Horses...

...spook at the strangest things.

I actually think the rider is setting up the spook here. She "knows" he's afraid and is tensing up. Still, what the heck is he spooking at? Does anyone else see the horse eating monster here?

Silly horses.

I Don't...

...normally like the Parelli types, but wouldn't it be nice if all of our horses would do this:

Yup. He's got them trained that three whip cracks means "get your butts on the trailer" and they come running. Not as hard as it looks...you teach it by putting their grain in the trailer. But it looks cool and boy is it easier than chasing certain horses around the field.

(I work with one who if you call his name will lift his head, point his ears at you...and stay right where he is at the far end of the pasture. Sigh.)

Crazy...

I think somebody doesn't like Warwick Schiller. Or at least doesn't like everyone paying all of their attention to him.

This Is Amusing

And makes a very important point.

Trick Training...

...with extra ear action.

What an awesome mule.

This is a thing?

Trailer races?

No, not what you think. Quite.

Yup. You unload your horse from the trailer, tack it up, race around the arena (with some typically lousy contesting equitation...I can't talk, mine's no better) a few times, then you get off, untack and, yup, back on the trailer.

I'm trying to decide if this is a good test of horsemanship, a gimmick, or likely to result in long term loading problems from the stress.

I really can't decide. I had NO idea this was a thing.

This Is Why...

...you practice riding without stirrups.

Her round is going quite nicely until about 1:00 when the horse knocks a rail, gets annoyed and bucks. She loses her stirrups...and carries on like nothing happened, finishing the round in fine form.

Stirrups are for comfort, not for keeping you on the horse.

Not that they help her right at the end...

Oh...wow.

I don't normally post videos that have comments disabled, because I want people to go comment on the original video.

This, though, is how to install the "Quietstable," which will stop your horse from kicking his stable wall.

It's an interesting concept and if used the way they intend might be a good way to get a horse to stop - it affects the offending body part and is an instant correction.

On the other hand, how many people will just leave it on? And I'm not sure it would stop kicking altogether. Most of the horses I know will just move to kicking somewhere other than the mat...maybe I've just trained too many ponies.

What Not To Do...

...after somebody's cart flips.

Come on, people. Marshalls at a CDE should know better than all of the yelling and chasing here. It looks like the driver and whip are okay, but I'm not so sure about the horses after they were driven into a panic.

Never chase a loose horse, don't scream whoah like that...you really need to stay calm in that situation, as tough as it can sometimes be.

Insane Cuteness

I do wonder how many takes this actually took...

I really do.

I'm normally against riding minis, but I think that little guy is light enough, right?

Tom Thumbs

I've been thinking about bitting a bit lately, partly because of a certain Quarter Horse that I think needs a bit change (He keeps going above the bit and doesn't seem happy in his mouth at all.

Here's a girl explaining why Tom Thumb bits aren't a good idea, and why they should not be used by novices. She does a great job, especially for a kid.

This Is Why...

...horses should never be transported in open trailers.

These open trailers are designed for use with cows. Cows are less athletic than horses and less easily startled. A cow is not going to jump out of the trailer.

A horse, on the other hand...

There are a lot of things you can do with cows that you can't do with horses and vice versa, but it seems people forget that a lot.

They're Everywhere.

Exhibit one: Woman demonstrates why you don't startle a horse fro behind.

Exhibit two: If your cart is heavier than your donkey...

Exhibit three: Sometimes things are their own punishment.

She's Evil...

...and I don't mean the horse. That's cute, but kind of mean.

Just give the poor horse that treat already. Or maybe not, given minis do need to keep their weight down and all that chasing...oh, here comes the other one...around has to help!

Would you do this?

I suppose there's no point taking a trailer if your horse is 32" tall.

Right?

So...

...the days of working horses are over, right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKAGBTt7TD0

Okay.

I know. Those aren't horses. But can you imagine trying to get any kind of vehicle in there to do that work?

How not...

...to back a horse.

You can tell this guy did basically no prep work.

Sadly, there are still people who "bust" horses like this. It's not ineffective, but it's more dangerous and more stressful for the horse than doing the right ground work and sacking out first.

Really Important

All horse owners should watch this. There are far too many overweight horses (and most especially ponies).

When I grew up, we didn't give the horses any grain at all in summer. Not so much as a handful. They were turned out most of the time and got more than they needed from the grass.

Cowboy Dressage

Fascinating. This isn't quite the same thing as western dressage. It's a dressage test with obstacles. Looks like a lot of fun - even if the obstacles are used to mark out the test. Come on, cowboys, do you really need that much help!

Seriously. This is cool, but we dressage people don't have ground poles on the diagonals or a box marking X ;).

Everyone...

...who trail rides alone in public areas needs to watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OMYidq3glo#t=157

The only time this ever happened to me it was in a pub yard and my horse resolved the situation...by stealing the offender's beer.

Oh Dear...

Chuck wagon racing in an arena that is frankly too small for the race. It looks to me like the two wagons collided.

The driver is expelled and the horses just keep running.

This is a great demonstration of what TO do when something like this happens. The second team is pulled safely off to one side...people are looking for opportunities to stop the runaways, but they don't dogpile them (which could easily have got somebody killed), they don't chase them (which would have made them keep running longer). They make several attempts to head them off, without getting in their way.

It does take them a long time to stop, though, and eventually the second driver uses his team and wagon to come up next to them and tries to get the lines that way. He at least manages to herd them away from the people on the ground.

Finally, a frustrated idiot tries to jump into the moving wagon and faceplants...and eventually a second guy gets on board and gets the lines.

I don't think I've ever seen a runaway last a full five minutes - the team must have been setting each other off.