Over ownership

OwnedbyChanter

With out my boys life would be bland
Apr 16, 2009
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Raininghamshire
I saw this and stole from another forum but thought it was excellent.

Ginger was being a dick over the first Christmas week off and I was going away for two days leaving with a friend but as he was being dangerous to lead I chucked him back out 24/7 in the dry weather and wham normal ginger back.

He is currently still out with his mate fully clipped in a heavy weight ridden daily with hay at night and two big feeds a day to keep the weight on. Alpha a with oil and calm and condition plus super flex nothing more.

Defo no over ownership from me

https://www.doctorramey.com/separat...jNv3VqSCv9x7864fEhSl66sDoNxPmXdqaeQpVKZirNz_s
 
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I'm not sure :oops: Whilst I agree that the equine sector has been seen as a vast money making opportunity for a lot of companies and individuals (and that's how the economy works after all), I initially read the article as though it isn't important to get horses' feet properly balanced or spend money on dentists/vets/physios etc. Reading further, I realise the point is that you shouldn't feel pressurised to spend lots of money on unnecessary treatments, supplements etc. However, as a novice owner (which I still am after 9 years) I find it very difficult to separate 'necessary' from unnecessary, but then I do have a particularly flaky horse. I'd rather err on the side of caution, than ignore something that might turn out to be serious if left untreated though. I'd rather have the dentist twice a year to be sure that Raf and Jack don't have any sharp edges than worry that they might be uncomfortable.

Also, the article implies that all horses are hardy animals that need minimal interference from humans. Not all horses can be chucked out in a field and left just like that, Raf is currently stabled due to having 2 bouts of cellulitis and at the moment threatening a third bout. His PPID affects his immune response. I expect if he was healthy he could survive very well with 24/7 turnout, but I'm not sure either of us would be any happier. Jack is different - 24/7 turnout suits him just fine.

The other thing, about the trainers telling you to ride a certain way - oh how that is music to my ears lol. But if you want to compete you probably find you have to ride 'a certain way'. My preferred method of slopping about on the buckle doesn't win you points in a dressage test or help you steer round a SJ course.

By the way, Alpha A oil sends Raf loopy, does avoiding a particular feed count as over-ownership? :p
 
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Interesting for sure, I sometimes think that a lot of horses are micro managed, way more than they need and the people who 'humanise' them drive my nuts, they are not babies, they are not large dogs, they are horses.
It gets my goat when people tell me my horse is being bratty/nasty/aggressive because another horse didn't see her suggestions to 'get out of my way' and she followed the subtle cues with a sledgehammer, it also gets my goat when people tell me how cruel I am because she doesn't wear 50 bloomin rugs, yes it has been freezing, no one told Belle though, so she didn't even notice, I often get the 'she needs this supplement and that supplement/feed whatever which also drives me nuts and jjust today im told her feet are the wrong shape! I need to see a specialist hoof trimmer, NO i don't and no they are not, they've always been this shape and she's managed almost 22 years on them.
Anyway, while yes I agree with a fair bit of the article, the one thing I wont compromise on is 'urgent vet' if it's an emergency I wouldn't hesitate to call the vet, some things I will wait and see for, but an emergency no, but I guess it depends on what people class as 'urgent'.
 
Can someone summarize it for me, sorry fell asleep almost instantly. It must be how it's written.
 
Some people not only micro manage their horse but it overflows onto opinions in regards to yours, your workload. I wonder if they are actually insecure about themselves and their choices so need you to be doing the same?

I think I can say that essentials to me are not necessarily essentials to others. My essentials are vet who does the teeth/vacs though thinking of dropping the flu, farrier and physio. I should add saddler but we don't have a treeless saddle with a qualified fitter.
The other essential is you the owner/handler. The owner knows the horse best, the feel when something isn't right, your gut, your instinct, knowledge, experience or lack of.

But where you keep the house to a point dictates what you can and can't do. If I didn't have winter turnout mine would be stabled. That's not micro managed, that's just managed surely?

She isn't rugged but she has them if necessary. She isn't shod but would have shoes if necessary. I can adapt for her. She very firmly put me in my place and on my arse in regards to the nh I started out doing. Don't play games with me, don't pretend to be another horse I can see you are a human and a pretty thick one if you think that crap will work. I can't tell you how often I sat on my arse before the penny dropped to ditch the current trainer and get my AI back out. Around the time the trainer said I was going to wreck her if I did that- no continuing like this is going to screw her up!! :oops:
 
NOBODY knows my horse as I do - I really couldn't care less about other people's opinions ( other than my expert vet/dentist/saddler/trainer ) about whether she should be rugged / clipped / in / out / etc. Scully is a HORSE - she isn't naughty, stubborn, good or bad - she is being a horse and I treat her as such and we get on fine!

If someone wants to micromanage their horse or turn it away feral, it is nowt to do with me - it is their horse and as long as they are not being cruel to it they can do what they like as far as I am concerned.
 
Can someone summarize it for me, sorry fell asleep almost instantly. It must be how it's written.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one! David Ramey is like that though. Bit of a know-it-all and only seems to know how to write like a scientist even when he's addressing normal horse people. I saw some of his stuff on Facebook and agreed with it but there was a thread on HHO that was a real eye-opener as to his true nature! He genuinely seems to think that we are all stupid.
 
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I think there is a balance with horse keeping just like most things in life. I must be a micro manager / overship what-have-you type because two of mine need supplements and long term medication, one of which I doubt would be still here if I didn't medicate and stable overnight. It's a pleasing (if a little unrealistic) scenario. A nice neat happy herd of horses in a perfect field. None with mudfever, none needing weight management, none needing shoes etc. Lol and all just looking perky and healthy waiting to be ridden once in a blue moon and their owners happily leaving them for days on end:p:rolleyes::oops::rolleyes:
Balance. That's what it's all about. No one size fits all.
 
Oh, and the waiting to call the vet point. Whilst I agree on some occasions this might be appropriate, for example if you already know your horse has an issue which might have flared up and you know how to begin a management / rehab programme, fine, but most vets don't mind talking you through a problem anyway. Not all insist on coming out right off. So I would always err on the side of caution on that.
 
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I think there is a balance with horse keeping just like most things in life. I must be a micro manager / overship what-have-you type because two of mine need supplements and long term medication, one of which I doubt would be still here if I didn't medicate and stable overnight. It's a pleasing (if a little unrealistic) scenario. A nice neat happy herd of horses in a perfect field. None with mudfever, none needing weight management, none needing shoes etc. Lol and all just looking perky and healthy waiting to be ridden once in a blue moon and their owners happily leaving them for days on end:p:rolleyes::oops::rolleyes:
Balance. That's what it's all about. No one size fits all.
I am on long term medication. It's how life is for some people and for some horses.
My mare is going back on Devils Claw. I don't use things flippantly, she's 11 this year. Had the vet involved in the past and the concensus is- manage her. So I am. It's not nice to see her like she gets, it can't be nice for her either being entire. I do it FOR her not TO her. I try not to be the cause of her problems. And getting her a stallion is not the cure!!!
 
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