To ask Horsey people about this

[Fightyouforthatpie]

That woman who was filmed kicking and hitting the pony has been acquitted. I am in no way commenting on that - due process has been followed and she is entitled to that just like anyone else.
My question, as I am ignorant of this kind of thing, is, "is this sort of treatment in general normal and considered OK?"
I grew up in a rural area, but I can'r recall anyone treating their ponies and horses that way - on the other hand I am willing to accept I don't have the full picture.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-66605870

Definitely not ok. I don’t know anyone now who thinks this is ok. Have met a few in my life but they were horrible people so no surprises they bullied animals.

Hopefully she will be thrown into a hedgerow at some point and live to regret being an animal abuser.

No, its very much not. In fact losing your temper and being rough with your horses is very much frowned upon as a sign of incompetence or lack of experience. . . at least in my yard and among the people I ride with.

I used to be ‘horsey’ as a child and teen and met plenty of (usually older and upper class) people who thought it was fine to treat horses like this. Even recently I removed my daughter from a riding school where she saw and instructor kick a horse in the leg.

It is definitely not ok.

Definitely not ok. However, sadly this “low” level abuse is not aa uncommon as it should be.

I asked horsey friends about this when the original video emerged and they were all horrified at what they saw and have been equally horrified at the verdict in the court case. In particular they were all shocked that she claimed she was disciplining a horse for dangerous behaviour because a) you don’t discipline a horse by kicking and punching it, b) the dangerous behaviour was that it was spooked and moving away when being held by a child who wasn’t capable of controlling it and c) the horse was back under control and calm when she suddenly decided to kick it and punch it, so would have had no idea why it was being ‘disciplined’.

I once kept a horse on a heard where someone like her also did. Very much not the norm and very frowned upon. Horsey people generally have a deep love and respect for their horses and wouldn't treat them with that kind of contempt.

When you look at the video she's not actually trying to get the horse in the box when she lays into it - she intervenes for the purpose of attacking it. That isn't about animal handling it's just aggression.

The person on my heard was similar - I remember this person's horse was also nervous getting in the horse box and I once saw her turn on it and beat it with her riding crop. She was a doctor.

She needs to think herself lucky that 'trial by social media' has been her only punishment after the absurd result at her judicial trial. Contemptible woman. No, OP, it isn't usual practice unless you're a certain type of person. Apply your own descriptors as you see fit.

It's not ok at all but in some equestrian circles it's seen as normal. I've grown up around horses and for the most part people treat them very well, gentle and sensitive creatures that they can be.

But when I was young I used to ride for various horse dealers just to get in additional riding experience of horses that were a bit more challenging than riding school plods. While some of them were excellent and really taught me the difference between sitting on a horse and steering and actually riding a horse, some of them were dreadful. Yanking them around by their heads, harsh and unnecessary aids, smacking, slapping, booting, leathering them with a crop, lunging them round and round and round until they dropped from exhaustion, anything to stop what they perceived as "bad behaviour".

I never rode at those places again once I saw the behaviour but it definitely exists. There's two types of equestrian I think, the type that sees the horse as a living thing and the horse/rider relationship as a partnership, and the type who sees the horse as a tool no different to a car or bike.

In my experience there’s a wide range of ‘acceptable” in equine circles, as in any other.

I was horsey as a teen and there were totally people who thought this was OK and taught others to do it.

So I can well believe there are horsey circles where this is still thought of as normal.

Nope. My GF worked with horses all his life and wouldn't dream of doing that, not even a century ago. He'd have been hoping she got dropped headfirst into a blackthorn hedge. Mind you, he despised all hunters for their entitlement and cruelty to all animals - taking away the fox (at least in appearances, we all know that they don't all keep to the law) wouldn't change their fundamental natures.

To me, it looked like she lashed out in anger, which is definitely not ok. The kicking was extraordinary and not something I have ever seen before. I can't see how a horse would understand her actions - it would have been very confused.

However, much of the criticism of her actions I feel is coming from people with little experience of horses. You can't equate how you treat a horse as you would a person. When riders use reins, heels or a crop, these are "aids" to help the horse understand where and how to move. Some horses respond better than others.

I have ridden some badly-behaved/badly-schooled horses that needed very robust aids, often pre-emptive. One, in particular, would be aggressive when anyone approached him in his stall, and would try to kick and bite when he was being groomed and tacked up (although he was a pleasure to ride). Other riders hated dealing with him because of his aggression and he was in danger of being sold by the yard (into an unknown fate). I instead began approaching him with more firmness than I would usually use with a horse (eg, giving him shoulder shoves), to show him who was boss when he was being groomed and tacked up. That boy mellowed and eventually became compliant and therefore popular with other riders.

I don't understand how she could say she's using violence to teach the horse how to behave. Is she honestly expecting the horse to realise that the physical punishment is a consequence of its previous behaviour? I don't know much about horses but I wouldn't expect a small child to understand this so wouldn't expect it from a horse either.

Nope. Not OK.

We should never have got rid of the stocks. That would be the perfect place to put people who abuse animals. Let's see how they like being hit and abused while they can do absolutely nothing about it.

The overwhelming issue is that she was lashing out in anger. Control your anger first, then correct the horse. Second, the horse simply got free from his tie & moved off. This isn’t really bad behaviour, just what any horse would do. Horses do respond to pressure, they bump each other around in the field, so if your horse is bargy, I.e., moves forward suddenly while you are on the ground, you might shoulder shove him to move him back. I personally use voice commands a lot, “stand” for example & have a sharp “No” command to put him on notice (mine likes to bite). They are large & they need to respect you.
She exhibited v poor horsemanship, but I guess legally what she did did not meet the test for cruelty.

Nope . Not on any planet is this ok . I've had some badly behaved horses come to me in my time and not once , not once have I ever felt the need to punch or kick it into submission.

Definitely not ok. To be clear, if a horse is, in the moment, being vicious or dangerous, I will discipline it, but that may be a tug on the headcollar, a tap with a whip or (if I’m riding them) a firm leg aid. I used to have a youngster who started biting and he did get a couple of slaps on the muzzle, so he understood that biting hurt and he’d get it back. But that was at the exact moment he did it, and was definitely for safety reasons. I would never hit round the head or kick the horse, and certainly not when they’re standing calmly. That woman (and the justice system) has done immeasurable damage to our community, because now people think that’s what we do to our horses and it bloody well isn’t!

There are definitely people who think this is okay - just like some oriole think it's okay to smack dogs or children.

Also, that pony isn't going to associate that beating he got with wandering off! It will just make him nervous and headshy. She is teaching her children such cruelty.
The worst cruelty I saw was my blacksmith, which the whole livery used, whack my horse so hard on the hind quarters with a metal file, I had arrived earlier than expected, needless to say I never used him again, neither did most of the other owners.

Not ok. If that's what she does in public I'd hate to see what she does behind closed doors.

Horses are big, dangerous animals and sometimes in the art of being black and white in our boundaries / making clear when a horse has behaved unacceptably a short, sharp slap or push somewhere meaty (chest / shoulder) is acceptable to keep us safe. It’s more the noise rather than pain. No worse (in fact, much less) than another horse would deliver.

However - needlessly beating an animal out of your own frustration is never an option and is completely unacceptable.

Horse trainer here. How would a horse understand her actions? It wouldn't. She just gave him a clear message that he went back to the lorry and got beaten up. She's an absolute disgrace and the really awful thing is that the 'justice system' has given her the go-ahead to do similar abusive things again. They justified cruelty.
Vets examined the horse 2 days later and didn't find physical damage. So what? How would we feel after being held tight so that we couldn't avoid being bashed around the head? The damage isn't visible.
He wasn't being naughty. When you see the original video, the person holding him was ineffective and let go. He wandered off a bit, was caught and brought back. He didn't run off over a major road. He did what horses do when they wander, he stayed with other horses.
Everyone - just imagine this exact scenario with a dog.
(Kicking and biting while being groomed and tacked up in the stable usually stems from fear aggression. Great that you got more forceful and it worked, but there are other ways to deal with this sort of thing. Horses are very seldom aggressive by nature).
I just read a subsequent post. People often justify violent actions against horses by saying that other horses do worse. We aren't horses. Sadly, even the nicest horse people still think it's OK to smack a horse round the face when they consider they have misbehaved. Go to any big livery yard for a day and you'll see people smacking, shouting, and generally shoving horses about. It points to a certain mindset. This is the culture we are up against with horse owners.

I would never dream of treating my horse or any other horse like this. Even when my horse struggled to load into a horsebox we use lots of praise, gentle persuasion and keep calm. I have never hit her but I have shouted at her in a slightly precarious situation (this works far better than negative force). However, I guess like dog owners there is always an abusive twat. There was absolutely no need whatsoever to treat this pony like she did. None at all