[QUOTE=mht;7950290]
This would be 3/4 of the people on OTTB Connect on facebook. This is what makes me cringe.[/QUOTE]
I LOVE reading Lisa Molloy’s comments about the OTTB Connect experts!1!1!1!
Kids cantering down paved roads without a helmet!!
Western bits with scary mouthpieces (sharp twists, chains, etc.).
Lead ropes wrapped around hands. Lead ropes left dangling where the horse or human can easily get tangled in them.
Helmetless riders, especially helmetless little kids.
Parelli anything.
The scene in the movie “Buck” where the horse attacks the handler.
Riders who can sort-of w/t/c bragging about “training” a horse, especially when that horse is quite experienced.
And my personal favorite:
People assume all OTTBs are rescues. Um, NO.
P.S. I like my Baker blanket a lot and so does my not-a-rescue OTTB…don’t shoot me! :lol:
[QUOTE=shakeytails;7949920]
I’m far from a safety nazi, but the thing that makes me cringe is when someone wraps a lead lead around their hand.[/QUOTE]
Or worse, drapes it around their neck when putting on a halter. :no:
Here’s what makes me cringe. Today it made me butt in and say something to the guy.
The guy clearly is a greenhorn suffering from acute Black Stallion syndrome. His horse was gelded two weeks before he moved to my barn. (Mine in that I board there.). The horse is the namesake of a certain Disney mustang, so what does that tell you. The guy barely knows how to lunge the horse. I had to suggest he buy a lunge whip after seeing his 10-year-old daughter chasing the horse in the turn out with nothing but a lead rope–and she was in the kill zone the whole time. It was scary.
So now he thinks he knows how to lunge the horse, except the horse does stuff like suddenly switch directions. The guy voices a constant stream of “good boy” no matter what it does.
Today on the lunge line today the horse was charging at him. He’d canter a few strides to the left, then pivot and charge right at the guy, who had to do some fancy footwork to get out of the way. It happened a couple of times, so I said, “You need to work with a trainer. That horse is showing aggression towards you.” The guy commanded the horse to “chill” and then patted and stroked his neck to calm him down. I said, “and now you’re rewarding him for that.”
So now I’m retiring to the ranks of all the other boarders who have told the guy he needs help. Back to cringing.
[QUOTE=mht;7950290]
This would be 3/4 of the people on OTTB Connect on facebook. This is what makes me cringe.[/QUOTE]
Only 3/4??? I’d say like 99% are absolutely crazy! It’s makes for some good reading as long as you don’t take it seriously. :lol:
I thought I was the only one! Hello, friend.
[QUOTE=ryansgirl;7950522]
Only 3/4??? I’d say like 99% are absolutely crazy! It’s makes for some good reading as long as you don’t take it seriously. :lol:[/QUOTE]
Okay, I was being kind. 
Boarders who last washed their saddle pads in 1988 and don’t wash their crusty saddle-marks off their horses either. They get educated–FAST. If I’m feeling magnanimous, though, I’ll throw their crusty pads in with mine.
Ever notice? Even if you own 438 of the darn things, at any given time 436 will be crummy. :lol:
the weather lately, literally.
mostly, i make myself cringe. i don’t know how my horse puts up with me. :lol:
if you want to hear something really cringeworthy… while i was tacking up horsey i filled up their big stock tank water trough with a hose - it’s a big stock tank, maybe 100g?.. just about to hop on in 8F weather and i realize i never disconnected hose from the hydrant… to avoid freezing i disconnected it really quick. figured i’d round up the rest of the hose after my ride and bring it up to the house.
had a spectacular ride, came back to see the hose had siphoned all but 3 gallons of water onto the ground. d’oh.
Tom Thumb bits
[QUOTE=beowulf;7950560]
the weather lately, literally.
mostly, i make myself cringe. i don’t know how my horse puts up with me. :lol:
if you want to hear something really cringeworthy… while i was tacking up horsey i filled up their big stock tank water trough with a hose - it’s a big stock tank, maybe 100g?.. just about to hop on in 8F weather and i realize i never disconnected hose from the hydrant… to avoid freezing i disconnected it really quick. figured i’d round up the rest of the hose after my ride and bring it up to the house.
had a spectacular ride, came back to see the hose had siphoned all but 3 gallons of water onto the ground. d’oh.[/QUOTE]
FOR THE WIN!!! :lol:
Actually, don’t be too hard on the posters here - there are some know-it-alls,
some who simply make up stories to be able to make a post, some who Google everything and then make out they know it all, but quite a lot of posters have knowledge that I am happy to agree with. You can sort the wheat from the chaff quite easily or from the posting history.
[QUOTE=Lady Eboshi;7950609]
FOR THE WIN!!! :lol:[/QUOTE]
hanging my head in shame :no:
[QUOTE=DJohn;7949973]
- People who don’t pass left to left when riding.[/QUOTE]
Aaaaaaand … people who sit and talk for 20 min. on horseback in a crowded arena when there are two lessons going on. Really, people. All I ask is enough room to ride a 20m circle. That’s all. You can ride through it while I’m on the other side of the circle. Just don’t park in various areas of the arena and talk about the g.d. weather. You can do that in the stable lounge.
The first one: I know they usually talk about the risk to the horse if they get the chain caught, but I almost lost a finger from a chain that was looped back upon itself. I was turning out a new horse who unexpectedly bolted hard as soon as I put my hand on the snap to release her, catching my finger between the doubled chain. If I hadn’t been wearing ridiculously thick gloves because of the winter temps, I may have been a lot worse off. Live and learn. It makes me insane now, too.
Although I do love Baker blankets.
While we’re on the topic of blankets, it makes me cringe to see people pull a blanket forward several inches against the direction of the hair so they can fasten the front buckles! Even the most stoic of horses usually look uncomfortable when folks do that!
I am the only boarder in a pro show barn, so don’t see much that makes me cringe. But in my old place:
- cross tying with the bit
- horse owners who didn’t own the first item of first aid stuff, including a clean rag
- horses that were being kept alive because owner couldn’t bite the bullet re: euthing
and more, but that’s enough. I’ve been working for a year to get it all out of my head and I’m almost there. Don’t need to bring it all up again! :eek:
[QUOTE=oldernewbie;7950744]
I am the only boarder in a pro show barn, so don’t see much that makes me cringe. But in my old place:
- cross tying with the bit
- horse owners who didn’t own the first item of first aid stuff, including a clean rag - horses that were being kept alive because owner couldn’t bite the bullet re: euthing
and more, but that’s enough. I’ve been working for a year to get it all out of my head and I’m almost there. Don’t need to bring it all up again! :eek:[/QUOTE]
One that gets me is a thermometer! I’m talking about extremely knowledgeable horse folks that don’t even own a thermometer. I can’t tell you how many horse friends casually ask me stuff like, “Dobbin isn’t acting quite like himself, would you call the vet?”
The first thing out of my mouth is always, “Does he have a temperature?” To which I usually get blank stares and hear, “well… I don’t have a thermometer…” Digital thermometers are less than $10 at Walgreens and can tell you SO much!
Loose rear cinches. Not the ones that have loosened a little during the ride, but the ones that were loose from the beginning, and now a poodle could jump through it.
That’s all, because I’m cringeworthy too. But I don’t have a funny story about draining a freshly filled water tank. That’s priceless.
[QUOTE=Angelico;7950405]
“Rescues” currently seem to be making me cringe the most.
There is a “rescue” type place the next state over from me that “specializes” in OTTB’s. I was recently looking at their FB page and saw that these people go out to auctions several times a month and “rescue” every OTTB they find. Every time they attend an auction they post on FB asking for donations so that they can have the $ to buy any horses they may find there, the purchase prices are usually $300-400.
Their posts usually read “hurry and donate, we’ll need $X amount to outbid the kill buyer!”
And
“Okay guys, we’ve got $X dollars in donations in, that should be enough to save two, but there are three horses here and we really don’t want to see one go to the kill buyer!”
I was shocked at how many people fall for it and donate, this group almost always gets the $ to buy the horses they want. I’m all for taking in a horse that’s fallen on hard times, but how stupid are these people? You are telling me you don’t even have the couple hundred bucks to buy these animals but you are going to “rescue” them?
I’ve been spending too much time on the computer this week. The daytime high is 20 degrees and the races are cancelled.[/QUOTE]
You must be at Oak lawn. A friend and I want to make a road trip up there when the weather gets better. I like to hang out in the infield, eat a corn beef sandwich and watch the horses.
