You know where you can stick that?
Sep 12 2007
I don’t know if this is a genuine Parelli TM carrot stick but I do know this guy got EXACTLY what he was asking for!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXHOMWadofM
104 comments to “You know where you can stick that?”
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Oh my god! What an absolute idiot that guy is!
It looks like the horse missed but hopefully that asshole learned a lesson.
Looks like a branch, not a Parelli stick but whatever it was he needs to be beat with it!
Retard…
OMG dying here! *tears rolling down cheeks* What kind of fucking moron does that?! Hello, you don’t approach a horse with a stick from the rear and wave it around!
stupid fool…even a person who doesn’t know shit about horses would know better
no man…that’s not your pet dog..
wow, what a dumbass, what the hell was he trying to accomplish?
Yep, I’d say he got exactly what he deserved. And if you had the volume up, that horse didn’t miss.
I don’t think he got him square (or he might have been a candidate for a Darwin Award), but he did get him and I bet it hurt. Good. I hope it makes him think twice before doing something that stupid again.
That’s really funny! What an absolute idiot. What do you suppose he was thinking???
Love your blog FHOTD. Reading has become one of those things I look forward to daily, keep it coming.
No that wasn’t a Parelli carrot stick they are orange. They guy was an idiot though, I have to agree with that.
holy shit – i can’t breathe i’m laughing so hard -what did he expect??????
Definitely Darwin Award fodder…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pdPzU8GDEU Check out this one. It linked off the youtube video.
okay now thanks alot run we didn’t really need to hear some BYB rednecks getting TURNED ON by their horse getting laid! Gotta go stab out my minds eye now thanks!
Did anyone read the comment?
“It was me and I am still alive.”
And to think he is and So many others with more brains are not.
OA El Moraduke an Arabian stallion, from years ago, used to pass out and thrash on the ground after breeding a mare. Everyone in the breeding shed had to wear a hard hat or get out. I don’t know if they ever figured out why or what caused it.
OUCH!!! That sounded so terribly painful…what’s even more painful though is this guy probably didn’t learn a thing from it!!!
Hey, prey animal! I’m going to run up behind you, in the one spot you can’t see me in unless your head is turned, and scare you!
Wait, why did you attack me and run away? You’d think you were a fight or flight type animal…
I about bust a gut laughing at that dumbass.
WEEE, chase a horse with a stick! What the hell do you THINK HE’S GOING TO DO?!
This guy was almost as stupid!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSgfHBA3-0o
Bad enough to approach your horse with a stick, but a hot branding iron really brings out the bad temper.
From the way this horse hit the guy he probably broke his chest and sternum.
Tracy M
http://thehorsediary.blogspot.com/
LOVED IT!! Watched it over and over with my daughter, who rides a cranky grade QH who would SO enjoy having that guy swing a stick at HIS rump. We are still laughing! The audio is as good as the video…
Thanks for sharing, Fugly! That one will brighten my day next time I’m having a rotten one.
That was seriously one of the funniest things I have seen all week. What a fool.
the guy in the branding video was killed – at least that is what we in NZ have been told. This video is used in multiple Health and Safety Seminars as an example of how not to do something…..
I hope that asshole with the branding iron died. Why the hell would you brand a horse with an iron these days? Or at all. I saw that ad on Animals Attack or one of those moronic man shows. Thankfully, I have only been kicked once, it was an exuburance kick, and it was sqaure in the ass. I had a nice purple hoof print on my left cheek for a week, then it turned that nice bruise green. I was real close to being kicked in the back of the head, I felt the hoof lift my hair off my neck. That was an exuberant kick too, not a branding or stick shaking kick. I like to think he would have felt really bad if I had been hurt
i saw that video..pretty stupid to stand behind the horse and brand it..but anyways…he doesn’t deserve to die..just because he was an “idiot” i’ve done some stupid crap in my life XD
i don’t think that branding guy was as stupid as the one in the other one.even though i dunno why he branded the horse..could’a freezed branded it..he probably thought that box would contain the horse properly..nope..at least he seemed to be trying to be safe LOL..but the other one..he was just..literally asking for it..
he so deserved that.
People do die from having a stupid moment, all the time…I remember hearing about a trainer who got kicked in the stomach and died while trying to load a horse. She was standing right behind it. She knew better – but she still did it.
well here’s one for parents of the year.
More Kicking
omg parents of the freakin year!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOvcV93u6L0&NR=1
30 seconds into the video. now i understand the need to teach kids to listen sometimes by telling them NO and then letting them defy you and getting hurt, but there are limits!
oh gabriella beat me to it! =P
HAHAHA that was amazing!!! no, that wasn’t a parelli carrot stick. I think that was just a stick the dude grabed off the ground. fucking idiot.
LOL some of the comments on there say that the boy scared the horse
i don’t think so..you can see the horse giving obvious warning signs(the whole fidgeting and tail swishing) that horse just plain didn’t want that boy touching him lol
Awww man…the AHHA (Halterhorse.org, which supports the HYPP H/H and N/H horses) has another sponsor in addition to MareStare!!!
Heartland Veterinary Supply
info@heartlandvetsupply.com
I’ve already e-mailed MY disgust…have you???
“It was me and I am still alive.”
what an infinite shame. *evil grin*
perhaps he will continue to produce equally hilarious videos of his attempts to have himself offed in whatever bizarre and sidesplittingly mirth-inducing manner he sees fit – hey, its every humans right!
though shooting yourself in the face is quicker and less painful.
unfortunetly, he wouldn’t have gotten a Darwin award for the following reasons (as much as he was a dumbass)
1) he didn’t die
2)he didn’t eliminate himself from the gene pool.
Now he might have qualified for an honorable mention but no Darwin award. You gotta die and/or completely eliminate yourself from being able to breed, so if the horse had kicked in his testes and he wasn’t able to produce sperm anymore then maybe
the more I see of breeders, the more I like the Rocky Mountain Horse Association–they require certification to breed, and most things have to be gelded to be registered with them…. not related to this particular idiot-getting-kicked but just something I’ve been thinking about (now if only HUMANS had to be certified to breed!!!)
What kills me about some of these Natural Horsemanship trainers…I am a new horse-person. Relatively.
I went out and bought Parelli level 1. The SINGLE UNDERLYING MESSAGE of the ENTIRE PACKAGE was “listen to your instincts, be safe, and for the love of God, do not allow the horse into your bubble or get too close to the horse’s weapons”
That is why I would promote Parelli Level 1 to other horse newbies, along with the guidance of a teacher or trainer…
How can you actually claim to follow Parelli methods and do some of the crap these people do?
The packages aren’t exactly rocket science…no, you won’t be a “trainer” when you’re done, but the idea is that you’ll get familiar enough with horses and their common reactions to avoid getting killed.
Did I miss the point?
If only he had a REAL carrot stick. Then the horse would have turned around into a lovely jazz-ballet move and landed gracefully into his arms before doing his laundry, cooking him a hot stew, and fluffing his pillow before bedtime. He clearly wasn’t sending enough positive energy into that stallion’s ass.
I think the horse was just protesting that the stick wasn’t a genuine carrot piece of shit… er, stick.
/sarcasm.
LOL! That wasn’t a carrot stick, it was an idiot stick!
What DID we all do for amusement before Youtube?
Oh yeah…sit in the viewing area of the indoor arena behind the glass and make fun of people doing things this dumb in person.
They look like the sticks Linda Tellington-Jones uses.
God, if you’ve never seen a clinic by her, you’re missing out. The woman is insane. She was at the Equine Affair a few years back, and everything she was doing was complete ca ca.
the guy with the branding iron didn’t die, he was lucky and his hand actually got the majority of the damage, I saw some after footage once and his hand was pretty messed up but he was otherwise ok
ilovefuglies said…
LOL! That wasn’t a carrot stick, it was an idiot stick
schnerk
I think it’s ignorance, not stupidity.
An ex of mine lost an eye when he was nine because he walked up behind a horse. I (who was raised around horses) was totally shocked that he didn’t know better than to walk up behind a horse. he said “How was I to know? I’m a city boy.” It was a real wake-up call for me… until I heard that story (when I was 18) I just took for granted that other people knew these things.
Like most people in the world, the guy on Youtube was treating the animal disrespectfully. Unlike most people, he got a little lesson for it.
My God! That’s sad video, but I was laughing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gnKJ_hP8Z4
this guy seems to want severe internal injuries…
Stupid people astound me
this ones even better
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2voknKO7J0
Darwin is right…the horse is smarter than he is…
That was neither a Parelli stick nor a Parelli method – much as you disagree with it there is some value to Parelli, so long as you don’t make it a religion. But what that idiot did was just plain stupid. He got what he deserved.
I watched that Horse kick in the face and OMG ya gotta know some serious damage was done to those folks. I see someone with a freaking dancing horse I get my ass out of dogde. i think sometimes we get so comfortable around our horses we forget the basic saftey rules.
I had my nephew out with a herd on the weekend and he was not allowed to touch or feed a horse with out my OK and he had to stay by my side as he cannot read a horse and does not know when they are looking cranky. Saftey is paramount with kids and horses.
Found in the comments on this video:
“You typically get what you ask for with horses. They’re really cooperative that way.”
I absolutely love that comment, heh. It is quite true.
00goddess, I hear ya!
The person I most recently dated never spent any time around horses. I made him take a couple of riding lessons on a friend of mine’s horse. The whole purpose of having him take the lessons was to get to feeling safe and comfortable around horses and to know what NOT to do.
The only thing I wanted him to learn was proper horse etiquette and that it’s OK to say “I don’t feel comfortable doing this.”
Hahahah-the video gets even better when your read the description (“big white STALLION kicks a guy”). Now I’m hoping that as this guy is clearly not the smartest cookie, maybe it’s really a gelding & he just doesn’t know the difference. Oh please don’t let that be the stallion of his new breeding/training facility where he’s going to breed fugly horses of colour!
That is soooo funny…I’m still laughing..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2qryfLkFh4&NR=1
Wow-so many things about this are NOT good. OK-I’ve got to get off youtube before I lose all faith in human intelligence. o_O
Hubby and I were out riding on the motorcycle last spring on the country roads and happened upon a farm with some pretty Paints and QH’s in the pasture with a few foals and youngsters (1-2 y/o). There was some backwoods stereotypical redneck with a wifebeater on and carrying a Bud Light (I am not making this up) dragging a foal by the halter – I guess he was working on halter breaking it. We stopped to watch (kinda like a car wreck ya can’t help it). We’re parked in the road watching while this world class trainer (ha) is dragging this foal when from stage left comes mom, 2 y/o daughter and grandma (I’m assuming). The 2 y/o child proceeds to start squealing and running across the pasture right up behind one of the yearlings and gets double barrelled in the head. Luckily it must’ve been a glancing blow but it knocked her off her feet and scared the living shit out of us. We were horrified. I’ve never been so glad to hear a child cry in my life. What the fuck is wrong with people? Letting that little girl run around those young horses like that? Dumbasses.
Holy Crap!!!
I never get it when the 2 yr olds are allowed to run around at shows or sales and such.. and most of the time their parents ARE horse people. Glad the kid was alright!
And the thing is, even the nicest old horse can get a horsefly bite or something and start rushing away or even bucking and it happens SO FAST! I wear my helmet when I lunge my horse because he gets all excited and might kick. I trust him, but he’s still a horse! I know I’m “preaching to the choir” here.
Here’s a topic for the Fugly confessional: How many people, like me, were raised by cowboys and feel really stupid and dorky- looking wearing a helmet, but do it anyway because you’ve cracked your noggin on the ground and found out the hard way?
Call me crazy, stupid whatever but I don’t wear a helmet unless we’re on the Harley and that’s only because it’s a friggin law. We like to ride in Illinois because there is no helmet law.
I am a fervent helmet wearer after I was tossed from a horse and hit the edge of the barn door in mid flight. I was wearing a helmet – I’m sure that it saved me from a very serious injury. This horse had never given me any trouble prior to this incident.
I have a group of nieces and neighbors that I take to the Ky Horse Park every year – in order to come they must agree to wear a helmet when we do the trail ride. I know a lot of the parents etc who are there think I’m a nut BUT there’s no saint like a converted sinner.
I’m pretty sure that wasn’t a carrot stick. You need at least some brains to do Parelli.
Retard…
I never get on a horse without a helmet. Anything that moves actually.
After enough contact sports, 5 concussions knocked some sense into me.
My brain is worth something like $80 000 right now, so I really can’t afford to break it.
I do sometimes feel silly though…the only adult in the class/showring with a helmet…I got asked “aren’t you a bit old for 4H”.
Oh well.
Important to realize that it was my *head* that got to the barn door first. I didn’t make that clear.
oh dear me….I don’t even do that to my MARES! When I had stallions I never treated them so non-chalant.
I never wear a helmet unless starting a new horse under saddle. Never wore them as a kid…never saw ANYONE wear them when I was a kid. BUT…I do make my and other children wear them.
OH…I do wear a helmet when I dride a motorcycle.
Here’s a topic for the Fugly confessional: How many people, like me, were raised by cowboys and feel really stupid and dorky- looking wearing a helmet, but do it anyway because you’ve cracked your noggin on the ground and found out the hard way?
well, not raised by cowboys, but yes, am definitely wearing a helmet these days! And yes, it looks dorky, but I don’t care…..I am really really accident prone!
SORRY…d.r.i.V.e
I would have posted my Fugly Confessional over where it was first suggested, but I had an allergic reaction to all the spewing venom in that thread and had to leave. So, here it is:
When I was in high school, our farrier and his wife managed a little Thoroughbred farm where they mostly bred show hunter prospects. One day, the farrier was at our place and my mare was in heat. After the farrier was finished, he and my Dad sat out in the yard and drank a few beers. After a six-pack, the farrier said to my Dad, “That little palomino mare is a real bitch when she’s in heat. Why don’t we breed her? It’ll really improve her attitude.” My Dad said, “What the hell, lets load her up and take her over to your place.” So they did. Fortunately, the foal turned out to be a pretty nice horse. He was not show quality, but he had a nice temperament and personality and was great for beginners and trail riding.
OT…kigermustang, if that is a picture of your horse, he is CUTE!
Redsmom said…
“Here’s a topic for the Fugly confessional: How many people, like me, were raised by cowboys and feel really stupid and dorky- looking wearing a helmet, but do it anyway because you’ve cracked your noggin on the ground and found out the hard way? “
~raises hand~ I was not raised by cowboys but…. I absolutely wear a helmet every ride and every drive.
Last night I got a phone call from a relative. They were watching their best friend’s children so the friend could be with her mother who was being removed from life support.
End of last month the mother (who once scoffed at me for wearing a helmet when I ride and drive and said only idiots who don’t know how to ride need to wear helmets) took a spill off of a “dead broke bombproof” horse who spooked at a walk when other riders came blasting out of the woods at a dead gallop.
She landed head first and was brain dead almost immediately. She had no other injury, just a shattered skull. ~shakes head~
I also wear my seatbelt every single time I get in the car, and when I rode motorcycles I wore my helmet every single time. I do think every adult should be able to make the choice for themselves, though. Just don’t expect much sympathy from me if the person who makes fun of helmet wearers ends up with an injury that a helmet would have prevented.
I was also going to say that it looks like a Linda Tellington-Jones wand. Not a stick, she has a wand like the fairy godmother. I have seen her at an Expo or two and she puts me to sleep. I do agree with one thing, massage can help a horse feel better and that will improve their disposition. Other than that it is the SOS.
I went off a horse head first. The helmet broke, not my head. Helmets do save lives, or at least brains.
On helmets:
I look way less dorky in my helmet than I would in a diaper and feeding tube with my closed-head injury. coffins do have a certain non-dorky quality to them, but I’d still rather wear a helmet.
I actually feel naked if I accidentally get on a horse without one.
My last spill was off the nicest old mare, but she stumbled at the canter and fell. Good thing we were on sand. I’m always the one that falls, so I just wear my bright pink helmet and smile.
redsmom – i have a pink helmet too. sparkly, mine. rock on.
when i was young and dumb (younger and dnumber?) i thought i didn’t need a helmet unless i was jumping. now i won’t get on without one, period. i have had a few thrills and spills that, while ending not too badly (comparatively – a few broken bones being “not too badly”), could have ended much worse if it had been my noggin instead of my arm/leg/whatever.
besides, there are some pretty cute helemts these days. although it must be tougher for western riders – it seems like there is maybe more resistence in western disciplines toward helmets. do y’all agree? i don’t know much about western, so i’m curious.
wow, my spelling is awesome today. and i’m a professional writer. ah. a shame to my “breed.”
They do have those Western-Style riding helmets now…cordura with western detail…
I have seen a lot of video of stock horse worlds and such…and they are NEVER wearing helmets.
Most riders here over 18 never wear helmets. I believe the general feeling is that if you have a helmet on, people think you must be a poor rider.
It’s pretty dumb though, because most Western disciplines are riskier (in my mind) than most English ones. What’s a flat HUS class compared to anything involving CALVES?
I’ll step up to the fugly confessional..
Years ago, I have a well bred TWH mare that a friend wanted a foal out of. He didn’t care what the stud was, so I bred her to a ‘racing Appaloosa’ stallion. (cheap, close, and basically a TB with spots) Now I cringe at what we could have produced, but luckily we ended up with what was basically a 17 h TB with a Walking Horse mind (gelded, of course). He was a bit long in the back, had shark fin withers, and of course had sickle hocks, but had a fabulous temperament, and was very athletic. He evented a bit, did trails, and was a great kid’s show horse for years before being sold as a lesson horse to a big fancy barn nearby (he would jump anything). They sold him to a huntmaster so now he is hunting.
I became a hard-core helmet wearer when my daughter started riding. I insisted she wear one. I decided the best way to instill the helmet-wearing habit would be to “lead by example.”
I have never *knocks wood* suffered a head injury from falling, and in my youth, I fell a lot (helmetless). By the Grace of God I didn’t get killed.
I guess I feel dorkiest when riding at a show. Our little club does not penalize for helmets in any class. But still, I see the others looking super sharp in their nice western hats, and here I am with my dorky looking helmet. I shouldn’t concern myself, we still place ok.
Oh, and I suppose I’d look a lot dorkier sitting in a wheelchair, drooling because I didn’t wear a helmet (because it made me look dorky) and got thrown.
Now here’s a feel-good. My riding club has a “youth committee.” The kids raised a little money to support their activities. They decided to use a portion of that money to buy some helmets to leave at the fairgrounds for “kids who don’t have one.” Entirely their idea.
I definately agree that the western world is more resistant to helmet wearing. I ride endurance and if you attend a ride around here and don’t wear a helmet you could very possibly be the only one NOT wearing one!!
I admit I’m one of those who couldn’t wait to turn 18 and get rid of my hot velvet hunt cap, and that is exactly what I did. In theory I know that I should wear a helmet now, especially as they have lighter, more comfortable versions, but every time I put one on, I feel top heavy and hot and distracted and uncomfortable. I rode in one for 10 minutes this weekend at a barn that required them and I actually got off after that because it was driving me nuts.
I think it’s just another risk you choose to take – I mean, you can point to the person who got killed from not wearing a helmet, but you can also point to the person who got killed because they chose to ride a problem horse, because they chose to participate in a high risk horse activity, because they chose to ride on the side of the road instead of in a nice soft arena. In the end, there will be people who ride for 60 years bareheaded and never have a head injury, and there will be people who break their necks at age 12 off a horse, wearing a helmet.
However, I DO think it’s a parent’s JOB to choose the safest option for their child, so I feel very strongly that a child should have a helmet on at all times. You chose to be a parent, and part of that choice involves being responsible for making good decisions for someone too young to make their own.
I also think no one should ever be penalized for wearing any sort of safety gear on a horse in any class. Things like helmets, chest protectors, etc. should be legal and not penalized in every single event that exists. Penalizing someone for choosing to protect their body as well as possible is ridiculous.
when I was a kid, I had a purple helmet cover with florescent fish. My best friend had one with leopard print. Every once in a while we’d swap to confuse people. (although her mom got us confused on a regular basis, anyway)
Foolish mortal.
The good news is, even with the brain damage from the kick, his IQ stays the same.
No penalties in Europe- helmets are required in all events and body protectors are the norm.
It is even OK to wear them in show classes- although very few people do.
Anything requiring jumping though, especially for kids and the body protectors are the norm again.
I also hated helmets of any kind- I HAD to wear one when the kids were little as it would have been hypocritical to have a rule that anyone mounted had to have a hat on, and then not wear one myself, so I did BUT the last serious accident I had I was wearing a hat and my horse did a complete somersault with me on top- I ended up underneath her and as she started to get up her foot connected with my head.
She looked through her hind legs at me- I remember the surprise on her face to this day, then she got back down as she would otherwise have crushed my skull- I was able then to roll out form underneath her but she had, in the meantime, sent my hat flying across the field- if I had had a helmet with it’s nylon safety strap on she would have broken my neck!!
She had done her best not to hurt me but that hindleg just skidded off the surface of the hat and sent it flying. I understand fully the importance of hats, I am not trying to say we should not wear them, but another instance is a young friend of mine who was bucked off her horse and hit the back of her head on the curb.
I would like to say that wearing a hat saved her but it idiot the hat stayed in place but Hannah was DOA at the hospital.
That was some kids idea of a joke- shooting the horse in the rump with an air rifle!!!
The truth is, whatever we wear, there is always the freak accident that will disprove the rule.
No kid of mine ever sat on a horse without a hat on their heads, that’s for sure.
Gee, now I’ll make a Helmet Confessional to go with my Fugly Confessional.
When I was 16, I came off a horse and did a head-on crash into the big post to which the arena gate was attached. I was knocked out and spent 3 days in the hospital. In spite of that, I still never wore a helmet when I rode, unless I was someplace where it was required. Of course, that was back in the dark ages, where we all had those velvet hard hats with little elastic bands to hold them on and if you fell off, the hat usually went flying in the opposite direction anyway.
I didn’t start wearing a helmet regularly until I was in my 40′s, when I took a harmless spill over the shoulder of a spooking mule. I wasn’t hurt, I didn’t hit my head, but I had one of those “light bulb” moments and admitted to myself that I was getting older, more fragile, and neither rode as well nor bounced as well as I did when I was 20. Also, if anything happened to me, who would pay for my kids’ college and take care of my animals? Now I always wear my helmet when I ride.
So, I did learn my lesson, it just took more than 20 years for it to sink in.
On helmets: I am one of those middle-aged moms who always wanted a horse as a girl but couldn’t have one…then managed to own horses, a generation later, for her own kids. There is a BIG dent in the back of my helmet where it struck the ground when I fell during a lesson last summer. Methinks I’ve given up the need to ride… It hurts A LOT to fall at my age, and I am responsible for a number of people and animals… Still adore our horses, though. Two of them are grades, two of the others have nice pedigrees, one has a GREAT pedigree; all are geldings.
Both my daughters ride. In helmets. Always. Younger daughter rides well, has taken many spills, wants to be a doctor someday, and values her brain VERY MUCH. Older daughter rides fearlessly, which I think is a handicap, of sorts, in that that characteristic can cause one to supercede safety precautions… Ironically, she witnessed a horrible auto accident this summer (while she was out riding), and saw, up-close and personal, four teenagers who were terribly mangled. She now approaches riding with more caution.
As for the confessional, I was not raised by cowboys, nor even near a barn, and know for a fact that my helmet saved my head.
On another topic: We are raising our first weanling this year (didn’t breed him, but purchased him, had him gelded in spite of his nice conformation and spectacular pedigree), and he is quiet and not a nut case. We handle him daily, with good sense and kindness. Eight months old now, picks up his feet nicely, will stand quietly for grooming, handling, temp-taking, wound-bandaging. (He stepped off the trailer when he arrived here with a cut on his fetlock; it has healed). A very experienced friend will be training him under saddle when he is three, and doing ground work with him well before that.
Would anyone here be willing to share their advice on raising a youngster? I have read the books, have friends (who are experienced) who are advising, have maintained a relationship with his breeder, who offers advice, but this is my first time doing this, and I would welcome YOUR advice as well. And, most of the anecdotal things people relate from experience are just as educational as the volume of “standard” information on the subject…
So, Esteemed FHoTD, would you consider introducing a topic on The Proper Upbringing of the Weanling/Yearling? The less-experienced among us stand to learn a great deal from those of you who did this years ago/have done this for years!
grullotobi said…
Holy Crap!!!
I never get it when the 2 yr olds are allowed to run around at shows or sales and such.. and most of the time their parents ARE horse people. Glad the kid was alright!
OH MAN!!! i saw a little kid flattened by an out-of-control barrel horse at a show. the kid had been running around all night, and he ran right past the gate as some ring-soured barrel horse was exiting. an ambulance had to take the kid off. i never heard if he was ok or not.
i assume he was, because they way this town is, they would have crucified the saddle club rather than the stupid parents!
Luvmyfuglyhorse: Hooray for the kids in your club who are donating helmets for other kids! Might have been entirely their own idea, but nice kids do not fall from trees; they are raised by nice parents, and mentored by nice adults. So hooray for you, too.
FHoTD, may your wisdom and experience protect your head! The world needs your wit!
Kirri: my sincerest condolences about the loss of your young friend. What a heartbreaking story.
I do know there are unpredictable horses and uncontrollable (also unpredictable) events, so my approach is to control for the risks where I can: I ALWAYS wear a hard hat. Even grooming sometimes when it’s cow-kicky fly season — a hoof can connect with a head while you’re hoof-picking, even when a horse is on cross-ties. Even when he doesn’t kick intentionally (bless his heart and childhood training for halter).
I am on my third hat, I think — the newest one is quite light, very padded inside, and has nice airy vents. Fugly, you might be pleasantly surprised if you went out there shopping and got someone to fit you properly. It is not at all a burden to wear, so I just keep it on and don’t have to worry about where I put it down. For the winter I have a polarfleece cover that also goes over my ears and neck, very cozy. It’s certified and wasn’t expensive (about 90% less than those shoes on eBay, LOL!).
I got this new one because when I got dumped at the sight of a man-eating buck a couple of years ago, had the wind knocked out of me and had to walk back to the trail head, when I got back someone said “Oh, you hit your head!” and I noticed that I had a big three-cornered tear in the velvet. Had no memory of hitting my head (and found no blank spots in my recollection of the spill) but obviously I did. Won’t leave home without it now!
I always wear a seatbelt, too, and sometimes I have gotten on the horse and thought something was missing LOL. Occasionally I have forgotten to put on my hard hat, but people remark on it, and then I figure I’d better get it or my anxiety at being without it will CAUSE an accident!
love the blog. so funny!
am also happy to hear how far we’ve come with helmet useage. i, too, started riding when the earth was cooling, and never wore a helmet when riding if i could get away with it.
now that i’ve spent all this money on my brain, i evaluate people with traumatic brain injury for a living. i wear a helmet every time i ride now, and the juniors always giggle at me. of course, i would look like a total asshat if i showed up at the ER with a brain injury because i was too stupid/vain to wear a helmet.
rock on with your helmet wearing selves….
I personally am glad I was made to wear a helmet when I was younger for a couple reasons. One day I was out riding my friends arab in a field with her. The horses name was Sassy and let me tell you she was. I was young still in Elementary school well Sassy got spooked at god knows what she’s a hot headed arab lol and down I went and over me she ran and kicked my head on the way over. Luckily it was protected by a dorky looking but head protecting helmet. The other time was when I was jumping well actually a couple times went flying and was glad to have a helmet instead of a cracked head.
natural horsemanship = natural selection
What an idiot. LOL And you know it hurt you coudl hear the crack!
4thehorse, you brand so that in the event that your horse is stolen you can identify him and have proof that the horse is in fact yours.
Horselover- Yes, I understand that in the days of ranging horses, a brand identified a horse belonging to a ranch, or a person, or whatever. But, in the modern days, horses are often stabled, pastured, and kept in fairly secure locations and freeze branding is the standard of id’ing horse ownership. There is also tattooing, and microchipping now. There is no more need to burn your sign into your horse’s hind leg.
Freeze branding still hurts, its not really that different from hot branding. I have always been made to wear a helmut and I would feel uncomfortable without one, especially on young horses. I love me new helmut. Its an IRH and it never moves one my head, no more hands off the reins to lift the visor, and its amazingly light.
4thehorse. there are alot of horses that aren’t stabled, and are turned out or pastured somewhere. And honestly when a lost horse or stolen horse alert goes out, 9 times out of 10 it’s from a fair,rodeo,playday,show where it was tied to a trailer or literally out of someone’s backyard,or barn.
And yeah you can id a horse with a tat or chip. But law states that you’d have to have reasonable cause to touch someone else’s horse to check for things like that-that takes time and in that time the horse may be gone or dissappear. A brand in plain veiw is a sure idicator and will cut down the time factor. Say for instance you see your horse in someone’s pen. You can’t just legally go over and take that horse, or go check to see if it’s got a tat or chip if you do the owner is gonna know it and while you take the time to notify the authorities they can move the horse, BUT if you can see that brand you can contact authorities and go get him, you won’t even have to mess with the person that has him UNTIL your there to go get the horse. A brand that is registered in any state is legal and can be looked up by anyone, a tat or chip may take longer to verify.
And yeah I preferr freeze branding over hot iron branding, but honestly, the pain thresh hold is not much different, with one your killing the top layer of hide and hair by means of fire, with the other it’s by means of ice.
Yes, I understand that in the days of ranging horses, a brand identified a horse belonging to a ranch, or a person, or whatever.
I think you’d be surprised at how many places in the west there are where horse keeping hasn’t really changed in the last hundred years or so.
The days of free ranging horses are still very much with us in places.
I would never count on a microchip or tattoo doing anything to protect my horses. The local auction that the kill buyers hung out at never checked for either.
Okay, I see your point, so you must have your own brand then? I live in the west, in the wild west, and you don’t see many range horses. I have only seen a few in Colorado. Fire branding obviously does hurt judging by that horse’s reaction. Judging by the “branders” attire, I just have to guess that this was not a ranch horse on a ranch being branded by a wrangler.
Sally-
I highly, highly recommend a book called “Training Your Own Young Horse”. It’s by Jan Dickerson and is old. You can find it used – Google it. It is truly the most commonsense, practical, sensible book about raising young horses ever. I cured my 1/2 arab colt (gelded soon after) of biting in less than a week with her hints.
“Whether raising a homebred foal or buying a young horse, here are SPECIFIC PROCEDURES for achieving a well-mannered, smooth-gaited mount that is a pleasure to ride. Handling the new foal, the weanling, the ‘spoiled brat’; halter training; sacking out; longeing and line driving; trailer loading; first saddling and bitting; first mounting and riding; establishing the gaits; cross-country riding-all are covered in detailed, step-by-step instructions.
Sally: I would definitely recommend finding a good trainer in your area and going for a few per month with your baby. Lessons aren’t just for big horses!
We sold a yearling to a lady who takes him up to our trainer every week and learns how to do ground work with the little guy. She won’t be starting him under saddle this winter, I’ll put 90 days on per the purchase agreement, but damned if they won’t have him about ready to step onto by the time I get my hands back on him.
Also keep in mind that even though he’s a baby, he still has to respect your personal bubble just like a big horse. If you ever watch them with their mamas or with other adult horses, they get in the same kind of trouble for overstepping their bounds as an older horse would. When you’re working with him, the other thing to think about is they have kind of a short attention span, so doing little micro lessons really works well.
I learned to ride without a helmet. I started riding when I was 2. My grandfather was always with me and I was never allowed to ride alone or unwatched. I rode a horse who taught generations of our family to ride. He knew her. I do not think he would have put me on just any horse like that.
When I went away to Girl Scout camp, we had to wear helmets. What a surprise! It was mainly a liability thing, but also, the horses there were all types and it was safest.
I don’t have a horse now. But I think I would wear a helmet if I rode today, because I’m an adult with a stronger sense of what I have to lose.
Oh, and I add, I never fell off a horse. So that isn’t what converted me. It’s just that nowadays I think a little more about “what might happen” than I did when I was a kid.
And yeah, my grandfather was a cowboy
That horses was a working horse 
oh there’s places out here in the ‘wild’ west that turn horses out to pasture. We don’t really referr to it as free rangeing though as there is a fence on 4 sides of the horse, even if the pature is 10-15 or 20 sections big, if they travel far enough they are gonna hit a fence that will stop them and keep them enclosed. And there are a lot of places that do it, all over CO, AZ, NM, TX OK, KS, NV, just to name a few states.
Yeah i do have my own brand that is registered in my name as well as my hub has his own that is registered. You have to have your own registered for it to be provable should the horse be stolen, it’s like writing someone else’s name on your property, in relation to writing your own on it. Which way woudl be easier to prove your ownership?
I agree that that video was dumb, the chute was evidently not properly constructed for the the service it was used for. And honestly the horse wasn’t given any warning either, he was just stuck. I’d kick too. It’s like giving one a shot, are you just gonna run up and stick ‘em or are you gonna let ‘em know you are in the area first? No doubt the whole video was dumb in the way they went about it. I’m not argueing on that. Just wanted to clarify why horses were in fact still being branded.
I hope that was as painful as it looked.