Insulted by pro natural-horsemen....

[CautionToTheWind]

and I'm sick of people in general always thinking they're right!

Sorry about the semi-rant...

I rode Holly today, in a new bit (just an eggbutt snaffle). We were hacking out with my young friend and her pony, and my friend went into the indoor arena to get on as she needed the mounting block. I was already mounted on Holly, and was following them, but Holly HATES the indoor school so she napped and span around on the spot, and continued to do so several times.

There is a few stables facing the entrance to the indoor school, and there was a gathering of 3 people, one of which was my stable neighbour, who were watching me struggle.

I kept turning Holly back on herself and telling her to walk on, then one of them shouted "Thats it pull on her mouth!" and they all started laughing, then continued by saying "you know, if you need some proper lessons I'll give you some but I charge £10 for 30 minutes" and then continued to laugh.

I was thoroughly insulted. Just because I am only accustomed to using a bit doesn't mean they should laugh at me and generally mock me. I've never known bitless riders/naturalhorsemanship people be so derogatory and disrespectful just because I don't follow their scene. Also, as adults, I'd have thought they'd have known better (I'm only 18).
It really made me upset purely because I genuinely have an interest in going bitless etc but it just made me feel like I didn't want to ever be a part of that clique, and just made me feel downright rubbish. I ended up just not bothering going to the indoor school and just waiting because they were critising my every move... I don't feel anyone should ever feel like that.

Has anyone had similar experiences? Its really got to me!

[BEX101]

If they cant behave in a professional manner then they have no right even suggesting that they are qualified enough to charge for their services.

Try not to take it to heart. x

[Bright Sparkx]

Ditto BEX ^^
Ive always had nasty picky people, when i was at college who would always pick on me and my style of riding- because i didnt pull on the horses mouth and smack it apparently i couldnt ride and shouldnt be on a horse which is totally stupid! So if i was you even though its hard and makes you feel a bit down in the dumps, take no notice of them, their not worth spoiling what you have for the sake of their petty comments and childish behaviour.

[angietoots]

What horrid spiteful people!! As the others have said, rise above it and try not to take it to heart. Keep your chin up xx

[Zeitgeist Mom]

How horrid!! :mad: I know it's hard to not let it get to you, but you are doing well with Holly, and it's all a learning curve. If it were me I'd take her up on the offer of a lesson for £10, to see her squirm more than anything. :lol: She can't possibly be nasty to you for a whole half hour.

[Bek B]

So very easy to criticise when they're not to one facing the problem!

Just keep it in the memory bank and next time they get an outing you'll have to tell them "I know someone who can give lessons on this sort of thing, ten pounds for half an hour - however they seem to be very 'busy' right now" !

[jaffa]

sweetie natural or not that was just rude. They were lucky it was you and not me riding, they would have got a torrent of abuse back before they knew what had hit them. Dont let them make you feel like you should or shouldnt be doin anything the rude swines! Im seriously angry for you.

[My Crazy Clan]

Ignore them, they think they are better when really they know jack ****, if they were that bothered they would have come and helped you.

[CityLights]

would serious be getting some **** off me if they had said something like that to me, honestly some people are ridiculous

i have to say with my expereinces with 'natural' horsemanship people alot do think they all know best and how other people ride train and look after thier horses is oh such a crule thing to do, but generally these people are also the ones who dont actually ride thier horses and whos horses are naughtier and more badly ridden than anybodies horses, not all NH people are like that though some are knowledgeable and helpful others are just plain tossers like all people

if they were that good of a person or a person who has a general interst and care about horses they would of walked up and camly asked you if you would like a hand and given you some assitance if you were so obviously stuggling, this is what i would of done if i had seen you in this kind of situation

[sparkey]

ditto the two above replies, if they actually cared they would have come over and helped you but these jerks clearly just wanted to laugh at someone. Some people really don't have enough excitement in their lives!

[The Little Magician]

That is a horrible situation to be in.

I had a situation like that in our school one day, some know it all ex army ridder bloke was saying, you shouldnt do it like that, you should do it like this. (I was trying to get him to canter over a small jump, not that hard really!) I got so pee'd off I got off Littleman walked over to him and handed him the reins and my hat and said, 'go on then, show me'. After abit of talking on his side trying to back out of it and me saying, 'seriously you show me how to do it then'. He put on my hat and I legged him up.

What happened next, I couldnt have wished for more! He walked and trotted Little around and was like 'there is no problem here' and I said 'I wasnt having a problem with that, you said you would show me how to canter over a jump'. There was no reply, so I said 'Whats the problem, cant you remember how to do it then?'. After a bit of bullying from me, he put Little in to canter and headed for the jump. Little did his usual lovely approach, and just as he was about to take off, span around and the man rolled over his shoulder. Then Little came trotting over to me on the other side of the school.

All I got then was, 'Thats one very rude horse, and if it was mine I would show it whos boss'.

I havent had another offer of how to sort my horses tantrums and mischeifs out since.

[Ambers Mum]

This answer is to everyone who has a moment like this, not just with NH people but ALL horse people who think they are in the know......

Walk away head held high in the knowledge that you aren't like them and not a nobhead. Take no notice, you only want help when you ask for it and and my answer to ignoring them efficiently is walk round with earphones in and pretend to be listening to an ipod of the like if it makes it easier...they soon get fed up...

[gem]

Tell them to shove their carrot sticks where the sun don't shine!

[annmarie]

ggrrrrrr gggrrrr gggrrr cant stand tossers like that

[ness]

That is a horrible situation to be in.

I had a situation like that in our school one day, some know it all ex army ridder bloke was saying, you shouldnt do it like that, you should do it like this. (I was trying to get him to canter over a small jump, not that hard really!) I got so pee'd off I got off Littleman walked over to him and handed him the reins and my hat and said, 'go on then, show me'. After abit of talking on his side trying to back out of it and me saying, 'seriously you show me how to do it then'. He put on my hat and I legged him up.

What happened next, I couldnt have wished for more! He walked and trotted Little around and was like 'there is no problem here' and I said 'I wasnt having a problem with that, you said you would show me how to canter over a jump'. There was no reply, so I said 'Whats the problem, cant you remember how to do it then?'. After a bit of bullying from me, he put Little in to canter and headed for the jump. Little did his usual lovely approach, and just as he was about to take off, span around and the man rolled over his shoulder. Then Little came trotting over to me on the other side of the school.

All I got then was, 'Thats one very rude horse, and if it was mine I would show it whos boss'.

I havent had another offer of how to sort my horses tantrums and mischeifs out since.

ooh, nice one, Littleman!:pmsl:

[ness]

They sound like worthless people. if I were you, I would get some lessons from someone else and really show them what you can do!

[Welly]

Bunch of ******! I'd have felt like turning and cantering right into them - I'm terrible when I get riled!
BTW - further to your photo on the sized horse post you look fine on Holly - bit long in the back perhaps (you not her lol) but def no problem or anything that looks shocking!! Enjoy your beautiful pony :) xx

[Welly]

errrrrrrr the word that got starred out wasn't a swear word by the way - it was only m0rons! Crikey Mikey!!xx

[Hannibal]

How rude!!! Some people have nothing better to do than to make other people feel bad. Dont take it personally, they sound like a the type of people that would make a nasty remark no matter what you were doing!

[Horse Mad Mum]

sorry but am I being totoally thick here, what has your posy got to do with NH ? You r were ridingin an eggbut snaffle no? They were just being rude and disrespectful, bet if you had said ok you do it nobody would have stepped forward,so sorry you ahd a bad experiencenot everbody is like that promise hugs HMM XX

[chelle83]

I know it's difficult but I would just ignore them, they are bullies and should know better!

[sherman74]

I am always open to new ideas and would like to think i am a very considerate rider, and when i asked my equine specialist about bitless she said unless your horse has big tongue, awkward pallet etc she see's no reason why a bit is ever a problem, now i know and have read many pro's and con's about bitless but do worry that this is another "craze" and like you said there are "cliques" of people who probably go bitless becasue its the "in thing to do" without proper research and advise about it. A girl i know kept on about bitless and eventually bough her horse a bitless bridle and went straight out onto the main road with it pulled hard and went over backwards, now she is putting this down to the bridle, i put it down to plain old fashioned stupidity. If you have concerns about her mouth, teeth biting problems etc i would get professional advice, however if you dont i'd carry on, ignore those plonkers who probably all ride in the same clothes and numnuhs but couldnt tell you 5 things in a first aid box. x

[beks the artist]

Just ignore them, they sound like horrible bullies who are pretending to be good horsemen under this new craze of Natural Horsemanship. Unfortunately as Mandi says - it ain't just NH people, horses sadly seem to attract the nutters (as well as some nice people like us dear readers ;)) I would love to of seen them get Holly in the school using one of their rope halters and a carrat-stick-thing...

Next time tell them to google Linda Paralli beating the crap out of that horse with one of her long leadropes... you tell me that's Natural Horsemanship?! :s


Chin up xxxx

[stepbystep]

gosh, how nasty! Grrrr :mad:

[Hairy Fairy]

Ditto what everyone else has said....they were just plain rude. Probably just showing off to their friends. Ignore them and remember that what goes around comes around.....they'll get their comeuppance for being so nasty soon I'm sure.

[CautionToTheWind]

Thanks everyone :) I was very angry about it at the time!

The main thing that upset me was the "go on - pull on her mouth" comment. When Holly is doing that the only thing I can really do is pull on her mouth or else she'd head off in the wrong direction and I'd get nowhere. I wasn't doing it for the fun of it, I wanted to go somewhere and my pony didn't want to so I had to correct her bad behavior. I wonder what they'd have done in that situation and how they would have got around it without putting some force on the horse's mouth/head area. That's what annoyed me, because this man in particular just looked and saw Holly was bitted and decided that was wrong. NH or not, you shouldn't accept that your method is THE ONLY WAY to do something, and because he was so much older than me I just felt really patronised and stupid.

On another note though, this same man is the man who walked into Holly's field when I'd given up trying to catch her, and failed. He said "you're not asking her right! Watch this... she always comes to me from across the gate!" and walked over so positively to her until she galloped a million miles an hour away from him! He came back after twenty minutes and just said "its because you've already tried to catch her, had I been the first one in I would have got her." :lol:



BTW - further to your photo on the sized horse post you look fine on Holly - bit long in the back perhaps (you not her lol) but def no problem or anything that looks shocking!! Enjoy your beautiful pony :) xx

Aw thanks Welly, it really means a lot to me! I'm very self conscious about being too big for her and I think it's one of the main reasons why people decide to be patronising because she looks like an easy ride.

Thanks again everyone for your lovely comments, made me smile! :)

[beks the artist]

.

On another note though, this same man is the man who walked into Holly's field when I'd given up trying to catch her, and failed. He said "you're not asking her right! Watch this... she always comes to me from across the gate!" and walked over so positively to her until she galloped a million miles an hour away from him! He came back after twenty minutes and just said "its because you've already tried to catch her, had I been the first one in I would have got her." :lol:


BRILLIANT!!!!:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
That is one of the most hilarious pieces of bull I have ever read!!!!! :pmsl::pmsl::pmsl::pmsl: Just shows what an absolute ****jockey he really is! Ignore people like that, they are so far up their own backsides he couldn't catch any pony as he can't see.... :pmsl::pmsl::pmsl:

[eeek]

The thing is, these people HAVE to tell you that you're complete rubbish and that you're ruining your horse.

How else can they explain away the fact that their precious methods DON'T ****** WORK?

It's the most brilliant system, and I can guarantee these NH people you have just encountered are not the only NH people to use these methods. I know a guy who charges £50/HOUR for this very technique, which goes as follows:

1) Let it be widely known that you are some kind of horse whisperer who can fix any horse. If you do this for long enough people won't be TOO shocked and surprised when you...

2)...Stand watching other people struggling with their horse from a safe distance. Educate the people around you by pointing out all the things the rider/handler is doing wrong.

3) Offer rider/handler help, for a LARGE fee. (The bigger the fee, the bigger the ********.)

4) Take money.

5) Observe horse from safe distance, before telling rider/handler that they have already ruined the horse and it is too late to 'fix' the poor creature due to the abuse it has already received.

6) Leave. With money.

It's almost unbelievable that these people get away with it, but get away with it they do. A woman I know paid one of these cowboys £200 to work with her completely unsuitable child's pony. The guy spent half a day there and all he said was 'well, if you told me this was a 3-year-old unbroken pony, I'd believe you'. Then he left and they never heard from him again. It makes me sick that he managed to extract £200 out of these people and gave them NOTHING in return. Stating the obvious is not a service I would pay somebody £200 for.

Just ignore the idiots.

I am not against Natural Horsemanship per se, because I'm sure it works for some people - generally those who aren't fussed about whether or not they manage to ride, and if they do manage to get on, they don't mind if they only go 40yds before horse decides he's had enough and it's time to go home.

But you're completely right, it is incredibly arrogant and narrow-minded to expect everybody else to follow your cult.

I don't know about you, but I like to DO stuff with my horses. If I wanted a pet I would get another dog and save myself a few thousand quid. Although, funnily enough, I have noticed that all this NH stuff does allow you to keep a horse very cheaply. No shoes, no tack, no rugs, no clipping, no hard feed... All you need to buy is the videos and DVDs.

Personally, because my horses work hard, I am happy to buy shoes and rugs and hard feed, but I can see why it would get annoying if all you ever did with your horse was wave carrots at it.

Well they do say that if you want to get rich, start a religion.

Sorry, this has turned into a bit of a rant!

I think what I'm trying to say is IGNORE THE BAR-STEWARDS!

[CautionToTheWind]

I couldn't agree more eeek, and I'm the same.

I'm quite interested in NH, but these individuals I've observed have really put me off, although I'm not tarring everyone with the same brush their behavior was very discouraging.

The lady who was part of the 3 individuals laughing at me, has often told me that if I want Holly to catch I have to wait until "she's ready". :shocked:
I love Holly to pieces but I know fine well she's an animal and if I leave her out in that field there is no doubt in my mind that she'll happily stay in that field until otherwise, there is no desire for her to come in unless its terrible outside. This lady's mare is in Holly's field and she on trying to catch her mare yesterday she said "come on, I know the grass is fresh but there's no need to turn your head away from me" obviously the horse didn't reply and just stared at me approaching Holly, she then continued with "fine then, if you're going to be like that I'll just stand here until you realise you're bad behaviour", *crosses arms and tuts* and then the horse turned her head toward her and she said, "I knew it! You know you must come in straight away, there's no need to be so silly".... so obviously I'm becoming very skeptical of NH.

Additionally this lady paid £200, for some NH stirrups that apparently are "better for the horse as they put your foot at the correct angle" :shocked:

I think thats why I was even more offended by their comments, because they seem in a completely different world!

[Tiaki]

This is definitely the bad, brain washed side of NH and sadly, there is a lot of it about.

I hope I am nothing like this and if ever I do get like this, someone shoot me!!!

xxx

[beks the artist]

This is definitely the bad, brain washed side of NH and sadly, there is a lot of it about.

I hope I am nothing like this and if ever I do get like this, someone shoot me!!!

xxx

Nah, just poke you with a carrot stick... :pmsl: ;) xx

[Tiaki]

:lol: :lol:

xxx