Grumpy!

[sarahp]

I have my grumpy old woman hat on today.

How many times do you read a thread from people with some problem they bring to HG for advice on - but on the lines of what bit do I use or what supplement do I give it to cure the problem. Whatever happened to good old-fashioned horsemanship as most are actually schooling or management problems?

[Deleted]

A lot of problems stem from owners, horses only do what is asked of them. Of course medical problems are different but 8times out of ten ive been out to help friends who have made their horse do what it's doing and simple changes make a huge difference. Like too much food for the amount of work, bits that it doesn't need, I'll fitting saddles, too little food for amount of work. Sometimes I sit down and asses what's going on and think hang on. My horse for example has become upset when mounting and started throwing Bucks in on transitions. Rode twice and realised his saddle isn't fitting properly , no riding till saddler comes on the 10th simple to fix, without thinking a he's being naughty and making him work through it as it causes more problems.

[hayleyupton115]

Am inclined to agree as seeing the same old things get reposted but in this day n age people don't seem to talk people have different views on things as the saying goes you learn something new every day

[pimms'o'clock (Jess)]

Ahhh can't agree more sarahp! When will people realise the simplest, oldest known things are 99% of the time the best things?!

Sent from my LT26i using proboards

[fanfarefan]

couldnt agree more either ,common sense usually prevails ,why cant people think simple instead of trying to make it complicated,,,, the other thing is that as you said Sarahp people ask for advice , and then cant take the answers or critism without getting on their high horse

[chalky284]

Why do people always want a quick fix??? Instead of considering the possible causes?! Very frustrating!

[gillwales]

I SO agree with all of this

Recently there have been several threads asking for help, when the advice is not what the person wants to hear then they turn nasty!

No end of people who cannot seem to be bothered to use elbow grease and another pile who sneer at old fashioned remedies, the way they speak it is a wonder there are any horses around today.

I could rant on all night....

[honeypot]

What all ponies need is time and people are unable or unwilling to give a pony time. They will buy the latest fix whether it food, gadget or spray because they think all it takes is the time for the credit card to go through the machine and they will get a result. When they don't get the result its the ponies fault.
When I look back at my early horsey years I did not have the benefit of lessons, I rode in jeans and sand boots( remember those, very 70's) and never had a school just a roughly fenced off bit of ground, and the only they feed they got was bran or pony nuts bought by the pound from the pet shop. I may have rose coloured glasses but I rode a lot of rough ponies but can not remember one bucking me or my friends off, I can remember falling off due to pilot error at least 3 times a hack. Where did all these back and teeth problems come from? The dealer I rode for used to say, 'they need long days and little dinners', and do you know what it has now been proved that fatter horses are less compliant, you don't say.

[sarahp]

I don't think that's what I actually said fanfarefan, just that they expect the answer to be a different bit or a certain supplement when it's often more complicated than that and requires management or schooling changes. I do try not to criticise, and we all have to learn, but so often a quick fix is sought rather than a proper solution.

[mollymalone]

I have to say I read the 'Showing Special' article in Horse and Hound recently and I was quite saddened to see what some of the top producers were raving about as their secret weapon bits quick fix bits to get a horse supposedly light and carrying itself the day before a show....

[ikklecob]

Whilst I agree with much of the above another thing that has changed is the amount of people who are able to vary their horses work. With the increase in traffic many cannnot, or would rather not hack out. Neither do they have access to areas to ride in other than a school. I am convinced bordom from going round in circles adds to the problems. Horses switch off therefore people change bits to get attention, feed up as they think it is lack of energy.

The change of pace in todays lifestyle must have an impact on our equine friends.

[sarahp]

Fair point - but if they have access to transport to compete, couldn't it also be used to get to suitable areas to hack out/do fun rides or whatever? We live on a main road. 31 years ago when we moved here it was safe for riding but that didn't last long so I transported my Ds to somewhere I could ride safely instead of riding down it.

What about riding in a field for a change and a stretch, lunging or long reining, working them from the ground, loose schooling, pole work, jumping? Natives in particular, because they are more intelligent than big horses, can get very bored by just being schooled on the flat in an arena, they are often best schooled out on hacks anyway.

[Em5]

I agree with most people wanting a quick fix, but sometimes people are genuinely needing good advice and are interested to hear from people that have tried products or bits!

I had a problem with my ponies bit in the fact he had started to mess with it and it started to bruise inside his mouth! I had tried all sorts of bits as recommended by the horse bit bank and other people, but I knew within one riding session wether the bit would work as he'd grey sore that fast, so he'd have time off to heal before another bit could be tried. I was all out of ideas and so was bit world. Hence I turned to hg for advice!!!

I'm happy to say he's now in a full cheek snaffle with bit wrap and he's not playing with it or getting sores anymore. So sometimes genuine people also genuinely need the wealth of experience of hg members.

[sarahp]

I remember that thread - you had a specific problem re a suitable bit in terms of what his individual mouth could tolerate which was not what I was talking about. You asked a specific question, had various suggestions to try and I'm very glad to hear you found something that works for your pony. Nothing wrong with all that! But most bit queries are different, more on the lines of "my pony won't do such and such, what bit will cure it?" when a simple change of bit is not the answer, frequently it's actually a schooling problem rather than a genuine bit problem like yours.

[nici]

Our yard is on a very busy road so we can't hack from there any more, and we don't currently have transport either. We ride in one of our fields, usually a one acre field designated as the riding field. We protect the surface in there as much as possible - e.g. no turnout in wet conditions - to keep it reasonably level and rut free. We have a 20 x 40 measured "arena" in there (with letter cones) for lessons and practising particular schooling movements when preparing for dressage tests. However the kids are encouraged to school in all parts of the field - in fact they're actively discouraged from using the arena area unless they specifically need to, to avoid excessive wear and tear on the outside track, centre line etc.. We have our jumping course set out in another part of the field, and a few cross country type jumps around the outside. Oh and some handy pony type equipment to hand as well. They can ride in the other fields too, but they are just open fields with no equipment. But after prolonged heavy rain the girls love riding in what is now the fatties summer turnout field, as there's a dip in one corner, which turns into a great little water splash. And from September we'll have the 8 acre hay field next door...

It's so long since we've been on a yard with its own manege I'd forgotten until recent comments from friends how restrictive it can be when that's the only option for riding. A typical riding session at ours will include some flatwork, some jumping, and probably a few races too, and usually involves pony swaps and possibly some bareback riding.

HG is a great place to ask questions and gain information - I have learned so much over the years, from a few members in particular. However there does seem to be an ever growing demand for quick "off the peg" fixes as an alternative to a long term solution. Sometimes a change of bit or a supplement can help but should still be part of a longer term solution, not a quick fix. We tried my daughter's pony in a variety of metal bits - single jointed, french link, eggbutt, loose ring - but she never seemed happy in her mouth. Steering and brakes were fine, but she wasn't happy accepting a contact. Teeth were up to date - EDT didn't need to do much and nothing changed after his visit. Then a friend suggested a happy mouth with roller. Not a bit I would ever have thought to use, but once she got used to it, she's so much happier and settled. It's not a quick fix - she doesn't instantly go in a perfect outline - but when ridden correctly is much more likely to start to soften and work through correctly. We're now on the right path and making progress again.