My Number #1 Pet Peeve.

I have been saving this post for some time, and collecting 'things' for it. I've discussed it before on this post and again on this post. See, I'm a parent too, and I also taught riding lessons to kids that had never once been on a horse before. So this topic is rather important to me. 


I'll start off with a bit of my personal life. 

This is my son, who was 8 at the time, riding our family mare for the first time. I would like to point out several things. 1) He's WEARING A HELMET. 2) He's WEARING A HELMET. 3) HE'S WEARING A HELMET. 

Yes, he's also riding in shorts, and a pair of tennis shoes. The saddle is too big for him, but we made do. This particular ride was not planned, and we were a bit unprepared. It was more of a photo shoot than an actual lesson, but he did master turning right and left that particular day in about 30 minutes. She never went faster than what I would call a bumbling walk, and every time he'd sway off to the side she'd move herself under him, and re-balance him. It was also around noon on a July Arizona Summer day, and it was already nearly 105 in the shade. 

Let me direct your attention back to the helmet, please. Why is this such a difficult thing for parents to do? 

Just one search on youtube will reveal a myriad of horse riding accidents... ranging from serious to stupid. We've all had them, heck I am sitting here remembering when I tried to get on the same 15.2 hand mare pictured above bareback from a mounting block, and WAY over did the jump up. I slid onto her back on my belly... and kept on going. I somehow landed on my hind end and was laughing before I hit the ground. My friend, already on her 14.1 hand pony (she was 5'9" - all she had to do was swing her leg on over to get on him bareback) laughed at me for weeks after that dumbness. 

All joking aside, why do parents think its acceptable to allow their children to sit on a horse like the three kids above? Would they allow those same kids to get on an ATV without helmet, elbow and knee pads? Or one of those kid sized dirt bikes? Ok, maybe a few would... but the majority wouldn't. So why is an ATV or bike, which DOESN'T have a mind of its own, more helmet worthy than a horse? 

Living out here in the Arizona desert in spring, when the weather is sunny, no clouds, and in the mid 80's brings all the outdoor lovers out. Driving through the desert you'll see families everywhere enjoying themselves with ATV's and the like. 

I saw one family yesterday that had a 4-5 year old sitting on his own pint sized 4 wheel ATV going 30 miles an hour, dressed in a t-shirt and shorts. 

I'm just dumbfuckfounded at the absolute IGNORANCE of these parents! Do they just not THINK about the dangers involved? Do they just not THINK at all??? 

Its not just young kids either. This very annoying picture of the two teen girls is on the ad for the bay horse in the back. I know most of you will say, they are teenagers, they don't need to ride with helmets, they 'know' better. To that I call BULLSHIT. 

The very ad that horse is being sold in is a perfect example as to why at the minimum, that young lady in the orange shirt NEEDS to be wearing a helmet. 

You really wanna know what it says? 

GREAT HORSE FOR SALE OR TRADE!! - $700
Only selling to a good home!
Also taking TRADES!!
Smokey is a bay QH/TB (appendix). 15'2 hands. Turning 3 in July.
Great Family horse, no bite, buck, or kick.
BOMBPROOF! BOMPROOF! BOMBPROOF!
Has been ridin across 6-Lane highways, through lakes, and up to Mcdonalds!
Still needs to finish training.
Sometimes rears when ridden, but nothing you cant get out of him in no time.
UTD on coggins, shots, hoofs, etc.

Serious offers only please.
CASH ONLY! 

Did you catch that? No Bite, buck, or kick....they scream three times he's BOMBPROOF! but SOMETIMES REARS WHEN RIDDEN. 

Those two girls are riding down a residential street with concrete and asphalt under them. 

I agree that ad is a clusterfuck of a blog post in of itself. 

What if that green broke 2 year old got freaked out by a neighbors dog suddenly charging at them? A very reasonable situation to play what if in... cause we all have that one neighbor that just never can manage to keep his/her dogs kept off the streets. 

She's an awful pretty girl, the one in the orange shirt. Wouldn't it be such a shame if she were to go splat on the concrete under her because her parents didn't make a rule that said she had to wear a helmet when riding? 

I cannot beat this subject into people enough. I am even considering writing an article to see if the state horse newspaper will publish it. 

PEOPLE DIE falling off horses without helmets on. Children become brain dead for the rest of their lives because of falls off of horses without helmets on. 

This is such a simple fix!!!!!!! Why can't we get it right!?

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I nearly forgot. The blurb on the little Miniature pinto stallion that was born last friday as the unofficial worlds smallest foal, has a video. I can't decide whether he's so ugly he's cute, or if he's just ugly. Can't figure out if he has the dwarfism gene either.   

So the video doesn't play every time you hit this page, here is the link to the video.

Thoughts on this? 

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And as always, cause I forget, thank you to the readers that send me this stuff daily. You make my job so much easier, and I'm really bad about naming the people that send me stuff. Just know, if you send something into me, and I use it, but forget to mention you... It's totally MY BAD!  :D

Today we have another stupid parent just begging to have their kid hurt, or even killed. 

So does anyone want to take a guess as to why this horse is being offered up for sale? 

I'll give you three hints. The horse is or is not a kids horse? The horse is or is not too big for the child? The horse does or does not need an experienced rider? 

*sigh*. 

*IF* you can get around the horrible spelling, read between the lines here a bit. Then compare to the picture above. 


THIS IS ANOTHER REASON I WRITE THIS BLOG. As a person that was responsible for starting children off on the right 'hoof' (as it were), teaching lessons to beginners and first timers, this type of basic stupidity makes me want to scream bloody murder. 


Its absolutely wonderful that this mom wants a horse for her daughter. Did she ever once consider taking the child to a professional instructor first? NOPE. I seriously doubt it. No, we have a mom that was so gung-ho on getting her child what the child wanted, that she probably went out and bought the first horse that came along. 


And she ended up with a mare that her daughter can't ride (except for BAREBACK, NO HELMET, AND NOBODY HOLDING THE FREAKING HORSE), is too big, and is too much horse.


I am not against children riding horses. I think children NEED to ride horses, because when taught properly, it sets the child up for learning all sorts of good life skills. Responsibility, caring for others, caring for animals, the value of hard work, the thrill of accomplishment when mastering a skill such as Posting, and the joy one takes in seeing another living being contented and happy in their lives are all some things that kids (well, and adults too) learn by being around horses.  Plus its just downright FUN!


I am also NOT against children riding bareback. AGAIN, when taught properly, say with a helmet, and the horse is either on a lead line or lunge line for the first, IDK, 20 or 30 times? Bareback riding increases the strength of the muscles used in riding, promotes a better balanced seat, and allows the rider to truly feel the horse under them. 


A rider first starting out bareback should never ever ride alone, and often on a lead or lunge is way preferable to the alternative of the horse spooking because they know something is a little different, and they are on edge because of it. Or just hyper excited, as some horses get when they realize there is no saddle involved. Hyped up horse often turns into a spooked out horse, and what happens when we have spooks? Horse goes weird directions like sideways, and the rider, not having a decently balanced bareback seat yet, goes the other direction. This is why its recommended to have someone else with you for a while. 


BUT this ad is a fucking joke, 'scuse my language. This picture, and the absolute plethora of parents that don't realize they could LOOSE THEIR CHILDREN by this 'cuteness', makes me want to go absolutely postal and start screaming at these parents. 


I refrain of course, save screaming on here. I thus also give YOU all permission to scream and rant as well.


Commence the screaming. (and thank you, Sarah, for emailing the ad to me!)

Cause and Effect

Two ads today to make up for the lack of an ad yesterday :). That article was just so darn thought provoking I had to post it. 


On to todays Ads!


#1. Lets start out with... something beyond irritating, yet not quite blow your lid horrible. 










Ad Text: 10 month old Stud Colt Very Flash! $750 or make offer. He is very sweet and has been handled alot. Call David              or email Robin 


And this is why those of us that feel the need to scream bloody murder from the rafters about the current condition of the horse industry ARE SCREAMING BLOODY MURDER in the first place! 


So poor little baby Tonto here has to suffer the indignities of having some ignorant ass**** pretend hes a big all-growed-up horse and be SADDLED. You wanna bet me 5 bucks he's been RIDDEN TOO? Whats to stop the owners from merely being satisfied with saddling up a 10 MONTH OLD BABY!? At least they have the small tiny amount of sense to put the baby up for sale and hopefully someone will have already snatched that guy up and done right by him a little. A gelding surgery at that age is simple and easy, and relatively inexpensive - barring any issues like Cryptorchidism. Then for gods sakes, just let the baby grow up!


In just 2 months, this is the third ad I have found that shows a horse under the age of 12 months either just saddled, or saddled and being ridden. This is just... I don't have the words to explain how much I think people are really ignorant sometimes. 


What would happen if this little stud colt were to be purchased by the wrong people? Say ... idk... Parents of a horse crazy little girl?


#2. Perfect scenario of Bad Parental Judgement when it comes to horses.

I KNOW this one is going to make you all want to scream, throw things, and otherwise have a mental break down. So don't say I didn't warn you!

(no pictures on this one though I'm sure any picture they would post would be just SPECTACULAR!)

Ad Text: Free Horse to good home. Rilie is a two year old stud..Hes in great shape..We got him for an 11 year old girl last year..He is too much for her to handle and has been running with a mare..He does rear up and bites..He needs someone who is EXPERIENCED. Rather than getting him fixed, we chose to get a broke horse for our daughter. He was really gentle until he started feeling his wild oats!!! If interested..I will e-mail photo's..Only contact me if you are serious and really care about animals......Thanks for looking.....

*SCREAMS IN FRUSTRATION*

*takes deep breath.*

Now. Shall I dissect that or not? Hmm, I think the ad speaks for itself. Really horribly. 

Ah, what the hell. Why not!

I really believe that the parents of this 11 year old girl need to be given one HELL of a wake up smack in the face. Baseball bats come to mind...I'm not a violent person nor do I condone violence, but OMG, these parents. 

This is what happens when the horse ignorant people of the world decide that it would be just so much FUN to have their child 'grow up' with an animal. Dogs, while not generally advised to pair young children with puppies...would still be a MUCH better choice than what these parents chose! BETTER YET... why not a nice safe Hamster or Gerbil? Something that can't REAR UP AND STOMP THE 11 YEAR OLD GIRL TO DEATH!

Why the HELL do people think its ok to buy an UNBROKE (I don't give a damn what the ad says here, any horse that is that out of control is unbroke) 2 year old STALLION for their daughter? This is not "The Black Stallion" here folks. That was a FICTIONAL STORY. IT NEVER HAPPENED. And even if, in some weird twist of the universe, something like it has happened... poor Eric Alec (Edit: typo - sorry!) would have been slammed to the ground, and smashed with hooves. 

Expecting an 11 year old girl to be able to handle a untrained, unbroke 2 year old stallion is ASKING for your daughter to end up in a wooden box 6 feet under. 


Said 2 year old stallion is 'feeling his wild oats' while 'running with a mare'. This just gets better and better. These idiots are going to be so surprised when their mare starts to get really FAT for "no reason at all"! Then they'll be stuck with another baby... 50% chance another colt...and in a few years, we'll be in the same situation with instead, a 13 year old that most likely still wouldn't be able to handle the demands of a 2 year old stallion. 


Today is such a perfect example of cause and effect. If you don't know what the hell you are doing, don't breed horses beCAUSE you might just have the EFFECT of putting a child into the ground. 

The Stupidity Just NEVER Ends...

Thank you to OkieGirl from the Fuglyblog.com for this ad. She posted it in today's comments, and I just couldn't help myself. 


Today we have a 9 month old colt being ridden. This is just.... STOP RIDING BABIES! STOP STOP STOP!


Its a 9 month old foal for christ's sakes! This type of plain ignorance just makes me sick! 



Ad Text:

 I have a beautiful nine month old stud colt for sale. He thinks he is a dog and loves people. very smart and well mannered does great with his feet and will let you touch him anywhere. I have put bags on him and he does fine. Very trusting little guy. Stetson should be around 14.3 hh when grown. He is registered but the guy I bought him from never sent them to me. I will give you the number if you want to rasttle with it. His mom was running barrels and doing good. Thats why I got him hoping one day he would be my barrel horse but loss of land forces sell. I saddle him up and my three year old nephew rides him around. as you can see in the pic.. Stetson is very gentle and just wants to please you. Asking $400 OBO Also have another solid colt I would sell cheaper. If interested please call 405xxxxxxxx.

And the Picture: 


Ok, its not even ok that the 'rider' is a child. No, not a child, a freaking toddler. SEE PRIOR BLOG POST.


Oh, wait... the colt has 'color' too. See that? Can you see past the saddle to look at the foals' coat? It's a buckskin tobiano! OF COURSE it is! *puke vomit retch*


I won't go through all the reasons that this low life needs to be reported to CPS and have all of the kids and animals taken away from him due to his asinine ideas that its so freakin' cute to him have his child (sans ANY head protection) ride his sub-year old foal. 


I really hope that someone sees this ... I'm gonna break one of my own rules here and post the link.... and reports him to the local CPS for child endangerment. Though, noting the area its from, I doubt that would do a damn thing. 


Link


I can't even get past the fact that he's putting his child on a foal to truly read what ELSE he wrote. 


*Takes deep breath, goes back and reads it.*


Yada Yada, talking about how 'great' he is, how 'well mannered', etc; oh well at least he didn't breed him himself... he bought him from a guy that 'won't' give him the reg papers? Wonder why not... Hmm. Sounds fishy to me there ... moving on ... maybe cause they saw what a fucktard he was and sold him the colt anyways ... hoping he'd be a barrel horse like mom .... was he planning on training him himself? God help us, like the world needs another f'ked up, unsound, insane at the gate unregistered barrel STALLION (oh cause there's NO way he would have ever gelded him...oh no not a RARE Tobiano BUCKSKIN, HERE THIS IS HOW RARE AND VALUABLE THESE HORSES ARE)... oh ok so the boy is three years old and HIS nephew. Yea cause that makes it better. Wonder if MOM is taking the picture. 


AAAAnnnddd...... he's got another solid colt he'd sell cheaper? Oh lord. Cause color is better. Ok, AGAIN, THERE ARE CREMELLOS, PERLINOS, AND ALL SORTS OF OTHER "RARE" COLORS BEING SOLD TO THE MEAT MARKET. Wonder if it was because that one wouldn't let hIM put a saddle on him at the same age as this poor little guy? 


I am so disgusted over this I can't / don't want to go look for something positive to post against it in comparison. There IS NO comparison to this. This is bottom feeding, ignorant, backwoods stupidity at its worst. 

Risking the lives of children...

...is something that most of us parents would never knowingly or willingly do. Right? 

I beg to differ. There is something about a horse that for most parents, safety and common sense goes right out the window. I don't understand it, and it makes me want to scream at these parents for their inability to reason that putting their small child on a 1000 pound plus animal without proper safety gear... (I'm talking helmets now)... is completely beyond me.

I have two examples for you that were posted on 2/28/10. They are from different parts of the US, yet show similar pictures. 

The first is from Austin, TX, near Cedar Creek. Never been there, I'm sure its a very nice area with very nice, friendly people. 

Ad Text:

APHA Mare. Candy has done it all. Trail Riding, Team Penning, Barrel Racing, Pole Bending, Play Days, and working with cows. She is 12 yrs, but has a lot of get up and go. UTD on shots, never been sick or injured. If you want a horse for barrel Racing, she is fast!
She is best suited for an experienced rider. I will consider a lease or sale for $5,000.00 OBO. Price has been reduced for quick sale. 

Sounds like a wonderful horse, and a fun one at that. So, the issues come into play when you scroll down to the pictures. "Best suited for an experienced rider." Keep that in the back of your mind...

In the lower left hand picture we have a small boy riding bareback with mom leading with a halter. He's got a western hat on, but that is NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR A HELMET. This mare also has a small foal at her side. 

I decided to start this blog highlighting these ads to give the ad writers a heads up on how their target audience sees them. However, I'm starting to see a way to help educate as well. 

Here's the problem. Foals like to run and play. A Lot. They don't always follow instructions from the human to walk alongside us nicely, no matter how much we'd like them to... and thats when they are on a halter and lead. Little foals like this, even when ON a halter/lead tend to do silly things like pull back, buck, jump, run us over, crow hop, attempt to bolt, and even flip over on their furry little heads. This becomes even worse when they are running loose next to Mom. 

Most horse owners have a limited horse education. Some get smart and realize that they just don't know as much as they'd like to know, and start doing things like reading books, watching DVD's, asking questions, take lessons, and generally begin stuffing themselves with as much horse info as they can hold. Horse Behavior, while fascinating to nearly all self proclaimed "horse lovers", is a highly complex and complicated subject of study. What I've found happens most often is the person might read one or two very popular books that are currently available at most major book retailers that delve into the general aspects of horse behavior, yet don't get into it very deeply, or cover things like how a mare acts around her foal. 

The behavior of a mare with foal is an interesting dynamic. The common misconception is that when you have Mom on a halter and lead rope, and baby is running free, (like what we have in this little scenario), baby will always follow Mom. This is unfortunately, not the case. See, foals are curious, impulsive little creatures, and if they suddenly get the urge to run willy-nilly around the pasture, well, there's not much you can do to stop them if they're free. They will be gone, tail straight up, faster than you can say "Where did she go?" But MOM is still on a halter and lead. She can't go running willy-nilly around the pasture with her foal. MOM then starts to get agitated and nervous, and well, no matter how well behaved she might be otherwise, will still most likely do everything she can to run after her offspring. 

It doesn't matter to her if there is a small child on her back. This is especially true of Quarter Horse and Paint mares. They are tough, stubborn, single minded, and contrary to popular belief, are not the most easy going sorts when it comes to their foals. Some of the nicest stock mares you'll ever find turn into raging horses of evil and hate when you DARE get within 50 feet. They were bred to be independent and take care of their foals out on the open range where a foal is dinner for a hungry coyote pack. There's no getting around it. We created them that way.

The moment I laid eyes on this seemingly innocent picture, I saw that cute little fuzzy foal suddenly bolting off in a frenzy of joy, Mom seeing baby run off, Mom running over the handler to get free, and bolting off after offspring, thereby DUMPING THE CHILD OFF OF HER BACK. I'm not making this up folks. I've seen otherwise calm, sane, respectful mares suddenly go berserk when their foals take off and they decide to follow more times than I'd care to count. Matter of fact, the middle finger of my right hand nearly got shattered when a mare decided to run after her foal and *Your's Truly* was walking her to turn out. 

If thats not enough my best friend in high school got double barrel kicked square on the chest when the Arabian mare she was leading to turn out decided to run after her foal who was nearly 100 feet ahead of her. The mare didn't even think twice, she lunged forward, pulled the rope out of my friends highly experienced hands, and within a second let those hind feet fly. My friend woke up 20 minutes later on a gurney, staring at the ceiling of an ambulance without a clue how she got there.

The cute little miniature cowpoke on her back doesn't stand a chance if that were to happen. He's got NOTHING to hold on to, and NOTHING to protect his head if she dumps him into that tree in the background.

The simple solution to this is two fold: 1) Put a damn helmet on the kid. No if's, and's, or but's. In my book, this is non-negotiable. The child's safety is way too important not to. 2) Put a foal sized halter and lead on the foal, and lead the foal. Thats right, because if you lead the foal, there's no way in HELL that Mom is going anywhere her foal isn't. She'll follow baby to the ends of the earth should baby wish to go (or actually, where ever the handler wishes to go). Heck, all you have to do is have a third person lead baby just out side of the camera and you can still have a halter on Mom - really, or the child's sake, its a darn good idea to still be able to control Mom. 

OH, and irritatingly enough, this family obviously OWNS a helmet, look at the picture to the bottom right! Its OK for the adult to wear it, but not the child? 

For the record, judging by the other pictures, this mare really does give off a vibe to be rather decent minded. This situation is still a disaster waiting to happen.

Unfortunately, this isn't an isolated occurrence. 

Example Ad #2. Slightly different situation, yet nauseatingly similar. 

(Though, the title to the ad is catchy...)

We have from my own 'back yard' Wickenburg, Az, another ad that shows how absolutely any parent can simply forget that their child is riding 1000 pounds plus of explosion waiting to happen.

The part of this ad that put it at the top of my options today is the description of the second of the two "long, tall, and ugly horses for sale". 

Ad Text: 

16.2H, 7 yr old, TB mare, chestnut. I put kids on her mostly because she's great in the arena and seems to really like children. Fastest learner EVER. Goes english, western, bareback, and barefoot. Nice girl but kind of dingy. A lot of people throw this around, but this horse has MAJOR potential. Vet checks out sound. She's very broke, but just needs more time put into her. I suggest an experienced rider if you'll be doing a lot of trail riding. If you and your kids are experienced riders, by all means, call me - however, if you want a bombproof horse for the grandkids, this is NOT your mare! CONS: She can be a headtosser and I often use a loose tiedown on her. She needs to be taught how to just be a horse, she's come a long way but it still not a horse you can pasture for a month and then ride. Really, she's a great mare but needs time. $500 

Ok. Is the horse ok for kids or is she not ok for kids? I'm confused. Honestly if the OWNER doesn't know, how is a potential buyer going to figure that out in a 30 minute try out? Also, listing your horses Bad points on a sale ad isn't real smart either... The idea is to talk up the horse? Not scare everyone away. Not to mention: Nice but dingy. Broke but needs time. Puts kids on her because she likes kids but not suitable for a bomb proof horse for the grandkids???

Sheesh make your mind up already, would ya?

Thats not why its on todays blog post though, (Though its not helping matters, mind you)...

Here we go again! Another absolutely adorable little girl, looks to be around four. LOVE LOVE LOVE the pig tails! 

NO FREAKIN HELMET. 

And she's on a horse that (Ok, I'm going to assume its the little girls' mom thats posting the ads, though can't really be sure) well, we'll say an otherwise knowing adult said "however, if you want a bombproof horse for the grandkids, this is NOT your mare!"  

And and and ... the mare is a head tosser? That means she randomly flips her head around in all directions. Most of the time its backwards. Towards YOUR head. Or in this case, the little girls head. To my one day tens of readers, have any of you ever been hit really hard in the face with a base ball, or even by a horse's head? It hurts! Really bad! She's got a tie down on the mare for the pictures, but a tie down is not a quick fix. If this mare was determined enough, all she'd have to do is toss her head high enough and hard enough, and she'd end up rearing part way. Some head tossers fight tie downs so hard they flip completely over. I wouldn't call this safe behavior for a four year old girl.

She's also bareback. If this ADMITTEDLY!!! non bombproof, kid not safe horse decides to spook at... say a small bird in the tree in the background... she's done for. There is NO way this little girl has the ability, skills, or physical strength to stay on this giant 16 hand horse. That adorable little pig-tailed blond could get seriously hurt, if not outright killed. 

I mean just LOOK at how TINY she is on that big red horse! Thankfully,from the looks of the mare, she really doesn't seem to be that bothered about much of anything. However why take that chance? Why run the chance of your child getting KILLED because you were too lazy to stick a helmet on her head? 

Here. That one's less than $50.00 with tax/shipping. Comes in lots of pretty colors too. 

And oh look, another Troxel for only $27.95 PLUS Free Shipping!

Not putting your child in a helmet while on a horse for any reason should be at least a small fine if you get caught. I personally think it should be under the 'child endangerment' laws, but thats just me.

I don't care how much people love tossing around the term 'bomb proof', there is no such thing as a 'bomb  proof' horse. There are only horses that haven't found or come across anything scary enough to blow up at yet. 

/rant.