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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to be furious at suggestions that show jumping/x country is cruel?

86 replies

MitchyInge · 14/07/2009 19:57

grrrrrr! put up some pictures on another forum to celebrate the launch of my international show jumping career (starting at a small village show, haha) and someone said 'poor horses, that makes me feel very uncomfortable'

my horse LOVES to jump, he is much more competitive than me!

aibu to want to stab her in the face with a hoof pick?

OP posts:

HellHathNoFury · 15/07/2009 16:22

Having spent the best part of my youth showjumping and doing x-country, I can quite categorically say that those beasts weigh almost a ton. Their head alone can weigh 10 stone.

You as a rider are puny by comparison and are no match strength-wise.

If they did not WANT to run and jump with you on their back, they wouldn't, proven nicely by all the nags out there that refuse to participate, bless 'em.

People will always have opinions on topics they don't understand.

Original poster

MitchyInge · 15/07/2009 16:51

milton

OP posts:

bumpsoon · 15/07/2009 17:26

Can i just remind people that far more humans come to serious harm than horse doing cross country/showjumping . You could whip half a ton of horse till you were blue in the face (not that i would,shows definate lack of skill) ,but if it doesnt want to it wont

ABetaDad · 15/07/2009 21:10

bumpsoon - too right. I have never hit a horse with a whip or anything else but been bitten, kicked, thrown, trodden on and squashed by them.

It is definitley 7 - 0 to the horses so far and I have retired hurt.

saintlydamemrsturnip · 15/07/2009 21:15

"Your horse is probably scared of what you might do if it does it wrong"

I have yet to meet a horse scared of me! Lol. I have been riding again for a number of months now (after a loooong break) and in that time I have used a schooling whip once on one horse (and I don't hit, more of a pat). The instructor told me to to avoid having to nag with the leg. Really the horses are not scared of me.

I got back into riding after taking my son (severely autistic, non-verbal, 10) riding - he's been donkey riding with school for a while and I was lucky enough to be able to take him riding at a friend's several times now. It is really quite special seeing him on a horse. For him calmness is very important and difficult to achieve, but he is calm for ages after riding.

Bit like me. (It's the main reason I ride). And you don't get calm hitting horses or being aggressive.

fourkids · 15/07/2009 21:51

be interesting (as with many other topics) to know with each post what the poster actually knows about the subject! Sometimes people have very strong opinions about things about which they actually have very little knowledge.

OP I would suggest this is probably the case with your 'friend'. Don't take it to heart.

I am of the (uninformed because I have never done it) opinion that it is cruel to whip your DH (as well as to excessively whip your horse). But I don't go on threads about such things saying so, because I don't know enough about it to judge. It just wouldn't be my place...and those who are more knowledgable would, quite rightly, no doubt look down their noses at me for my ignorance.

Loshad · 15/07/2009 22:29

agree about the showing mitchyinge - so true. Vast majority of horse in this country live very cushy lives - mine is expected to work for approx 1 hr in every 24 with a couple of days off each week, the odd long day away at an event. She wouldn't survive out in the wild, in fact she wouldn't exist if she hadn't been bred by humans to create a breed designed to race and jump.
My old mare (bc) went into a total decline when she was retired, she never got over seeing the box go off to competitions without her.

thumbwitch · 15/07/2009 23:00

ABetaDad - we seem to have lived parallel lives - I have been trodden on, squashed, thrown (but not kicked or bitten) by horses too.

My best friend had a pony who really didn't like me (jealous, I think she was) and she would carefully place her large hoof on my foot and then lean on it. With a nasty gleam in her eye. She threw me off a few times too - my bf said I had an "electric seat" when it came to her pony, but not really, she just wanted to hurt me (and boy could she! far more than I could ever hurt her!)

Jajas · 15/07/2009 23:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Nekabu · 16/07/2009 05:25

Professional show jumpers tend to look after their horse's legs very well and usually only jump that high at competitions.

As for forcing the horse to jump when it doesn't want to - I have one who won't walk over a pole on the ground if he happens to be in an anti-pole-on-ground day and considering he can buck so high he gets me on the head with his tail (and that's just from excitement when he's doing something that he particularly likes, not trying to get the rider off) I don't think it would be possible to force him to jump if he didn't want to! I have another who loves jumping. It is his total passion and if he isn't jumped regularly he gets very fed up and grumpy about life in general.

As for horses are being exploited by being ridden - I work full time, mine pretty much loaf around most of the time being pampered. I know who's getting the better deal!

Nekabu · 16/07/2009 05:30

p.s., Don't get me started on racing 2 year olds though ... Though no more from me on this topic as I'm off for a few days!

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