[RC] Tripping horses (thoughts while loading hay on a trailer) - Ed and Wendy Hauser
This morning while loading my trailer in prep. to leave for the "Charity
Cup" I had a couple of thoughts on the recent thread on helping a tripping
horse by pulling on the reins.
Unless you are riding with a halter only, you use a bit or other device that
will produce discomfort or pain if jerked on. This is the reason that we
are taught to have "good hands" etc. Pulling hard on the reins to "help" a
horse will produce pain etc. Not a desired outcome.
Since my last post someone posted that they thought that they did help their
horse, and mentioned it acting like a fulcrum. It just dawned on me that
they were thinking of being a kid and leaning and pulling on their rocking
horse. The rocking horse did rock back. The same thing is done to "pump
up" a playground swing.
The difference is that in both cases center of gravity of you and the object
is right under you. By leaning back you move your center of gravity (an
engineers term for the point where your weight acts) behind the center of
gravity of the rocking horse. Since you and the rocking horse are about the
same weight, the total center of gravity is now behind the vertical and the
rocking horse moves. On a tripping horse, the front legs are no longer
supporting his weight. His support point is somewhere near the back leggs.
His center of gravity is quite a bit forward, so he starts to fall. When
you lean back (note that the pulling on the head does nothing) you do move
your center of gravity back, but it will still be forward of the rear legs.
The net effect is a small reduction in the force pulling him towards the
ground. Since you weigh at most 20% of your horses weight, the help you can
possibly give by leaning way back is small.
Ed.
Ed and Wendy Hauser
1140 37th Street
Hudson, WI 54016
715.386.0465
sisufarm@xxxxxxxxxx
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