Just Some Of My Thoughts On The Way Horses Are Used Today

Good Morning! And it really is a good morning for me...it's warmer today. I'm not a cold weather person and during the winter I really suffer some days. As I was telling someone the other day, when the wind blows out of the south my attitude improves dramatically!

I was having an interesting conversation the other day with one of my students. She told me that she had been reading an article and the author believed that many horses could be saved from senseless slaughter if they had been trained correctly. I totally agree and I would like to add something to that. In addition to training horses, riders also need more training. Now, I know that this isn't a very popular idea among many recreational riders, but I feel it's the truth.

First, most horses are NOT recreational vehicles. They aren't ATVs that you can go start up on a Sunday afternoon and take a spin around the area. Many horses need to be worked - yes that dreaded word for many folks today - worked. And, for that matter, so do the riders. Riding is a physical activity and both the horse and rider need to be in good physical condition. When neither party is, it leads to sore muscles and joints for both and let's face it we may understand why we're having a tough time getting out of bed the next morning, but more than likely the poor horse doesn't.

Also, many people today think that horses are pets. However, up until 100 years ago, or less horses were used for many kinds of work whether it was the TB on the track or the QH working cattle on a ranch. Yes, horses were bred to work and many that couldn't work met an untimely end if you know what I mean. So just through selection, either planned or otherwise, horses became animals that are used to physical activity. It has only been in recent history that horses have become something similar to a labrador retriever in some people's views.

Finally, riders need to be able to ride, not just sit up on the horse and hang on for dear life with their heels and hands. I'm not saying that everyone needs to be an Olympic caliber rider, but a rider should be able to control what their legs and hands are doing for the sake of the horse. Nothing can be any more confusing for some horses than to be banged in the sides with flapping legs or jerked in the mouth by hands that are trying to keep the rider in the saddle. And the beating that the poor horse's back takes as the stiff rider bounces around....oh my!. Unfortunately, most people don't want to take the time or make the effort to learn correct riding.

These are just a few of my thoughts. What are yours.