Skib
Well-Known Member
You mention the 20% but how do I know what the horse weighs? There are no horse weighing scales at our yard. I have a tape measure. Can one work out weight from that?
I’m sorry you are having such a lacklustre response to your behind the scenes day, I go to everything organised at my yard and would be at yours like a shot.Thank you all, I’ve gotten home and calmed down a bit but being accused of being discriminatory is really galling, despite being as polite as possible and trying to get across it’s for the horses welfare. I even offer for them to come and do a ground work session instead, so they can still learn and work with the horses but nobody has taken me up on that offer yet.
It is really difficult running a riding school at the moment and myself and the owner monthly talk about just quitting and not because we don’t love it…it’s because people are so demanding and not at all in it for the horses. And I can imagine that we are not the only ones. We’ve put on a behind the scenes day on for Easter and our whole team, vet, physio, farrier, saddle fitter plus a local show jumper are all coming to put on some great talks and interactive demos. We can barely drum up the interest but we feel it’s so important that people see what it actually takes to keep a horse going, let alone a yard full.
It just seems like unless riding is involved nobody seems to care or want to know and that’s really getting me down I think. When I was a kid, I would have done anything to be within sniffing distance of a horse let alone get to learn all the important bits and have fun doing it!
You mention the 20% but how do I know what the horse weighs? There are no horse weighing scales at our yard. I have a tape measure. Can one work out weight from that?
I have one of those, I think. If I can find it. (I cant) When I started to ride, a kind lady on R ideaway sold me all she herself owned for her horse and it included a blue and white tape. Long gone it seems.Or buy a specific horse weight tape, cheap on Amazon.
Out of curiosity what percentage of this problem is down to the following:
a) people have got taller and so heavier
b) they have become heavier (without being taller)
c) we are more aware and careful about our horses and what they can/ should carry
d) big weight carrying horses are scarcer
e) big weight carrying horses are too expensive to feed and keep (hence a RS might only have one or two)
f) other?
My partner runs a small livery yard and I help him on evenings and weekends.It is really difficult running a riding school at the moment and myself and the owner monthly talk about just quitting and not because we don’t love it…it’s because people are so demanding and not at all in it for the horses. And I can imagine that we are not the only ones.
All of the above plusOut of curiosity what percentage of this problem is down to the following:
a) people have got taller and so heavier
b) they have become heavier (without being taller)
c) we are more aware and careful about our horses and what they can/ should carry
d) big weight carrying horses are scarcer
e) big weight carrying horses are too expensive to feed and keep (hence a RS might only have one or two)
f) other?
Out of curiosity what percentage of this problem is down to the following:
a) people have got taller and so heavier
b) they have become heavier (without being taller)
c) we are more aware and careful about our horses and what they can/ should carry
d) big weight carrying horses are scarcer
e) big weight carrying horses are too expensive to feed and keep (hence a RS might only have one or two)
f) other?
Out of curiosity what percentage of this problem is down to the following:
a) people have got taller and so heavier
b) they have become heavier (without being taller)
c) we are more aware and careful about our horses and what they can/ should carry
d) big weight carrying horses are scarcer
e) big weight carrying horses are too expensive to feed and keep (hence a RS might only have one or two)
f) other?
Out of curiosity what percentage of this problem is down to the following:
a) people have got taller and so heavier
b) they have become heavier (without being taller)
c) we are more aware and careful about our horses and what they can/ should carry
d) big weight carrying horses are scarcer
e) big weight carrying horses are too expensive to feed and keep (hence a RS might only have one or two)
f) other?
As an obese person I completely agree, I no longer ride as my weight is out of control but I cringe when I see photos on social media of obese people on smallish cobs and everyone commenting on how wondeful they look and that cob's are for carrying weight - no horse was designed to carry weight, wer'e just lucky they put up with it!Totally agree, seeing obese people on horses makes me really cross. It's completely selfish and shows zero regard for the horse.
As an obese person I completely agree, I no longer ride as my weight is out of control but I cringe when I see photos on social media of obese people on smallish cobs and everyone commenting on how wondeful they look and that cob's are for carrying weight - no horse was designed to carry weight, wer'e just lucky they put up with it!
Not universal. NHS measured OH and me last week and I discovered that I am an inch shorter than I used to be. Not having realised this previously, and finding it harder to mount, I told the YM that my share horse had grown tallerOut of curiosity what percentage of this problem is down to the following:
a) people have got taller and so heavier