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Post by gwenoakes on Jan 3, 2007 19:47:17 GMT 1
None of our family came from a horsey background, so when Clare and Sarah showed interest in horses my answer was to keep them away from horses for 2 years LOL. Well it worked brilliantly with Sarah, but not so Clare, if anything she was even more adamant. I bought one or two books and read them with Clare and very quickly realised she and I would need much more than a few books. After all its not like keeping a rabbit or rat, is it? I had a talk with Clare and told her that unless she went to College to learn about these wonderful animals there was no way she was having one of her own. SO she went to college for 3 years, learnt a hell of a lot. I learnt alongside her as a kind of back up and then she bought her first horse which was a total disaster, in fact it would be quicker to say what was right with him than what was wrong with him. She went from strength to strength, learning an enormous amount from the first horse. I think the cost should come into it somewhere, that was the biggest shock for me also conformation, vettings etc. I agree with you totally there are too many people out there buying horses/ponies and ending up with disasters on their hands. Well done you for some forward thinking. Modified to add you need a damned good equine vet as well.
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Post by fin on Jan 3, 2007 19:53:39 GMT 1
Finn, I'm sad to here you found it old school. I try my very hardest to keep up to date with every thing. Yes i do have to teach the syllabus but the BHS are well aware that things move on & i think they do move with the times. Putting straw under a rug to dry a horse is still an option to those who don't have a wicking rug to hand.I know--I don't mind the BHS at all (mostly) but I did think the syllabus needed tweaking..... The trick with the straw IS worth knowing--perhaps a bit awkward for those of us who go with rubber mats and woodchip for bedding, but that's obviously picking flies ;D I do like the idea of a one or two day crash course though. I think that wouldbe useful to a lot of people....although I suppose it's sometimes the folk who most need information that are the least likely to look for it. But I guess none of us can do much about that
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pip
Grand Prix Poster
Posts: 3,797
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Post by pip on Jan 3, 2007 20:04:47 GMT 1
Your County BHS would put on some Horse Owners Certificate courses if they thought there was enough demand.
We have put them on and have been pleasantly surprised at how many people wanted to attend. They have to cover costs - hire of village hall, etc.
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Post by sulasmum on Jan 3, 2007 20:10:17 GMT 1
How about getting some people to come to the yard and give talks on different aspects of owning a horse. It may make some of them sit up and take notice a bit more
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Post by jen1 on Jan 3, 2007 20:38:37 GMT 1
How about getting some people to come to the yard and give talks on different aspects of owning a horse. It may make some of them sit up and take notice a bit more that sounds like a good idea, given what i know now and what i knew when i started out with horses, id probably hate myself, back in the day where horses feelings and whats best for them didn't come into it, sadly, its still the norm to stable for long periods, and shoeing ect, i think even NH still has a way to go, as at one time it seemed ok to me to keep them out 24/7, which is fine, but not on mushy ground, and before anyone shoots me because that how they keep there horse, all im saying is that its not for me, however had i not gone barefoot id think i still wouldn't know about natural movement and grazing, and the needs for various grounds to keep hooves healthy, minds and body too, as far as i know the bhs recommend 2 acre of grazing, where as in the wild you would never get lush grazing, just rough grazing and the odd bit of food to snatch on, the movement consists of a band of horses moving back and forth to a central watering hole, eating lots of stuff and not just grass, my ideal is create a paddock paradise for my lot so that is my ideal, but i guess that's just where im at, ATM, so what do you teach a new owner, ?? depends on who is teaching, id hate to go back and be taught "the norm" shoeing ,feeding and stabling, when a friend of mine worked at a collage, "bhs" they were kept in all weekend even in summer with no turn out, any turn out would be better than non, the tack was just thrown on, and the riding and teaching was appalling, not the case in all collages i assume or hope, how about teaching new owners that a horse has a need to be a horse fist, and not a pet to be kept in a box, give them reasons as to why we rug some and not others, and how to fit tack properly, and why some folk shoes and some don't, and give folk a chioce,
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Post by fircones on Jan 3, 2007 20:43:43 GMT 1
I think its great to want to inform and encourage your livery owners. It depends what sort of yard you want. If you want a lot of experienced owners then I suppose you could vet them and give them a trial period to settle in. If you are happy to work with more novice people then a course on stable management sounds excellent. Our YO does this for the kids. Also she is happy to give advice and assistance to a reasonable degree, though obviously not to do it all for you. I spent three months with my first horse, being supervised on a friends yard and it was a huge confidence boost and taught me a lot. Its important to admit you dont know all the answers I think and choose good and wise people to get advice from.
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Post by kya on Jan 3, 2007 21:21:20 GMT 1
I think question them on routine to see if they have the vaguest idea about how to keep a horse hour by hour, day by day, season by season. Some of them may have no idea about the amount of turn-out needed or how to keep a horse at grass correctly etc., and so on. That's a real teller.
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Post by emma1977 on Jan 3, 2007 21:50:02 GMT 1
Hi Everyone I would be very grateful if anyone could recommend a good book that I could read, as I would love to own my own horse one day, but as you are saying I need the knowledge before I even consider it.
Many Thanks Em x
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curly
Olympic Poster
Posts: 889
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Post by curly on Jan 3, 2007 22:00:17 GMT 1
I can sympathise a little with people who are so keen to have a horse of their own. I have wanted a horse since I was 8 and am now 43 but obviously didn't rush into it. Although I have a certain knowledge of keeping a horse I am still very green in the area. My daughter has ridden and worked hols and sundays in her riding stables and has done part 1 of BHS even though she was only 11! But the only way I could justify getting a horse was if we had the right help. Therefore I pay for her to be on full livery and I approached the yard before I even went to see our horse to check them out and to let them know that we were novice and say that we would need help. This gave them the chance to say no, and that they couldn't offer us that service.
The plan is that she will over-winter in a yard for 6 months where she will be trained and we will be trained with her and then to a closer riding/livery yard where they know us, have good facilities and are willing to train us. Again it will be full livery, and they are so helpful and knowledgeable. There was no chance of us buying a horse without this plan in place. Anybody who buys a horse and doesn't acknowlege what they don't know is foolhardy. If you do acknowledge it and work hard to understand and put the time in, ask questions, read and observe etc then I do think it's doable.
I would only add that sometimes I am embarrassed to ask questions as I feel I should already know things and that people will judge. So tread carefully when you know, because you have superior knowledge, that others don't know something. It is worse to drive ignorance underground because of judgementalism or fearing embarrassment.
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Post by jen1 on Jan 3, 2007 22:08:15 GMT 1
Hi Everyone I would be very grateful if anyone could recommend a good book that I could read, as I would love to own my own horse one day, but as you are saying I need the knowledge before I even consider it. Many Thanks Em x Martha Kylie Worthington is a must,(sorry the names escape me) Jamie Jackson's books the natural horse and the paddock paradise, not just about feet though, wonderful tales about horse bands"herds", and Kelly;s books as well, for handling ect, and Mary Wanless for the ethics and bio-mechanics of horse and rider, and maybe some first aid and illness kind of a book, and the conformational guide to horses is a nice book too!, ad someone does a really nice grid work book for ground work, but Kelly's book should cover all that,
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Gingersmum
Advanced Poster
Life is sweet
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Post by Gingersmum on Jan 3, 2007 22:14:57 GMT 1
'BHS manual of horsemanship' is an excellent book for the first time horse owner.
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Post by azura on Jan 3, 2007 22:22:26 GMT 1
i think good riding schools are seeing that it is important to teach stable management, and our local riding school won't let you get on a horse til you can put a headcollar on, tie it up, and tack it up. i remember slaving away mucking out aged 9 and not having a clue why i was doing the jobs.
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Post by fin on Jan 3, 2007 23:49:14 GMT 1
Having said that, keeping a horse isn't rocket science I put my first horse on a yard thinking I'd gets lots of help--which was the agreement--but after three days there I was absolutely horrified at what was happening to my poor ned (no grass, he was turned straight out into an established herd who were all shod and kicked the hell out of him and wouldn't let him eat from the solitary haylage bale. I spent my first day as a horseowner patching up scrapes and bites and nasty wounds, the second desperately trying to warm a saturated, shivering, wreck that limped over to me in the field and was so cold with hunger that he couldn't even paw the ground properly....) We rented our own field after that, and finally brought him home. This was a horse that was enormously stressed out, developed laminitis, all sorts of other behavioural problems, and I'd been away from horses since I was a teenager. My poor son could ride OK but I don't think he'd even led a horse before, much less had to deal with a really difficult character..... But we did OK. So long as you're prepared to do your research and use your intelligence, keeping a horse is no more difficult than anything else, even if you are a total beginner.... It's the folks who are either totally dim or can't be arst that worry me. I've come across a fair few of those recently--the sort of pony mad teenagers who don't know nuffin and who seem to have had a complete information bypass, with parents to match. Scary.
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curly
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Post by curly on Jan 4, 2007 0:16:29 GMT 1
"But we did OK. So long as you're prepared to do your research and use your intelligence, keeping a horse is no more difficult than anything else, even if you are a total beginner...."
I agree completely, I have been quite nervous to admit that I am a new horse owner on here for fear of recrimination. Before I went to even see the curly I bought I researched the breed thoroughly as much as I could on American sites. I thought about the breed and whether it would suit us as a family horse. The breeder in Scotland tested me before she let me buy one and she said that she had decided I was ok because I had researched the breed and also because I told her up front that we were green and that I couldn't say straight away that I would buy her until I talked to people here to see if we had the back up to work with her.
From that moment on I have read and read anything possible about young horses, owning a horse, health problems, feed, behaviour, etc etc. It's kelly's books that brought me to the foram. I read Marks, Monty, Maxwell, Rashid, manual of horsemanship, BHS notes, h&h, magazines - anything that mentions a horse. Also lots about confidence and riding. Amazon have done well out of me this year.
My work as a counsellor also predisposes me to look at how the individual experiences life. This translates well to the horse in a kind of horse-centred way. I think if you have the horse foremost in mind, it's health and happiness and you're not afraid to ask or find out information, then it is a doable thing.
BUT you must put the effort in and not ignore problems. There is so much info out there, but nothing can replace a 'good eye' of someone who is experienced. I'm lucky in that I live in a very horsey area, lots of my friends have horses and the two yards my horse will live at both have lovely and extremely helpful experienced people on them.
I'll stop going on now!!!
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el
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Post by el on Jan 4, 2007 1:05:46 GMT 1
For children or the 'young at heart' who want to learn more horsemanship / natural horsemanship: www.teachnet.ie/eheney/gentlehorsemanship.htmlIts free & there's two quizzes they can do online to see how much they know!! It's a mixture of natural horsemanship, pony club, practical horse sense & care and management I could do an adults version maybe...... would anyone be interested, or do adults prefer things in book format? I think it is becoming quite common nowadays for adults to be in the position where they always wanted a pony or horse, maybe did riding lessons when they were young, and now as an adult have bought the 'first horse' and feel a little bit overawed with the challenge of taking 100% care of this creature, which they might never have done before
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