Re: Vt 100 and riders

["Michelle Rowe" <michrowe@frontier.net>]

I have to agree with this post & with Teddy.  If this person is being
cruel - whether unwittingly or knowingly - the people that see it happen
have to take it upon themselves to first of all talk to the person and if
possible EDUCATE, and *then* decide on appropriate means to resolve the
problem.

I know of a person who was turned in to the law for "starving" her horses.
She was 18, had the best of intentions, and really didn't understand the
basics of how much she needed to feed a lactating mare.  The mare got thin,
she got turned in, and she was devastated (and still is).  This girl loves
horses and should have horses - she just needs a mentor.  She's had horses
for years and years, and probably always will.  If the person who had turned
her in had taken an hour to sit down and talk to her about what she needed
to do differently, she would have learned much more than she did by what
ended up happening.  I think there are probably a number of people who fit
Angi's (humorous) bill of needing flogging that I believe *really really*
need a mentor.  I'm not saying that everyone can or wants to learn, but we
have to give people the benefit of the doubt until we find otherwise.

I would liken it to a green horse that wants to buck you off.  You have to
teach it what to do.  You have to teach it the right way to act.  We
wouldn't think of using cruelty to try and teach the horse the right thing
to do.  We have to teach these people what to do.

I'm probably in for a public flogging on this alias because I am thinking of
the human being and not the horse here, but the human being is ultimately
responsible for the care of the horse, and the steward may be able to remove
the horse from the ride, but they are not taking the horse permanently out
of a bad situation.

The good riders ultimately have the most power to help the bad rider really
learn to care for the horse the appropriate way.

Just my $.02.  Will assume the position for a public flogging.

m
----- Original Message -----
From: John & Sue Greenall <greenall@vermontel.net>
To: <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Friday, July 23, 1999 7:46 AM
Subject: RC: Vt 100 and riders


> There are some very good points being made about how we appear
> to the "untrained" eye.  Since this discussion started over
> someone's observation of a rider, I bet I could tell you who that rider
> was.  Believe me, she really cares about her horse.  Believe me,
> she is a terrible rider!  She would be horrified to hear that people
> thought she was cruel to her horse.  She is not built to ride, has
> had very little education in riding but is trying and has a mouth that
> we all wish we could tape shut.  Do we ban her from the sport
> because of this?  Hire Stewards to "judge" us?  Be careful what
> you wish for; take a long hard look at how YOU appear in the
> saddle.  None of us look neat and quiet like a dressage or jumper
> rider, quite the opposite.  If we are going to get upset about what
> other riders do, perhaps we should do some personal improvement
> first.
> John and Sue Greenall
> mailto:greenall@vermontel.net
> http://www.vermontel.com/~greenall
>
>
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Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.    
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp   
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