why stand up when horse pees?

[Amwrider]

I was told to do it to get off their kidneys but I now know that you don’t sit on the kidneys so I have my riders do it just to allow the horses to stretch out comfortably.

I make my lesson students keep the horses going at the walk or trot when they poop. “Keep him going Susie, he can walk and poop at the same time.”

Funny story, we were having a “practice show” at our barn and all the show riders and parents were there. My then 6 year old niece was riding the old 29 yer old lesson horse, Rozzi, who decided to stop to take a horsie fart, not a poop, just a raised tail fart.

“Emmy, keep Rozzi going, he can walk and toot at the same time.”

Emmy’s reply, “So can I.”

The parents still laugh about that one.

[7HL]

Keep on riding. I don’t allow them to stop.
Since I have never heard of having to stand when my horse pees and I don’t was just being slightly sarcastic. My horse rarely pees under saddle.

Mine usually only does poop when I have allowed her to stop, but occasionally on the trail its just poop as she is moving. Since our horses are mainly trail horses and we are not showing it’s not that big a deal. I am very aware when riding what going on with them.

Still the best answer:

Horses stand up to pee because otherwise they get all wet if they’re laying down and pee. :winkgrin: :lol: :winkgrin:

[mayhew]

I’d like to hear from a vet if it makes any biological sense at all to stand in the saddle when the horse is peeing. Two issues: one, does your weight truly change places when you stand up and lean forward? Your weight is still in the stirrups, which are still attached to the saddle, which is still on your horse’s back. I thought the whole point of a well-fitting saddle was that it evenly distrubted the rider’s weight. What do the laws of physics actually say about this? And two, is there actually any biological danger to the horse to have a weight on their back, wherever that weight may go, while they are peeing?

Horsepeople do so many things that make no sense, scientifically. Is this yet another one? We have some ridiculously bright, scientific minds on this board. Someone must know.

[Nezzy]

my horse is comfortable peeing on the trail, Usually when we are in grass, but i never stand up. There is no reason for it. I tell my horse he is a good boy, so he is not afraid to pee on the trail( i want my horse to be comfortable) i give him the time to pee, then i ask him to walk on.

[Liberty]

[QUOTE=MsM;3488480]
He “saves up” to go in his stall:rolleyes: If I ride him and he has to pee, he will get fussy and difficult, but will rarely pee. Annoying![/QUOTE]

Reminds me of the time I had to haul in to my farrier years ago. It was about a 2-hour trip, and my gelding did get some time hand-grazing while my mare was being trimmed. However, about 15 minutes into his trim, he got very fussy and difficult, which was completely out of character for him.

After a few minutes of trying to deal with his antsy-ness, my farrier said, “Hey, try taking him over to that grassy area to see if he has to pee”…bingo! That was it. Poor boy just had to go and was doing the horsey equivalent of trying to keep his legs crossed. :lol:

[arena_run]

Never really seen my horses walk and poop at liberty.

Now cows? Yes…

ALL

THE

TIME.

But horses? They generally stop to plop.

The only exception would be if they’ve got really runny poop and it doesn’t take quite the ‘effort’ to expel it. sylvia

[arena_run]

@mayhew;3488596

I’d like to hear from a vet if it makes any biological sense at all to stand in the saddle when the horse is peeing. Two issues: one, does your weight truly change places when you stand up and lean forward? Your weight is still in the stirrups, which are still attached to the saddle, which is still on your horse’s back. I thought the whole point of a well-fitting saddle was that it evenly distrubted the rider’s weight. What do the laws of physics actually say about this? And two, is there actually any biological danger to the horse to have a weight on their back, wherever that weight may go, while they are peeing?

Horsepeople do so many things that make no sense, scientifically. Is this yet another one? We have some ridiculously bright, scientific minds on this board. Someone must know.

Do you have a 12yo you can piggy back?

Ask them to lean back slightly. Just enough so that there’s several inches of space between them and your back.

THen ask them to lean up onto your shoulder so that they’re looking over it a tad.

Any difference? I’m willing to bet there will be.

Their leg position didn’t change. Their hand position didn’t change. Their weight is still behind you but it’s easier to carry them when they change position and become closer to your own center of gravity.

Not saying whether getting off their back or not does anything for the PEEING but it certainly does change your weight distribution. sylvia

[jenm]

About a year or so ago, Equus Magazine printed a short article about whether people should shift into a two point while horses pee. Turns out it’s not necessary at all and only serves to make riders look silly. (That was pretty much what the article said.)

[birdsong]

[QUOTE=jenm;3488859]
About a year or so ago, Equus Magazine printed a short article about whether people should shift into a two point while horses pee. Turns out it’s not necessary at all and only serves to make riders look silly. (That was pretty much what the article said.)[/QUOTE]

I’ve been riding for almost 47 years with a few skips in between. As a child/young adult it was never heard of to stand for the horse to pee. Now as a “knowledgeable” adult I have found myself imitating others that do. I’ve always felt a bit ridiculous and realized that it was probably uncalled for…still think that’s the case, unless maybe you are a very large person.

[Beverley]

My .02

I do stand when mine pee, mainly to free up their back muscles since they are in a bit of an awkward stance to begin with. I’ll have to sit a few times and see if there’s a difference on the horse’s part.

Bigger thing for me though is that with a stand in the stirrups and a whistle, you can condition horses to pee on command. This can be very helpful when, for example, you have a group of riding and pack horses nearly to where they will be camping in the back country for the night. If you can encourage them to empty the bladders say, 1/4 mile or so from where you are camping, well, you have that much less horse pee to worry about in camp.

As for pooping. They really do prefer to stand and poop. They really don’t like to soil themselves. You’ll see them avoid stepping in poop when on the trail or working in an arena. So, yes, if I’m in no hurry, I’ll let them pause to poop. They seem to appreciate it. They will keep moving at whatever speed they are at to poop, if I ask them. And moving while pooping does help to spread the manure on the trails so it will dry faster.

[Quin]

It is not physically necessary for you to be up off the horse’s back in order for him to pee. It is also not phsyically necessary for you to be up off the horse’s back in order for him to jump; people jumped and field hunted for centuries without doing so. But just as we now believe it is better to let him use his back more freely when jumping (no matter how well modern saddles ‘distribute the weight’), I have no problem getting into a forward two-point when he wants to strech out and stand on his tippy-toes to pee.

[ThreeBarPocoGal]

Especially with a male horse they have to line up all the equipment in order to pee, you get off his back so you don’t hurt the kidneys.

[Miss-O]

I’ve heard this argument before and was never able to understand it.

Why in the world would sitting on your horses kidneys be okay when you are riding but not when they are peeing? And pee isn’t stored in the kidneys anyways. Not to mention the fact that in a horse that isn’t where their kidneys are anyway.

As for standing to relieve their back muscles…Horses are asked to park out all the time while carrying a rider. Actually from what I was taught the orgin of having a horse park out at all was to help a rider mount up. So if a horse can stand parked out comfortably while a human is mounting I’m sure they can stand parked out to pee with a person sitting quietly in the saddle.

And yes Equus magazine did have an article that pretty much said it was an old wives tale that you had to stand in the stirrups for them to pee.

[7HL]

@ThreeBarPocoGal;3489155

Especially with a male horse they have to line up all the equipment in order to pee, you get off his back so you don’t hurt the kidneys.

You have to be kidding me!:lol:

Must be a woman or little girl. When my horse Thor drops, to pee, he’s not lining up anything.:lol::winkgrin::lol:

[Curb_Appeal]

I was taught it was to get my weight up over the shoulders to make it easier for the horse to balance while parked out.

[Sue_from_Auckland]

[QUOTE=Miss-O;3489216]
… Actually from what I was taught the orgin of having a horse park out at all was to help a rider mount up. So if a horse can stand parked out comfortably while a human is mounting I’m sure they can stand parked out to pee with a person sitting quietly in the saddle.[/QUOTE] Might have helped the rider, but doubt if it helped the horse or was comfortable for it.

[Leather]

I’m so glad somebody asked this question!!! The “stand to get off their kidneys” sentiment runs rampant in my hunt, which drives me batty.

I’ve had people shriek at me “he’s peeing–stand up–his kidneys!!!”

Given that I’m still pretty new with the hunt I resist the urge to be snarky and say “if my saddle is anywhere near his kidneys we’ve got bigger problems than me standing up!”

I do understand shifting your weight forward a bit when they park out to help them balance. The irony is with the folks that stand straight up and use the reins to balance, thinking they are helping their horse. :lol:

[Eyemadonkee]

My horse respects that the ring is not his personal toilet and holds it until he gets back into his stall. :winkgrin: That was his decision, btw.

[Rubyfree]

[QUOTE=Quin;3489151]
It is not physically necessary for you to be up off the horse’s back in order for him to pee. It is also not phsyically necessary for you to be up off the horse’s back in order for him to jump; people jumped and field hunted for centuries without doing so. But just as we now believe it is better to let him use his back more freely when jumping (no matter how well modern saddles ‘distribute the weight’), I have no problem getting into a forward two-point when he wants to strech out and stand on his tippy-toes to pee.[/QUOTE]

My trainer growing up used to use a gelding peeing undersaddle as a practice point, and told us that we were getting off of their backs for the same reason we got off of their backs jumping- to get the hell out of their way. I don’t know how necessary it is, but my two point is exemplary.

[ThreeFigs]

Teaching a horse to “park” is hard on their backs. Maybe not so bad for driving, but definitely bad for the ridden horse. Note that lordosis is so prevalent among saddlebred horses…

When they’re “Parked”, whether for the purposes of mounting or peeing, the back is not in an efficient position to support weight. Stand up over their shoulders to aid the horse. Equus magazine be damned!