Wouldn’t molasses on the bit have been easier?
Mar 23 2008
An alert reader sent me this actual Darwin Award nominee. I wonder what happened to the poor horse?
I really think a minimum of two years of regular riding lessons that include instruction on safe horse handling and horse care in general should be mandatory before owning a horse – both for the sake of the prospective owner and the horse they will buy!
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(8 March 2000, Nevada) On Thursday afternoon, 29-year-old Andrea was working with her young and spirited Arabian horse, which she had won in a lottery the previous year. The animal was only partially trained, and still a bit spooky. Every time Andrea tried to don its bridle, the horse threw back its head and frustrated her efforts.
Then Andrea had the brilliant idea of tying a rope around the Arabian’s head, and fastening the other end around her waist to keep the horse from throwing its head back. That way, she would have both hands free to fasten the bridle.
But horses are 500 times stronger than people, according to Deputy Sheriff Lance Modispacher, who reported that the horse spooked again, threw Andrea off her feet, and began running around its paddock, dragging its erstwhile trainer by the rope around her waist. And the rope was short, so she was trampled right under the horse’s feet as it ran.
Her father noticed the commotion and ran to help. Unfortunately his two dogs came with him, and started chasing the horse, nipping at its heels. This did not improve Andrea’s situation. He finally managed to lock the dogs away and fetch a knife from the house. With the help of a neighbor, he chased the horse down and cut the rope, freeing the lacerated lass.
But Andrea had already spent ten minutes under the hooves of her horse, and she died a few hours later at a local hospital, a victim of internal injuries and head trauma, the result of her lamentable decision to tie herself to a skittish horse.
5 comments to “Wouldn’t molasses on the bit have been easier?”
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OF COURSE but molasses on the bit is much, much to simple! -sarcasm-
This is how Pony Club and 4H and RIDING LESSONS save lives.
Woooow. Just going through old posts.
And this is just amazing…..
I didn’t know some people would be so…errr could be so….uneducated…
Thats just utter stupidity. who ties themself to a horse in the first place, and additionally a skittish horse should be tied with a breakaway or safety knot, never to your own person! Mollasses-good Idea, flavored bit tape, patience, treats, etc, all smart alternatives to tying yourself to a horse, then forcing it to do something you know it will react to. Rest In peace & good going Andrea!
Oh good lord, I was just looking thru “random posts” and saw this. Too bad someone had to die, but really, where is the common sense? If you can’t hold this horse’s head in place to bridle it with your hands and using muscle, you certainly aren’t going to be able to hold it by tying yourself to the thing and using dead weight. One simple solution is to undo the bridle and flip it over the horse’s head, and re-buckle. But I guess this is like killing two birds with one stone, the horse not only learned how to have a bridle put on, but it was de-spooked for 10 minutes.
Just in case anyone else reads this archived post – a simpler, cleaner and just as effective way to get a horse to accept the bit is to wrap it in a fruit roll-up type candy. It doesn’t get as sticky on the hands when you’re trying to get it into that difficult mouth and the ponies still love it