What do we all do - but know we shouldn't ?

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little neddy

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Recently a good friend of mine and a good horseman to boot - broke his hand while leading his horse in from the field. He held on to the cheek piece of the head collar, while struggling through the mud in the gateway, and the horse unusually shied, dragging him with trapped hand across the yard breaking his hand in five places. Ouch !

We all get complacence and trust our neddies, but every now and then something happens which gives us all a quick reminder, on how unpredictable horses can be and how accidents or near misses happens so quickly.

So what do we all do that we know we shouldn't ??
 
Sit on the floor to trim legs
Leave stable door open with horse inside
Leave tacked up horse loose on yard
Leg it and leave him to sort himself out when he's grazing in hand and treads on his rope
Take headcollar off and fire him through open gates/stable doors
Hose excessive mud of his rug while its still on him
Use piaffe instead of a hoofpick

And a whole host of other sins!
 
I have horribly arthritic fingers (I call them my Halloween hands...small children run screaming to their mothers when they see them!), but my left ring finger was one of the least deformed on my hand. I was holding one of my mares by the headcollar while tidying her forelock. She pulled her head up sharply and jerked my hand with it. The pain was unspeakable. When I was able to assess the damage, I thought it was just a sprain. After a few weeks I realised I was unable to straighten the joint closest to the nail. After months of discomfort, I went to the doctor who X-rayed the finger and found that I had dislocated the joint and fractured the bone. That was the end of my 'best finger.' I never hold any of the horses by the headcollar now.
 
I still, even after rope burns, :rolleyes: have the awful habit of wrapping the rope round my hand when leading in/out of the field. I tell my daughter to never, ever do it. But I do it myself.

Idiotic. :o
 
We do most things Auslander does & also Let them make there own way into the stables as its easier this time of year - not tried the rug thing though - could be interesting to try when the hose defrosts :)
 
The other day I was adjusting my horse's tendon boots by kneeling directly in front of her on the floor. Luckily she's an angelic beastie but anything could have happened!
 
Lead my horse by her forelock. She's very good about it, but then I go to do it with other horses and they look at me like wtf?
 
I do a lot of things with Bella that people probably wouldn't approve of :o

I go underneath my mare's belly to get to the other side
Walk right behind her
Sit down next to her, in front of her, kneel down to pick out feet etc
Let go of her so I can close gates when bringing her in (She stands still until I come back)
Ride tackless
Ride around the field with my sister's horse loose

People think I'm a bit crazy but I trust my mare, I wouldn't do half the stuff I do with her with any other horse :)
 
Leaving stable door open while he's in it! He's normally happy to stay in his stable as long as there's hay in there, but yesterday he decided to teach me a lesson by merrily walking straight past me, out of the stable :/ I spent a nano second in shock wondering whether to go grab his headcollar to catch him but decided grabbing by the mane was a quicker option! Think he was just protesting really as he'd been in all day as couldn't get to the field because of excessive ice on the yard.
 
Lead them to and from the field with a leadrope round their necks, occasionally i've been seen leading them by their rugs.

Wee in the stable!
 
to much to list! :)

but to name a few:
-sitting on the floor whilst i trim her feathers
-crawling underneath her to get to the other side even when she's loose in the field
-sitting next to her when she's lying down in the field and sometimes also nodding off :eek:
-leading her through the gate then chucking the lead rope over her neck while i close the electric fencing
-after a hard day at work i often sit in the field watching her graze even after she spooked at a bird and jumped over me trying to run away
-never tieing her up when i groom/change rugs/pick feet out

an im still here to tell the tale lol
 
Hmm...
Sit in my fave pony's stable - he trys to eat me xD
Kneel down when doing a rug up
Going behind them
Try to stop ponys fighting (I can't help it! XD)
Giving him polos
 
I do a few things other may consider wrong,
I lead my three with a lead rope draped round their necks, one at a time though lol. sometimes use a haynet if that's the closest thing, I've even taken off my jacket and used that if we are at the far end of the field
Groom and pick their feet when they are loose though sometimes I have to lay the lead rope over their neck, I don't hold it though.
My mare has bad teeth that need picking daily and that is done loose in the field
I often steady myself in the mud my resting a hand on their backsides as I walk round them.
I also clean my geldings *bits* when he is loose though he does usually have a headcollar on with a rope attached but it's normally either over his neck or laying on the floor.

My friend clips her mare's belly by sitting underneath her and using her front legs as a back rest.
 
Most of what auslander does, except the rug hosing. (only cos it falls off dry, rather than as a safety principle).
- leave my mare loose a lot, including while rugging, clipping, grooming etc.
- feed her treats lots of the time, without any pattern. Including holding stuff in my teeth & letting her grab the other end. Or putting biscuits on my head for her to pick off.
- when nobody is looking, get on her in the field for a blast, minus any equipment.
- sit on the floor behind/ next to her.
- stand across her bum if she's eating & a horse is walking close past so she won't kick.
- taught her a command that means she can buck/bronc, I allow it most times I ride.
- allow her to spin/prance/ generally prat about when I'm riding
- let her graze while I open or close gates, then if its muddy to jump in or out, whilst loose.
-led her whilst pushing a pram
Pretty much do most things you shouldn't really.
 
lead by the forelock,
let them all find their own way into their stables,
leave the oldie's door open - she often finds her way back out into the yard.
get in front of them when leading into the field
stand between oldie and sister's horse as sister leads hers through the box
give treats
I would never tie up to groom/rug etc but really DON'T think that I should.
 
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Stand behind a horse that has been known to kick teaching a rider to put on a poultice while said pony was loose in the field first time she had done it on a real horse.
Leading all three in at once with lead ropes tied round their necks like gypsy ponies
all the things Auslander does too
Use left over pain killers for simple pains to avoid a huge vet call out bill
 
Tie with his headcollar around his neck.
School/jump with loose ponies in the school (Only certain ponies, I would never do it with Brwnt, Willow or Biscuit!!)
Give him treats.
Dress him up like a moron.
I'm sure I do a million other things, but dinner is ready - yum!
 
Groom loose in the field, pick feet out on the field. But the one I really shouldn't do is kiss him on the muzzle . And if Air78 is reading this " I know"!!!!!!
 
Lots of these.. oops.

I found myself washing his tail during the summer, whilst balancing the bucket of soapy water on his hock which he'd conveniently put just in the right place. :)
 
ridefast said:
Lead my horse by her forelock. She's very good about it, but then I go to do it with other horses and they look at me like wtf?
Click to expand...

I thought we were the only people who do this, but my sister's cob has such a long and inviting forelock - you try to do it with my mare and she makes it quite clear her opinions on that!:rolleyes:
 
i rarely lead 'correctly', i'm always in front rather than at the shoulder, old habit from leading in 3 or 4 at a time and i didn't like to be squished in the middle in gateways etc,
 
Its really nice to see how much people trust their horses :)

I wouldn't dream of doing anything like this with my mini foals, but I would always 'break the rules' with my little mare...

- Sitting down to trim feathers
- When clipping, to do her armpits i would hook her front leg behind my outstretched leg and do it that way :o
- Let her mooch around the yard while i mucked out
- Lead her in by her mane (funny, she would let you do this, but would give you a disgusted look if you touched her forelock!)
- Hacking out on the buckle
- Let her gallop in her gallop spots :o
- Always left her stable door open... The only time is was closed was overnight!
 
Stand behind bums for scratches. Littlun is bad for trying to sit on me when I do this.
I forget to tell people that they reverse up for bum scratches so friends often launch out the way when they swing round
 
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