..." etc??
- Arriving to yard to find random stuff dumped on top of my storage box.
- Inconsiderate/stupid car parking. This has to be the biggest one for me! It's really not difficult to park your car in a way that others can then get their cars in.

Basically anything that is inconsiderate behaviour. Selfishness and ignorance are the worst.

 

[HoofprintsInTheSnow]

People that don't clean up after themselves

 

[little_critter]

Silly thing but when grown ups refer to their horse as a 'pony' and going on 'pony ride' to make it sound cute and them younger!

Oops, but my excuse is one of them IS a pony. And it's a mouthful saying "hello pony and horse", so I just call them both ponies.

 

[Laika]

people who put their horses out on the sand paddocks whilst they muck out, bring their horses in and don't pick up their horse's droppings!

 

[9tails]

Can someone show me how to do a quick release knot without putting it through the twine first....

I've owned horses for nearly 30 years and I've never seen that...

I'd be very grateful.

To describe:

Fold your leadrope in half and feed the folded bit of leadrope through the twine about 6 inches. You will get a loop.

Hold the loop and let the leadrope drop open then take the bit of leadrope that has dropped and feed a loop of that bit of leadrope through the loop that you're holding.

Repeat the loop if you wish.

Pull the bit of rope attached to the horse and it will tighten up so your horse can't wander off.

To undo, pull the end of the rope and all loops will come loose.

 

[scotlass]

Cheekpieces that buckle on the outside instead of billet hooks

 

[LaurenBay]

Theres this trend where i graze of looping the tail of the 'quick' release knot through its self over and over again, defeating the purpose of a quick release knot...

People feeding three different kinds of (mag based) calmer because 'oh well one just doesnt work'

To be fair I have to loop mine twice. My mare knows how to untie a quick release knot and will untie herself unless I loop it through again.

 

[Reacher]

To describe:

Fold your leadrope in half and feed the folded bit of leadrope through the twine about 6 inches. You will get a loop.

Hold the loop and let the leadrope drop open then take the bit of leadrope that has dropped and feed a loop of that bit of leadrope through the loop that you're holding.

Repeat the loop if you wish.

Pull the bit of rope attached to the horse and it will tighten up so your horse can't wander off.

To undo, pull the end of the rope and all loops will come loose.

Thanks I will try this

My current peeve is from Sunday when away at comp, tried to get horse to have pee in grass before loading, didn’t want one then peed in trailer before we’dleft the car park.
So when got home had to lift out rubber mats and wash them and floor in driving sleet.

 

[little_critter]

Thanks I will try this

My current peeve is from Sunday when away at comp, tried to get horse to have pee in grass before loading, didn’t want one then peed in trailer before we’dleft the car park.
So when got home had to lift out rubber mats and wash them and floor in driving sleet.

I would add to those stages:
Fold your leadrope in half and feed the folded bit of leadrope through the twine about 6 inches. You will get a loop.
Put a half twist in the loop, so the rope that was closest to you, is now on the far side.

Hold the loop and let the leadrope drop open then take the bit of leadrope that has dropped and feed a loop of that bit of leadrope through the loop that you're holding.
Make sure you grab the end of the rope that is loose, not the end that is attached to the horse, if you grab the bit attached to the horse, they will undo the knot if they pull back.

 

[rosiesowner]

Haynets tied up with the knot at the end of the loop, not up against the haynet, making them a b**ger to untie, especially if it's a small holed net.

I work on a yard where a lot of part liveries leave their nets tied up outside their stables waiting like this and it kills us all!

 

[3OldPonies]

Haven't read all the posts, and I'm sure some of you will get steamed up about this one, but for me it is people who smoke in the stable, when tacking up and riding. Oh, and riders slopping along two abreast chatting or on the phone while a queue of traffic forms up behind them.

 

[DabDab]

I think I must be the Yard nightmare I do loads of the things that are people’s pet hates on here. I used to be pretty strict about doing everything the PC way but then I realised that unless it was a welfare or a safety issue then most it was a waste of precious time.

I use a chain across my horses door (not left for hours alone though).
I leave stable door open in summer especially to dry and air the stable.
I clean tack infrequently but numnahs and girth covers are regularly washed, I’ve never had anything break in 40 odd years of riding.
I don’t undo both sides of girth - why bother when you’re going to have to do it up again when you next ride?
I leave some items such as hoof-pick, fly-spray, sudocreme, foot spray, gloves on the window ledge so can grab them easily at turnout and bring in.
I don’t wind my lead-rope up when I hang my head collar up - why bother when you’ve just got to unwind it again to use it?
I use a haynet.
I’ve apparently never mastered the quick release knot :O
Sometimes I don’t pick my horses feet out when turning out in a hurry.
Sometimes I leave his turn-out on over night.
Sometimes I ride without brushing all the mud off.
I cut my baler twine randomly
I wear matchy matchy and in summer my horse wears a matching fly bonnet.
I have a couple of blingy browbands.
I leave my head collar on the floor outside my stable where I tacked up to ride.
And much much more.....

How on Earth have I survived this long

My pet hate is the Yard hags stirring their cauldron.

Haha, yes, I will have to join you in this club of irritating people. Although I do unbuckle my girth both sides

I also frequently tie my horses up to something solid, or for the one that undoes a quick release, just leave her with the rope on the floor. And I smoke while riding...

 

[MuddyMonster]

But loads of people just have never seen a fit horse carrying little fat so only have their own norm to compare with .
Leisure Horses and ponies are just so much fatter than they were when I was a child my ponies lived out and hunted and they were lean at Easter and gained some weight in summer and lost it the next winter .

Yes, I honestly think that's part of it. I've worked *so* hard on my native's weight & fitness & he's looking OK, but I would want him to loose a bit more before Spring/Summer - which from previous experience I think we'll do when we can hack further, faster & more frequently.

Another livery recently expressed concern at how 'thin' my native was ... ?!

 

[jojo5]

Have read almost all of this ( should be working!!) and I think no one has mentioned my absolute screaming pet hate - it’s MANEGE, not MÉNAGE, people!!!!

Also ( in a smaller, more normal voice....) bling, the hay net thing, over-horsing, condescension about hacking......

It seems that loads of these are about common sense safety - maybe there should be a thread about dangerous things to avoid and how to avoid them - the sort of things that often aren’t thought about ( e.g. I hadn’t thought about the danger posed by clips on the front of rugs as all mine have straps as it happens).

 

[Birker2020]

• Leaving a head collar tied up horse to a tie ring and when the horse is removed the head collar is then left on the floor for a person or horse to get its foot stuck in.
• Not understanding the danger of quality grass so when the horse gets laminitis its a total shock to the owner who has turned it out on lush grazing without a care.
• Putting horses down or retiring them rather than taking the time, patience and responsibility for getting them rehabbed if it is possible to rehab them.
• People ignoring your opinion even when you have vast personal experience of a subject because you are not in there clique.
• People being spiteful because they are jealous.
• People not sweeping up after the farrier has been and leaving your horse to stand on a nail.

 

[Reacher]

I would add to those stages:
Fold your leadrope in half and feed the folded bit of leadrope through the twine about 6 inches. You will get a loop.
Put a half twist in the loop, so the rope that was closest to you, is now on the far side.

Hold the loop and let the leadrope drop open then take the bit of leadrope that has dropped and feed a loop ofu that bit of leadrope through the loop that you're holding.
Make sure you grab the end of the rope that is loose, not the end that is attached to the horse, if you grab the bit attached to the horse, they will undo the knot if they pull back.

Thanks Littlecritter - I will have a go - holding the phone in my 3rd hand so i can follow the instructions!

 

[supsup]

I don't usually mind how other people do things, unless for some reason your way and their way is the exact opposite, yet you have to deal with it every day. For example, I purposely don't shut the bolt to our feed room (empty stable) all the way, because it's impossible to undo one-handed, and I'm usually carrying stuff (and not necessary for safety reasons to keep securely shut). Another livery hates that "someone" is never properly shutting the feed room! Once we realised who we were, and our respective reasons for doing what we were doing, the issue was resolved.

I used to always tie haynets with the knot away from the net. For the simple reason that if the knot on the string comes undone (which it did a few times for me on new haynets with stiff rope), the net will fall down (and in the lorry potentially under the horse's legs, causing an accident). I never had a problem undoing the string because I tie the net tight to the ring with plenty of string available to do multiple safe-release type loops in loops, meaning that the very last end (with the knot) never gets pulled tight.
However, pretty much everyone around me does it the other way around, and many do tie the net with a knot that invariably pulls very tight, so I've bowed to the majority and now tie the other way around.

I think most of the time, people do things for a reason. Mine are usually efficiency/time saving and safety. I'd never waste effort on tidying things merely to make things look nice (winding up lead ropes? Really?).

 

[FabioandFreddy]

exercise bandages on cobs with huge feathers so they hang out the bottom - just so they can be matchy matchy!! Looks ridiculous

Different colour saddle and bridle. Not hard to match black with black or brown with brown!

Girth left on one side - hubby does this!

People not thanking you for slowing down for them when they're riding on the road! Particularly when they're using one hand on their smartphone and completely oblivious to most of whats going on around them and their horse!

 

[MuddyMonster]

Is anyone else reading through this checking off the terrible crimes they commit ...?!

Unmatching bridle and saddle, check.Not always sweeping thoroughly outside before work, check. Bling, check. Not cutting baler twine at the knot, check ....