These People...

...are amazing. Riding is one thing. Gymnastics is something I find a lot harder.

So, why don't we combine the two?

Bronc Riders...

...are crazy. It's a very dangerous sport, as this demonstrates (don't worry, this isn't one of those nasty videos in which the bronc gets hurt).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvRi8KgFAFE

...it wouldn't embed. Sorry.

Yeah. Falling off is part of the sport. That...not so much.

A long one.

I have no problems with pleasure classes. In fact, I know a little mare who is perfect - when she's carrying herself in the way that works for her with a rider you can put a spirit level on her neck.

I do have a problem with this:

It's a long video, but you see a lot of horses being yanked in the mouth for absolutely no reason, excessively low head carriage and "bridle lameness" or "rein lameness".

Bridle lameness is caused when a horse is backing off from the bit and tense. Some horses are prone to it even when ridden in a non-abusive manner, but the methods used in a lot of pleasure classes create it.

A pleasure horse should go forward smoothly with a smooth "daisy cutter" gait. The topline should be level with the poll level with or JUST below the withers. The horse should be moving - it's a test of the sort of horse you would take out for a fun trail ride.

Not nearly enough of that here. It's sad, really.

Barrel Racing

I don't have a problem with barrel racing, but I do wish these girls would wear helmets....watch this video to see why.

(Also, after you fell off, is it really the time to check your hairdo?)

Barrel racing is a pretty dangerous sport, and falls like these do happen quite a bit...well, except for the one at about 1:45 that had nothing to do with barrel racing and everything to do with people who don't tighten their girth or cinch. Ahem.

The horse at 2:14 or so even tried to catch its rider and failed.

Not sure why the one at 2:55 suddenly stopped and started rearing...but it looked a bit like a pain reaction to me - teeth needed doing maybe?

Most of these women (and a couple of guys) would have stayed on with a bit more stickability and none of them seemed to have had fall training.

Another bad wreck

At the time, this video got a lot of press and demands to modify the races.

A little bit of analysis here. One of the wagon horses broke down. Because of the speed, the other three had no chance of avoiding it.

What bothered me at the time and still does is the outrider - I realize those horses are jazzed up, but he should have been able to avoid that.

I don't think this was an inherent problem to chuckwagon racing per se - it IS yet more proof that the most dangerous thing you can do with a horse is drive it at speed - but I don't think the sport is any more dangerous than, say, three-day eventing, in the grand scheme of things.

Even adding more breakaways to the harness (I don't know for sure, but I would be amazed if these people aren't using synthetic harness to save weight) probably wouldn't have helped in this situation.

(I do like the comment on the actual video's page that it's not a chuckwagon if it doesn't have cooking gear in it...)

How not...

...to hitch up your longears.

Nice pair of draft mules. First, the guy in the overalls walks them OVER the hitching pole. Then the guy in the red shirt drags the right mule back by the harness britches and just stands behind it while waiting for the others. (Did I mention MULE). He drops the chain...and again, is trying to drag the animal into position by its harness. The mule has enough and tries to vacate the premises. So, he tries to *wrestle* it into place...at which point BOTH mules decide they're outta here. Chased by their handlers.

Sigh.

I don't drive and *I* know that's a serious demonstration of how not to hitch...and that you can't wrestle a 1300 pound draft mule.

I love...

...how the commentator keeps going on with the breed description while THIS is going on in the ring.

(I assume they did eventually catch the baby).

The difference...

...between western and English. A lot of the time, it's a case of never the twain shall meet.

How about a bit of a duel?

This video highlights the differences beautifully.

It also demonstrates something else. These riders are, presumably, both experts. After they switch horses, the dressage rider does slightly better than the reining rider.

I have long held that if you are not sure which side you want to go - it is much, much easier to learn English *first* and I think this video demonstrates that.

It also beautifully shows the difference in self-carriage and way of going. Nicely done.

The deep end.

The deep end, he is in it.

This is not a cowboy - this is a guy on a cutting horse for the first time. And they're making him...well, you'll see.

The poor guy's clinging on for dear life!

A long time ago...

...I had a problem with my canter seat.

No, this isn't me.

But I rode JUST like this girl. And fell off just like she did more than once.

Yeah. JUST like that. I blame my first instructor for teaching me two-point before canter. Kind of the wrong way around that - did the same thing happen to her?

In college, an international level dressage coach tried and failed to fix it. Nope.

I then had to give up riding for years. Came back. Three different instructors tried and failed to fix it, although at least they put in a real good effort. It was frustrating for all of us.

Went to a dude ranch. Rode with a fantastic cowboy whom I will respect for the rest of my days. Came back.

"What happened? You stopped DOING it."

So, where's a cowboy to help this girl out?

Mounting Blocks

I use one more than 90% of the time.

This is a great example of why.

(Note - this rider learned her lesson! Tall horse + no mounting block = embarrassment).

Dressage Queen

I admit it. I am one. I love dressage - I love the precision. It really fits the perfectionist aspects of my personality. Don't get me wrong - I'm perfectly capable of riding outside an arena.

What I don't like is a lot of the trends in modern dressage. Pulling your horse's nose to its chest is...not dressage, to me. "Dresser" - "to lift." There's nothing light about it.

This video shows the difference. Okay, it's a bit fanboyish, but it does show it.

I can't...

...stop laughing. This is awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCLKfukCzo4

(It won't embed properly - sorry guys).

Those horses were having way too much fun.

So, the commentators...

...are supposed to be talking about the guys on BIKES.

Yeah, it's an oldie, but it's a goodie.

How not...

...to long line.

The handler allows the outside line to drop too low. It is not just useless in that position, but dangerous. The horse turns (because he thinks that's what is wanted) and his outside leg swings into the ankle-height rope. Then, of course, he panics.

The lines were correctly attached, although I would have used the next ring up, but the outside rein was just too loose and too low.

Minis...

...are real horses, people. Sure, they eat less and take up less space, but they can do anything a full-sized horse can do (except lug your fat butt around.

Like, say, this little guy. Isn't this the cutest hunter ever?

Looks Like So Much Fun

Extreme Cowboy Race. It's basically a trail class - except they do it fast. It tests everything you can test with a horse - speed, endurance, agility, control. These horses have to be completely broke, very forward and all but bombproof. Here's Cam Schryver showing us all how it's done.

Which, for some reason, won't embed. Sorry, guys - here's the link. http://youtu.be/HzDbZOBh0v0

Nice round...

...until the end.

No, I don't have much sympathy.

Always. Check. Your. Girth.

Especially when doing speed work.

Okay, I have a little bit, because this happened to me once, although I blame the mutton withers of the pony I was riding at the time. He needed a breastplate.

Short One...

Okay, so this is somebody trying to load her horse after a show.

She's using a huge step up trailer and the horse is clearly jazzed...and he's not going in there. There are a lot of comments on Youtube (please go there too) about her "poor horsemanship" - but I think what happened here is that the handler panicked. She wasn't expecting him to act like that and didn't know what to do. She's small, the horse is big, and he could easily have hurt her. Her reaction escalated things.

So, what do you do in this situation? The key is to calm the horse down - and that means calming yourself down first. Anyone who works with horses should learn to slow their breathing and think. It's really vital to do that. Horses can hear your heart rate. If you get scared, a horse will think there is good reason to BE scared...

I know...

...this is a horse blog. And no, that is not a horse...

He's adorable, though. But you probably don't want your own - zebras don't have centuries of domestication behind them and are even harder to train than donkeys. (Plus, they have no withers).

Jail break!

Apparently the owners of the horses here...

...need better latches. Funny how the horse doesn't let all of the other horses out. Guess he didn't like the one in that first stall.

Or maybe not. Oh, I see here. It's the feed room we're going for...now, let's see, what other trouble can we get into? I'm assuming that this horse did this regularly and never did any real damage based off of the fact that the person was videoing it not, you know, catching him ;).

Oh, there goes the barn door. And the arena gate...

I've worked with my share of equine Houdinis...but that one's really good with those latches.