Folks who develop elaborate reasons NOT to ride. I was just out a schooling show where someone brought a horse, not to compete but just to school around the showgrounds and supposedly forgot her saddle. That kind of thing bothers me
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Parelli/Natural Horsemanship people…There, I said it…it had to be said.
Kids in barns…that’s my big red flag…just amazing how tack/shampoo/hoof picks etc. disappears because they want/need/deserve/steal it.
The horse is my child sort of behavior.
The park their horse in the aisle/wash stall/ring/the crossties forever while they chat.
The barn lecturer telling me all about how I should do things…usually the less experienced horse owner who “knows” how to do everything…don’t worry, you don’t have to ask, they’ll tell you.
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I volunteer to rescue Donner! That poor, poor, neglected four star horse…
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That does not bother me one bit, for two reasons. First - People do forget saddles and other necessities. The second is that we are not all the same level of brave and it is not always easy to just say “I am too scared to ride right now” when you feel like people are judging your every move.
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Disregard for biosecurity is a big one for me. “Oh I’ll sign a waiver” That’s fine for your animals, but what about the ones already here?
Basically I watch out for the “all about me/my horse” without consideration for the others on the property. That seems to be a tip off to many issues.
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@eqsiu, I would have had SO MUCH FUN with that boarder. i.e. turned to her and put on my best shocked face and said something like “But what will the ponies wear when they grow up and become full-size horses??” :lol::lol::lol:
I have two pet peeves. One is when I meet a new-to-me horse person and they can’t WAIT to tell me how much they know because their kid did pony club or 4-h. If they personally own a horse, I will usually I ask if they have a trailer and are willing to join me on a trail ride. They always have an excuse.
The other is people who ride in tennis shoes and no helmet. Deal breaker. I will never ride with these people because I’m not volunteering to watch them get dragged to death.
Wait, I guess I have three peeves. The third is if i meet a horse professional and they are talking crap/gossiping about people I may or may not know within the first 5 minutes. I ignored that flag recently and now am involved in some weird barn drama that i could have avoided. Learn from my mistakes, COTH.
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How about the barefoot expert who has had a couple of weekend courses and is an expert? Who looks at your horse and is shocked that she is shod all year without any time off to go barefoot. Yes, I have an expert farrier and she cannot go barefoot at all, but is very sound properly cared for, and is worked year round.
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Then there is the con artist who does not have a well rounded background, but collects students who seem to love being with her. Their legs slip back over a fence, they lose their balance and stab the horse in the mouth…charm offensive works well for these students, but they do have a good time and even win a ribbon or two if the show is small enough.
Yeah, who are we to criticise (thinking about it) because it is all about having a good, safe time.
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People, under stress who raise the volume of their voice as they explain in English to the horse what they want it to do.
Why does it bother me? I’ve done it. It was the mark of my inability to handle the situation.
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Many of the things people are mentioning are things that annoy me (e.g., anthropomorphizing…I have friends who do this and sometimes it’s a major effort not to roll my eyes right out of my head), but the above is an actual red flag.
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:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
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People who will believe any kind of veterinary advice so long as it doesn’t come from the veterinarian.
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Oh yeah! All of the above.
Add to that, any housewife “trainer” who tells you she “trained under” Clinton Anderson…like that’s something to be proud of.
Who somehow becomes a hunter trainer when her butt had never been in an English saddle of any kind (only ever rode trails and would fall off at a canter) until six months before. An claims she trained polo ponies.
And who has pictures of small children who have never been around a horse, with no helmets, standing bent over directly behind a horse brushing its tail. These are what she uses to advertise her “lesson program”.
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Absolutely, the name droppers. They attended a clinic with XYZ. “Oh, you rode”…nope, just sat in the stands. It’s a rare horse that learns by osmosis.
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Lack of consideration for nutritional needs of the horse. Moaning about horse losing weight. Meanwhile, hay is crap or not provided in amount required (after all, hay is expensive…surprise!). Hard feed, if any, is served in less than adequate volume to address nutritional needs.
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I think I know this person and con artist is correct!
1 Like
I just left a barn where another boarder was extremely toxic and talked smack about every single person. She “shadows” the trainer, observing everyone’s lessons and makes comments about the riders throughout. So many students abhor this person, but dynamics as they are it continues, unchecked. At a show, she made snide comments about me and others while we rode our jump rounds. I know because it came back to me through several sources. This person is young and very insecure and this behavior will do her long-term damage. But for now, it is what it is. A few of us have changed barns and it’s so wonderful to be away from all that.
I also detest the horse person who doesn’t continue to invest in their education. I really enjoy taking lessons with different instructors because they each have something different to offer. I’d also like to learn another discipline at some point like driving or reining. Why not?
Lastly, I wish more people had a sense of humor and didn’t go so worked about results, shows, etc. While I appreciate having goals, I think many riders miss the beauty of the experience because of it.
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- People who use the barn more to socialize and drink wine and socializing vs actually riding
- People who are unkind to their horse, call him/her names, etc., ride too harshly or too long, etc.
- People who can’t or don’t seem to be able to see when their horse is off/not right, and likewise, those who always think there is something wrong when there isn’t- it can be a fine line
- People who forgo the horsemanship part and use the horse for their ego- to win ribbons or money, points or recognition and when horse is not enough, it’s to the next best thing; changing horses like underwear
- People who have more money than sense
- People who obsess over little, self-centered, insignificant things like boot color or custom saddle, or custom this or that. Honestly, who flipping cares??! My friend’s fiance was just found dead last night so yeah, little insignificant things like this drive me crazy.
- Sometimes COTH with the judgy-wudgys. Not every question about a supplement requires hay analysis or in depth look at one’s feed program
That’s it for now, but I am quite sure there’s more where that came from. sigh.
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Sincere question - why is this a bad thing as long as the horse is properly taken care of?
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As soon as I see a photo of them standing on their horse. I am not talking about vaulting.
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