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#5: They are Not Pretty Ponies
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Though my grandmother and all of my mothers friends seem to think it is just adorable to continually show and send me pictures of every single horse they find on the internet, they are not. Every non-horse person on the planet thinks they want to ride a Clydesdale just because they are the “beer horse”, and that the big ones with a lot of hair that seemingly flows in the wind in the pictures are the most majestic and beautiful creatures.
Giants = not meant to ride http://horses-world.com/2018/03/06/behind-scenes-budweiser-clydesdale-horses-exciting-experience/horses064-4/
SO PRETTY, SO RIDICULOUS…it’s basically about to step on it’s own hair https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/7l6qjh/a_black_friesian_horse/
They are all very wrong, the larger they are the less intelligent they are, the small quarter horses are usually most intelligent. Not to mention the little known cutting bred horses, they are so smart that they literally do the work for you when you show them at competitions and the rider just has to stay in the saddle. Also, those ones that their hair is flowing, they are very dense and hard to work with. They are docile but very ignorant, stubborn, and not very majestic while moving. But there will still be the large group of people in the world that will purchase a horse simply because of the color they are, not their intelligence or athletic ability, and to these I will shake my head continually. The same group of people are joined by those who go, “I just wanted a big, pretty one!” group that know little about the breed but think they must be as lovely as they look. When was the last time anyone on this planet noticed any large and very hairy horse being broadcasted as a winner for the Olympic games? Or for the sake of that argument even featured on Facebook as accomplishing anything? Just remember this when you see the tempting pictures and videos that make them look so wonderful that they are not all they seem.
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#4: Not Everything Is A Pony Even If We Call Them That
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Yes, but not literally…RELAX https://www.pinterest.com/pin/290341507199470374/?lp=true
As a long time horse owner, trainer, and rider, I am one of those that are completely guilty of saying almost daily that each of my horses are ‘ponies’. This is not ok for everyone to say! Little known to many outside of the equine world, there is actually a very strict difference between horses and their tiny demon counterparts. That literal difference would be the size of the two, ponies are strictly any equine below the height of 14.2 hands high, and a horse is anything over that same height.
Hey there pipsqueak, why so angry? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wek83azENQ
This small measurement means the world to many throughout the industry, partially why it is ok for us to call them ponies but we are avidly offended when others throw out the name pony all willy nilly like. Another huge difference that is not so easily comparable, but has been proven in almost every case, the short ones have a concentrated attitude making them not so docile as many believe. Their tiny brains are constantly plotting ways to injure their care takers and cause mischief. Many in the equine world swear to never buy their children ponies and to not allow anyone they know to either! Some believe that as they grow taller their evilness is diluted and allows their heart to grow and find the ability to show compassion back to their riders, such that when they reach the height of horses they change dramatically in that last tenth of a hand that they then become the loving, good natured animals we so love. So the next time you hear someone say they are going to get their child a pony tell them to run, and when you hear an equine person say they are going to their ponies, do not assume.
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#3: Breaking Colts Is Not Graphic For Heavens Sake
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What EXACTLY are you attempting back there? http://jennhindman.com/iowa-horse-fair-2013/
Every time someone brings up that I ride horses they ask what I like to do and when I reply I love to break out colts I get the same stare from anyone not involved in horses. I still to this day have not found the perfect way to actually describe this and often times give up when they are like, “what the young ones sometimes do not like you getting on them?” This is all together irritating, degrading, and frustrating beyond any attempt of coming back. No I do not break horses in half, literally or intentionally make them break in half when I put a saddle on their back for the first time. I actually attempt to make the entire process go smoothly and without any loss of control on my part or the horses’. A further explanation though is that colt breaking is unlike what it sounds, I only can relate the breaking term to breaking their mind and capturing it. The process is simple on the surface but technical the deeper you go. My job when breaking colts is to teach them to be ridden, I must not be rough and ‘break’ anything, instead I need to be methodical in my movements and show the horse right and wrong answers till it seems to understand till the point I can trust it to let me up on it’s back and ride around. It is frustrating to either feel people misunderstand and take colt breaking very light hearted or take it as I am forcing my equine counterpart into anything because this is a very strategic task and not one for the faint of heart! No breaking involved here on a good occasion, just smooth coming together!
Believe me or not this is actually what I attempt to avoid, zero necessity for a cowgirl up moment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnuzbSbxFeg
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#2: There Are A Variety Of Disciplines And No Not Every Horse Can Do Them All
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Number one thing I hear from people outside of the industry, “well why don’t you do that with your horse?” Because Susan, I do not want to do that with my horse and that is not his job!
How Susan views every horse I own… https://pixabay.com/en/photos/unicorn/
They are talented animals, yes, they are not magical as Disney and every other movie company and children’s television show portrays them. Horses are trained for specific tasks, not all are built the same or bred the same to have identical abilities of the others around it. Cow horses are bred to look at cattle with bright expression and control them, while the pleasure horse would run the opposing way when a leaf blows on by out in the pasture.
Some are talented, some are meant to stay in the pasture. cuttingreiningbarrelcowboy-dressage-horses
Other horses lack any sort of talent all together and if it was not for the wide variety of teenage girls, that thought these old bags sitting in a field were meant to do something, there would not be half of the youth barrel horses there are today. They all have some sort of job, they are not just ‘hay burners’ as many have termed them, but not every one is meant to do everything and certainly not every horse is able to be as talented as the last. Horses are portrayed to be magical and majestic and to take their riders to extreme heights and do everything asked of them, I promise if I ran out to one my horses in the pasture and attempted to swing over them while they were running and ‘ride them wild and free bareback’, I would end up on my rear end as they continued running.
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#1: No One Ever Understands Why Their Child, Parents, Grandparents, Or Their Neighbor Cannot Come Ride Your Horse
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“Oh, you have horses? Can Billy and Addie come ride with you?” No, your snot filled kids are not allowed to come ride my precious horse. Just because horses are portrayed the way they are everyone thinks that themselves and their brother should have no trouble riding your noble steed. They are sadly mistaken and I have several times been tempted to say yes after people have been persistent about coming to ride, simply to watch them fall off after a couple minutes. I just live for when I have all colts in the barn that I just started riding and people at work ask repeatedly if their grandparents can come ride that are in their 70s, that Jean and Bart used to ride everyday out on the range when they were growing up and want one last hoorah. They never seem to understand that when I say I do not have anything suitable for them to ride, I do not have a single soul in the barn that would be ok to pack around your crippled elders.
Grandma may not be enjoying her last hoorah. https://www.buzzfeed.com/cityofglass/the-best-of-grandma-on-horse-meme-4eor
When it comes to children, it takes a very specific and special horse to pack around youngsters, they can jump up and down, scream, kick, punch, pull out the horse’s hair, crawl around, or slide off the side of the saddle. It takes one very specific horse to handle that all and take into consideration the safety of the child with no aim to injury them. So when you ask the neighbor with a couple horses if your 3 and 4 year old can come ride remember to trust their judgment, there is a reason several others may have turned you away.
Unbroken Potential 