Blaming horses

[Maisie]

Hi everybody! I was just thinking when I got back from riding one day and my lesson was really (x 1000) bad. I got this stubborn horse and he didn't move even when I gave him a few sharp taps behind my leg. I don't really like the idea of hitting horses, but it seemed the only ideal thing to do at the time.

Anyway, is it right to blame our horses for all this? When a horse causes you an injury, or nearly makes you lose your life (I had that once), is it right to say "Oh, it's not my fault, it's the horse's. He ran away with me, I couldn't help it! It's HIS fault."

I definitely don't think so. After all, it is basically humans' actions (directly or indirectly) that cause horses to do such things to us. I really felt like posting this topic because so many people at my stable complain that "It's not me! He wants to stop, HE WANTS TO STOP!" And I'm on top of my horse at X, thinking "Don't blame your horse, it's not his fault. Horses initially weren't born to be naturals at being riding mounts..."

Sorry for this huge long message, I just needed to get it out. :D!

Anybody else with some more opinions?

[Jess]

I agree with you! I am a counselor at a riding day camp every summer. My trainer (who runs the camp) makes it a point to clarify whose fault an incident was. You have to think about what happened and why it happened, not just "my horse was acting dumb" like some little kids have said. Did you kick too hard, in the wrong spot, or did he get bitten by a horsefly? Or was he spooked by something? I agree that most of the time, "incidents" are due to human error in one way, shape or form.

[olympicprincess]

Yes, you're right! The first sign that you're a real rider is looking at YOURSELF to see why the problem occured and what YOU need to do to correct it.

When I was first learning to canter my horse, she would buck. I thought it was because she was bad- I was young. Now, I realize that it was because my seat needed work and she wanted me to get with it and make it more comfortable for her. "I" was causing the problem, not her.

[midnite]

I agree with you. Once, at the stables where I ride, a girl had a VERY jumpy horse. She kept asking for another horse and saying the one she was riding was too stupid to know how to walk, trot, etc. properly. All the instructor did was point out that she had been too tight on the reins and he was uncomfortable. But every once in a while, maybe, just maybe, a horse may be in a grumpy mood. I can't come up with any reasons right now, but I'm sure someone can come up with one. I hope that you will have a better lesson next time.

[Laya]

I agree that humans affect how horses respond to certain things. It is usually a human inflicting behavior among the horse.

Sometimes though, it can just be a matter of a horse not wanting to work on a hot day or actually being in a grumpy mood.

Ridesr just have to stick through the tough times with horses and look at what happens in perspective.