The Daily Dumb

[eightpondfarm]

LOVE pony size horses! (actual dwarfish ponies not-so-much). I have a pony mule (gelding) that is so friggin cute! He was my main ride until a very bad abscess…which is almost completely grown out and it’s taken about 9 months. When his hoof is all the way normal, i’m taking him as my 2nd hour in dressage lessons. Up’n coming: I have a gorgeous pony mustang that i bought specifically with pony dressage in mind. His name is Warlock

I’m a small woman, and i feel like these 13.3/14h guys are just the right size for me.

[shiloh]

Ah! So the child is an enabler, too. Either that or man you been worked.

[luvmycabanaboy]

OOHH i have a dumb!

Barn owner has two small Oldenburg colts that are right at the same age - one black, the other pinto, but both essentially molting right now. They are also both in a very ermm awkward stage of growth as well with body parts growing at all different rates in all different directions LOL. She has slowly started turning them out separately with one or two adult horses to get them ready to go out in the big pastures and to help prevent them from being too bonded to each other.

So the other day, the pinto one is turned out with a BIG chestnut TB mare. One of the lesson parents pulled BO aside to tell her how relieved she was to see that the black baby had really turned around and didnt look so sickly anymore as she gestured toward the paddock…it took a minute for BO to realize they were discussing how the black colt had majikally transformed into a giant red mare!

Another story, same babies. I brought my nonhorsey boyfriend out to play with them. One got a little pushy and so I told BF that it was ok to push back bc the baby needed to learn about boundaries and personal space. He immediately had the colt in a headlock and was giving him a noogie on his forehead. umm ok, not exactly what I had in mind and good luck trying that on one of the big horses!

[shiloh]

But I bet that baby never tried that trick again…

[endlessclimb]

I give nose noogies to horses that are obnoxiously touchy-feely without being invited! Oh you want some attention? I’ve got some non-painful-but-very-unpleasant attention to give you!

[punchy]

From the other side: I pulled into the local horse park for open xc schooling day. It was packed. The 2 trailers I followed in turned to park in the low grassy annex parking area. I was not going down there—it had rained hard that morning and I didn’t trust my truck to get us out. The big gravel lot looked full. I idled and considered. There were some big semi-truck trailers with canopies that I couldn’t see beyond; maybe there was space behind them? I also saw a spot along the way out (one way in, one way out) half on the grass I thought I might could slip into. If not, the next decision I would make is whether I should just go home. So I took a deep breath, said a prayer to the trailer parking gods that no one had blocked the way out, and turned into the gravel lot. As I straightened, just past the point of no return, these 2 women were walking past me, 6 feet away from my open window. In their cool sun shirts, and their $250 schooling breeches, and their crabby, superior, dissatisfied expressions, one said to the other: “I don’t know why all these stupid people keep driving in this lot when it’s so obviously full.”

I’ve got some thick skin, but that almost made me cry. I was having a bad morning, I regretted my last-minute decision to come after the pouring rain (prolly why it was so packed then) my ottb acts green though he really isn’t and likes to wave his Storm Cat crazy flag and hates the noise of horses banging in trailers and might kill me, and there is always someone there to opine about my and others’ stupidity.

Epilogue: there were no spaces behind the semi trucks but I was able to slip into the space half on the grass on the way out. I was able to mount through all the wheeling and kicking and half rearing—bet there were some nice comments about that, too. And then, after unintentionally galloping sideways through the parking lot filled with the din of horses banging in their trailers and smoke coming out of my horse’s ears, I was thinking ‘just get around this last semi with the big canopy and it’s a straight shot to the schooling ring and then you’ll be fine’, I get around that canopy only to discover that people are lunging in the.only.schooling.ring.

We survived. I haven’t gone schooling on an open schooling day since.

[endlessclimb]

FFS that sounds terrible. I have the same anxiety when going places when I have my big trailer hitched. Sounds like your dude needs to stand by banging horses in trailers for a long time though, mounting through all that sounds awful. What a jerkface.

I used to ride one that would come undone at the sound of a rattling flatbed trailer. I’m sure he could feel my butt clench when I heard the rattle coming down the driveway, which didn’t help our predicament LOL

[2DogsFarm]

@punchy Screw the railbirds!
I’m surprised even the well-heeled gals weren’t nicer.
I have found Eventers the 2nd Nicest people to ride alongside.

1st goes to my Driving Club members - always ready & willing to help the parking-challenged get their rigs into a spot, check each other’s & Newbs’ harness for safety & generally welcome all.
Maybe because we are mostly (waaay) Older & come from all Walks.
Some are strictly Pleasure Drivers, some actually do farmwork or commercial hires with their horses.
I regularly hitchhiked on drives - for 5yrs! - until I got my own driving mini. There was always a spot on someone’s carriage, for the price of a potluck contribution.

BUT: you survived the day & the snark

[goodhors]

Pull up your big girl panties and put on your biggest smile in these situations! Do NOT let someone else control your life with crabby comments!! Pricy breeches, expensive outfits hauling their equines does not give them power over you unless you let it happen. Sounds like you are removing valuable schooling time because of their snarky comments, so you lose opportunities to improve yourself and your “lively” horse in competition settings.

Have to say I AM PROUD OF YOU in continuing your ride, despite his bouncing and the ugly comments trying to reduce you to a lower status. Been there, though not on a Storm Cat horse!! Congrats on making it thru the antics and a schooling day!

Consider that this kind of riding is what you enjoy doing. You are their equal in being able to show up and practice. Bigger outfits, pricy clothes do not make them “more worthy” of being able to use the facilities. It can be part of an intimidation program they practice on everyone. Making others nervous, doubting themselves, can cause issues at competitions later, prevent people from even trying to compete! Practice will make you better. Hauling horse new places, letting him stand in the trailer, teaches acceptance, patience, then doing the riding is good for his brain. Maybe do 2 or 3 short rides while there! Not just a one and done outing, tIme limit lIke a lesson horse who quits on you after 45 minutes. Extra sessions can help him think like a “working” horse. He learns he is not done working until you say so!

Being extra “mean” do not remove the saddle between riding sessions, to teach him that the day is not over. We do not unsaddle during rests on a long days ride (20 miles or more) during rest stops. Same thing at clinics when I know horse will be ridden several times during the day. He gets hay between sessions, water, while tied. Horse easily survives this thinking, is accepting of this, and saddle with thick pad keeps his back warm until we get back on so he is not stiff or sensitive. He is a horse, accepts what is presented as “normal” in his daily time of being used.

Quit letting unknown people control you. Figure ways to give them your best smile and keep riding. I bet neither of the ladies could have ridden your horse when he was being silly!! Perhaps you intimidated THEM with your determined effort to get him ridden and schooled despite his antics! Don’t stay home because of unkind words by strangers or even BN people. You miss a lot giving in to them.

[endlessclimb]

Also, I have train horns installed on my truck (was a gift, I did not purchase them, I only spend money on performance parts lol). It’s situations like those mean girls that my finger hovers over the loud button and my inner me has to keep repeating “don’t do it, don’t do it, don’t do it…”

[tabula_rashah]

I could start my 2 year old filly earlier than most because she was already greying out. Um what???

[Ghazzu]

@punchy

The 2 trailers I followed in turned to park in the low grassy annex parking area. I was not going down there—it had rained hard that morning and I didn’t trust my truck to get us out.

Back when Trailmare Farm still existed and had an annual dressage show, it seemed like it always rained. We used to joke that if it didn’t, they’d cancel the show due to unusual weather patterns.
I pulled in one year to park. Rick Pearson was directing the parking. He walked towards me, looked at my truck, said, “Four wheel drive? Down there” and pointed towards a bog.

[punchy]

I know, I was thinking, how ‘bout a little help finding a spot people? Plus, if all the big rigs took down their 20 foot tent canopies Erected For The Clients’ Comfort there’d be about 10 more parking spaces for schmucks like me.

[punchy]

He used to freeze in the starting gate, the jockeys would complain that he felt like he was going to flip. He broke on top in 33/35 of his races, so his ‘I’m getting the hell outta here’ deal was nice then, but, yeah, it doesn’t translate well to much else. One time it started pouring while we were in midair over a jump, and the rain hit the aluminum gate, and I don’t know how a horse can spook with no feet on the ground but somehow he managed to do it.

[shiloh]

@punchy - If I was feeling less than … shall we say …delightful I would have stopped and given them cows a piece of my mind. But that’s just me. As for your horse…omg. You are a brave soul. I just got white hairs thinking about his antics and that YOU rode thru them. Kudoes to you! (note to self: No Storm Cat babies. Ever.)

[gertie06]

I’m talking about see-sawing the mouth while riding to “get his head down” into a “headset.” Not sympathetic/parasympathetic conditioning.

[horseshorseshorseshorses]

Clients horse that is lame has unilateral string halt. The vet they used called it intermittent but I would say 2-3 out of 5 steps are visibly different at the walk. Either way the client is plunging ahead with their training plans. Vet thinks it may improve with muscle. What little internet research I have looked at and talking to a vet friend doesn’t show a good outlook.

With this diagnosis in had the client has started riding the horse more. Last I saw them the client had ridden a very freshy 3 yo giant for1.5 hours one day, gave it a day off and than rode another 45-60 min. I have nothing wrong with riding young horses but I am not sure that long of rides will accomplish what the client is aiming for.

I think this is a lesson on multiple things one should not do when buying a flip horse. 1) only spend money you are willing to loose. 2) always get a PPE and don’t take the owner’s word at the face value. 3) know when to cut your losses.

[lenapesadie]

@SadieRidingHorses

GoFund me page to recover costs and “lobby for transparency for horse buyers”

That’s ambitious lol

[Spudsmyguy]

@horseshorseshorseshorses

With this diagnosis in had the client has started riding the horse more. Last I saw them the client had ridden a very freshy 3 yo giant for1.5 hours one day, gave it a day off and than rode another 45-60 min. I have nothing wrong with riding young horses but I am not sure that long of rides will accomplish what the client is aiming for.

I was at a clinic a few years ago concentrating on building trust on the ground and under saddle. There was a young girl there with her 3 year old TWH along with assorted family members. The classes started at 8 AM and this girl was lunging her horse at 7:00, did the entire clinic, then there was a trail ride lasting a couple of hours, when she got back, she continued to ride her horse for the next 2 hours. This is a 3 year old remember. I wanted to say something to her parents but they were obviously not horse people and thought she was doing a great job. I wonder if that horse remained sound or if it is totally broken by now. It was such a sweet soul and tried so hard, she just wouldn’t leave it alone and let it rest.

[horseshorseshorseshorses]

That is my exact consern. I was lucky enough to lease a 4 yo who was huge (17.2 hh) and had shown the baby greens the season before topping out at 3’6". The mare was sound for me but I basically gave her a year of light work, only ever once jumped above 2’6" and lots of turnout time. I got contacted for years after about the horse because she kept getting sold and coming up lame. Which is sad because she was such a nice horse.