Does Your Horse Secretly Hate You?
Cancel
-
+
When you walk into the stable, you want to be greeted by a welcoming whinny, but more often than not, you'll just see your horse snort. Is he just being a horse, or is it something more? Could he secretly hate you? ? ?
- 1.You arrive at the stable and you're ready to ride! When you walk up to your horse's stall, what does he do?
- A.
Prick his ears and pick up his head
- B.
Walk to the back of his stall and swish his tail
- C.
Snort and nudge you with his nose (looking for treats - as usual!)
- 2.When it is time to ride, how do you get on your horse?
- A.
Bring him over to the mounting block, tighten the girth, adjust the saddle, and then mount.
- B.
Hold the reins in one hand and mount from the ground. Once you're up, wriggle the saddle into place if it shifted when you got on.
- C.
Make sure that your horse is standing still, which usually takes a few seconds because he is fidgety sometimes. Then ask your instructor to check your stirrups before getting on.
- 3.When you're riding your horse in a group lesson, what do you focus on while doing flatwork?
- A.
C) I always focus on going into the corners and steering my horse the right direction – precision is key!
- B.
B) I like to keep my horse going at a brisk pace – and I know that it is important that he knows I am the boss!
- C.
A) I work hard to keep a good distance between the horse in front of me and the horse I am riding.
- 4.What do you think when your instructor tells you that you should start using a neck strap when jumping your horse?
- A.
C) I’ll try using a neck strap. Anything that will improve my jumping will make me happy! I can’t wait to see if it’s a success.
- B.
A) That’s a good idea – I certainly wouldn’t want to jerk my horse in the mouth because I’m pulling on the reins.
- C.
B) Why would I need a neck strap? I doesn’t matter how you get over the jumps, as long as I am able to tackle the really big and exciting ones!
- 5.What kind of horses do you like to ride?
- A.
A) I love to ride a new horse every so often to switch up the routine and get used to different kinds of rides.
- B.
C) I like easy-going horses that will listen to my commands – I find that most horses seem to ignore my aids to slow down or speed up.
- C.
B) I like fast horses most of the time, but I don’t mind the slow ones, as long as I have my crop in my hands!
- 6.How do you put your horse away after your lesson?
- A.
B) I will un-tack my horse and then jump in my mom’s car to drive away before someone makes me wash him or something!
- B.
C) I can never un-tack correctly, but I still give my horse a small treat for putting up with me.
- C.
After un-tacking, I give my horse a treat if I have one and spend a couple minutes grooming and brushing him.
Back to top
