Just wondering about other’s opinions on this. I board at a facility that hosts pony club 4 times a month. Normally I just try to plan my visits around the pony club activities, but sometimes that is not possible. I was never in pony club myself, I just learned how to do most things on my own, so obviously some of the things I do are not by the pony club book. Because of this, I get the stink eye from some of the pony club mom’s sometimes, I guess they feel I am being a bad influence to their kid. I’m not doing anything dangerous, I’m talking about doing stuff like feeding my guy by hand, or going into the stall with him without putting his halter/lead rope on first, or hopping on bareback with a halter/lead rope instead of tacking up, or not figure 8ing my bridle after I ride. I feel guilty, like I’m corrupting the kids or something. If you were me, would you clean up your act around the pony club kids? My husband thinks I’m being stupid, that I’m a paying boarder and have every right to do whatever I want with my horse whenever I want to. And the BO doesn’t care either way. But man can those moms give the stink eye.
You ARE being an example to the kids. Those moms go home and say, “Whatever you do, Jessica, DON’T feed your horse by hand like that idiot woman!” 
Pony Club has a bunch of rules, and it’s one of the few organizations where the kids are judged by their horsehandling as well as by their riding, so the handling part is important. But it’s important to Pony Club, not to anybody else. At some point, kids need to learn that there’s a larger world out there. Hopefully, they will learn that after they’ve learned never to loop a leadrope in their hand, but maybe not.
As long as you ride with a helmet, wear proper footwear and lead your horse with a halter I think they can get over the rest. Those are the big things that can get them hurt if they decide you are a cool role model and they want to copy you.
Are you being safe? Kids watch what the adults do, so I try to make sure that I’d be comfortable with them copying my actions (to a reasonable extent). Nothing you mentioned sounded unsafe, though, and it’s OK for kids to learn there are ways to do things other than the Official Pony Club way. Sounds like you have great fun with your horse
[QUOTE=myvalentine;7974198]
I’m not doing anything dangerous, I’m talking about doing stuff like feeding my guy by hand, or going into the stall with him without putting his halter/lead rope on first, or hopping on bareback with a halter/lead rope instead of tacking up, or not figure 8ing my bridle after I ride. [/QUOTE]
You feel guilty because you ARE doing things that are less safe and you KNOW better! Still unwilling to change, do things correctly! Kids copy those riders they see, who are older, act experienced or do what LOOKS like fun by being less work. Shortcut by skipping the bridle use for riding. A kid doesn’t understand rider has no actual control with halter and lead. Horse is LETTING rider think he is in control! Just zip into stall to do stuff instead of haltering with a lead to control horse you may be working on. Hand feeding can get DANGEROUS if horse is pushy with kid or feeding is done in a group setting. “Look I have ALL the horses eating out of my hand” and the kicking starts, kid gets run over or bitten severely.
Things like your examples could easily go badly for less experienced riders, with a horse who is not as dependable. You are the casebook ‘bad example’ person right in front of EVERYONE, to children being taught SAFER ways of doing things for their own good. You are short-cutting by your visible example, getting away with it, so far, in avoiding the proper steps of doing things with your horse. You KNOW that going riding bridleless, going in the stall without equipment to control your horse, hand feeding, are poor habits to develop.
The figure 8 hanging of bridle will probably not damage anyone, but helps keep bridle neat and has you running hands over the leather to feel broken stitches, other problems before they become dangerous. It is a SAFER way of putting the bridle away, for reasons given above.
Sounds to me that you are VERY trusting of your horse. Just remember that EVERY horse can have bad moments, and it sounds like you could easily be hurt at that moment. I have seen that happen, human is NOT prepared for a “moment” of BAD horse action, gets hurt from bruises to broken bones. One never knows when it will occur. Hence the reason to ALWAYS be prepared, do things SAFELY, so when that incident comes, you are ABLE to manage without injury.
Guess I would be using you as that “bad example” and saying “Her time will come and she won’t be ready to manage it. Probably someone will get hurt.”. Always does with horses. And you STILL won’t understand you brought things on yourself by consistant poor choices in horse handling.
Seriously, Goodhors? Well, bless your heart.
Pony club is one ideal for horsemanship. However. A very large number of non-pony-club people have experienced longstanding relationships with their own and other horses and have had no greater incidence of being bitten, kicked, run over, biting, kicking, or running over than do pony clubbers. Again, pony club is just one way. I believe it is a good way. However, there are other ways too.
As long as you are with your own horse and tack, are using common sense for your horse and your ability and the safety of those around you, aren’t offending the BO/BM, and are not maliciously and intentionally interfering with anyone else, you are just fine.
The leaders of the pony club, if they’ve even noticed your not putting your bridle in a figure 8, are perfectly capable of explaining to the pony clubbers that not everyone does x, y, and z, but pony club does and therefore that’s what they will do. It is not your responsibility to act like a pony clubber unless you are in pony club.
Enjoy your horse.
Well bless your heart as well.
I am not especially espousing “the Pony Club Way”, just speaking about general safety around or riding horses. OP feels guilty, is guilty of setting a poor example, even though LOTS of folks do the same things she does. As you say, her horse, along with those other folks also doing things in similar fashions. I just have never noticed that because LOTS of folks do things that way, makes it a GOOD way to do things with horses. Just makes it a shortcut.
You mention folks getting hurt equally. Not in my experience, lots of years watching all kinds of horse activities. The safety short-cutters, folks who want to “bond” with horse using minimum equipment, do seem to get hurt a lot! They have a MUCH higher percentage of injury, incidents, problems, dealing with equines. There are many reasons the “general safety rules” are commonly used, like not hand feeding, having halters and leads on horses to help control them. They are referred to as rules, because way too many folks DO NOT have common sense in dealing with horses.
Sure there are lots of ways to enjoy our equines, teach the next generation of horse folks to enjoy them as well. Those new folks are going to have to unlearn a lot of bad habits when they are shown only poor examples by the horsey adults around them.
[QUOTE=goodhors;7974225]
Things like your examples could easily go badly for less experienced riders, with a horse who is not as dependable. [/QUOTE]
But the OP IS an experienced rider, and her horse IS dependable. So is she not supposed to reap the rewards of years of riding and training (by going for a nice halter/bareback ride, feeding her horse treats, etc.)? She is supposed to act like a beginner with an unknown horse forever?
OP, keep doing as you are. Try to plan around the pony club activities as much as possible. And for then 1-2 times a month you can’t, consider throwing on a bridle for your ride. But honestly, you’re a responsible adult boarder who isn’t doing anything dangerous. Let the parents go home and say “don’t ever ride like myvalentine.” Your job is to keep you and your horse healthy and happy!
I have seen that happen, human is NOT prepared for a “moment” of BAD horse action, gets hurt from bruises to broken bones. One never knows when it will occur.
Damn! I hate it when somebody is sooooo right. I admit I have gotten sloppy at times. One time it cost me getting bitten. I learned the hard way. Don’t shortcut the safety rules.
I can see why the moms are mad. They pay good money to teach their kids a safe way to have fun and somebody comes along and gives the kids all the wrong examples.
OP, if some of that stuff you do is bad, then every professional groom I ever knew at the racetrack is going to hell. Ditto just about every single person I grew up showing with. And me. And my daughter. Feeding a horse a carrot or piece of apple is one of the first things we all learn as kids. Nothing feels better than a muzzle tickling your hand!
[QUOTE=LLee;7974280]
I can see why the moms are mad. They pay good money to teach their kids a safe way to have fun and somebody comes along and gives the kids all the wrong examples.[/QUOTE]
These poor mindless children! Let us rest assured that their moms are taking care that such impressionable waifs are not listening to pop music, watching TV, or being exposed to vending machines that dispense junkfood, lest the mere exposure to such turn the children to the dark side.
I made the decision to change when I did an Instructor’s Course.
I was being taught to teach things differently to how I did them. We were given a reason why it was better so I changed and I still do them the correct way while I am at home with no one else to see me.
That said my horses are taught to come and lead without a halter and leadrope, but I only do that at home. If we go anywhere I put the halter and lead rope on, it only takes a second.
Wow… some necks around here must get pretty stiff from people looking down their noses all the time :lol:.
Hmm…I was taught how to correctly feed by hand…and when you go in to feed, do you put a halter on? Do you put a halter on before you put a halter on?
Riding with halter and lead rope? bridles are an illusion of safety…when the manure hits the fan, they can be pretty useless as well…
I wouldn’t worry too much. I have seen people do some really insane stuff at barns. Riding bareback wasn’t among them.
it IS supposed to be a hallmark of a good rider/horse combo!
And some women give you the stink eye regardless…
OP, enjoy your horse. You know what you’re doing. It’s not like you are in your stall dancing naked with a pitchfork to some uncensored gangsta rap song (though you’re more than welcome to board at my barn if this is a favorite past time of yours.) If some folks think these kids are going to be corrupted by the actions you take with your own horse, well then those kids should never watch TV much less step foot outside their homes.
Honestly, let the parents parent their own kids. They’ll teach then what they want them to learn.
I’m dyed in the wool Pony Club, but admit it can get a bit anal.
If you read the PC handbook, and carry it out to a T, it would take you all day to do all that blanketing, and unblanketing, and brushing, haltering, and unhaltering, tying up and untying, cleaning tack and, and, and, so on that one wonders when the poor kid can ride or go to school.
Experience is a great teacher, too, and OP has learned well enough. Worry not!
Pony Club is great on safety and that is a good thing when you have a bunch of kids milling around, but feeding a horse by hand – gasp.
I was seriously hoping for something jucier than “going into stall without haltering first” or “hand feeding.” Here I am thinking, oh she must be doing something like jumping 4ft blindfolded through a fire hoop or midnight “bareback” rides or secret stash of skinny girl margaritas or bottles of 14 hands or a good looking “farm hand”. By your comparison, I make you look like a saint, and I’m only counting the nine months I was pregnant and had a breeding stallion. They are PC rules, not yours.
Pony Club teaches their version of good horsemanship, which just happens to be so incredibly control-freak that only the most tight-assed need apply. As an adult boarder, you are under NO obligation whatsoever to do things the “Pony Club Way” unless your boarding contract specifies such a thing, which I sincerely doubt!
As long as you are doing nothing unsafe, like putting your bit in backwards and riding in Top-Siders without a helmet while swigging on your flask, I wouldn’t give “role-modeling” a second thought. Your recreational time for which you are undoubtedly paying dearly is YOUR OWN! :yes:
One important lesson of Pony Club is learning that Pony Club is not the only right way to do things. :winkgrin:
Listen to your husband. You pay too much money to keep and enjoy your horse to worry about what some Pony Club mothers think of you.
