Newspaper Article...

Here's this weeks news article. And yes, I was with the folks working cattle and I'm as guilty as the rest of them.

I also posted a photo of Stormy on the Cupcake post.



When Do We Step In?
By Janet Huntington

A young couple entered the arena. They were leading a pretty chestnut and white paint mare. She was bright-eyed and high headed, obviously a little nervous, but leading along with a good attitude.

The young man rode her first.

It became apparent within two strides the mare was packing an extremely green rider.
All the signs were there. He sat hunched forward in the saddle, trying to find stability by jamming his feet into the too short stirrups. His knees gripped the horse’s sides and his toes pointed straight to the ground.

The mare loped off at a good clip, wildly tossing her head as she tried to escape the pressure of a mechanical hackamore, adjusted so low on her nose it was cutting off her air.

As they careened across the arena they zipped past a group of competent, solid riders working cattle with their horses.

“Somebody’s going to get killed,” one rider muttered.

“Now, be nice, everybody’s got to learn in their own way,” another rider answered.

The mare grew more and more desperate as she was kicked in the sides and pulled on at the same time. When her rider lost his balance he would pull himself back up in the saddle by hauling on the reins of the suffocating hackamore.

Her head tossing was joined by a wild snapping of her tail, but she stayed patient as she suffered through the painful treatment by her owner.

None of the experienced group of riders said a thing. They simply kept working their cows and kept half an eye on the horse and her very green rider.

After careening around the arena for a few laps the young man stopped to visit the other riders.
He introduced himself and said, “I’m riding her down for my girlfriend, this horse is really hot.”
There were polite greetings from the other riders and then an uncomfortable silence.

Nobody said a word, even though the thought of the young man being the more experienced of the two was pretty terrifying.

This is a situation I’ve seen over and over in the horse world.

Even though nobody on the planet would dream of driving a car without instruction, for some reason everybody thinks they can ride a horse.

If an experienced driver saw someone driving a car who had obviously never had any training or driven the car before, he would do everything in his power to stop the driver, up to and including calling the police.

So why do we all seem to feel we can ride a horse through osmosis?

There seems to be a code of silence among horsemen when it comes to helping out a fellow rider and it is amplified by stubborn refusal from new riders to take offered advice.

If one of those horsemen had stepped up and said, “Let me show you something on your horse here,” and adjusted the hackamore so the poor mare could breathe the entire situation would have changed for the better.

The problem is we horse people hate to be told how to ride. We immediately feel the fool if someone more experienced points out some lug-head thing we’re doing.

If we are taking instruction we’ll sometimes listen to our instructor. But nobody else can say a thing. Even if we’re too green to know whether our instructor is any good.

This kind of attitude seems to be encouraged by riders with experience. We sit frozen, not saying a word, sometimes even in a dangerous situation, because we don’t want to embarrass anyone.

We expect green riders to learn from experience and let’s face it, if you have enough time and enough horses to burn through you will eventually get good enough to get your horse rode. Unless of course you get scared, injured or killed.

I can’t help but wonder how much safer the equestrian world would be if the experienced rider, trainer or veterinarian just spoke up. Of course this won’t work unless the rider we’re trying to help will listen and not become offended.

I also can’t help but wonder about how many horses are labeled “dangerous,” or “bad-minded,” simply because they have been driven to the point of insanity by inexperienced hands.

I think back to Mort, the horse of my childhood and I can’t remember if he was fat or thin. I remember his bony back getting rounder, but I couldn’t tell you if his weight was right or not. I didn’t know what a healthy weight on a horse looked like.

I also rode him with a hackamore that bloodied his chin and a tie-down which kept his head tossing to a minimum by pure force.

Lucky for both Mort and I we had the intervention and instruction we needed. First from Mark Reynor who helped me find my seat and taught me how to use my hands. Then Mike Craig, a young Black Forest trainer who taught me the Monte Foreman training system, where I was able to throw away my tie-down and learn to ride with my seat and legs and properly use a bit. I joined the Kit Carson Riding Club and learned to show in an environment of support. The club was also filled with adult riders who would jump in and help a willing but ignorant teenager.

My horse and I survived our first few years together and I’ll always be grateful to the people who helped me along the way. I am very aware it could have ended differently for both Mort and me.

Since there are no legal requirements for buying a horse I think we have to take a chance and help a new rider when we get the chance.

The couple with the brightly colored paint were on the right track. Their horse was well fed and had good feet. She was wearing a properly fitted saddle. She seemed to be fairly patient and willing to try and so did the young couple.

A tactful intervention could have helped everybody caught up in the small drama.

So what’s the solution?

A good start would be to suck it up and offer a little help when we see it’s needed. Of course it also means accepting said advice with a smile and a thank-you.

Could a free class for beginning horse owners be offered by the highly respected local riding club?

How about a list of things to know before you buy a horse and how to find the information and instruction you need?

This list could be sent to feed stores and tack shops and be not only a help to new horse owners but free advertisement for area veterinarians, trainers and shoers.

I feel strongly enough about this to want to pursue the thought.

It might even get me to show up to a FRRC meeting or two.

I’m inviting anybody who reads my column, from the old time rider to the brand new horse owner to send me your thoughts and questions on this subject. What help do you need? What questions need to be asked? How can assistance be offered without offending? How can my column be of help?