A New Wave of KeyBoard Warriors?

[AmmyHour926]

@sheltona01

Also right now I feel like social media is getting more and more extreme and it is hard to not get sucked in. To get views and clicks you have to come up with a viewpoint that will get attention. Reasonable and moderate views don’t sell well. I see this in saddle fitting. Some of the most popular social media for saddle fitting are taking everything away from the middle view point.

This is pretty accurate for almost all thing horses online. And well, any niche topic online too. No one is gonna click on content that basically says “producing a top sport horse is a delicate balance of riding, management, proper tack, feeding, body work, farrier, and vet care”.

[MadTrotter]

@AmmyHour926

This is pretty accurate for almost all thing horses online. And well, any niche topic online too. No one is gonna click on content that basically says “producing a top sport horse is a delicate balance of riding, management, proper tack, feeding, body work, farrier, and vet care”.

I know a couple of people who gravitate towards the alarmist and/or woo side of horses and they tend to come in several flavors:

1. People who for some traumatic reason aren’t “in horses” anymore (injury, money, divorce) but desperately want to feel relevant

2. People with money who bought too much horse and are looking for reasons to not ride it. Expensive import horse sneezes and scares rider, off to the chiro/fitter/vet/trainer/nutritionist/massage therapist/psychic

3. Tweens

[Marigold]

@sheltona01

We have to keep in mind, each person is on their own journey. People only change if they want to change and the best way to help is by example. However it is so hard sometimes to not say anything.

@beowulf

I saw a lot of horses with genuinely horrible feet, visibly lame, demonstrating ulcer behavior, stalled 18h a day, etc. … What turned me off the most was the number of lame horses I saw in an active program. I don’t mind servicably sound horses in a lesson program, but many of these were competitive horses.

You saddle fitters are in a really unenviable position; you see the best and the worst of the barns you service, and sometimes saying things how they really are can cause you to lose clients.

Does anyone else read comments like this and worry? I am sure you are being honest about your reality, but I bring experts into my world/my horse’s world to tell me the truth. Comments like this make me think that someone out there knows something that may help me or help my horse and they aren’t saying anything because they don’t want to lose a client. I never, ever want that to happen, and it’s upsetting to think it might be without me having any idea, or any ability to change it.

[Scribbler]

@Marigold

@sheltona01

We have to keep in mind, each person is on their own journey. People only change if they want to change and the best way to help is by example. However it is so hard sometimes to not say anything.

@beowulf

I saw a lot of horses with genuinely horrible feet, visibly lame, demonstrating ulcer behavior, stalled 18h a day, etc. … What turned me off the most was the number of lame horses I saw in an active program. I don’t mind servicably sound horses in a lesson program, but many of these were competitive horses.

You saddle fitters are in a really unenviable position; you see the best and the worst of the barns you service, and sometimes saying things how they really are can cause you to lose clients.

Does anyone else read comments like this and worry? I am sure you are being honest about your reality, but I bring experts into my world/my horse’s world to tell me the truth. Comments like this make me think that someone out there knows something that may help me or help my horse and they aren’t saying anything because they don’t want to lose a client. I never, ever want that to happen, and it’s upsetting to think it might be without me having any idea, or any ability to change it.

I suspect service providers get a good sense of when their clients want to know more and when they are hostile to that. Just like in regular social life, you raise a topic and see how the other person responds. I actively ask my service providers questions and listen to their responses.

I have friends that will listen to what I say about life or horses and either agree or explain why I’m wrong. I have acquaintances and barn buddies who when I raise any point at all, they go off on a different tangent and don’t want to hear what I am saying because what could I possibly know about horse care or nutrition since my horse is naturally so healthy?

Anyhow, when people don’t pick up on a suggestion I just stop talking about it. Especially when it’s clear they are getting bad or magick advice elsewhere.

[AmmyHour926]

I would argue that “generally” the people that are spending money on saddle fitters, body workers, etc are likely to be the people more willing to listen to those professionals. If a body worker gives advice and takes it negatively, then likely THAT client isn’t one THAT body worker would want anyways. I feel like the woo finds the woo, and the set in their ways find the set in their ways type people. And as a happy medium the educated and continually learning match up with the educated and continually learning too.

[sheltona01]

I will address it and yes I can see how you read that into my comments.

For me when it comes to saddle fitting, yes I share everything with my clients that directly affects the saddle fit.

What I was talking about was I have had people ask me about the hoofs, how to blanket their horse or training issues they are having with their horse for example. Things that are outside my professional expertise. However, as a fellow horse person, of course I have my opinions.

It is hard because I have had trainers get mad at me for adjusting stirrup length which directly affects the saddle fitting. So when it comes to things outside of saddle fitting, unless it is not safe, I keep my mouth shut. If clients directly asks me, if I feel like I can add value and I think the client is truly respective to it, I will sometimes very carefully answer the other questions. However, I can’t outright say, this ABC person has had this issue multiple times and maybe look at XYZ program. However I do risk alienate other professionals and it does affect my income.

[sheltona01]

You would be surprised about how often people ignore our advise. For example, I have a client who’s saddle pad is causing issues. When we switch out to a different one, they go away. However, she wants to always use that type of pad so I just have to come up with a solution that works. Or the trainer/friend disagrees with my suggestion and they choose not the follow them. It is all part of the job.

[AmmyHour926]

Oh interesting, maybe I am just a good client to work with

[Scribbler]

So many people are causing their horses physical issues from bad training practices both in dressage and H/j. And bad shoeing. And feed. Not getting all the nutrients in, etc. I see it all around me in various ways. But you countermand their trainer or coach at your peril. I mean people even get offended when the vet tells them their horse is obese and risking founder.

[sheltona01]

You have hit the nail on the head! It is so hard because I truly want to help, but you can’t say anything. Also most people really want to do well, they just don’t know and are listening to their “experts”. If you are the outlier saying something different, then it is only human nature to ignore or dismiss.

[Scribbler]

@sheltona01

You have hit the nail on the head! It is so hard because I truly want to help, but you can’t say anything. Also most people really want to do well, they just don’t know and are listening to their “experts”. If you are the outlier saying something different, then it is only human nature to ignore or dismiss.

Yes. However there’s the opposite effect too where people dismiss your good solid research based advice and go chasing woo, or untrained trimmers etc

[skydy]

Fat ponies win in the U.S. as well as in the U.K.

https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/the-study-shows-fat-ponies-may-win-in-the-show-ring-but-at-what-cost/

[the_rook]

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@beowulf

Some horses lose muscling along the flank, stifle, and up by the point of hip. If you see asymmetry here it can be anything from an old healed broken pelvis, to something like chronic stifle pain. Horses with stifle injuries tend to have a more “upswept” bottom of their belly and can show muscle loss along the flank down across their stifle. Some horses will have pinched looking muscles here with a depression between where their stifle and point of buttock are.

I just want to say… thank you for this explanation on chronic pain, it may have helped pinpoint some things on my own horse.

[cristalle]

@beowulf

When looking at horses, their topline does tell a story. It can tell a story of how they are used, how they are bred, how they are fed, and how they use their body. I will go against the grain and say the quintessential “TBs don’t have topline” isn’t true - TBs genetically have fantastic toplines. However, many TBs raced first and come with some baggage that can hinder developing a good topline down the years.

Thank you for this, beowulf. I agree.
And thank you for your detailed post.

[AmmyHour926]

The warriors are coming out strong on Instagram again on the Maryland 5stars account.

[libgrrl]

Saw that. Ironically, that horse just had a lovely dressage test. Too bad about the break in the walk.

[phoenixrises]

yes because fresh 5* horses on the jog are in so much pain.

[Highflyer1]

I had a Malibu Moon gelding and the kicking out when he got excited or was thwarted in any way was one one of his favorite moves. The comments are ridiculously over the top.

[foursocks]

Oh, these comments are so dumb! The fabulous video of the jog outfits shows these awesomely fit, nicely muscled horses and some dummy has to do the topline/saddle fit thing. Yes, you are right: none of these top athletes who do 3rd level dressage have a topline because all of them have saddles that don’t fit.

Meanwhile, you can see those big neck muscles as they are trotting, and the flow down to their hind ends, and the nicely filled out ones at the top of their shoulders, behind the withers. But, yes, this random dingbat on instagram is going to have an important insight about none of them having toplines.

[Salty]

I’ve had two that liked to express themselves with handstands, kicking out, and assorted airs above the ground and they were fit, happy, and sound. One has to think that the ingoramuses have limited horse experience, do you think?