What’s your most memorable/craziest moment in the horse industry with someone else?
I thought I had seen several levels of crazy until very recently when a couple of people showed how bats**t insane people in general but mostly when it comes to horses, can really be. What a shame.
My gosh, there are so many! One pops to mind. I’ll try to lay the foundation. Absentee boarder kept horse under care of barn manager. Barn manager is not a skilled horseperson. Barn manager asked me and DH to ride the horse to keep it fit, which we did. Sweet, nice big gelding. This was at an all-purpose facility. The jumps that were out there were my personal jumps. But I let anyone use them who knew how to. 
Okay, barn OWNER (not manager) is not a skilled horseperson at all. Can barely ride. He was invited to a hunt. Since he didn’t have a horse, he figured, heck, there’s a nice big gelding that has an absentee owner! I will just use him (without asking). So the day before, he gets out there on this horse and starts jumping him! ACK. Of course, he can’t ride and fell off. WTH? You don’t just get on someone’s horse and start jumping without asking! I was jumping very lightly over small 2’ jumps. This guy just ran him up to a bigger jump. I was actually quite sicked when I heard the story. After that, BM had me stop riding the horse. Whatever.
Same barn. Same BM. New story. DH and I were building our farm, but in the meantime had to keep our horse at this farm for a little longer. I went out one night and spent HOURS setting up a jump course with measured lines that could be taken in multiple ways. So it was a lot of work. Again, these are my jumps. I don’t mind people using them, making them different heights, etc. I was given permission to use a certain area as a jump field. So that’s what I did. There was another woman there who supposedly jumped. I would always ask her to come out and ride with me, and she never did. So anyway, the next time I came out to actually ride my course, it was all moved. Not just height, but all the standards were moved. The woman I would try to get to ride with me moved them all around with BM. I was a bit miffed. So the next weekend, admittedly the timing couldn’t have been better, I took all the jumps down to get ready to transport to my new farm. So, flash forward another week, and low and behold, there are new jumps there! Cool! So I commented on the nice jumps. I was old that they were not to be touched unless it was approved by the “jump committee”. Um, what is a jump committee?? Well, turns out it is the BM and the other jump lady were the committee. Oh, PUHleez. So since I was getting ready to go home, I just never used them. No one used them.
Boy so many fond memories of this place. I was only there for about a year. One day I came after work and me and a friend were getting ready to ride. BM was in the arena (small indoor) with a horse on a lunge line. We came in and she actually yelled at us to get out, what are we doing, etc.? Well, we’re riding! (There was no rule about her being allowed to use the entire indoor). Friend and I just looked at her like, what is happening? BM stormed out of the arena with the horse. I mean, if she would have said, hey, do you mind waiting a few minutes because “XYZ”? I would been fine with it! But she just went off on us. Later after we were done riding she came up crying and apologizing. It was really weird. I think she had some issues.
Okay, I guess that’s enough for one posting!
How about sprinkling Holy Water on the trailer to try to get Pookie to load?
Guess he was an atheist, didn’t work.
My gosh, there are so many! One pops to mind. I’ll try to lay the foundation. Absentee boarder kept horse under care of barn manager. Barn manager is not a skilled horseperson. Barn manager asked me and DH to ride the horse to keep it fit, which we did. Sweet, nice big gelding. This was at an all-purpose facility. The jumps that were out there were my personal jumps. But I let anyone use them who knew how to.
Okay, barn OWNER (not manager) is not a skilled horseperson at all. Can barely ride. He was invited to a hunt. Since he didn’t have a horse, he figured, heck, there’s a nice big gelding that has an absentee owner! I will just use him (without asking). So the day before, he gets out there on this horse and starts jumping him! ACK. Of course, he can’t ride and fell off. WTH? You don’t just get on someone’s horse and start jumping without asking! I was jumping very lightly over small 2’ jumps. This guy just ran him up to a bigger jump. I was actually quite sicked when I heard the story. After that, BM had me stop riding the horse. Whatever.
Same barn. Same BM. New story. DH and I were building our farm, but in the meantime had to keep our horse at this farm for a little longer. I went out one night and spent HOURS setting up a jump course with measured lines that could be taken in multiple ways. So it was a lot of work. Again, these are my jumps. I don’t mind people using them, making them different heights, etc. I was given permission to use a certain area as a jump field. So that’s what I did. There was another woman there who supposedly jumped. I would always ask her to come out and ride with me, and she never did. So anyway, the next time I came out to actually ride my course, it was all moved. Not just height, but all the standards were moved. The woman I would try to get to ride with me moved them all around with BM. I was a bit miffed. So the next weekend, admittedly the timing couldn’t have been better, I took all the jumps down to get ready to transport to my new farm. So, flash forward another week, and low and behold, there are new jumps there! Cool! So I commented on the nice jumps. I was told that they were not to be touched unless it was approved by the “jump committee”. Um, what is a jump committee?? Well, turns out it is the BM and the other jump lady were the committee. Oh, PUHleez. So since I was getting ready to move my horse home soon, I just never used them. No one used them.
Boy so many fond memories of this place. I was only there for about a year. One day I came after work and me and a friend were getting ready to ride. BM was in the arena (small indoor) with a horse on a lunge line. We came in and she actually yelled at us to get out, what are we doing, etc.? Well, we’re riding! (There was no rule about her being allowed to use the entire indoor). Friend and I just looked at her like, what is happening? BM stormed out of the arena with the horse. I mean, if she would have said, hey, do you mind waiting a few minutes because “XYZ”? I would been fine with it! But she just went off on us. Later after we were done riding she came up crying and apologizing. It was really weird. I think she had some issues.
Okay, I guess that’s enough for one posting!
My horse had navicular. He’s wearing aluminum Tennessee bar shoes and pads. The BW comes to e on day and says “we turn your horse out but all he does is stand at the gate”. I go out and look at the paddock…it’s a SOLID sheet of ICE!!! Thank heaven he was smart enough to stand there!
I have several more strories about this same place. Fortunately I was able to leave shortly thereafter.
Crap…we can’t edit posts without double posting. Sorry for the repeat, I was just trying to fix typos!!!
I really want to share my most recent, but there’s about to be a pending lawsuit so I must not compromise. But let’s just say crazy is crazy. I thought I knew crazy until I came about this situation. Stay away from Tennessee. And if you’re in Tennessee, I’m sorry.
Haa, Malter, did I mention my stories posted above were TN stories? They are!
@ Paradox (since quoting still seems to not work?):
Bahahahahaha what are the chances!!! I think there must be something in the mountain water! I lived there for 3 years and loved Tennessee, but ever since I’ve encountered nothing but insanity there!
Most recently was the woman who saw my horse in it’s turnout and claimed (the horse does have fairly distinctive markings) that this gelding had been stolen from her a couple years ago.
Two flaws in her story.
Firstly I bought the horse as a youngster direct from the breeder.
Second, it’s a friggin’ MARE!!
I would have stuck to her enough to make her call the sheriff lol
The woman who came to look at a horse we had for sale at 11:00 pm and we were in bed.
[QUOTE=16 Hands;8975409]
The woman who came to look at a horse we had for sale at 11:00 pm and we were in bed.[/QUOTE]
:eek:babecakes - it was VERY tempting! Especially given her aggressive manner.
It’s amazing what all of us put up with to be with horses that we wouldn’t put up with in any other sphere of our lives!
Oh there are many. The strangest was when my horse lived in a field with 3 other horses. They fed hay up at the front of the paddocks, as you would. In the spring it would get muddy, so the BO would just feed extra and let some get trampled in. No big deal, horses had enough to eat. My horse will pee on the old hay, but not the freshly thrown in stuff. One lady picked up the hay that he peed on and put it in the drivers seat of my car and left a note saying “my horse does not want to eat your horses pee”. Oooooook…
Another one, same horse, different people…I go out one day and the sides of his tail were cut straight across, but the middle was still long. Then gleefully some lady comes up to me and says “Your horse has the nicest tail in the barn so I used it to make some jewellery for my easy store, hope thats ok!”…uh…no, no it’s not. My horse still looks like an idiot from that one.
At our current barn I have issues with people thinking that because I don’t ride much at all, that I’m somehow neglecting my horses or something. One lady got mad at me and was like “Dexter wants to play, why won’t you take him in the area and LET HIM!!!”…it was very strange. He lives out on 50 acres with other horses…I think he’s ok just being a horse, I don’t think he longs to go play with your exercise ball.
Then there is the weirdness about being a person with a disability and being in a big barn. My horse is extremely well trained and we have a good system. I have had people rush up and insist that he’s going to kill me or trample me or whatever…just last week I was bringing my horse in and because I use a manual wheelchair and there is snow on the ground, I trained my horse to pull me along when I grab onto his blanket, and some person comes over and removes my horse from me to “be nice” and then takes him inside all while I’m saying, and then later yelling “can you bring him back, I need him to pull me inside”. They shut the door, and left me in a blizzard. Literally. Eventually when I did get inside they had him tied so short his nose was touching the wall and he was looking at me like “why did yo let this happen”. Oh horse people
[QUOTE=ParadoxFarm;8975129]
Okay, I guess that’s enough for one posting![/QUOTE]
Ah. But it was two! You must add more.
of course there’s always more! Same place as above. I come to the barn mid-aftenoon on a very hot (mid-90’s) day. The barn is shut up tight and it’s at least 100 in my horses stall. When I ask why…
We don’t want to have to come down later and close up the barn before we go to bed. What?! Their last meal of the day is mid-afternoon!?
Was at a horse show with my grey mare. Guy walks up and GRABS her bridle (I was sitting on her waiting for my class) and yells “Hey look it’s old Blue!” to his friends, and proceeds to tell me that he used to own my gelding. I told him to check under the hood - I’m on a mare. Loser quietly walked away.
Had a guy who put his young TB filly in a stall at my boarding barn for 30 days for some vet prescribed rest. We were cheaper than keeping her at the track evidently. A week into it she goes off her grain. I asked if she had a fever and he says he didn’t have a thermometer. I hand him my digital one and he tries to put it IN HER MOUTH. I gave him a lesson on how to take a temp that day.
Was at a horse show with my grey mare. Guy walks up and GRABS her bridle (I was sitting on her waiting for my class) and yells “Hey look it’s old Blue!” to his friends, and proceeds to tell me that he used to own my gelding. I told him to check under the hood - I’m on a mare. Loser quietly walked away.
Had a guy who put his young TB filly in a stall at my boarding barn for 30 days for some vet prescribed rest. We were cheaper than keeping her at the track evidently. A week into it she goes off her grain. I asked if she had a fever and he says he didn’t have a thermometer. I hand him my digital one and he tries to put it IN HER MOUTH. I gave him a lesson on how to take a temp that day.
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