What is with some peoples attitude in the horse industry?

Question

I'm only 17 years old, but i've been round horses all my life and i'm going onto college followed by uni to do horse management.

Maybe it's just me? But i can't help but notice there's too many riders out there who claim to know it all, and are all too good at picking faults with other riders, and just seem to enjoy making a big issue out of it.

Just one of many examples would be a lady on the yard where i keep my horse that i share with my mum. He is only just turned 6, we have done allot of schooling with him, and when we got him he started to do some rearing and spooking. Also my mum and i are around 5'1 and he is 16.1hh, which she keeps saying we've "over horsed" ourselfs with his height. But i disagree, his a gentleman to handle and his height has never been an issue.

No matter how well we do (his schooling is coming along brilliant, he has not reared in a long while and his spooks are nothing compared to when we first got him) I just find some people get really up tight when things go well.

I'm not sure what you all think, but i've learnt to keep myself to myself. Plus i also know for a fact that i'll never stop learning new stuff about horses. But that's what i love about it. The learning? I'm not a beginner but i sure as h**l will never be a know it all.

Answer 1

i dont think size really matters too much, esp if you are jumping him (((im not a jumper, or an english rider, but wouldnt you need a larger horse if you are going to be jumping higher jumps?)))

i dont like stuck up know-it-all's either, they get on my nerves, like you have your own ways of riding and training and they have their s****. way of doing it and if you dont do it exactly like they want it, even if its YOUR horse, then they go off on you like you shouldnt even own one...really gets on my nerves

im 18 and like you i've been around horses my whole life, we've always had then for generations in the family, and i still dont know every thing about them...i know a lot but i dont think one person could know every single little thing about them  

Answer 2

i have had the same problem. i admire you for not giving up on your horse and love him the way he is. i bought a green boke horse that is 6 years old and everytime the trainer works with him and i , we BOTH learn something new. i have found that alot of people are  annoying, no way is this horse too big for you. ignore her if you can or tell her to mind her own business. tell her thanks, but you will do this your way. it's hard to say this. i too am not arrogant to think i know everything, there is always something to learn, good luck, and try not to let her bother you. it bothers me too, but i try to ignore them, or say thanks, but i am doing this my way. good luck.your doing a great job with him.

Answer 3

People just don't realize that just because you can tell a western saddle from a hoof pick doesn't mean you are the newest horse expert. The riders who think that a bucking horse means they are wild and savages are the ones who ride the dead-beat push button horses. I think just about every time I ride or just hang around the barn I learn something new. Don't let her get to you, she is just judging a book by its cover.

Answer 4

LOOK IF YOUR ONE OF OUR TALENTED FEW THAT ARE JOINING THE HORSE INDUSTRY THEN FOCUS ON EACH HORSE AN THEIR NEEDS BECAUSE IF YOU WERE TO FOCUS ON THE RIDERS AN WOULD BE OWNERS YOU WOULD NEED A DEGREE IN HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY, AND THEN I DO NOT KNOW IF IT WOULD BE ENOUGH? ANYWAYS REMEMBER EACH HORSE IS DIFFERENT AN NEEDS DIFFERENT TREATMENT, BUT ALWAYS TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION OF WHATS HAPPENED TO HIM IN THE PAST , THEY DONT FORGET BUT BY HEALING HIS THOUGHTS YOU CAN GET HIM PAST ANYTHING, TIME AN PATIENCE REMEMBER IF YOU DONT HAVE THE TIME TO FINISH A LESSON WITH HIM DONT START IT, MEANING WHAT MAY TAKE 10 MINS COULD END UP AN HOUR BE READY TO GIVE IT, JUST WISH IT WORKED ON PEOPLE??? TAKE WHAT EVERYONE SAYS , PROCESS IT AND THROW THE JUNK,  WELCOME TO THE BUSINESS!!! GOOD LUCK

Answer 5

Wow, I totally know what you mean. It seems like horse people are so stuck up and think they know it all! It drives me crazy. I mean there are some times when you need to point out things to HELP people, but most people just do it to be snobs.

I agree with you though, theres always more to learn. There are so many people at the stable I board at who think differently though.

Answer 6

simply put, these people are   Jealous.  they are frightened that you might really know more than them. try to ignore them as you seem to be doing but also listen as they might say something useful.  as you say horses will always be about learning.  famous and very knowledgeable horse people will say that they will go to their grave not knowing everything about horses.  which is so true.  your horse sounds good to me.  so enjoy it all.  i actually find the bigger horses easier to ride.  good luck.

Answer 7

to be honest i think its jelousy! i honestly do, i bet she couldnt have half the bond you do with your horse. sounds to me like you're doing a good job, ignore that stuck up mare!  

Answer 8

Please...and all the TB jockeys need to be 6 feet tall...

You are only "over horsed" if you can't handle the horse you are on.

This does not include youngsters being trained or mature horses being retrained...sheesh then all trainers are too short ...

Sounds like she is a bit scared of your horse as she knows SHE could not handle him.

  

  

Answer 9

GO THE LEARNING!!!

Its one of the many things i love about horses, and just don't care about what everyone else thinks, its a good way to go about things :)

Answer 10

Its just the way the industry is (sadly!). Some people do mean well, but they just dont say it in the right manner and they sound arrogant. Others just like to make you feel dumb so they feel smarter (bc they really DONT know it all, and they know it!). I say just ignore her, eventually she'll lose interest in you if she cant get a rise out of you.  

Answer 11

It just egos. I live on a small farm so I dont need to compete with others over knowledge (expect the mother lol). Although, when I was taking lessons at a dressage stable egos were so large there was hardly room for a mouse! I recall one girl trying to explain to me that the 13.2hh schooling pony she wanted to ride was a)not to small fo her (she was 5'9" or so) and b) that at one point her and this pony had jumped well over 6ft but due to her injury she can no longer jump that high.

There is not much you can do about these people. I just smile and nod and roll my eyes when I turn around. I own race horses and the "bragging" is far worse in the riding world rather than the racing world, so I dont have to deal to much with it. But when I go to that stable its like hitting a wall.

Just ignore it, when your champion of the world they'll regret opening their mouths and wish they listened to yours!

Answer 12

I don't know what to tell you but I do agree there are a lot of snobs in the horse world who can make it unpleasant for those of us who just wish people would be nice and humble and help each other.

I am about 5'2" and I have had a number of horses of varying heights. One of my horses now is 17hh and he is my favourite horse ever. Other horses feel too small for me. The idea of being "over-horsed" because of size sounds like a lot of rubbish to me. So long as you can handle him then don't worry about it.

The best thing you can do is just ignore those nasty, arrogant, s****. types that we seem to get a lot of in this industry and try to enjoy yourself. Keep your humility and remember this in 20 years time when you're an old hand :) . There is a lack of humility in the horse world and in the world in general.

Answer 13

Welcome to the horse industry!

That is why it is important to do an internship, or have a job in the industry before you finish school.  A lot of students decide to go into other Fields after seeing just how the industry really works, and what the people are really like.

Unfortunately there are people like that in every industry.  So you learn to smile, nod, and then walk away saying, "That person is a jackass!"  At least in the horse industry you get to be around horses - d**n people just get in the way all the time.

Answer 14

technically, at 5'1 on a 16 hand horse you are Overhorsed size wise no matter his disposition.   However,  in the past 15-20 years the tendancy for anyone who can be lifted, hoisted or climb aboard a larger horse with steps has become normal, dispite the sanity of it.

Before people primarily rode only in arena's, the hard cold fact of could you easily get back on your horse if something happened and you either dismounted or came loose was a safety issue.  And I saw it more then once where someone came walking back in leading a horse that they HAD to ride that was too big..and then couldnt remount alone.

The sadest thing I've found in the horse world is that if you mention something to someone who may or maynot know what your telling them, your automatically a know it all. And honestly, they may be simply trying to tell you something they think is for your own safely, but it comes of lacking a bit of tact.  Years of experience mean nothing to most of the young riders today who will scoff at the experience of others because they read a monty roberts book, or went to a pat clinic for 4 hours one day.   Its sad also because most of these same people will say the same thing you did.   " I will never stop learning new stuff about horses and I'll never be a know it all"  Maybe you just missed a chance to learn something you didnt know from that lady who was just a bit blunt or tactless in trying to tell you something.

Answer 15

It sounds like your going great, I buaght a mare a few months ago and well at the time i had just gotten back into horses and i have never showned before so i didnt realy know what judges looked for at a show. But she was a easy going mare, and realy sweat. well when we got her home thats when the lady who gives lessons started to amke comments on how "Bad" my horse was and how i shouldnt have gotten her. well you know what I have turned that horse from a  hardcore barrel racer to a realy nice pleasure horse, she didnt know what stop or slow ment when i got her and right now she stops perfectly, and her jogs are getting so much slower In the next month or two I believe I could be done with her training. And then like 3 days ago I got a 3 year old gelding, He has ahd 90 days of profetional training and when i buaght him i knew he needed alot of work, well when i got him home one of teh girls at the barn who dont get me wrong I love tod etah but she is to opinionated told me that I was crazy to get this horse becuase he hardly had any training, and the the lesson lady told me that he was a bad horse as well. Then the horse showing world is just like high school. I know how you feel trust me and it sucks but its just teh horse world, also I dont believe that if your short and you have a big horse that you have 'over horsed" yourself. If you have a horse that you cant handle, has no respect, and you have no training knowledge once so ever, and the horse just doesnt want to corropurate. Then you have overhorsed yourself. lol if that makes any sense