(no subject)
What pisses me off is people who talk like they know everything, but upon further investigation it's exposed that they're rather ignorant.
For instance, I was talking with Dave today about the bruise on my arm where Rigby bit me on Saturday. He asked why the I was bit, and I told the story: the pony was acting up while getting turned out (tossing his head, pushing into me with his body so I almost ran into a tree), so I was yanking on his lead and pushing his head with my arm. (All very standard things to do with a fresh horse/pony.)
Dave told me he didn't feel the least bit sorry for me and that he felt bad for the pony, not for me. I did, after all, shove my arm in his face, thus making it easy for the pony to bite. When I asked him if he's ever handled horses before, he said no.
"Then you don't know what you're talking about," was my response.
While it does seem mean that I was shoving the pony's head and yanking on his lead, it's still the fact that he was acting up. When a horse doesn't behave while being turned out, he needs to be punished. These animals can kill humans very easily even if they don't mean to, so it's best to have them behave and know who's boss: me (or whoever is turning them out). It's almost like having a dog, just on a larger scale.
For instance, after my lesson I was going to give Danny a hose down. As I was turning him around, he decided he wanted to keep walking, nearly running me down. He wasn't paying attention when I pushed on his shoulder - the whole time I was being dragged backwards through the barns. So I started slapping his shoulder with my fist, which didn't help at first but he eventually stopped and paid attention. It's just they're such large animals (1,000 lbs) and humans are generally much smaller (130 lbs.), you have to use a little force for them to notice you.
It just bothered me that Dave seemed so confident that what I did was cruel and abusive, yet he's never dealt with horses and doesn't know the craziness that can occur if they get out of hand. It can be dangerous if they're not handled correctly when they get out of hand.
For instance, I was talking with Dave today about the bruise on my arm where Rigby bit me on Saturday. He asked why the I was bit, and I told the story: the pony was acting up while getting turned out (tossing his head, pushing into me with his body so I almost ran into a tree), so I was yanking on his lead and pushing his head with my arm. (All very standard things to do with a fresh horse/pony.)
Dave told me he didn't feel the least bit sorry for me and that he felt bad for the pony, not for me. I did, after all, shove my arm in his face, thus making it easy for the pony to bite. When I asked him if he's ever handled horses before, he said no.
"Then you don't know what you're talking about," was my response.
While it does seem mean that I was shoving the pony's head and yanking on his lead, it's still the fact that he was acting up. When a horse doesn't behave while being turned out, he needs to be punished. These animals can kill humans very easily even if they don't mean to, so it's best to have them behave and know who's boss: me (or whoever is turning them out). It's almost like having a dog, just on a larger scale.
For instance, after my lesson I was going to give Danny a hose down. As I was turning him around, he decided he wanted to keep walking, nearly running me down. He wasn't paying attention when I pushed on his shoulder - the whole time I was being dragged backwards through the barns. So I started slapping his shoulder with my fist, which didn't help at first but he eventually stopped and paid attention. It's just they're such large animals (1,000 lbs) and humans are generally much smaller (130 lbs.), you have to use a little force for them to notice you.
It just bothered me that Dave seemed so confident that what I did was cruel and abusive, yet he's never dealt with horses and doesn't know the craziness that can occur if they get out of hand. It can be dangerous if they're not handled correctly when they get out of hand.