When buying, training and selling horses becomes your job and main source of income the phone call from a potential client can be exciting and misleading. We may have all experienced the riders who make a habit of coming out and “test riding” horses just because they want to know what a $50,000 horse feels like and they have no intention of buying the horse. It becomes a  waste of your time and a frustrated effort.

For those of you who are not into training and sales, you may not what exactly goes into the preparation for the potential sale. Most good sale barns will have all current vetting paperwork  ready for viewing (i.e current vaccinations, coggins, x-rays ect.), they have the horse groomed at show quality and already tacked up for you ready to ride. There are several hours that go into  preparing for your visit and most of the time they’re whole day is rearranged just so they can devote their individual attention to you.

So what can you do as a potential buyer to prepare for your visit without wasting your time or the sellers?

Well, start off by being realistic; don’t try to buy a $50,000 horse if you cannot afford it. Instead get all your finances straight and have a solid number you’re ready to hand them in cash. If you saved $5000 for a horse, then only look for a horse and try out a horse that is $5000 or less.

Be serious about buying a horse. Horses a huge commitment and they require a lot of attention and have many needs. Sometimes your board is the cheapest part of your new best friend. Be ready to not only be physically committed but financially committed too!

Don’t buy a horse that doesn’t meet your discipline needs. That horse may not work out for you and you will most likely end up giving back  the horse to its seller because you are not satisfied with what you thought you were buying.  For example, my mother took out a loan to buy a $35,000 ex-foxhunter to make into a dressage horse (I told her not to do it because the horse hated the arena and never wanted to be in a frame and only enjoyed hacking out) and he would buck and kick and lash out whenever you tried to do dressage with him. She was at a dressage show with him and when they entered the ring to start the test, half way through it he jumped out of the arena and tried to take off. He had his own thoughts of what he wanted his job to be and being a dressage horse was not one of them. Lol.

If you have a trainer, BRING THEM WITH YOU!!! Don’t come out alone or with your BFF  whose knowledge of horses is “they look so pretty.” It’s a big waste of time if you come out to ride and then say “Well, I need to talk to my trainer first and then I’ll give you a call.” We all
know what that means and we know you won’t be calling us. So while we are thanking you for coming out we are really thinking “Thank you for wasting my time and my employee’s time”

Don’t lie about your riding ability. You should never feel embarrassed or little by how well you ride. Everyone is at all stages of their riding and sellers don’t want to waste the time trying to prepare and sell you a horse that is going to end up being too much for you. If you’re only a beginner rider then try to find a school horse that’s ready to retire from lessons but has plenty of miles left in him to take you where you want to go. You’re not doing yourself or your horse
any favors by being a novice rider trying to ride an advanced horse.
Come ready to ride. Bring your helmet, come in riding attire and whatever else you need that shows you’re ready to get on that horse!

Making simple phone calls to the seller confirming your appointment is just good manners. So if you’re running late or have an emergency don’t just not show up, call and reschedule. Keep the communication open between you and the seller. If you’re no longer interested cause you found something else be honest about it. A lot of people try several different horses but we all know when you find the one there is no need to keep looking. I sometimes compare it to finding the
perfect wedding dress. The dress that makes you cry the words “I love the way this one makes me feel” is most likely the dress you’re going to buy.

So to sum it all up proper etiquette is important when buying a horse. Be prepared, be honest and be communicative.  And most of all don’t come out with the intention of wasting someone’s time. It’s a small horse world and your name will travel fast as “the rider who only test rides horses but never buys.” Be classy not trashy!

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The person who submitted this post didn’t include whether they wanted to remain anonymous or not so, if it’s your post and you want people to know you wrote it, please let us know and we’ll give you credit!

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We’ve had a request from a reader who is writing a research paper on genetic disorders (ie. HYPP) and is conducting a survey in preparation.  If you have a minute, please help her out by filling out this survey.

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Three year old paint not broke wild stud .This one has all his oats .The meek need not inquire .Raised this colt from birth will let you pet him and feed him thats about it .Cant get any more honest.Needs EVERYTHING.$100.00 CASH ONLY .SERIOUS INQIURES BY EMAIL THANK YOU PRICE IS FIRM.

It’s idiots like this guy (Yes, I’m making what some may call an “assumption”, that the seller is male.  I, however, prefer to think of it as a logical deduction based upon past experience of reading lots and lots and lots of craigslist ads!) who create problem horses and then dump them.  To clarify, for anyone out there who’s thinking of getting into breeding: “raising” a horse involves putting more training into the horse than just petting and feeding.  (Please read the following as if in a loud, fake, stage whisper) Psst! Neither of those require any training or effort.  Your horse is likely feral because you put so very little time or effort into him.  From the rest of the horse-world: thanks a ton, you giant douchebag.

It’s sad because this little guy looks like he may be cute.  That is to say there’s no overt fugliness; no weiner-dog-esque back, his hind legs don’t appear to be camped under… aaand that’s all we can guess at based on the photos.  But, considering what typically passes as a “suitable” stud on craigslist, this guy is a freaking GQ model! *facepalm*

I guess the one good thing you could say about this ad is that the writer freely admits the horse “needs everything”.   He actually acknowledges that the horse needs work – perhaps somewhere in his subconscious, deep down, buried under sports stats and fond Playboy memories, he knows he didn’t do right by this horse.

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Everyone remember the Keith Hall case?  He was accused of starving 9 horses including Millie Montana.  His co-accused, Linda Pharis, had agreed to plead guilty to one count of animal neglect and to testify against him in exchange for the other 8 counts being dropped.  She has now changed her mind and will be facing a jury trial for all 9 counts.

Gwen Stockebrand’s trial is ongoing with closing arguments scheduled for February 24, 2012.

Dorian Ayache and Three Angels Farm – yeah, three angels of death!  Those horses that were the overturned trailer in Lebanon, TN?  They were sent to slaughter in Mexico.  After he publicly stated that they were going to a farm in Oklahoma.  Not only that, but 4 of the remaining horses were injured so badly that they were turned away at the border.  It’s not clear what happened to them but it wouldn’t surprise me if he just abandoned them (here’s an article on Tuesday’s Horse with their views on those poor horse’s final days).  Of the horses that did make it over the border, Ayache reportedly made $11,100 on them.  For the original post, click here.

Last March FHOTD reported on a horrific abuse case wherein the owner of what was called a “horse concentration camp” worked for the state Department of Corrections.  Well, a concerned reader emailed us about the State’s Attorney that prosecuted that case who managed the astounding feat of successfully putting Stacey Kempf on two years probation, wherein she agreed to not own any animals, and a nominal  fine.  Congratulations SA Matt Goetten, you must be proud.  Actually, I guess he is, because he’s now running for US Congress.

On Friday we wrote about a seizure of 8 horses in Oregon, Darla of Strawberry Mountain Mustangs has provided an update on the 5 she took in.

The long muddy hoof belongs to the stud – who has now been trimmed. (That picture courtesy of MCSO.) Initially, the Sheriff’s Dept thought he might lose a hoof because it looked like it was separating at the hair line.  A couple days in a dry pen with bedding, he’s rebounding quickly. I can’t find any separation, but he’s tender on all 4. Based on the amount of nails, metal and other debris, I’d be surprised if he doesn’t have a tricycle in there somewhere. He’s only slightly under weight, but was infested in lice and his legs are bloody and raw from mud fever.  In the picture of him in his shelter, he’s rubbing his ankles because of the antifungal I had just applied.  (He’s also covered in lice dust.)

He’s a super sweet boy, said to be of Fadjur lineage, but never registered. Bred, of course, but not registered. =)

The other pictures are of the little bay gelding, about 5 years old – said to be by the stud.  This horse is going to be someone’s DREAM. The owner says he’s had little to no handling, which leaves me shaking my head because he’s a doll to be around. Gives all four feet, loaded well, (but was born on the property?) and is as affectionate as a puppy dog. He’s truly a gem.

I’ve included a picture of one of his feet. The mud fever wasn’t as bad – I assume because they had a bigger area, but obviously no hoof care in quite some time.

Everyone has lice, and everyone has rain rot so bad that the skin is just rotting. You know that disgusting, rotten fungal smell?  They have it.  In addition, they’ve been foraging for food to survive, so some of them have had allergic reactions to the scotch broom they were eating – where the oils have irritated their skin. I’ve found several sores with blackberry thorns embedded in their skin.  They were fighting to survive.

The TB mares seem to have settled. They were colicky the first night, (they’ve been eating arborvitae and scotch broom after all!!!) – but with the stress, that’s to be expected. We don’t expect them to be pregnant since the stud was separate, but you never know. They go in for a follow up Monday. One has a very sore back – even more than what could be attributed to the rain rot. In all the mud, she could have slipped and hurt herself, who knows.

The grey gelding is still timid, but is coming around. He’s said to be a son of Nu Bar Tender – a Quarter stud, and out of an arab mare. I age him around 10 – 12.  He’s the boy with the bloody eye discharge that seems to be attributed to some sort of injury to the inside of his eyelid. There doesn’t appear to be any damage to the eye. He also has rain rot, and since he’s already timid, he’s not wanting me to work on it much. He didn’t flinch at a spray bottle though as I soaked him down with anti fungal.

I always say the tears come “later”. The first few days are always pretty clinical as you go through the motions.  But I dare anyone not to break down and sob as this adorable little gelding eagerly greets you at the gate, politely checks all our pockets for any additional food, then sighs and rests his forehead against your chest, obviously just thankful to be alive.

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Marion County deputies recover eight malnourished horses from “deplorable” conditions in South Salem field

There are some out there who would say that the out-of-state owner did her duty by making arrangements with a local person to care for the horses.

To this I say: Bullshit

You can’t just pay someone and be done with it. You have a duty of care to check in once in a while and make sure your hired help are, oh I don’t know, helping! Let’s see if we can’t relate this to a non-horse world scenario. Say, for example, you’re a manager at McDonalds. You hire people to do a job, you train ‘em, give ‘em some direction, whatever. Once all that is in place, do you then leave for Costa Rica? No! For better or worse, it’s your job to make sure the job is done, because ultimately it is your responsibility!

Then, of course, is the issue of there being no shelter. That’s something the owner would have found out about when she went to rent the place. Again, you can come up with a bunch of lame scenarios where the owner isn’t to blame, but let’s be honest; if you’re a responsible animal owner, any type of animal, you’re going to inspect the place you intend for your animal to live, prior to it living there! So yes, dear readers, she knew and she was ok with it.

What about the land owner?  Did they rent out 50 acres to someone they knew would bring horses onto the property?  Knowing full well there was no shelter available for the animals?

I know people who rent out a condo and they make sure to do an inspection at least quarterly.  And those people are sharing multiple walls with other tenants!  There’s some accountability there!  But for someone to rent out 50 acres and not schedule inspections?  Of course, I’m making a judicious leap and assuming they didn’t inspect the property and had no knowledge of the starving and deceased horses (at the very least that would decrease the property value, right?) on their land.

None of the above is meant to excuse the behavior of the “caretaker”.  I just feel that their involvement, or lack thereof, is obvious.  They are, after all, the ones who willfully and cruelly neglected all aspects of these poor horse’s care.

So who’s responsible?  The owner for not checking in?  The landlord for willfully turning a blind eye?  Certainly the caretaker is.  Any way you slice it, body scores of 0.5 don’t happen overnight. Not to mention six – SIX! – dead horses on the property. It’ll be interesting (and presumably horrifying) to see whose horses those turn out to be…

I don’t claim to be an expert in decomposing animals, but it would seem to me that their being in different stages of decomp means that they died at different times, right? Still with me? Ok then, doesn’t that sound like they probably died from starvation? Logic being that different animals use up fats stores quicker than others and that alpha horse(s) likely chased the others off what little food they managed to find. This is supported by the fact that the remaining horses were found with body scores ranging from 0.5 to 1.5. Albeit that’s not much of a range.

The little bit of reassurance we can take from this latest episode of horse abuse?  The swift and effective action of Marion County – they acted immediately upon receiving the phone call about the horses, got a vet out, blanketed them, brought food and water and got them the hell outa there ASAP.  Good job guys and thanks from all the horse lovers!

For pictures of the poor remaining horses, check out our Facebook page.

For information on the rescued horses and/or how you can help them, check out Strawberry Mountain Mustangs (took in 5 of the surviving horses) and United SPCA (took in 3 of the horses)

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To me, dressage is just another horse sport/entertainment discipline, on the same plane as western pleasure, saddle seat, jumping, driving, endurance.  I think dressage puts the horse in the most gorgeous frame of all those activities, and it has the ability to move me to tears.  But that’s all it is — another horse activity.  Please stop trying to convince me that doing Dressage (capital “D”) is going to make my horse “better”.   You’ll have to prove it to me.

This has been bothering me since the equine chiropractor came to our barn for his regular multi-horse visit.  He worked on my competitive trail horse first and the visit went as it always did — he had to search to find anything wrong with my horse, pronounced him sound and pain-free.  Then onto the dressage insructor’s personal horse and 2 of her clients’ horses.  All of which were a mess of sore hocks, sore backs, sore polls, sore necks…  The trainer made the mistake of pronouncing me “lucky” to have such a good horse.  And I made the mistake of saying that I wasn’t lucky, but that I was asking my horse to do something quite natural and did not in any way influence his way of going.  And she made the mistake of saying my horse would be even better if I did Dressage arena work with him….

Somebody prove it to me.  Dressage (and Dr. Deb Bennett’s wonderful conformation articles in Equus) is based on what the human’s idea of “beauty” is.  A stallion puffed up with an arched neck, vertical face, tucked-under hindquarters, collected movements, everyone agrees that’s when a horse is at his most beautiful.  Dressage is getting a horse to assume those poses on command and hold them for extended periods of time.  Dr. Bennett “proves” that dressage helps a horse because his build will change as a result of the work.  Of course his build will change — you are asking him to do new physical things with his body.  But that does not mean the change in build is a “good” thing even though the change in build appears more beautiful to our eyes.  No one confuses a ballet dancer with a female body builder, yet their builds are each perfect for their disciplines and each would fail if they looked like the other.   If moving in such a fashion is truly better for the horse, then you would think natural selection would have produced wild horses moving from waterhole to waterhole in a “balanced” dressage-like manner.

So I will consider dressage to be simply another horse activity.  I will continue to believe that my competitive trail horses do not need dressage work to help them trot down the trails.  I will continue to let them decide the best way to move to finish the task safe and sound.  They will continue to get the winter off with no arena work.  Stop trying to convince me that Dressage work would make my horse perform better.

Thanks for allow me the opportunity to voice my opinion!

By: KT

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I wanted to post this because I think this is a great opportunity for a discussion.  No two people have the same experiences and so I thought it would be interesting to get some different points of view on ‘cross training’.

There are a few ideas within this guest post that I have issue with, for example, I’m not sure the writer has a solid grasp of what dressage is.  I (Snugly aka Dressage Empress) freely admit that today’s dressage world can be a little iffy.  However, if we focus on the principles of the discipline, which I think is probably what the chiropractor meant, then dressage can be a useful cross training tool.    Furthermore, dressage and conformation articles aren’t based on aesthetics, but function; how the conformation and musculature of the horse help or hinder it in any given discipline.

Personally, I think dressage is beneficial for all horses – sorry, I should say all English discipline based horses as that’s where my experience lies.  That’s not to say I believe dressage is the be all, end all of the horse world; but rather that I believe in the principles upon which the discipline is built.

I’m sure most of you have seen or heard of the training pyramid.  For those who haven’t, it’s essentially the building blocks of under saddle training.  From my understanding, it’s widely used in Europe and not limited to dressage.

Now, does a well mannered trail horse who listens to his rider need to focus on this?  No.  If it ain’t broke don’t fix it! But what if you needed to open a gait?  A few steps of leg yield might not be the worst idea…

Ok, that’s all I’m going to say.  I want to leave this open for discussion!

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We posted the following picture on Snarky Rider on Saturday after having a few people share it with us on facebook.  It has sparked quite the discussion over there and I thought it might be a good discussion here as well.  Take a look and comment away!

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Wow, the parents of these riders must be so proud.  I wonder if they have those bumper stickers, you know, “Proud parents of a X School Honor Student”?  Except, for horses:  “Proud parents of a horse beater”.

While a show can be a great learning experience, it is not the place to beat the crap out of your horse (a more appropriate place would be in the comfort of your own home).  What sick, depraved, lunatic thinks it’s acceptable to use a crop on the horse’s head?!  For goodness sake, the people in that video seem to have given up all pretense of showmanship and gone straight to the temper tantrum!  Horse runs out?  Beat it.  Horse stops dead? Beat it.  Horse shows anything but 100% compliance?  Beat it.

Everyone remember that Devo song, “Whip It”?  As in, “when a problem comes along you must whip it, wa-chhhhhhhh,  whip it good” (no, I did not have to Google those lyrics, I just knew them, because I’m that cool).  I feel like someone should add it as background music to that video, except, rerecord with the lyics “when a horse refuses a fence, you must whip it, wa-chhhhhhhh, whip it good”.  Can you say chart topper?

Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but is that man with the pointer stick trying to tell us that the source of equine unrest in this video is the snaffle bit?  Because it seems to me it’s more likely to be the barbarians atop their backs see-sawing away at their mouths and waging a war on coherent signals (arms and lack of legs say stop, whip says go).  At 1:05 into the video, he’s saying that the horse’s tongue is “dragged back and stuffed in the horse’s mouth” because of the bit – now to me, that looks more like an evasion (completely justifiable in this situation – who wouldn’t want to evade those rough hands) than something that’s caused by a bit.  According to him, some generic physiologists “classify the kind of pain caused by ordinary bit the strongest” – are you saying that a snaffle is worse than a twisted wire bit?  If so, I would like to have a quick word with your physiologists.  Rather, I’d like to stick a snaffle and then a twisted wire bit in their mouths and then let them tell me which pain is the strongest.

You know, given the utterly atrocious riding samples used in this video, I’m not sure why the subject is the snaffle bit.  Shouldn’t we be addressing the issue of the overabundant use of the crop?  It seems to me like that’s where most of the pain is coming from.

Ok, if you pause the video at 1:53, take a look at that riders position.  She is not a confident jumper!  Her body language is screaming at the horse to stop.  You can even see the horse slow down – this was not a sudden refusal!  And yet, she proceeds to beat it as if she rode a perfect approach and the horse pulled a dirty trick.  If you’ve been following the blog then you probably had a chance to read a recent guest post about a young student who didn’t stand up for her horse when a trainer was abusing it.  Understandably it can be very hard for a student to question the wisdom of a renowned trainer.  I bring this up because I want to know where the trainers were in this video!  They are literally paid to train the stupid out of people and yet they were all apparently at the coffee cart at the time of filming.  (Yes, it could be the trainers strong-arming students and pulling them from the saddles to the ground and stomping on their man-berries or other sensitive parts was edited from the footage.  I’m probably more miffed about it due to my massive desire to see some intense pain and humiliation rained upon these arse-monkeys.)

At the 3 minute mark, they show a cartoony demo of the bit action in the horses mouth as a result of the rider pulling.  Something about the trajectory doesn’t sit right with me.  It looks as if they’ve fabricated the pulling action in such a way as to produce the results they wanted.  For instance, when they’re showing how the snaffle hits the horse’s palate, there’s a distinct downward motion of the reins.  So unless a rider is hauling on the horse’s mouth downward toward their knees… I’m not sure that video is accurate.  Next, when they’re showing how the snaffle hits the horse’s teeth, there seems to be an upward tug into a downward pull.  Not sure if that’s a valid aid, even for the lovely people featured in the video.  Back to my original issue – does anyone else find this part of the video unbelievable?  As a point of interest, if you take a look at last week’s post on bits, there was a link to an article that stated the port of a bit actually needed to be at least 5 or 6 cm high to actually touch the horse’s palate.  And what conclusion can we draw from this? That it simply wouldn’t be possible with a snaffle!

Videos like this are dangerous in the wrong hands.  I’m sure there are some uneducated natural horsemanship people out there who would use it to further their cause.  Before you jump down my throat about natural horsemanship, I’ve tried it before and had some great success with it.  But I firmly believe that it’s a lot of common sense and accurately reading, and responding to, your horse’s actions.  Kind of like using bits, or any piece of tack for that matter!  They all have the potential to be cruel when used improperly.  But when used as intended and without malice? A snaffle is not a harsh bit.  I personally prefer a french link, but there are no absolutes with horses and it really isn’t about what any of us prefers, is it?  It’s about what the horse likes best.  And if my horse was giving me as much trouble about going over jumps as some of the horses in this video were, I would be considering a career change or some other potential cause of unrest.

I wonder if the parents, friends, neighbors of the riders in that video know that animal abuse can be an indicator of a sociopathic personality?  I’m just sayin’…

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Everyone remember Dean Solomon?  Featured here and here – ok there are a lot others, we’re not going to list them all.  But now, for your viewing displeasure!  She is also featured here and this time she’s after dogs.  Somehow,  according to the article she ended up “fostering”  several rescued dogs.  Wow.  Now there’s a fail.  How the hell does someone like THAT get hold of “rescued” dogs?  What kind of screening process do they have?  Do you even have to have a good one in place to stop people like Dean?  A quick googling should have nipped that in the bud!

An interview with Samantha Milbredt! This’ll help clear everything up! …or not

Kelsey Lefever of the Beau Jacques infamy (and 100 or so other unfortunate Thoroughbreds) was supposed to have her hearing in early February but it has now been postponed to the 21st per this article.

A reader emailed us a link to Argus’ blog and for those of you who aren’t already aware, he was humanely euthanized in November.  For the full story, click here.  If you’re not aware of who Argus is, their blog starts out with a little blurb about what he endured prior to finding a loving home.

We haven’t yet got the old Fugly facebook page but have started  a new one in the meantime.  Check it out here to stay up to date on what’s going on – and please feel free to share if when you hear about news before we do.

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Yeah, she’s got a bit of a sharkfin too.  Luckily Snarkly has a saddle that works for that, because she loves the opinionated beasties and happens to ride this one as well.  It is kind of interesting that they can share tack, because in many ways they have quite different conformation.

Please pardon the crappy cell phone pic (and the terrible clip job – the clippers quit partway through!).  It’s not the best angle to assess her overall build, but it does give you a pretty good view of her shoulder.

So, dear readers, which horse do you think has the superior shoulder? Which one will have the easiest time stepping out with their front legs?  This is another area where a lot of confusion and mis-information is out there!

Far more important is the relation of the scapula (yellow line) to the humerus (blue line) and the angle of the humerus compared to the ground.  The slope of the shoulder blade is mostly valued because it’s usually indictive of good angles further down. But not always!  (Wondering where the yellow line came from? Check out this quick video that illustrates what we’re using to determine the slope of a shoulder)

But wait! There’s more!  Buy now and we’ll throw in this amazing… ly informative video about the length of the humerus and how it affects your horse’s movement.  Click here! (ok, that was a bit of an oversell )

When looking at a horse’s conformation it’s important to keep in mind how everything works together.  For example, according to this article by Judy Wardrope, a longer humerus, when paired with a longer scapula, can mean a longer, ground-covering stride without sacrificing the rate of strides.  There are very few absolutes in the horse world – which is part of what makes it so much fun, and yet so very frustrating.    Happy Friday!

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If anyone has a picture of a horse with a relatively flat humerus, that is, almost parallel to the ground, can you please send it to us to use as a comparison?

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1. No helmet. On a very green horse. Aside from the ruination of this horse, this is my biggest pet peeve here. On the other hand, if this rider removed himself from the gene pool via massive head trauma, that wouldn’t be so bad.

2. Inappropriately dressed “cowboy.” Flat sneakers and shorts? Really? At least get a boot with a heel! It’s like this guy wanted to get hurt.

3. Pulling on a horse to make it move. It seems logical, until you remember that a horse weighs a thousand pounds, and can lift you off of the ground with its neck alone. You can’t out-pull a horse! What you can do is pull so hard on a horse’s face that it gets pissed and rears away from the pressure– just like this poor thing. My favorite part is when the “handler” on the ground leans on the rope so hard he’s almost laying down– it would have been perfect justice if the horse had chosen that moment to leap forward and squish him.

4. Totally inappropriate tack. First, of course, is the bit– a long-shanked monstrosity designed to exert maximum leverage. In the wrong hands (these guys’ hands) it’s a jaw-breaker. Even in the right hands, you don’t start a young horse in it! Next, that’s not a real leadrope– it looks more like a random, thin nylon rope from the back of a truck. No wonder it broke! And that saddle? Okay, I can excuse them for using a cheap one on an unbroke horse, if they’re trying not to damage a good saddle on the first go-round; but at least make sure it fits the rider! It looks like the cantle is crawling up the guy’s butt crack, and no one bothered to adjust the stirrups, so that even if he had gotten his feet in, he’d nearly be hugging his knees.

5. Yelling. Yeah, ’cause yelling loudly and angrily at a horse to is really going to want to make it move towards you!

6. Incredibly, awfully, terribly bad riding. Feet not in stirrups half the time, heels up, kicking and yanking back on the reins to make the horse move forward. This rider deserved to come off.

7. Wire fencing where you’re breaking a horse to ride. Arghhh!!!! Smooth-wire pasture fencing itself isn’t too bad; I use it myself. Wire fencing in an area where you know a horse is going to act up in a big way? Stupid! One of my biggest nightmares is losing control of a horse and having it run through a wire fence, there to get itself (and possibly me) tangled, lacerated or dragged. Note: people, do NOT try to make a “roundpen” out of wire and posts!!

8. Dangerous environment. Besides the issue with the fencing, I see a whole lot of forest that’s going to A) spook the horse and B) be a potentially deadly hazard to a rider, if the horse becomes scared enough to start bolting through the brush. Oh, and did you glimpse the front of the ATV parked next to the fence? The cameraman is sitting on it. I bet the noise from that thing driving up really made this green horse feel calm!

9. This is a “maybe,” but I’m betting I’m right– this horse looks way too young to get broke. He’s on the small side, and looks like he hasn’t filled out yet– like a two year old. If so, these idiots are doing him lasting harm physically as well as mentally. Of course, we could give them the benefit of the doubt and believe that it’s just a small horse… but I wouldn’t trust these guys to know how to use a bathroom without pissing themselves.

10. Too many players on the field. We’ve got Cowboy Idiot, Pulling Idiot, Spectator Idiot and Camera Idiot. All of ‘em are making noise and making it more difficult for this green horse to chill out. If I had that many people around me while I was training a young horse, I’d tell them to back the hell off or prepare to get kicked in the face (by me, if not the horse). I especially liked it when Spectator Idiot stood in front of the horse next to Pulling Idiot. I wanted to tell that horse to leap forward “NOW!” and get two-for-one squishings. What a deal!

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Today’s guest poster is North Horse – check out her blog here!

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I just spent 5 minutes watching that dude fall off over and over and over again – kind of like what I did with that scene in Titanic when the guy hits the propeller…

Anyone else think that horse just got tired of those jackasses laughing at her confusion. Dude had it comin’. Way to go Sassy.

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