Comments | backyardhorse: Ozzy's Trick

harnessphoto in backyardhorse

Ozzy's Trick

Jul 27, 2008 20:48

It just occured to me that I never shared Ozzy's favorite trick with you guys! I joke that this is the only thing he's good for, and while I don't mean it, it would never get us very far in the show ring. Enjoy!

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RE: People who think I'm FORCING my horse to lie down. ozzy

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onehorsefarms July 28 2008, 02:37:31 UTC

i'm sorry we aren't accomplished enough for you yet

Nothing to be sorry for. I respect your right to take whatever risks you want with your horse. But a video like this might make someone think, "I wanna try that!" and they run out with a rope... and disaster strikes and they injury themselves or their horse.

but your lack of understanding indicates to me that you probably could NOT go out

I have lots of levels of understanding, but I would agree that this would not be a wise method to "try at home."

If I wanted to make my horse lay down I would teach him to circle with his nose to the ground first, like he was going to lay down to roll. If I asked for this command enough times it gradually works into laying down and I don't have to be close enough to him to risk injury if he lashed out.

Picture #2 does show him bowing, but to me it still looks like you are forcing him to lay down instead of just giving him a cue and he drops of his own accord.

Again, I really do respect your right to take whatever risks you want, but I worry for the people who watch your video and want to run out and tie all their horse's legs up to get them to the ground. I have images in my head from the Black Stallion movie, with a horse thrashing against the confines of the rope.

harnessphoto July 28 2008, 02:43:19 UTC

nowhere did i say that i wanted people to try this at home. in the same way that people posting photos of themselves jumping don't include comments like "don't try this at home", i don't feel the need to warn people against this sort of thing. actually... i had a post about it a long while back, complete with a disclaimer at the bottom. sharing and instructing are not the same thing.

i do give him a voice command and touch his flank every time we work on this, and i am hoping that with time, the connection will come. as it is, he pretty much instantly lays down most days when i pick up his foot and touch his flank. i hope to eventually be able to do it without touching him, but we are not that far along. being next to him while doing this is no more dangerous than being on his back when he's galloping across open terrain, and you won't see me warning people against that either.

while i don't think a 120 lb girl can force a horse 10x her weight to do anything, i'd sure love to see one try.

i can see how you wouldn't want people to try this at home, but that does not mean that i am in any way forcing my horse to do anything.

i'll be sure to get video of him bowing without me touching him, but i doubt i'll share them here.

onehorsefarms July 28 2008, 02:56:43 UTC

I am not attacking you. I TRULY DO respect your right to do whatever you want with your horse.

This is a friendly debate with two sides presenting alternate viewpoints. My original reply said I didn't think it was a trick, but that is just my opinion on the subject.

I acknowledge that you aren't advocating people trying this themselves, but if everyone always used their head at all times lawyers wouldn't be winning the cases against McDonalds for the person who scalded their thighs by driving with a cup of hot coffee between their legs.

If I was 30 years younger and watching this I might want to try it with my own horse, and knowing me I probably would have run out and tried it. I am not blaming you for anything, but sometimes showing a dangerous scenario does need the disclaimer, "Please do not try this at home."

:)

harnessphoto July 28 2008, 03:04:19 UTC

you are probably right in that a disclaimer might have been a nice addition. i'm glad to know you are not attacking me personally. some of my defensiveness probably comes from the fact that EVERY single time i post a video on youtube i get people with nasty comments. i've sort of come to expect them, and therefore overreacted to your response. i am ok with people disagreeing with my methods, in the same way as i'm ok with NH fans disagreeing with traditional methods and vice versa. i apologize for my rash comments in response to your reply. i can see where this may not look like a trick just yet (we are working on it), but it's something my horse and i do that others don't, and he both understands and does it willingly, thereby making it a trick in my book. i think we can agree to disagree on the definition of "trick".

onehorsefarms July 28 2008, 03:12:57 UTC

There is nothing to apologize for. The Internet is a difficult medium to communicate through so what I do is just calmly, rationally keep talking until the emotions blow over. :)

People have opinions. Sometimes their opinions rub you the wrong way BUT their intention to your safety is usually in the right place.

For example, I usually always ride with a helmet because I feel naked without it, but one of my friends harped on me for a picture THE ONE TIME I hopped on my horse in tennis shoes and without helmet. It sucked to get lectured, but I realized she wasn't trying to be better than me, she just worries for my brain. :)

harnessphoto July 28 2008, 03:24:59 UTC

haha. i know THAT feeling. i ride in a helmet even if i'm just going bareback once around the property at a walk. i have however jumped on my horse helmetless for a handful of photos. i could get hurt, yes, but it's a risk i'm aware of and take consciously. it's tough to decide when to say something on the internet, and videos/photos can be deceiving. even the best riders have bad pictures, and even a bad rider can be made to look good. i'm seeing now where your comment came from, but my initial response was to get defensive, b/c i thought this community would be a safe place to share my video and i was afraid it wasn't so. turns out my emotions were misplaced. i'm glad you were able to keep a level head for me :)

rckmeamadeus July 28 2008, 03:26:31 UTC

what has the world come to when everyone needs disclaimers for EVERYTHING.

Seriously, coffee, it's hot.

harnessphoto July 28 2008, 03:27:42 UTC

it's not hot anymore, cuz they're afraid to get sued. so you get lukewarm coffee in a cup that says, "caution, contents may be hot". it's like some sort of sick joke -_-

kirin76 July 28 2008, 13:20:25 UTC

Just so you know the woman who was burnt and sued was an 81 year old woman who was a passenger and at the time McDondalds had a company wide policy of keeping the water at 20 degrees hotter than necessary in order to save a few cents on the amount of coffee beans it took to make a pot of coffee. The woman was permanently disfigured and had to have skin grafts to correct the damage done.

http://lawandhelp.com/q298-2.htm

I know I posted this twice, but I didn't see your comment until I had already posted mine to the other person.

rckmeamadeus July 28 2008, 16:44:06 UTC

still, coffee = hot. People should KNOW that.

It is things like that that allow us to have an overly litigious society where a man can sue his dry cleaners for giving him the wrong pair of pants.

kirin76 July 28 2008, 16:57:14 UTC

I am not saying that people aren't sue happy. They are, but McDonalds refused to pay her medical bills after knowingly giving her a cup of coffee that was hot enough to cause third degree burns in less than 5 seconds of contact with her skin. And this was not the first time someone had sought damages from them for being burnt yet they had refused prior to this to lower the temperature at which they served coffee.

So I guess what irks me about people pointing to that suit as being a frivolous one is that it really wasn't. The judge cut back the punitive damages and in the end she pretty much got her medical and legal bills covered and maybe a little bit extra.

onehorsefarms July 28 2008, 17:15:55 UTC

So I guess what irks me about people pointing to that suit as being a frivolous one is that it really wasn't.

Everything is in the eye of the beholder. There are two sides to every story. I could give a whole laundry list of issues where one side says one thing with absolute conviction just as hard as the other side.

With that said: Yes the suit IS frivolous, unless you think it isn't. :)

Right?

kirin76 July 28 2008, 18:05:35 UTC

Well, somehow I think the fact that she ended up receiving third degree burns to her genitals and a one week hospital stay due to her injuries would make the suit seem a little more reasonable, I suppose you could argue otherwise.

So yes, I agree with your last statement: "Yes the suit IS frivolous, unless you think it isn't."

Re: the McDondalds comment kirin76 July 28 2008, 13:18:11 UTC

Re: the McDondalds comment onehorsefarms July 28 2008, 14:43:34 UTC

Thank you for pointing out the other side of the story.

I still stand by my comments that it is wise to post a disclaimer because some people need protection from themselves. :)

Re: the McDondalds comment kirin76 July 28 2008, 16:58:23 UTC

that's for sure.

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