What is........?

Question

What is some of the worst advice you have ever received for horses?

I knew a "trainer" years back and his solution to every behavior, training problem was. "Get a bigger bit!"

No matter what. His solution was to get a bigger bit.

His advice has now become a joke with in our family. When ever you have a problem get a bigger bit. Haha

Now what some of the worst advice you have heard, received for horses?

Answer 1

Same as you!!!! I've gotten my fare share of BS "advice", but that was one of the worst things I've heard. My dad used to have a buddy when I was a girl whose advice for EVERY problem was "get a bigger bit. Get something you can control him in."

Ooh another bit of horrible advice I have received was from some girl who was a part of the 'parelli cult'. Her advice was to give a biting horse treats! Yeah, greeaaat idea. Next lets lay on the ground and let our horses step on our face!! That's a good idea too... NOT.

**Edit**

LMAO Ayla!!!! That's freakin' hilarious!

Answer 2

I would say the bigger bit thing too!  That will never solve anything, but lots of people think it will!  I have also heard that horses only need to be turned out no more then a hour a day.  Thats CRAZY!  They are horses for gods sake, not people!  h**l, even people need more then a hour of exercise a day.

Answer 3

Yo dawg that's wack. haha

the craziest piece of advice I've been handed was to stay on yer horse no matter what... Nah... No thank you. If i KNOW my @ss is gonna fall I'm getting off before i end up on the ground in a less 'attractive' display. ha

Answer 4

The most ridiculous piece of horse advise I have ever heard was in response to teaching a horse to do a sliding stop.

The advise was to gallop as fast as possible into a wall.

The horse will have no choice but to slide into a stop.

I am laughing as I'm writing because you just can't make this kind of stuff up!

Edit to Curb - LOL .... what? That is  so bad its funny!

Answer 5

oh dear where do i start

Once a lady suggested tying a horse we all knew pulled back something shocking, onto a hitching rail without a piece of bailing twine to break it and a robe headstall...(with no previous training on the horses part) so off she goes with 16.3hh of ClydieXWB gets a big Parelli halter on him and a 12 foot hardcore lead line with a massive bullnose clip......ties him up to the same hitching rail as about 3 other horses. (doesn't tie him up correctly...so she can't pull the quick release knot) and then she waves a flag in front of him to scare him into pulling (to and i quote "teach him how to tie") well that would have all been well and good if the horse wasn't already 16, as strong as a tanker, as crazy as ...well a crazy person...., and once he gets away he just keeps running. so anyway, long story short...ish...., he pulled back big time, broke the hitching rail, dragged it and three other horses all over the massive property, people yelling and crying and chasing and swearing. a guy finally stopped him at the main gate, one horse (a really expensive dressage WB) had so many cuts and was permanantly scarred, another one had an incurable fear of tying up and hitching rails, and one got of pretty well apart from a massive chunk out of it's belly.

Sampson had cuts and fractured cheeks, and was bleeding from an ear and his nostrils alot. and he had to be sold as a grass eater as he could never be ridden again, due to so much fear.

and that all happened because one of her friends suggested it to her. Maddy was consequently banned from ever setting foot on the premises again and had to pay 10000 in vet care.

Answer 6

Years ago I boarded at a place run by an old cowboy.  Anytime a horse was injured, no matter how bad it was, he'd always say "You don't need no vet.......it's a long way from the heart!"

Kevin...real cowboys never die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 7

My daughter heard this one at the riding school - if it won't stop turn it into the fence.

Great - that was how we found out that Harvey can clear 5 foot from a standstill. He stopped then jumped. My daughter fell off and hasn't ridden him since.

Answer 8

When I first got my horse he was prone to bucking at the canter. A woman at my barn said "Put a martingale on him! Horses have to have their head UP to buck!" Oh my...

Answer 9

Too many to list!  I take all advice with a grain of salt...or really more like a handful!

Oh yeah, I've heard the "run your horse at a wall to get it to stop" bit.  And now I remember one time someone said to get a horse to lead you should tie it to a truck because the truck is stronger than the horse so the horse will have no choice but to follow.  And even worse, I saw people actually follow that advice.

Answer 10

There are no dangerous horses & you don't have to hit them with a whip or use a crop or spurs.  Just use a stern voice & then give them a treat so they will know you aren't mad at them.

With ours a stern voice works & they sometimes even act sorry, but not with most of the cull knuckleheads I've had to deal with over the years.  I have NEVER beat a horse, but I'll be dammed if I will try to reason with an animal & try to explain why what it is doing is "not nice"

Answer 11

we were rescuing a mare. She had never been out of the stall she was born in and she was near starved to death. The people were giving her and others away because they were moving they said. I had to tranquilize her through the stall bars to try to go in to get a lead rope on her. Everytime I tried she would literally try to run through the back wall. I just sort of hung out for a long time as now and then she'd come to investigate me and I slowly worked my arm out to try to hook the ring on her halter (don't ask me HOW they got a halter on her). A few times I almost got her, I never reacted though, just kept my arm out. The wing nut owner comes over and says "you've got lots of patience, I would of just knocked her down to the ground by now. Its real easy, want me to show you how?" I was like, NO THANKS. I eventually got her and got her out of that horrible place. She is now fat, sassy and overly affectionate.

Answer 12

You have to throw a five gallon bucket of cold water on the hind end of a mare after her and the stud "do the deed" or else she won't suck it up and she won't conceive.

Funny how horses have reproduced all these years without this happening.  Spose they sat down in a cool stream or something?  LOL

Answer 13

When I was in college and doing Western Pleasure training classes, and the horse would do anything wrong or me, and when the class was finished, she always would say the same thing to anyone not just  me, yes, your horse is not feeling your power through your hands, so together lets all tighten  the cinch, what, we would all look at each other, needless to say, 3 mos with her and most of her class was gone to new trainers.

when we ask what, she would just say that will fix the power problem.....

huh?????

and I have heard the bit also, but not from a trainer...

Answer 14

The worst advise I ever heard was:

To keep horses from hanging around the gate in the turn out field, blast them with a shot gun loaded with rock salt.

Answer 15

omgsh some of these are horrible! mine is no where as bad but the worst advice is just when i rescue a really underweight horse and my "horsey" freinds tell me to feed him alot ALOT of extra sweet feed so he can get fat. (which actuallywill make him lose MORE weight because of all the high energy calories)i dunno why they do but everytime a new skinny horse comes into my lot all my freinds RUSH over and tell me how to care for the horse... i rescue ex race horses.. and have been doing it for a years succsesfully... i dunno but why do horsey people get so big headed..? do they really care about the horse? or just getting noticed/??

and i know one lady who has about 6 horses..3 ponies and 2 QH's and one TB. her Qh's and TB are ALWAYS underweight because she keeps them in a DRY lot.. she has a pasture but says that big horses can't be kept in the pasture because then she'll have to muck it out.. so she puts them in the dry lot, you can see all there ribs, and one of them  got tapeworms.. and bots around his lips because of the manure system...her theory is " i don't have time to muck out the pasture,  the dry lot is bigger (about 6 acres the pasture is about 4 acres..) so then i won't have to spread manure or anything.. and now all her horses have worms becuase she thinks she doesn't have to worm them if they are in the dry lot.. i dunno what is wrong with her.. haha but i bought her horses because i couldnt stand it.. i payed a BIG amount too.. but now i have the QH's and TB in my pasture and they are the nicest horses now big and round and shiny =)