Horse-Related Tips and Tricks In "Real" Life

So I’ve noticed since I’ve been riding horses, my comfort level around leather has risen drastically! :lol:

Friend’s leather boots are uncomfortable and she gets blisters? Do the bathtub method!

Leather boots are too light? Oil them (lightly.

Fact of life: duct tape solves everything.

So what tips/tricks that are super standard in the horse trade have you started applying in the ~~non-horse~~ world? I’m really curious!

How to be quiet, and use my body language and stop babbling and just be quiet to get a horse to ge quiet and relax? Works for kids too. I have to perform neurological testing on children from premature infants to autistic 20 year olds. I have learned to stop making as much noise as they do when they are screaming, which parents do, as in "Its alright, its alright, its alright its alright itsalright, hone, I’m so sorry, honey I’m so sorry, honey, I’m so sorry etc on and on and on. I keep thinking to myself, just shut up, already. You’re making more noise than the kid is…and…Do you feel better mom by saying all that? Because the kid doesn’t. I just move slow, talk minimally and plesantly, and sometimes just hold my hand on their shoulder. Usuaully the parents follow suir, and when we all do, the kids settle down. They seem to just follow my body language and slow down and relax.

More body language stuff.
I’ve noticed that I will “square up”, make direct eye contact and and step into someone’s space when I’m is a sticky situation and I feel that they are trying to frighten or intimidate me. Since I’m 5’ tall, it may be a little foolhardy…works with horses: but I know I can whack them with whatever I’ve got in my hand, so maybe not such a great plan with other humans :slight_smile:

More of the same.
Patience, never lose your cool, steady does it, talking and walking around.
Get more done with humans, animals and ourselves if we are deliberate, not jerky and inconsistent.
Horses love predictability in their humans, others seem to also respond to that.
A few people I know have commented on it, tried it and it worked for them also.

Everytime I get on a horse, within the first steps I am moving them six inches off my leg one way, six inches off my leg the other way, and seeing if they whoa when I hold up with my seat.

If the horse doesn’t promptly respect a little whoa, we work on that, because whoa is non-negotiable.

I feel the same way about guys. If I say any kind of no, even if it is about a more innocent topic such as would I like another drink, and he start negotiating, nope, no thanks, have a nice life.

To not freak out over every wound.

How to pay attention to nutrition in dogs and other pets.

How to take care of my kids hair. Seriously, learned a lot having long maned horses.

How to stand up to doctors.

Pain tolerance.

Trial and error for solutions.

double on the long hair thing…think I’ve taught every hairdresser I’ve ever had how to brush out and take care of long hair without pulling it.

And times a million on standing up to doctors (and small animal vets!)

Other things, tucking pants into tall boots, wearing a support tank to smooth a button down shirt under and jacket or vest. How to put any type of hair up lol breaking in shoes of any kind, and taking care of leather on anything.

My husband found himself in extreme all-over pain, to the point where I took him to the hospital. He had just completed a 150-mile bike ride on a hot day (which is pretty typical for him on weekend days; he’s an Ironman). ER Docs could not figure out what was wrong with him. I told them “I think he’s tied up”. To which they said “beg pardon?” I explained tying-up syndrome in horses. To which the Docs said “well, people don’t get that”. By the time they were done looking into that, they conceded that what my husband had was as close to tying-up syndrome as a person can actually get. I told them “I have a lot of medical knowledge, but unfortunately, it’s all equine”. A successful application of horse knowledge to “real world life”!!

Using equine therapy items on humans: Game Ready for pain, Surpass/Voltaren, Previcox (kidding, Celebrex actually).

Personal space invaders: grunt, lift a hind foot, glance over shoulder with pinned ears (attitude), swing haunches.

Make haste slowly, You’ll never get any where hustling a bunch of horses, but you can gently persist in aiming them in a general direction.

When training, remember that tomorrow is another day, an inch not lost is sometimes an inch gained.

[QUOTE=222orchids;8177015]
My husband found himself in extreme all-over pain, to the point where I took him to the hospital. He had just completed a 150-mile bike ride on a hot day (which is pretty typical for him on weekend days; he’s an Ironman). ER Docs could not figure out what was wrong with him. I told them “I think he’s tied up”. To which they said “beg pardon?” I explained tying-up syndrome in horses. To which the Docs said “well, people don’t get that”. By the time they were done looking into that, they conceded that what my husband had was as close to tying-up syndrome as a person can actually get. I told them “I have a lot of medical knowledge, but unfortunately, it’s all equine”. A successful application of horse knowledge to “real world life”!![/QUOTE]

OMG, humans can too tie up! http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000473.htm Pardon my French, but, those were dumbass doctors!

How to say no to someone’s crappy behaviour.

Problem solving.

How to do a lameness inspection on a cat. How to talk to small animal vets about lameness in a cat :smiley:

Funny, I’m always thinking, “A horse person would understand” but I can’t think of any more examples right this minute.

A horse person can’t have too many pockets.

Always keep baler twine handy, including in your truck.

All barn-related dirt will transfer to your person, especially on a hot, sticky day. You will have black grime in your nose and not know it until you look in a mirror hours later.

The aroma of sheath cleaning will linger on you through a hot shower.

What’s the end goal?

IE horses learn something - good or bad - from every interaction.

Why am I doing this? What will the results be? If they’re not positive, why am I doing it?

As my horse is on Oncept, an immune stimulating treatment for melanoma, I have become sensitive to immune stimulating cancer treatments for humans too. Was able to describe it to my brother so he could pass it on to his brother in law, who was despondent about having melanoma that was inoperable.

Being a horse person surely helped me when I had twins - and having twins made me even more steady when I got a horse again! I am freakishly good at knowing when cats, horses, and humans just don’t feel well and need to see the dr/vet.

I think my biggest horsey crossover would be my general steadiness. I tend to stay extremely level-headed no matter the emergency.

ETA: I was briefly a 2nd grade teacher this last semester (long story), and I learned that you basically have to handle inner-city children like horses- calm, consistent, fair. Never angry or harsh. Just constant cause and effect.