WHAT IS WRONG WITH SOME OF THESE HORSE PEOPLE some of the answers are not only bad but abusive?

Question

this is crazy your relationship with your horses should be base on trust not on fear horses are not mean, if they misbehave or bite or someting they are most likely try in to tell you something like there sacred or in pain.

13 years riding, training, and taking care of horses

Answer 1

The cold hard truth is that a lot of so-called horse people are just plain ignorant, and due to a lifetime of behaving a certain way toward horses, they assume they are doing things right. Fortunately for their horses, some of these ignorant people are open to education when one points out in a diplomatic sort of way the implications of their methods. I conducted a horsemanship clinic last fall where a boy asked me (while going through the basic principles of saddling a horse properly and safely) if it was true that you should knee them in the belly to make them let their air out. He was a very nice boy, and he liked his horse, but this is what his father told him to do. As it turns out, I was raised with the same belief, but many years ago, I learned diplomacy with horses ;). I was stunned, because I had been so far removed from this mentality that I forgot it existed. At any rate, that boy now knows the proper and polite way to saddle a horse - cinching up in steps and walking the horse between, rather than sticking your knee to his gut.

Of course, some people are just assholes and don't care what the horses think or feel.

Answer 2

Most people do not know any better. When most people run into an issue with their horse they use force because that is the only way they know how to solve the problem.
I have seen a lot of responses to answers that just said how cruel the method was without giving a better solution. Instead of just telling people how cruel they are being; educate them in a more proper way of handling these issues. Any time you see an answer that you think is cruel point out what you think is wrong and give them another solution that would be less stressful to both owner and horse.
Contrary to what most people think about biting; they are not telling you that they are scared or hurt. They are telling you to stay out of their personal space; this is a basic herd body language. There is also a difference between bad habits and misbehaving; one is human created and the other is herd instinct or the horses temperament.
I would suggest for everyone whether you have owned horses all your life or just starting to look into Monty Roberts and Pat Parelli training techniques. They both explain about basic equine body language and how to respond and interact with them.
As for Mickey2009's comment:
I have worked with horses that sold for $150,000 that I was happy to see leave; and have worked with horses that I have bought for $800 dollars that were the best horses personally and competitively I have ever owned or worked .

Answer 3

I do agree, the horses that have relationships built on trust and understanding always seem to be more open to training.
And as humans we dont understand what they're trying to tell us. If you're inexperienced, how are you supposed to know whether your horse is misbehaving when you put the saddle on, or whether he's in pain? And horses that have just picked up bad habits (such as biting when given a treat) are just misbehaving. Abused horses on the other hand 'misbehave' because they're scared. Not because they're trying to be mean, they just dont want to experience the pain that certain people have put them through. Like if you got food poisoning from something, would you want to eat it again? Probably not.
It all depends on the horse, and the trainer. Some people (unfortunately) are in just for the money, the profit from competitions, and not interested in the horses well being. While others are with horses because they are horse people at heart.
Though you seem to me like the person who would freak out if you saw somebody using a whip.
There is a fine line between cruelty/abuse, and training aids.

Answer 4

I don't know what the people you refer to have said and I believe in a caring relationship with a horse or any other animal, but I can tell you from personal experience that some horses have a much better temperament than others.

I worked at a riding stable and almost all the horses there had been working horses on a ranch prior to being shipped to the riding stable. On the whole they were old and tired and did not particularly want to be carrying around inexperienced riders. Their temperaments varied greatly though.

Answer 5

If a horse is to bite or strike you out of pure want for dominace, you should smack them back because that is very unacceptable. If a horse gains dominace it will surely rebel and more serious injuries may occur (Such as rearing, bucking, etc...).

I use natural horsemanship with my horse, and it works well because my horse understand what I do as something another horse would do.

And no, horses USUALLY arent like children in the fact that a horse will rear, or run away if something is scaring them. A bite typically only occurs when the horse is protesting something such as a gerth being sinched.

If your horse needs to be smacked because it has put you in danger, nothing is wrong with that. The horse started it after all..

((I'm ABSOLUTLY not saying abusing ANY horse on Earth or Mars is right or acceptable in any fashion, I'm saying you can't let a horse gain too much confidence to where it is dangerous. A horse will love you more if they respect you))

Answer 6

I agree 100%. If a horse is acting up he generally has a reason for it. Some horses misbehave because of poor training although a trained animal that suddenly develops a problem is definitely trying to tell you something.

Answer 7

Before you can really figure out your question you have to look at the age gap of people that are answering AND the type of horses they are dealing with. An older person is going to go more old school while a younger person is going to look at the more recent methods, someone that works with pleasure horses is going to be a lot more patient than someone who is raising a horse for a specific purpose. Does that make it wrong, to some yes but to others no. I believe you don't hit but instead push the head away for a biting horse, my 72 year old father-in-law says the only way to break it from the habit is to get its attention and to do that hit it. It works for him and his horse is fine but if did it to my horse he would probably get knocked down because my horse doesn't like anything being raised at his face suddenly and will balk. We have a wide variety of horses, we have one that if he acts up you know something is wrong another one will try to nip at you just because he can, another one will swing his butt around to keep you from saddleing him because all he wants to do is eat and be lazy, YOU HAVE TO KNOW YOUR HORSE then you can decide how to correct the behavoir. But I do know if a horse doesn't trust you it isn't going to be a pleasant experience and you, the horse or both of you are going to get hurt. ANYONE that deals with horses has got to know and remember one thing........horses are very intellegent animals, they are very large animals and although you have to get control you have got to respect them and have A LOT of patience.

Answer 8

Several reasons:
1.) they are just being jerks, they don't really do that.
2.) they don't know any better.
3) because to some people every thing seems like abuse. For example, I once worked with a standard bre, and I used a crop to teach him leg, Instead of kicking him till his sideds gave out. Squeeze, then Squeeze and tap. The horse was very sweet, wasn't scared of anything, didn't think the crop was scarey, but I was accused of "abbusing" the horse. You have to disipline your horse sometimes. I've hit my mare before, but then you go right back as if nothing happened. thats what horses understand. My mare doesn't mind being told she's one step below me in the heard, as long as she knows she isn't on top one day, bottom the next, in the middle on day three. She comes up to me all the time.

4)Some people think thats honestly the best way.

Answer 9

I have been around horses my entire life and have 4 of my own. I have worked on several thoroughbred farms and have sadly seen the worst in people. I once yelled at my supervisor because he was whipping the teaser for what he felt was laziness when it was only the teaser trying to tell him that the mare wasn't in heat. We had a mare in for breeding who was so skittish she would run to the back of her stall and tremble in fear when all you were doing was dumping her grain. She shipped back in to foal the following year and the other workers treated her like crap because of their experiences with her. I came in to work right after she had foaled one night and 2 handlers were in the stall with her shanking her and yelling at her and they wondered why she wouldn't take the foal. 15 minutes after they left that foal was nursing happily and mom had somewhat relaxed.

I could go on and on with such stories but I won't. It's too depressing. There are stupid people in this world and the only nice thing I can say about them is that I learn from them how not to act. Suffice it to say that I am a bleeding heart and PROUD OF IT!!!!

Answer 10

i must have missed the questions and answers for that. but your right. people that abuse horses are NOT horse people. they are horse OWNERS. the difference: anyone can spend the money to buy a horse. it takes trust, mutual respect and brains on the part of the person to be a horse person.