What do you do "wrong" on purpose?

[Chall]

@shortenmyreins

When I first started riding, some 30 years ago, I was riding a 12.2 hh welsh cross pony. She had very narrow shoulders, and a very bushy mane that sat on the right and blocked my view of her right shoulder. Thus when it came to looking at the shoulder to check my diagonal I could only see the left one. I learned that if I was tracking right I went up when the left shoulder went forward, and tracking left I went up when the left shoulder went back.

These days I feel my diagonal about 90% of the time, but if I have to check it I still only look at the left shoulder.

i thought you were going to write
”so I hacked her mane off”.

I cut my Arabs forelock like all the quarter horses around me, nice and neat.
My trainer then gave me a kids coloring-in book on how to groom your Arab.
I was 33 yo.:uhoh:

[16_Hands]

@OTTBs

I can’t imagine why anyone would call this wrong. The last barn I boarded at had a mounting block tall enough that I didn’t need to use the stirrup to mount my 16.2 horse, so I didn’t. It has to be better for their backs, no twisting/pulling. Now I have my own mounting block tall enough to do this.

I do this all the time if the mounting block is tall enough. Never thought it was wrong, why use the stirrup if you don’t need to.

[TMares]

we built a platform after DH’s hip replacement- and I never use a stirrup to get onto a horse now. I can see using one on a strange horse, They might be surprised that you didn’t use it, and startle to find you just throwing a leg over.

what do I do wrong?
They run in to eat from the pasture
I can lead all four from the Mule to move them from the borrowed field to come home,though I prefer to bareback Chip and pony the rest from him- it’s faster and easier on all of us
I don’t pick feet
I tie with rope halters
I point them into the trailer and shut the divider or butt bar w/o tying the head b/c I don’t tie to haul except for one of them who demo’d his ability to try to exit the back slant while in transit and by golly got stuck like a pig in a poke.

[TB2trk]

Mount/dismount wrong side, lead 2 or more horses at a time, lead to/from panel walker using only their fly masks, pony mini or big boys from golf cart, crawl underneath to adjust tack. And here’s the ultimate “wrong” ~ sometimes when trail riding, I actually use a western saddle with an English bridle!

[Janet]

@EmilyM

I let my horses drink immediately after exercise. I know some people think they should not and take buckets away. I’ve also seen people forget to put the buckets back. I read an article that indicates if you don’t let them drink they can lose the desire and not make it up. So I don’t think it’s wrong but often against conventional thinking.

That “conventional thinking” has been obsolete since BEFORE the Atlanta Olympics. A bunch of tests were conducted to determine how to best deal with the horses in hot humid weather, and the results showed that you should give them as much water as they will drink, as soon as you can.

[EmilyM]

@Janet

That “conventional thinking” has been obsolete since BEFORE the Atlanta Olympics. A bunch of tests were conducted to determine how to best deal with the horses in hot humid weather, and the results showed that you should give them as much water as they will drink, as soon as you can.

that’s good news, but i have seen buckets removed in the 20-teens by some. so, they didn’t get the memo or read the research.

[Rosewatt]

I ride a lot of other horses, so normally try to stick to the rules, but I probably break more rules than I’m aware of with my own horses. For starters, I will lead only by the halter for short distances. Both horses have really great groundmanners and let me get away with it. I used to allow my horse to cool himself off :lol: I’d just take his tack off and put it away and he would actually continue to walk on the rail. I love him, but he is retired now. I definitely “handle” my horses often in the paddock.