Guest Post: Are You a Rider or a Passenger?
Apr 30 2012
When I was 11 years old my barn gave me a t-shirt at camp that read “I’m a rider not a passenger” and it’s a statement that has stuck with me like a hot brand on a cows ass.
In all my working years of riding I have come across many individuals who say they ride. Immediately I get excited because in my head I think “Oh yay! Someone to talk horses with all day long!! It’s my favorite subject to talk about!!!” Instead this is how the conversation really goes:
RLTW: “Man I can’t wait to get out to the barn after work! I really need to go on a hack after today!”
CW: “OMG you ride???”
RLTW: “Yep, I’ve been riding since I was 5! You ride?”
CW: “Yea! I ride horses too!”
RLTW: “Very cool! What do you ride?”
CW: “Um well, what’s that thing you ride in called? The one with the big thing sticking up out in front of it?”
RLTW: “You mean a Western Saddle? Like the ones the cowboys ride in old western movies?”
CW: “Yea, yea!! Not the girly saddle that you see people jump in. I ride the boy saddle when I go on vacation to Mexico and ride on the beach or over to my aunt’s house for our annual family reunion and get on one of her horses! What do you ride?”
RLTW: “I ride both English and Western, just depends on my mood that day. I like to event when I’m feeling ballsy and do some reining work when I’m feeling like a need a quiet day.”
CW: (CW stares at you blankly because she has no idea what you’re talking about) “Ohhh…”
For whatever reason, it plucks my nerves when people who don’t ride call themselves riders. It would be the same thing if I was talking to a NYC Ballet Principle and told them I was a dancer too. Just because I like to hit up the dance floor and shake my big ol’ butt around doesn’t make me a dancer. I’m someone who likes to go dancing. These same people are not riders; they are someone who likes going for a ride. They are passengers on horse’s backs. To me a real rider is someone who gets on their horse and productively works their horse into a better and more finished animal no matter what their job may be. I’m all for sharing my passion with the non-equine person and teaching them to become a rider and not a passenger but I honestly feel offended and demoralized when someone who doesn’t really ride calls themselves a rider. It translates to me that you going to your aunt’s house once a year to ride her half dead QH is just a difficult as me getting on my unfinished QH and teaching him that my leg and seat means do what I tell you. Is it a bad thing that you’re a passenger, no it just means to me that you’re not a rider.
-Ride_Like_The_Wind
The following is a comment some anonymous person made and was sent in via email.
“Need some opinions; I have a almost yearling standardbred colt here..I rescued his mom in foal, he was born on my farm. He is not registered nor will he be..I am afriad to re-home him as “who wants a baby standardbred that won’t race”..I hate to re-home him to an abusive home or find out he went for slaughter..Right now hes taking up space that I could rescue another..Any suggestions on what to do with him? Its not as easy as just keep him as he needs regular blacksmith care, feed, etc (it costs me having him here)”
(ps. This winning horse owner apparently also has a stallion -keep this in mind for later.)
If I’m reading it right, and this is approximately the millionth time I’ve read this submission so hopefully I am, this person wants to get rid of one useless horse to rescue another. Is that what you’re reading too? What is it that makes them think this future rescue horse will be so much better than the horse they currently have? Both require “blacksmith care, feed, etc” -which, coincidentally, is also known as some (not all!) of the basic requirements for any and ALL horses (yes, even rescue ones).
I think, and please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems like this person is looking for a project/prospect and NOT an actual rescue. It sounds to me like she wants to pick up a cheapy and then flip it for a profit. And there is NOTHING wrong with that, in fact, some might argue you’re doing these horses a good service; by putting training into them you’re adding value and (theoretically) helping to keep them out of the hands of KB’s everywhere. However, in the unlikely event that your horse doesn’t sell the second you put it on the market, you have to be prepared to care for it.
Let’s face it, we all know the horse industry is in the crapper. Why would you take on a rescue horse? What are you going to do? Hit up the auction and hope you get lucky? Find a diamond in the rough? That’s like going to a dive bar in the worst part of town and hoping to walk out with Richard Geere in your own version of Pretty Woman! IT AIN’T GOING TO HAPPEN!
I’m also wondering why this colt isn’t being registered? Is it because he can’t be? Not quite sure who the sperm donor was? Or what breed? Perhaps he sustained an injury that prevents him from racing and therefore what possible reason could there be then for registering him? Hey if he’s not going to race, why register him, right? Maybe they really want to get rid of him because of the injury and are just hoping potential purchasers won’t notice…
OH! OH! I KNOW!! (Actually, I don’t, this is a complete guess.) This person’s stallion got funky with the mare and out popped an unregisterable half-breed. What do you think? Am I close? Oh sure, the comment says she rescued the mare and it was preggers but where’s the proof! Let’s cast some stones, dammit!
Moral of the story: Please don’t rescue horses (or buy them, for that matter) unless you’re prepared to provide any and all necessary care – which does include more than just “blacksmith care, feed, etc”.
And hey, do us all (or maybe just me) a favor, when you’re looking for public approval to sell your next horse, don’t try to tug at our (or my, at least) heartstrings by using hot-button words like “abuse” and “slaughter” in your ads. It tends to get our (my?) guard up and irritates some of us (me again) that you’re trying to manipulate others into purchasing a horse you no longer wish to deal with. Especially when you flat out state you want to get another.
Please don’t piss in my cup and tell me it’s apple juice. Mmmm k?
I’m going to try to make a life story succinct as possible.
I grew up in the suburbs in a middle-class family. My parents weren’t particularly animal people; my mom had never been on a horse and my dad was (and probably still is) terrified of them. This wasn’t particularly conducive to a little girl’s aspirations to have a magical pony that loved her and took her on thrilling rides to school (because that felt possible then).
A pony? We’re in the suburbs.
Riding lessons? Too expensive.
I’m probably not the only one to have this experience. I was jealous of those I knew who got to ride, but grew contemptuous when I came to know how spoiled and ungrateful some of these kids could be. I got myself to believe that this was a sport only for the bourgeoisie and ugly souls.
Consigning myself to a horseless life with this attitude, I went on.
High school: graduated. College: in. City life: sure.
Two summers ago one of my friends came back from working at a summer camp nearby. I think the idea of making a living working around horses is what motivated me, somewhat spontaneously, to find a way into the horse world.
I can tell you there wasn’t much success. I contacted a handful of stables and equestrian centers, mostly ritzy places near the city that I’d never have been able to afford. I asked them if I could work, and told them I didn’t expect any pay or compensation in return; all I wanted was the experience. Most of them (so graciously) did not respond. I only got one email, but the reply was enthusiastic and nonbiased towards the next-to-no experience I had.
I can’t afford a car, and I couldn’t even afford tuition at school if I didn’t have loans, and I agreed to work for free. It’s still that way, but I don’t regret it at all.
I spend anywhere between five and eight hours a day commuting there and back via bus, boat, and bike – when I’m not too busy with college. If I had a car, I could get to Canada and back faster than that. I spend five or six hours working, and then I get a lesson. When I tell my fellow city-folk that they think I’m crazy, and yeah, maybe I am a little masochistic.
I didn’t get the job I was originally after, by the way.
Fair enough, I’m far from knowing as much as I needed for the position. It’s only been a year and a half. My employer/instructor/mentor/second mom, I sometimes think) has taught me a lot, but I have a ways to go. It would be arrogant to think otherwise.
If I could trade this in for being driven regularly to an equestrian center closer to the city and having everything paid for, I wouldn’t. I couldn’t keep doing this, as much as I would want to, if things didn’t feel the way they do now.
There’s a calming atmosphere where I work. It’s in an isolated, somewhat rural community, where everything moves slower. The horses are allowed to be horses, we work around the hours of daylight, and everything is usually peaceful. I don’t get trashed every weekend with my friends, but instead hang out with the ponies, and sometimes the deer, frogs, ravens, eagles, chickens, and a mean as hell rooster.
There’s something humbling and therapeutic about the whole thing. You’re forced to forget vanity after hauling shit for a whole day. Even though I’m twenty, I feel like a child sometimes. My mentor is kind and easygoing, but the sort of person that I’m sort of afraid to fuck up around—probably the first person I’d felt real respect for in a while. The experience has realigned my values, taught me to remember respect and humility. It keeps me from drinking too much, doing drugs, smoking, wasting time, and having a bad attitude. And that’s before I even got in the saddle again.
If anyone else would want to escape those vices, this is something I would recommend. If anyone isn’t riding because they’re dirt poor or out of the way like this college student, but would rather be doing so, there is a way to do it if you find the right people.
I feel I’m at a disadvantage, though. I feel like I have adult braces. That’s embarrassing sometimes, right?
Kids aren’t the same. They think more simply, more optimistically, and more shortsightedly. They absorb things better, even if they can’t reason why something is the way it is. Those I know who have been around horses since they were young are more at ease both on the ground and in the saddle. They developed this when they were young. Granted, I’m twenty, still relatively young, and they’ve undoubtedly been riding longer, but I wonder whether or not that puts me far behind the game. I’d like to amount to something great, but it’s not at all necessary.
I’ll turn it over to you now. I’d like to hear other life stories.
Am I wrong thinking starting so late is going to hold me back? Has riding changed your moral fiber? Was your first (or is your current) experience as pleasant as I think mine is, or have you had a bad experience? The list goes on. I’m all ears (eyes, really). I hear a lot from experienced riders, but never where or how they started.
By: Anonymous
Oh the questions that CL brings up!
Apr 23 2012
What, pray tell, is “yellow broke”?
“Arabian horse for sale, yellow broken, friendly and very energetic!”
http://fortcollins.craigslist.org/grd/2971987105.html
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How is tying a 10 month old horse onto a childs jungle gym, with a child atop it, considered good marketing? Is the jungle gym a part of the sale? Is the pony a fixture of the jungle gym?
“Father was quarter/paint and mother was a pony. Very good with kids until are mares came in heat”
http://flint.craigslist.org/grd/2963280163.html
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How underweight does the poor horse have to be before you’ll give her a break and NOT ride her?
“Good husband horse or child’s horse. About 14.2 hands. Good with other horses. Will do partial trade for good horse hay. Was very underweight when I bought her as you can tell in the photo where she is being ridden. She has put on weight but still needs a bit more.”
http://louisville.craigslist.org/grd/2922371125.html
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Oh craigslisters, where you come up with these ideas and terms must be a special, special place. Is it like Walmart? Are there different aisles with ideas for you? The crazier it is, the more expensive? Shopping for these items must be taxing – not only on your wallets but your time and brain cells. Presumably that’s why you can’t afford to feed your horses or have the brainpower to know that tying a 10 month old pony onto a jungle gym (not just tying it to the jungle gym, but actually so that the pony is on it) is bad. Very bad. And putting a helmetless child onto that pony? All I can say is that I hope you have excellent health insurance!
I swear, one of these days I’m going to write a “Horse Sales Ads for Dummies” book – a comprehensive guide on what to include in your ad when selling a horse. Now, there aren’t any hard nor fast rules regarding length, but you might want to consider more than one sentence. It is, after all, an immense quadriped we’re talking about here, not a used blender.
A lot of people send in craigslist (and other) ads every day – what are some of the ah-mazing things you’ve seen? Comment with your favorite things that made you go “huh” 
ps. Could the shanks on the underfed TWH’s bit have been any longer?! Watch out people! She might run away 5 steps! -because any further would use up the last tiny bit of her fat stores.
Unmannered arse or trying to tell you something?
Apr 20 2012
Was my horse trying to tell me something, or just being a dick?
I ask because recently I tried to move my horse to a new boarding facility. Not an uncommon occurrence for us – we’ve been to umm… several. I say “tried” because for some reason he reacted differently at this new barn. And if I hadn’t owned this horse for over 15 years , known him so well and made countless mistakes prior to this one, I’d be inclined to think (like others did) that he was just being a dick, rather than telling me he wasn’t happy with my decision.
It can be so hard to tell! Or maybe it’s just me. I’ve had one of the most even tempered, agreeable geldings ever known to man for the past 15 years. Yet I still find it hard to believe just how good he is. I always assume I’ve finally found (and pushed) the button that makes him say f#$k no! Except, after we work through whatever it is, or accidentally change something, I look back and examine the situation and almost immediately do a *facepalm*, sometimes throwing in a “D’oh!” for good measure.
To provide some context, let me start by telling you about our move prior to this one. I took him to a place with lean-to shelters with individual paddocks off them, and 8 acres of grass for the horses to go out on together. The driveway was such that we had to unload on the street – not my first choice, but it was a very quiet street so we got it done no problems. We walked up the long driveway, I put him in his paddock and off he went to say hello to his new neighbor. No running. No calling. Very calm, it was almost like coming home from a show.
Cut to our most recent move.
We get to the new barn, unload, I put him in his new stall and let him go. The horses are all excited and trotting around a bit and so does he – a bit out of character but he’s still significantly calmer than the other horses. But then he starts rampaging up and down his little paddock off his stall; bucking, kicking out, hollering every 10 seconds – it was like he was possessed! My horse was suddenly Linda Blair.
He refused to calm down so I went in and grabbed him and took him out for some hand grazing – which did help calm him down. About 20 minutes later I put him back in his stall and shut the door to his in/out. He still wasn’t calm but at least he couldn’t run around and hurt himself. By that time it was pretty late and I had to get going so we decided to leave all the horses locked in their stalls to make sure they kept my boy company.
When I arrived the next day and the state of his stall told me that he’d been pacing all night, in addition to the fact that he hadn’t finished his hay. Hmmmm. I decided to take him out to what was going to be his paddock and hand graze him. We did that for about 20 minutes and he seemed alright so I let him off his lead rope. Almost immediately he takes off, ripping around all over the place! When he gets like this he tends to forget where his feet are – which he did, and he fell. I tried to catch him but he wouldn’t even look at me, just kept careening out of control around this paddock. I, of course, never lost my cool – just constantly swore at him, calling him every name under the sun, threatening not to provide proper vet care should he injure himself (See? Totally cool.).
Eventually I got some grain and was able to catch him. I wrangled him back into his stall, threw him some hay and then sat down and had a meltdown. That was it. The boy had spoken and for once I was listening before disaster struck (we have a bit of a history…) I was leaving after having been at this place less than 24 hours. I found a hauler and scheduled to move him back to the barn we had just left.
A lot of people will think that I’m crazy for this. They’ll say that it takes horses time to settle into new places. And that is true for many horses. If my boy was a younger horse, I likely would have made him stay and figure things out for himself – teach him that new places aren’t scary and that throwing fits will not be tolerated nor rewarded. However, my boy is not young and I have now, finally, been with him so long that I (hopefully) have learned to listen to him when he says no.
Personally, I think it’s a very difficult thing to learn. A lot of people hide behind “oh my horse doesn’t like that” just to avoid a potential fight when working through an issue. I have certainly been guilty of that more than a few times over the years. But then there are people who refuse to listen to what their horse is telling them and push them so hard as to be detrimental to the psychological, and sometimes physical, well-being of the horse.
So my question to you, and the point of my post, is what’s your experiences with your horses? Do you listen to them when they say no? Are you able to interpret it accurately? Or are you like me and it’s taken you nearly 20 years to figure it out? –in my case, for only one horse! I shudder at the thought of my, if any, future horses.
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