To show or not to show…
Mar 28 2009
In case you haven’t already seen this one:
Just not a good day at the horse show!
I don’t know if anyone got any advance warning in that case that the original horse who bolted was in a mood that day, but I shared this with a trainer friend who shows in driving classes and she said that if she sees a driving horse looking not-so-in-control in the warm-up ring, she won’t show her horse. She won’t do it even if the owner insists. She simply won’t risk the horse or her own safety if it looks like there could be a wreck.
(Amazingly, no horses or humans suffered serious injuries in the video above. They were very lucky. The announcer was giving GREAT advice but unfortunately some of the people in the ring were in the wrong places and actually forced the panicking horses off the rail and into the other horses and people.)
So that brings up another good topic. At what point do you decide that an event – any event – is not worth participating in due to the risk of another horse who doesn’t seem to be under control? Have you pulled your horse out as a result? This could be a show or it could be a trail ride or other more casual event. When do you draw the line (if ever) and say, hey, I’m just not going to ride my horse with that horse? Or do you just ride defensively, keep your eyes open and hope for the best?
What do you do when a rider loses control? I was always taught to jump off and hold my horse if, for example, someone gets dumped or bolted with in a flat class. I still think that sounds like the safest option. What does Pony Club teach? What do you teach your students? Do you talk about the “game plan” if this happens before your child or lesson student goes to his or her first show?
If you manage shows or ring steward or judge, have you excused a horse for being out of control? I have and of course got snarled at (but you know, when your stallion is rolling on the ground in a halter class and you can’t make him get up, I believe that’s an indicator that you can’t stop him from doing anything else, like, say, breeding a mare in the warm-up pen. Just a theory!)
So tell your stories – how do you strike the balance between safety and the realization that horses are unpredictable under the best of circumstances, and green horses do have to get out there and “just do it” at a certain point?
Today’s Friday Featured Rescue is a mare that made me do a double-take and say “Wow!” This is Billy Bar Bonanza and she’s at PERN rescue in Greenwood, California. She has been started under saddle and is ready to continue with her training. This mare has her papers so she can go all the way for you at a very reasonable adoption fee of $500. You can contact Gloria to meet her.
Totally OT but if anybody in the Los Angeles area is looking for a sweet, older lap kitty, one has been purring on my lap the whole time I’ve been writing this. He needs a lap of his own! E-mail Leslie if you might have a quiet, loving home for him (he’d be SO great for a lonely retiree – he outlived his last one which is how he wound up in rescue.)
2 comments to “To show or not to show…”
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I watched that video from start to finish and I have to say, I am appalled at the comments people were writing, saying that it is all abuse, and the people are all ‘red necks’ and ‘white trash’. How ridiculous! Yes it was a very bad thing to happen, but it was out of anyone’s control and accidents do happen! The announcer was absolutely right, just keep the horse on the outside, away from the people and the other horses, and wait for him to just calm down.
My ‘battle plan’ for when accidents happen (and I say when because with horses its never if!) is to put my safety first, followed by the horses. I know that sounds horrible, but how am I going to stop him running onto the road if I’ve already been trampled? Recently I did have a near miss incident… I had stopped to talk to a friend while out for a ride, and I was remounting when a bunch of dogs ran at my gelding from behind. I was halfway into the saddle, and he started bucking. Now I could have tried to hang on but I realised very quickly that it was safer for me and him if I jumped off, had a controlled landing rather than a fall, and could quickly secure him while getting rid of the dogs. So I jumped off when it was safe, far from his hooves, reassured him and gave him plenty of time to calm down before remounting while I gave the dog owners a piece of my mind.
My horse normally really likes dogs, but for goodness sake, people should not take that for granted! According to the mutts owners, they knew my horse “is ok with dogs” so they didn’t think he would mind if they left their dogs off lead. Most people would realise an off-leash dog is likely to chase a ‘strange’ animal, but not these people! Their dogs apparently have forgone the instinct to chase prey… not! They could have put a leash on for one minute while they passed, or just had the sense to pass me from a distance rather than up close, but no, apparently common sense isn’t so common any more!
Thankfully for me, had the plan. Get off the horse, hold the horse until he is calm, then get back on. It works for me!
I know what you mean about the not taking it for granted when a horse doesn’t mind dogs! And in my case, if a dog doesn’t normally chase your horse, don’t think it won’t stat at an inconvenient time. I ride both a gelding and a mare and their owner’s dog has always chased the gelding, but never the mare. Well, one night I was longeing the mare before riding her bareback (she’s a bit of a hot-potato sometimes, so I always longe her before riding bareback) and her owner came out to check on us. well, owner’s dog snuck through the door when it opened and went charging down into the arena. Of course she (the dog) decides that now would be a good time to begin chasing the mare. Basically all I could do was keep Savannah (the mare) out on the longe line and not over the top of me while she went charging around in a circle around me. I said ‘woah’ over and over, but of course with a little dog biting at her heels and chasing her – which is very new to her – she was not all that ready to comply. When the dog let up a bit, she would calm, but the dog insisted that she stay going fast and would pick up the chase again. All the while her owner was calling the dog and trying to get her to come over to her and leave poor Savannah. Of course, there was no going in a trying to grab the dog, we’d have been more than likely kicked. I ended up picking up the longe line (I hardly ever need it, but I keep it very near me in case I do) and snapping it at the dog. This made Savannah give a little kick, but made the dog back off a bit and her owner was able to grab her. Doggie was stuck back in the house, being scolded all the way there, and I cooled poor Savannah out, giving her tons of love. I think she did pretty well for being chased by a vicious little corgi/lab dog (Dog is actually very sweet when not chasing the horses). But the dog is now stuck inside when people are trying to deal with the horses.