Because people do foolish things like this!
This could be an episode of Jackass.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Why I don't own a boarding barn
This could be an episode of Jackass.
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Poor horse!!! And on top of it, they purposely set this up in an arena full of 'coulda' been hazards' like jumps! IDIOTS
ReplyDeleteNothing like teaching the horse that if he just runs far enough and bucks hard enough, the scary blowing ghost will finally get left behind. Aside from being a dumb thing to do, it looks like the horse learned a completely opposite lesson than was intended. Yay.
ReplyDeleteWhy on earth would she do that? I think I just heard MY horse spooking while I watched this 30 miles away from him!
ReplyDeleteAaaaand all I have to say to that is, "DUMB A**!" :-)
ReplyDeleteAlthough I must admit to grudging respect for the rider's ability to stay on board during that freak-out, and eventually calm the horse down... and the wearing of the helmet. Hopefully she learned her lesson.
I really feel sorry for the poor horse. It is so easy to acclimate horses to surprising things withOUT scaring them like that. Well, at least *I* think so, but hey, they sure showed that horse, right? *rolling eyes*
ReplyDeleteI didn't think that rider would stick with it. Scary and yes, good reason not to own a boarding barn.
ReplyDeleteYep, stupid. I hate stuff like that.
ReplyDeleteThere's another, longer version of the video where the horse is going quietly for a few minutes before the freakout: http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=NZ&hl=en-GB&v=WUTJ7WB8-Jo I assume he had plenty of introduction time before that, too.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was prepping for drill team, I subjected my horse to all kinds of things, because he had to tolerate not only carrying a flag, but the unexpected -- sometimes we performed in the middle of a busy fairgrounds or other public areas, and you never know. It might have been overkill, but I know I can trust him to listen to me if a small child runs underneath him, a cluster of balloons blows into his face, or a car backfires next to the arena. (All of these things HAVE happened at some point, though I keep in mind he's still a horse and "bombproof" only goes so far.)
Most horses probably don't need to be desensitized to that extent. But if you show your horse that he can trust you to get him through a wide variety of situations, you're less likely to have a full-blown panic episode on your hands.
There is a video prior to the event where the horse was ridden quietly for awhile before the blow up. However, I agree that if something is not going to occur in the horse's life..why force it on them? I mean, with this particular horse, sure you want him to be used to bags blowing around. But if he gives you two quiet rounds, why keep going? Reward him for walking quietly with it, don't wait for something bad to happen...which is what it seems they did.
ReplyDeleteI'm all for using strange things to desensitize a horse. If you plan on having an all-around horse that you can take on the trails as well as work in the arena, it's not a bad thing to do. There is, however, a correct way of doing it, and this clearly is not it. It's key to be do things gradually and be sure that experience is always as pleasant as possible. You also want to make sure you create a safe environmentto do this in, so moving things like....jump standards!... might be a good idea.
ReplyDeleteOf course, then there are the times you (I) are in a lesson on the spookiest horse in the barn (not mine) and the BO decides to pull out a giant sized soccer ball and start kicking it around behind your horse with no warning, getting you left behind when he takes off sideways.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't board there anymore.
But also, yeah, people are dumb!
I totally agree on all counts.
ReplyDeleteThe only exception might be a situation where a rider needs to put on a raincoat or poncho, though. Years ago, when we trail rode for longer distances we used to desensitize our horses to that.
Some trail classes require you to do scary things too. I suffered an "unintnentional dismount" once getting ready for a trail class where we had to drag a bag along behind us.
I must say this rider did manage to keep a good seat through a rather scary ride. Poor horse. If there was ANY REAL reason to train this, she should have started with a lot of work on the ground first.
I guess you better have the seat to back that kind of "desensitization" up. Nice piece of riding...
ReplyDeleteIt is AMAZING how many brainless wonders there are on horseback (and most people think they're usually on the interstate...Ha ;o)
ReplyDeleteWow.
That poor horse. Watching the way he was spooking at that far wall was really depressing. I wonder if he didnt see it at first, and then he caught sight of it? He seemed ok in the beginning.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. :/ And in that very enclosed, claustrophobic space, too, with people on horses. They were lucky no one was hurt.
ReplyDeleteNot even going to say anything on this because most of you have already said it. F-ing idiots who laugh at that poor horse.
ReplyDeleteI would love to comment on how dumb or dangerous this is but i can't without being a hypocrite. I got my first/current horse 12 years ago when i was 16 and we have done A LOT of stupid things, though never this and i have also never stood on him...
ReplyDeleteYou guys are all being incredibly harsh and downright rude. That was a great stick by that rider, and if you READ ON YOUTUBE what the rider was doing, they were desensitizing for a drill team. "Poor horse" ?! Are you kidding me? That horse is perfectly fine. You all need to lay off, I doubt you could stick that half as well as she did. It was great riding, and I've seen REAL injustices in the equine world, so I'm floored by everyone's lack of insight, respect and basic understanding. It's not something I would do, as my horse would literally kill me, but if they wanna use it as a desensitizing tool, all the power to them. Everyone needs to get off their collective high horse, and stop being so 'holier than thou'.
ReplyDeleteHorses are awesome and people are dumb.
ReplyDeleteMaddie, people here are offering their opinions. If you disagree, fine; but the topic is this horse, this rider and what is going on in this video, not the value of people's opinions.
ReplyDeleteThe results in this video speak for themselves. You may feel it was a "great stick", but I find that number of bucks to be evidence of a completely overstimiultated horse having a meltdown. This was caused by the rider's behavior, so, yes, Poor Horse! The rider was pushing the desensitizing training too far too fast, and they got a horribly negative result. The horse learned to run and buck to make the scary thing go away.
As for "real injustices", I think justice is emperical, and not relative. An injustice is an injustice, no matter how big or small. People should not be causing this kind of hysteria in a horse. Period.
The best thing is that she now thinks she's a great rider because she managed to stay on during that freakout.
ReplyDeleteMaddie, even if a horse needs to be desensitized to large bags, associating scary times with bags is never the way to go about it. Guaranteed this horse is more scared of bags now, not less.
I've actually had an entire tarp blow off a construction zone while I was riding and it's a damn good thing my horse is desensitized to things he's not likely to see. This girl has one hell of a seat and is obviously qualified to be doing exactly this type of desensitizing. I say it's better to have it happen at home when you're expecting it than on the street six miles out. Just because a primpy dressage horse isn't likely to see scary things at home, doesn't mean there aren't plenty of horses who do encounter the unexpected (like fire trucks whizzing by with lights and sirens going, or fireworks, or albino deer, or fleets of bicycles, or giant tarps).
ReplyDeleteI ride saddlebreds. We do a number of things lots of folk roll their eyes at (fire extinguisher going off, waving plastic bags, fire crackers etc) At first this startled me, until a went to my first saddlebred show... My BIL described it as NASCAR with horses. Forget the quiet and decorum of a hunter or a dressage show. The spectators woop and holler, noise makers go off, kids scream and cry...
ReplyDeleteI recently saw a dog get loose (at an A rated show!) chase a horse into the ring and run under it's hooves and nipped at them. Horse didn't turn an ear, just kept doing it's job trot forward and four square. That's why saddlebred folk desensitized with all the noise makers.