Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Horses & Stupid Humans

Dear Readers,

We would all assume that most folks understand that awareness of what we're doing around horses is important. Well, sorry to say, that's just not the case.

For my brothers and me, my grandfather made sure we used our heads and thought about what we did around, or atop, horses.

A few of you folks have sent me YouTube videos of some really stupid people. These videos are of some very careless unsafe interaction with horses.

Part One: The Horrible Results Of Lousy Parenting

I don't think there is any excuse for either of the parents in the videos below.

The first example of lousy parenting is this video from 2007. Note how the child gets kicked while the father is too busy filming his son getting in trouble.


The second video example takes place when a couple decided to stop and mess with wild horses near Damonte Ranch outside of Reno, Nevada.

There is no reason that the little out of control child should have been as out of control as she obviously was. The child is only 20 months old.

While the other videos are pretty short, this video example of lousy parenting -- and people who know nothing about horses - is a little long. I watched it all the way through the first time, but when I watched it again I ended up fast-forwarding the video until about the 8:30 minute mark when the video actually starts up.


All in all, it is worth the watch because the narrator does give a pretty good explanation of what it going on regarding what the parents are completely unaware of; what the parents should have been doing; what signals the horses were giving; and yes, how a small girl gets kicked by a horse because the kid was out of control.
Friends, let's be frank, the little girl would have never been in that situation if her parents weren't consumed with just going off to do "their own thing."

If she had parents who understood that parenting mean controlling your kids, she would have never been kicked.


Part Two: Dog Safety

As with unsupervised out of control children, dogs need the same sort of supervision.

Whether we like it or not, a fact of nature is that domestic horses are descended from prey animals and still maintain that instinct of either fight or flight. Dogs on the other hand are descended from predators.

Dogs don't mix well with horses if not supervised by their owners. 

Out of control dogs scaring horses, and unhelpful thoughtless owners, can get a dog killed or a rider hurt very badly. Either way, it is the dog owner's responsibility to control the situation so that their dog doesn't get hurt or killed.

And yes, it is the dog owner's responsibility to make sure that a rider doesn't get hurt because of their careless attitude as to what their dog is doing.

Check out this video. And please notice, after the dog gets stunned by the horse's kick, how the dog's owners remain sitting on their asses and not even bother in the slightest way of trying to keep their dog out of trouble.

And also, notice how the dog owners did not even bother checking the dog to see how serious the kick really was. 

It is a real shame that the dog in the video is saddled with such careless unthoughtful owners. But as the say, a dog can't pick its owner. 

    

Part Three: You Reap What You Sow

Yes, stupid is what stupid does. And yes, in this case the idiot in this clip got what he asked for.

After watching this video, I noticed that the young man getting kicked was probably a teenager and that right behind him is another kid who was asking trouble.

My grandfather once said, "With as dumb as they can be, it is just amazing that some teenagers live long enough to enter adulthood!"

Yes, the kid jumping on this horse from the rear proves my grandfather was very right in what he used to say about some of the idiots out there.
And by the way, the horse did nothing wrong. On the other hand, the young man did everything wrong while trying to show-off!


Part Four: The Wrong Way To Brand A Horse
This next video has been around a while.  I've even had it posted near the bottom of my website for a long time now.

One of the reasons that I've kept it on my site is that it the horse looks a lot like my old horse Murphy. The other reason is that it reminds me of a horseshoer who tried to brand a horse just as you see in the video.

Yes, he met with similar results -- which of course taught him that you stand to the side to the front of the rear legs, but not in the back in perfect position to get yourself kicked.

This video is quick, but you'll see what he did wrong. And yes, this shows that even a man who supposedly works with horses on a regular basis can get in trouble.



Part Five: Compilation of Horse Fails

Some of what takes place in this video is worse than other things. But really, take note of the idiot who gets kicked after trying to push a horse from the rear; the guy who gets kicked in the face after whipping a horse.

For me, the worse is what happens to that rider who exposes his or her horse to all of the goings on in the water.

Watch the disaster that takes place when the water boarder comes flying by that horse and the horse decides to dump its rider to flee the scene. Ask yourself if that could have been prevented -- by say not putting her horse in that situation.


My thanks go out to you folks who sent these to me.

I agree with you that must of what took place in these video could have probably been avoided. And yes, I also agree that we can all learn from watching these videos.

Tom Correa



1 comment:

  1. Some people just don't belong on a horse. They don't realize that you get on and off the horse on the left side. And you have to tighten the saddle or you'll fall off. And some horses just aren't meant to jump a fence. And it's not like everyone should know how to ride a horse. But if they wanna learn, they must remember that there are certain things that you just don't do when it comes to a horse. For one, you never wanna dig your spurs into them. And two, you can't smack them on the bottom and not expect them to start taking off. I've been on horses, trust me, I know. And one more thing. If you're gonna ride your horse, don't pull too hard on the reins. That might cause them to throw you off their back and onto your head. Then you end up like that guy who played Superman. Sitting in a wheelchair. Hopefully, you'll learn from this. Thanks.

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