Anyone got any good rants about "horsey people"?

[max]

Anyone wanna have a good ol' rant about horsey people? It can be anything from cocky riders, to bratty kids.

At my riding school I'm in a highly advanced group and then some snot nosed brat who helps out at my riding school and has seen me on my lessons. Anyways she is in a beginner/intermediate lesson and she decides to go up to me "I'm a better rider than you I've jumped all the horses here bareback" this kid has never even trotted bareback, let alone jumped.
I have many more rants! How about you?

 

[fefe]

i like questions like these. i dont feel so guilty about ranting. ok. so at the barn i ride at there is this girl. she rides twice a week, and she is going to get her own horse. she is about 3 years older than me. one day, i was going for my lesson and she was riding. her mom was there. i left my helmet at home, so i had to use one of the helmets that the barn provides. they are old and dusty. but they work perfectly. her mom gaave me this look like i was poor and i couldnt afford a helmet. it made me mad, bc i am just as good a rider as her daughter. ugh!

 

[iRideDressage]

This fucking bitch who rides in dressage & jumping clinics on her overworked Quarter Horse and her over-ridden barely 4 year old hanoverian gelding who she's already starting to jump is just.. ALKGJSDALKJFALD.

Her parents are loaded with cash, and they invest every little bit in this ignorant, irresponsible brat. She doesn't clean up after her horses in the aisle (poop, hoof pickings, hair, dirt, mud, etc) like all other people do, she free jumps her quarter horse over 5' without boots on it or warming it up, and she interrupts the clinician with HER opinion on what needs to be done to make the rider "better".

The bad thing is, she's a good rider, except for her cruel ignorance to the horse's wellbeing. She has a good position and seat, so the instructors and clinicians have no way to bring her swollen confidence down to a reasonable level.

the WORST thing is, her parents don't put any money into her more talented, more gentle, and more responsible younger sister. She isn't as pretty and she isn't as showy as her sister is, so nobody pays as much attention to her, but she's progressing much faster than her sister without all the extra special treatment, so that proves to me that she's more talented!
Her sister goes into lessons and orders her to get off the horse so she can finish the lesson for her once she starts looking good, because she feel so threatened by her good riding. She tells her she's a crappy rider and says she looks retarded on a horse and should try sumo wrestling instead. Yep, she says that. In front of people.

She also treats strangers poorly! When I first started at this barn, I was looking at this Warmblood gelding. Apparently this girl was interested in buying it and so she was really mad at me, but she never contacted the owners to inquire so it's really her fault I snatched him up instead. She still holds that grudge, and that really bugs me. Thing is, once I officially bought him and she had her new young warmblood, she started calling my guy a shitty horse. Really, bitch? really?

Sorry it's so long, you asked for a rant and you got one!

 

[PickledPigsFeet]

It annoys the crap out of me when "highly advanced" riders feel the need to indulge themselves in petty arguments with people they feel are beneath them.

I mean, if you're so flippin' awesome and secure in the fact that your such an advanced rider why do feel so INsecure that you've gotta get worked up over some other kid trying to brag even if they are lying? I know, right? Why do people gotta act so stupid?

 

[JeDeHughes]

I have a few but this one will do. I was ground working this filly once and a couple of fellas who were working on the bosses house came over and watched. This filly was not cooperative right off and I was just waiting for her to give a little.
One of the fellas said, "Kinda hard headed ain't she?" I said, "Just a little bit." He stood there a minute and then said, "I'd take a hammer to her head!" I turned around and said, "Do you have any kids?" He said two. A boy and a girl." I said, "Every take a hammer to one them?"
He said, in a angry way, "No!" I said, "Why not try it the next time they act up, see how that works for ya." He turned around a called me something that revers to my butt. Can't stand folks who think abuse is a good way to train.

 

[baldfacedbay]

I love horse people, I really do....To an extent. But I HAAAATE the ones that you can't tell anything.
They're always right and they never need help or advice.

 

[imightknow]

I don't like it when people boast about their abilities with horses. I think, instead of labeling yourself as "advanced" you should say that you jump 3'9"-4' or that you've shown third level dressage.
And I don't like the busy bodies "you should be doing this and that and giving this supplement…."
or the critics "you shouldn't let him get away with that, your horse is not doing it right..."

 

[Kelpie]

Agree with the previous answers, people who brag about apparently being better than you. One girl at our yard thinks she is amazing and offers everyone lessons and says that I'm obviously not working with my new horse correctly and she could do it so much better, when in reality she is an average rider with a placid cob who doesn't put a foot wrong. That truly bugs me, people pretending to be better than they are, especially when they go on to offer, perhaps faulty, advice to people who actually need a hands-on and proper instructor.

The other thing that bothers me is people who judge your riding or stare at you as you ride. I was in the grass arena today and there were two ponies in the outdoor sand arena and all the people watching them turned to stare at me. Unfortunately Winnie (my horse) and myself were having an off day so I must have looked incredibly awkward over jumps that he scrambled for. I get nervous when people watch so I was in half a mind to shout at them to stop blatantly staring.

Another thing that I hate is the people trolling youtube videos or yahoo answers just to put people down. An self-confessed addict of horsey youtube videos, it TRULY ticks me off when someone has put up a video of their horse and people who have never met the girl/guy or horse and don't know anything about them aside a 3 minute video think it is perfectly acceptable to criticise them. I'd accept criticism only from the likes of Mary King or William Fox Pitt over a 2 minute video of me, not some troll who is probably only about as good as me at riding, perhaps a little better.
It just puts people off who just want to show their horse and them to people. Why should they bother when all they get is hate?

Arrrgh... Rant over

 

[Ally]

I hate when people act like they are so much smarter than you and are better riders than you! And when instructors don't know what they're talking about.

 

[Carlyx]

To be honest until recently I've had no negative things to say about horsey people.

But I've recently discovered horsey-busy-bodies! - one person imparticular - who doesn't work so has the luxury of spending all day at the stables sorting her horses out (and getting into everyone else's business, along with feeding other peoples horse's junk food) while I'm working my a$s off to afford my horse... I get up at the crack of dawn to feed & put my horse out before I've got to get back home to get washed, get my little girl up, breakfast, get dressed and off to school then I go to work, during my lunch hour I shoot back up to the farm to muck out and get his stable sorted for when he comes in, then I'm straight back to work, when I finish I go to pick my daughter up from school, make tea then go straight up to bring him in and feed him. I've figured my routine out so it all runs smoothly and is best for everyone & my horse but apparently this is not enough to please some people, I apparently have to be there all day and spend every waking minute with my horse - well believe me, you irritating old cow bag, I really would love to do just that but not all of us have that luxury!
On another note they need to reduce the amount of money people receive on welfare if they're somehow managing to afford to keep horses & a big 4x4 land rover! .

 

[Jill]

the teenagers at my barn annoy me, i've got a young horse and when i'm riding him they all hang around the arena gate or actually sit in the arena, and obviously he's getting distracted and acts up then they try giving me advice! Also the horsey people that leave there horses out 24/7 just so they dont have to visit except every couple of weeks then go on about a new horse they are buying, if you dont come down to see the first one do you think you'll bother with the second?

 

[Valtron]

Well, I've got a couple of rants on my barn in particular.

I hate it when I'm lunging my horse in the round pin and people walking by tell me to stop while they pass by. No! I will not! You either find an alternate route or make your horse deal with it, like they should. I'm not stopping what I'm doing just for you.

I hate it when people get mad when I let my horse "visit" the other horses in their stalls (basically let them touch noses and say hi). People! We don't have the luxury of pasture in Orange County, so it's bad enough that we're depriving our horses of that lifestyle, but depriving them of even a little bit of interaction with other horses? That's sad and evil on your part. No wonder we have so many stall protective horses.

I hate how I have to leave the arena so the trainers can give lessons. Screw you, I was here first. And also: quit hogging the arena. You can take one half, and I'll take the other. Okay?

I can only turn my horse out in the arena BEFORE 9:00 AM? Are you kidding me? First of all, I could get there at 6:00, and there would be people riding in there (it's a busy place). You start giving lessons at around 8:00, and you're going to complain that my horse it disturbing you. Also, nobody ever rides past 7:00 PM. So your rules suck (and I break that one......I just go to the arena all the way in the back)

Then there was that one time I rode up to Charlie's stall and wanted to say hi to the cute TB next door, Finbar (I love that horse). While I was distracted, Charlie quickly took a bite of his hay and, of course, I pulled him away as soon as I could. But the lady who owns him saw me and started flipping her lid because "I shouldn't allow my horse to eat other horse's food." Chill out, lady. I corrected it. So obnoxious.....

Speaking of ol' Finbar. That poor horse. He's NEVER RIDDEN. You want to know his life? I'll tell ya. He's in his stall all day and get's turned out in 20 minute increments a couple times a day. That's it. That's his life. It just......breaks my heart. He's this gorgeous 8 year old bay TB, incredibly intelligent. There's so much potential in that horse, it's not even funny. He just stands there in his stall, wasting away. I'd absolutely volunteer to ride him if she let me, but he has so much energy that, frankly, I'd be frightened. Last I heard he was on stall rest, but that was two months ago. I've seen him run around when he's turned out and he's clearly not in pain. So I don't know what the excuse is, but it's unacceptable. Pisses me off so much! That's the sad truth in my area: we're forced to stall our horses because there's no alternative. I have a saying: taking care of a horse requires 100% commitment. But owning a stalled horse takes 105%. These people don't spend enough time with their horses, and so many of them just rot away in their stalls. It's despicable, but inevitable given the circumstances.

Finally, Sometimes when I turn our my horse to let him roll, he lays there and relaxes. Of course, I always get people coming up to me and asking if he's okay. Kind of annoying after a while, but I suppose I appreciate the concern.

Think that covers most of it.

 

[sue]

OHmigod I have so many lol

Ok I'm just back to riding after a twenty year break (still got the pony I had when I was fourteen and he's now 33 - I have just got a loan horse - a gorgeous hanoverian) and I cannot believe the sheer arrogance and attitude of the riders nowadays. I mean it was only the eighties I was riding out in - you'd think it was another century. They don't thank traffic for slowing down, they don't even acknowledge another horse and rider's presence unless it's to give you a patronising look, seriously, it's mostly warmblood or sporthorse riders - you know the thin blonde things that look like they need a good feed of something stodgy?...AND they're usually the ones passing you at warp speed on their way to, the, flipping. stable - missing YOUR horse by inches...is it me? am I missing something?

Another thing, I happen to be overweight, not hugely so but when did riding gear become 'extra large' to mean size ten? seriously? anyone over the age of about twenty five is not going to fit into this stuff (although looking at it who would want to- when did horse riders lose their sense of taste? I have a chestnut - I do not WANT bridles, buckets, rugs, riding clothing in pink and purple - EVER - I certainly don't want it with 'bling' if I wanted pink and sparkly I'd stick with my little pony thank you very much - even if I didn't HAVE a chestnut I am also not nine years old!) and you walk in to a saddlers - a person of maturity facing forty, to be greeted by some bit of a teen in size 0 (I swear) and when you ask for - shock HORROR - riding clothes - the expression of 'but you're ..fat...you'll squash your horse' flashes over their face. I swear to god one day I'm going to just lose it and start yelling 'you won't always be that shape my girl!' loudly. Very loudly. Loud enough to embarass her and the entire horseatackrobbingsonsmyhorseshinesalot mart. staff.

 

[Natalie]

In our barn at the farm, there is the most beautiful Danish warm blood. And she is never out, has a nice bed, Never has food and she is so skinny it unbelievable. Like if you had her you would be so lucky, Anyway she comes in the barn today saying ive done everything I can with her she is too much. Ive done everything, ive sat in her stable talking to her, (Note my stable is next door and I am up all day and she is never there) lunging her, (has she hell) called her a donkey and a waste of space.
Good training techniques :| anyway some person across the barn said well don't say stuff like that ill do work with her she went no she will be too much for you. Ha as if more like she doesn't wanna make you look bad when the mare goes perfect. Anyway she is selling her now and some one is apparently coming to see her. Whats stupid all together because they are going to want to ride her and she will go mad because she hasn't been rode in ages.
I feed her with my hay everyday because she is just starved. Thing what annoyed me the post is though she came in saying, she has got the luxury life i was like well no. Stupid cow.
Pisses me off badly!
If your interested in seeing her (well before she came) here is a picture.
http://merseyhorse.com/new/horses4sale/pics/wish020.jpg975317.jpg
Sorry for this rant and the language its just they don't deserve such a lovely horse!

 

[Crystal]

My biggest issue is arrogance.

There seems to be a large number of equestrians who forget that they too were once beginners. No one was born knowing everything about horses. Those who've been riding for "all their live" or "since I was 5" should offer their help and advice without belittling the person who has less knowledge and experience.