Shouty horse rider!

[SittinginaSleazySnackBar]

We live in quite a rural area, our boundary fence backs onto a large playing field. We have people parking up with horse boxes alongside the boundary fence quite regularly.
I was playing with DD (1) in our garden this morning, she was just pottering in her Wendy house, not making much noise at all just happily babbling and I was talking back to her.
I then hear a woman trying to get her horse into the horse box and the horse is having none of it, stamping its feet and rearing up.
Next thing I can hear a woman telling me to shut my daughter up, shes scaring her horse.
Was I unreasonable in thinking that a horse should be able to cope with a baby babbling especially if she is riding it along country lanes ! I refused to tell DD to be quiet or to go inside as surely we aren't being unreasonable playing in our own garden !
I have no clue about horses so second guessing whether I was rude, plus we are fairly new to the area and everyone knows each other.

Shots - I had a v grateful bunch of cyclists. We were going around a bend, the cyclists were behind me and I saw a car about to come around the bend and car couldn't see me and cyclists couldn't see car. I screeched stop and flung my whip out 😂😂 most bemused group of cyclists but then v grateful when they realised I had stopped them becoming smushed

muttrat If it involves having to let people be rude to me and my DD for just enjoying our garden to not fall out, I'd rather not be part of the community!
If DD had been making a lot of noise the minute I saw the horse box I would of been bringing her inside if I couldn't keep her quiet, but there is no way a child babbling should of caused that kind of reaction, it was no where near as sudden or loud as a dog barking. My voice is louder than DD's but she didn't tell me to shut up either, very strange.

I'm terrified of horses although I think they are lovely animals. I love watching eg police horses and admiring race horses and I am touched by the bond that riders can have with their mounts. When I'm out cycling along the country lanes where I live I always slow down for approaching horses as I don't want to unsettle them and I always say hello to the riders. One morning a lady thanked me for greeting her as she said it helped her horse to understand what I was. I suppose a moving object in dayglo yellow might be a little mystifying to a horse, but as soon as it hears a human voice, the horse instantly recognises the nature of the beast.

This might potentially be quite outing. It's a cricket club with a small children's park. They don't walk around the park, I'm guessing there must be a bridle path close to us as there are lots of horses that go past our house and use field to park the horse boxes.

She does sound unreasonable. I expect she was worried. If it's any consolation I can promise you she would have been far more stressed loading a reluctant horse than you would be being snapped at by a randomer. Loading a tricky horse on my own is one of the most stressful things I've ever done! I'd take someone moaning at me any day!

Loving these stories of over-entitled horsey people. I am a city-dweller so nothing to offer; it does as ever all come down to manners, doesn't it? I do wonder, though, if horses that are scared of babies/bags/umbrellas/crawling cars/dogs in cars are really safe on the road? You can't ever have a perfectly controlled environment, can you?

I nearly had an elk smash through my windscreen once - that was proper scary.

The woman was obviously U but probably desperate. When I was young I wanted to ban people wearing striped jumpers - if I met such a person whilst out riding one particular horse, he would take it as a sign that the time was right to gallop headlong into the nearest hedge

My SiL's horse is currently being schooled not to spook every time it sees a plastic bag/leaf/crisp packet flutter in the hedgerow. So it can be done in individual cases (and if your horse is one of those that can't handle pedestrians/dogs/leaves/paper bags/bicycles etc then its probably not suitable for hacking).

I would have no problem with someone politely asking....even politely shouting if necessary. She could have shouted something like "please can you get your dd to be quiet for a few minutes as I'm struggling". Which is politer than saying get your dd to shut up!

And I used to be a riding instructor so I know how stressy a naughty horse can be!

Just sent you a PM 😊

Horses aren't completely predictable so even one who is normally a saint can take a dislike to a plastic bag flying in front of him. The problem is with whoever dropped the bag in the first place!

Factorysettings

Four tonne? Bloody hell. Mine would be fat at half a tonne... You must be confusing horses with elephants...

factorysetting what is this 4 ton pet of which you speak? I think we're talking horses not elephants.

4 tonne

Ah, I hit the wrong key without checking. I really did think because it fell as the last post on a page that I might be able to have that go undetected - oh well elephants/ horses poayto /potarto

@wideboy26 One morning a lady thanked me for greeting her as she said it helped her horse to understand what I was

• I've had similar conversations too, and it's nice to chat to another person out enjoying their hobby on a pleasant day. Although once I had a depressing thing during a bike event where the previous [unknown to me] gang of riders had spooked her by racing past with no warning. She had noted their numbers so I gladly reported them to the race organisers, ignorant sods.

I suppose a moving object in dayglo yellow might be a little mystifying to a horse
Or in my case dayglo yello, orange, pink, green, blue... I do like a bit of colour in my lycra!

Reminds me of the time a carrier bag spooked my horse on a road, so he decided he would only walk along the white lines on the way back.

Gosh - lots of people on here with pre-conceived ideas about what 'sort' of people horse owners are

And I've no idea about why someone would relish stories about entitled ones! Would that be because they confirm those pre -conceived ideas perhaps?

I'm not an owner (yet) but we ride in a country where cycling is a serious business. We try and treat all road users with respect and courtesy and everyone seems to get along.

And yes, of course if you are riding on the road then the horse and rider should be properly trained, but horses are animals not machines (and in the latter part of training, there comes a time when you have to familiarise a young horse with roads and other road users, in order for it to become safe) usually with a more experienced calm companion. . Believe me, we would far rather ride away from babies, motorbikes, umbrellas, but with a lack of bridleways, it's not always possible.

On the subject of loading: it's rare, but you can have a situation where a horse has loaded hundreds of times before without problems and then one time the horse gets upset by some small difference of light shade or squeaky ramp or some such. Not that that justifies any rudeness in this instance though!

Horses aren't completely predictable so even one who is normally a saint can take a dislike to a plastic bag flying in front of him. The problem is with whoever dropped the bag in the first place!

But the fault isn't with someone who carries an umbrella or wants to enjoy their garden with a baby or who has a dog that barks occasionally. Surely you have to be prepared to handle a horse that might take a dislike to something whether it's something like an umbrella or a child or a bag. If you ask people nicely they might help you out but it would be incredibly entitled to just expect the world to stay silent for the sake of your horse.

If asked nicely most people are sensible to do as the horse rider requests. Most people don't want to see a nasty injury occur in front of them or to contribute to it.

I can handle my horse if he takes a dislike to something. Most riders can. Very occasionally there might be something someone else can do to make life easier. Not sure why that's entitled unless you are just chippy about horse riders?

Some people are far more entitled than horse riders! Yes lady who stopped her car in the middle of a country lane, 5m in front of the bridle path entrance but wouldn't reverse as she 'was sick of reversing', I'm looking at you!!

Yanbu. It is down to horse owners to get their horses used to all kinds of noises and situations. The world can't just stop because they own a spooky horse. Tie balloons and plastic bags on strings to fences around horses, and supervise them so that they get used to it. Horses need to get used to passing cars, barking dogs and kids. It's up to the horse owners to train them, and get them used to sounds and situations.

Are you a horse trainer blubberball?

(I know you're not from your post).

Not sure why that's entitled confused unless you are just chippy about horse riders?

Not at all, it's not entitled to ask for help, as I very clearly said it's entitled to expect help and adjustments from random strangers. You'd be crazy to go out with a horse imagining there won't be a noisy dog or baby outside, or someone with an umbrella. No harm in politely asking for help but it's very entitled to expect it or rudely demand it as this lady did.

It would be even more unreasonable to imagine, as you claimed, that someone who is going about their life normally is responsible for your horse getting spooked. OP would in no way be responsible if the lady got injured by her horse because it was spooked by a baby babbling in it's own garden.