Wrong lead....

...wrong lead...

"Is there any trick to getting the correct lead?"

...that wouldn't be it.

What is the problem...

...with this picture?

Yes. This is people encouraging and rewarding a horse for escaping from its stall... Okay. The mare can't go anywhere...right now. But what if they have to sell her?

This is not behavior you want...

Anyone Who Jumps...

...should watch this video. Gillian Higgins is an awesome teacher.

Yes, she paints the skeleton on the horse (with harmless non-toxic dye). I wouldn't try it - you need a really good knowledge of equine anatomy!

Poor Little Guy

I know this one's already been circulating (and is two years old), but...it's like a train wreck that you have to keep watching.

Here we have a miniature donkey. And a kid. This might be a cute combination...except in this case it's not.

The kid decides to tack up the donkey and ride him. Needless to say, he probably weighs as much as the poor little donk. On top of that, he doesn't actually have the right tack.

What does he have? A western saddle pad and cinch. A large pony-sized English saddle and bridle.

So, we have the wrong pad and cinch for the saddle. (I wouldn't worry about the pad, but...) And then we have English tack, too big for the donkey and, on top of that, it's all horse tack. Maybe he doesn't know, but you don't put horse tack on donkeys. They aren't put together the same way. Mule saddles are also different from horse saddles.

Okay, none of that is as bad as making the poor donkey carry his butt in the first place - I can only assume it didn't buck him off because it couldn't, and didn't kick him because...eh...saintly longear?

Bronc riding...

...is a dangerous sport. I have a lot of respect for the guys who do it and for the good stock contractors.

So, let's make it even more dangerous. Somebody has to be first...

As the commentator said...

(I do wish those guys would wear helmets, though).

How NOT To Fall Off

So, girl trots through field bareback. Horse canters. She falls off, lands on her feet and hangs on to the reins for dear life until the horse stops.

This is...a very classic example of what not to do. First of all, she's not wearing a helmet.

When coming off a horse, especially at speed, you do not attempt to land on your feet. (Yes, I know some mounted games people do it, but their dismounts are entirely voluntary, they practice it for hours AND one of my worst riding injuries ever came from doing that maneuver wrong).

Second, you don't try to keep hold of the horse. Doing so puts you at risk of being trampled. I don't care if your instructor has taught you to do so - mine did. It's still wrong.

In this case, the girl got it all right and nobody was hurt, but that doesn't mean she was doing the right thing.

Velcro Butt

This girl sure as heck has one. She rides through the situation very well. Shame about that innocent jump stand...