And Then That Happened...

I was browsing FB with my best friend sitting next to me. While browsing, I came across some horse jumping videos and they about sent her over the edge. "Making animals do stuff like that is just horrible!"

Now, you have to understand that she's not a horse person and she's also very opinionated. It took all of my effort to clamp down and not say "You can't really make a 1200lb animal do something its dead set against." So, stupid me decides to show her Olympic level Cross Country. That pushed her right over. "Those solid jumps can really hurt a horse! If they land wrong..! And why are there horses in the Olympics anyway?! The Olympics are for athletes!" I just stared at her, clearly ready to argue. "Well.. /HUMAN/ athletes. The horse does all the work! The rider just sits there!"

I didn't even bother to argue at that point. It was clear that she doesn't have a clue and arguing would just be a waste of breath.

Anyone else know someone like this?

Last edited on 2016-02-15 at 16:32:41 by Mouse

Know this all to well...

Oh lord.. I woulda punched her straight in the nose.

I've seen way too many people like that, and it irks me. I'm very stubborn and opinionated so when someone goes against what I think I get irritated very easily xD

Always do, sadly. Seems people who haven't actually done the sport assume we aren't athletes, when in facts, this has to be the most intense and dangerous sport i've ever done. And I do/have done most sports: softball,soccer,tennis,track and field, swimming,gymnastics,skating,skiing,and golf. None of them have tested me the way riding has, both mentally and physically.

When people are like "the riders just sits there and the horse does all the work" or "I used to ride horses, like I rode them at the fair all the time when I was little, it's not hard at all!111!!!!"

And i'm like:

Been around people like that. My general approach to people who have firm opinions on things they know little about is to simply ignore them. I would have either changed the subject or agreed to disagree. If they weren't amicable to either of those things I would have gotten up and walked away. Love and Hate are the same thing - they both take energy. If you are a tool - I am not going to waste any energy on you.

Last edited on 2016-02-15 at 16:41:59 by Rukhie

I guess I've just gotten used to not really arguing with her because I know there isn't a point. Whether it be about bands, guys we think are attractive, cars, food, etc. Doesn't matter. If we disagree, she expresses her opinion rather loudly and I just let her and move on. Otherwise we'd be arguing all day and going in circles. She's very stubborn but I love the girl. Oh. And she's my husband's cousin. So.. there's that. I'm kind of stuck with her but oh well. ^_^

I think anyone I've met who isn't an equestrian has thought the same thing. They tell me "it's not a real sport" or "the horse is doing all the work". I'm at that maturity level where I haven't learned to keep my mouth shut (oops :p ) and tend to argue back. My favorite reply is "You get up on a 1200 lb five-six foot beast with a mind of it's own and try do the do what these riders do."

I'm that person. It makes me sad and irritated though by now I should be able to ignore it.

(That said, I probably would have gotten in a screaming match)

Same Zest. This makes me so mad, I want to punch them in the face.

Yassssss. Omg all the time. All the freakin time. Why is it in the Olympics? Bla blah blah. Go read a horse dictionary people.........or actually learn something......

I am no show jumper but I often do get a lot of hate on the sport that I do. " barrel racing" people always say that it is cruel to your horse, using whips and spurs " but its not just a sport its a passion for both the rider and the horse. Mainly any person who I have met that knows nothing about what I do acts the same way. But when you have a horse that likes to do nothing but run and loves what it does than that's about the only thing that you can do with it. I get where you are going, I get so frustrated over people who say we do nothing " we just sit there" I cant tell you how many times I have gotten injured riding or falling off a crazy hot headed horses going into the gates. or smashing my finger or getting thrown into the fence. Because in our game the "ball" has a mind of its own.

Last edited on 2016-02-15 at 17:15:06 by 🌲Laney

""Making animals do stuff like that is just horrible!"

... Share with her that the mare I just traded someone had started to jump out of her stall window randomly (we moved her to pasture board when we realized she was doing it more than once).

When I traded her, I said the girl should try jumping with her, to see if she truly had a knack for it and/or enjoyed jumping. So she agreed as she had the ability to do so at their college as she boards at the college equestrian center.

This morning on Facebook was a picture (followed by a video) of Fawkes jumping a 2'6 jump like it was nothing, and clearly was enjoying herself (because I can assure you that if she did not want to go over that jump, she would have just swerved around it as she was on a lunge line).

I'm against making a horse do something they clearly don't enjoy (as I've seen some horses HATE the discipline they're trained in but still do it), but if the horse clearly enjoys their job...

Non-horsey people can get so complicated xD

Wow... there are no words besides riding horses are actually good exercise for them, and they jump things all the time in the wild just for fun.

Horses are 1200 lbs PLUS, meaning they're often 10x the weight of the person training them. so yes, we -make- horses do things they don't want to do.

I know horses who love jumping, and running barrels and their jobs in general. It's so cute!

Also...riding does take muscles...a lot of them that are rarely used...

I can't STAND people like this! If someone doesn't agree with me, I get REALLY annoyed. One of my friends holds onto her opinions, but she doesn't really argue. I would have argued with your friend for eternity, I always want to prove I'm right.

I always find myself arguing with people about how the horse does not do all the work, and how horseback riding truly can be one of the most dangerous sports, and that its a lot of work. I try to just not bring up anything about horses outside of the part about how I own Scout.