I had to share this...... A few things that people who know nothing about horses SHOULD know, whether you want to know or not. The reason is summer is technically here and some people take it upon themselves to stop in at houses that have horses thinking they are doing the right thing by starting a war with the owners over the care of their horses. Add to this the fact that many people just don’t understand how to behave around horses with either the owners or the horses themselves. When you don’t know horses and you do these things, well, you end up looking like an asshat. So let’s save some time, stress and embarrassment, shall we? 1. Contrary to popular belief, horses DO lie down to sleep. They do this year round. So not every horse that is lying down has gone on to the big pasture in the sky. 2. There is a wonderful invention called a fly mask. They are a horse and rider’s Godsend. They keep gnats, mosquitoes, deer and horseflies off of our horse’s sensitive faces. It is a mesh material not much different than the mesh sold for humans to wear over our heads to protect us from bugs. It is see-through and it does not obstruct vision in any way. We would not be stupid enough to ride a blindfolded horse. So stop telling us that we are. 3. Not every skinny horse you see is starving. It could be a recent rescue, have a known medical condition, be old or just beginning to have issues that the owner already knows about and is treating. If you have legitimate concerns and see no food or water, for a period of time, than call authorities. Don’t make assumptions and go barging in on people like self righteous activists. 4. If you find yourself near a horse and have boisterous obnoxious children, that horse can possibly remove your children from the gene pool. Horses spook because it is in the nature to do so. We as horse people, know how to behave around horses which is why they don’t spook normally with our every day care. Don’t assume because they are well behaved around their owner that they don’t have the potential to maim your kids. Use common sense. 5. Don’t walk up to a horse directly in front of its face (it’s blind spot) and then proceed to slap/pat it on the forehead and then when it jumps back proclaim it doesn’t like you. The same holds true for thinking you are Clint Eastwood and walking up behind them to pat them sturdily on the rump. The horse who didn’t realize you were there will gladly hoof pat you back. 6. Don’t pull up our driveway and ask us if your kids can ride our horse. The answer is no. Every time. 7. Please don’t feed horses food over a fence. You could either get bitten, or worse, kill the horse by giving it something it isn’t supposed to have. Some horses are allergic to hay, so even if you think the horse would be fine with what you’re giving it, your good deed, could cost the horse’s life. 8. Do not honk your car horn at riders on the road and move way over if there is a horse on the road and SLOW DOWN. You may think it’s funny, until the horse leaps in front of your vehicle. You can also be charged if you are caught doing this and someone gets hurt or killed as a result of it. 9. Don’t bring your dog around strange horses unless you really hate him. 10. Horses grow winter coats. They do not all have to have blankets on. Some horses are blanketed because they are clipped for showing or have trouble maintaining body heat such as the older or sick horse. Please do not come to me begging me to blanket my fat, fluffy pony because “he looks chilly”. Also..need to slip these in (just because they drive me crazy): A stallion is a male horse with all of his equipment attached. Every black horse you see is not a stallion (Thanks to the Black Stallion movies for this one). A pony is not a baby horse. It is not a small horse. It is a pony. You don’t call cats baby lions do you? A colt is a male foal. A filly is a girl foal. A baby horse of either gender is a foal. Stop calling all foals colts.
Posted on: Thu, 29 May 2014 13:59:12 +0000
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