11/10/2021
10o% agree with this..... People need to be better educated at reading there horses.
“Back, saddle, teeth all okay”.
As I was about to fall asleep last night, I was scrolling through Facebook and came across a post about someone asking for advice when their horse quite dramatically stops and drops their head after jumping and cantering, also refusing fences.
Maybe I’m in a bubble, floating around and surrounded by passionate followers and clients who are intuitive and open minded about learning more to improve the happiness and comfort of their horses.
But I was so heartbroken to read the “advice”.
Short grass reins. Keep her forward. Hold her up. More leg. Draw reins. Ride defensively. Ride through it. The horse has learnt to get you off, you have to win the battle. Give her a good pony club kick and smack, she won’t do it again. Put a man or good tough rider on her.
If this is the “advice” we are dishing out, how on earth are we meant to get anywhere with our horses!? This is by no means discrediting anyone, but it does raise questions as to our traditional, standardised approaches.
And the standard “all clear back, saddle teeth”. Okay… but have you considered the horses neck, ligaments, muscles… parts of the anatomy that are not the back? Is your therapist adequately qualified and regulated by a governing body? The saddle - have you had a second opinion? Is your girth correct? How recently was this saddle checked? Is your saddler adequately qualified? And teeth - the same thing, is your EDT qualified? Does your horse need to be seen more regularly?
And what about mares and hormones? Digestive discomfort? Farriery? Previous bad experiences? Any other factors to attribute the behaviour to.
There is a difference between a horse being cleared from back, saddle and teeth… and a horse being comprehensively assessed by a team.
So if you are finding yourself at a cross roads with your horse, please please please exhaust all medical avenues before attempting to “ride through it”. I see far too many horses on the brink of breaking mentally and physically, particularly horses that have been sold and the new owner is left to pick up the pieces.
There were some really important comments on the post, with some people picking up on this. However, lines are blurred. Let’s not belittle behaviour and overlook it’s importance - let’s listen to our horses and respond ✨
Photo by Daydream Equine Art ♥️
