Poor filly. I saw this in my mail too late to post it before she went to auction but this is just a classic example of a horse who has never had a decent owner yet and may end her life without ever having a decent owner. There is so much of this kind of ignorant ownership out there, and seemingly no cure.
"maggie is a 13 month old belgian we got from the amish she is already 16 hands we have started her under the saddle and she does great she has never offered to kick or rear up she is gentle and very friendly and easy to catch out in pasture. she gets along great with other horses leads well and saddles and bits great. she is up to date on her coggins. for more info call scott at (number). will post pictures later If not sold by the 18th will be going to the sale at the ag center in greenville."
*sigh* THIRTEEN months old. Of course, we've seen seven month olds being ridden here on the blog so I guess nothing shocks me anymore. Here's the truth about riding yearlings:
It is not OK if the horse is a large breed like a draft and is already good sized.
It is not OK if the horse is a small, compact breed and appears to be mostly done growing.
It is not OK if you keep the rides short.
It is not OK if the knees are closed. The knees aren't the only issue. Read Deb Bennett. Learn something.
It is not OK if you're only trail riding.
It is not OK as long as you don't canter.
It is not OK if you don't sweat them up.
It is not OK if you only do it bareback.
It is not OK if you put a child up there as the crash test dummy instead of yourself.
It is not OK if your vet told you it was. That just means your vet is an idiot, or that he wants to keep making money off of you. You folks who ride yearlings keep the vets VERY busy doing those pricy joint injections!
It is not OK if your neighbor, who shows big time horses, told you it was. That just means your neighbor is used to having a disposable mentality about horses - show 'em, sell 'em, who cares if they're broken down by eight? Check is cashed!
It is not OK if everybody else at your barn does it.
It is not OK if everybody else at the track does it.
We can debate riding two year olds here all day - my longtime readers know I oppose it due to personal experience with those horses not staying sound - but I doubt there is anyone reading this blog who does not agree that RIDING YEARLINGS IS ALWAYS WRONG.
Want to comment? E-mail me your comments with: COMMENT JULY 23 in the subject line and I'll add the five best ones to this entry tonight! Yes, I do get to choose 'cause this is my blog and here, I am the goddess. ;-)
*Listens for the sound of heads exploding, and giggles.*
I am doing some research now to talk about the Pease case next week, so if you are a local or familiar with what's really going on, feel free to e-mail me your take on things! From what I've read so far, he sounds like the Ernie Paragallo of the ASB world.
COMMENTS ON TODAY'S POST
(Clearly I couldn't stop at 5. If your username wasn't apparent, you're anon because I assumed you might want your privacy.)
66puppies:
Maybe he needed the money to finish the half-roof on his house (in the background).
Anon:
Not only is everything about this ad wrong, but that poor yearling is by no means 16 hands unless the BYB on her back is related to sasquatch. Is there a garage sale going on in the back ground or is that how their yard always looks? How do they even mow! Honestly everything about this ad makes me cringe. Ugh...
Anon:
The ONLY time its okay to ride a yearling is if it has springs attached to its legs and a yarn mane and tail. Its frame should say Radio Flyer on it!!!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!
Halternhunters:
That fugly little (NOT 16 hands) filly looks too sore and miserable to dump her idiot owner. I hate to think how long he has been abusing this poor creature. Common sense FAIL.
Excellent points made for not riding yearlings. Most apply to riding two year olds as well.
Don't worry if the horse is lame by age six. They will just breed more. Horses are, after all, a renewable resource.
Anon:
Just by eyeing the picture, the probability of that horse being 16 hands is slimmer than my chance of winning the mega millions this week. Which is saying something, considering I haven’t bought any tickets.
Rollkursucks:
This horse is SO SKINNY, she doesn't even look like a real horse, she looks like a claymation gumby horse! From the first picture I thought "16 hands my ass" because of how far his legs hang down, but then the second picture her legs just go on foreverrrrrrr... That's skinny for any horse, but she's a DRAFT horse! They are supposed to be drafty! Her poor head is bigger than the rest of her skinny little self. By the way, is that a gun on his hip? So, it's not okay to ride a yearling for the horse's sake, but for the rider's sake, is it really a good idea to sit on a barely-broke horse, facing backwards, with a gun pointing into your thigh? Maggie, that was your chance, you should have bucked. And yet, he did manage to wrangle up enough brain cells to remove the ad before I got a chance to see it.
HorseGal:
I truly believe that we are a society of now..........Our culture moves at lightning speed, we can have whatever we want..their is plastic for that....
We are taught that we do not have to be frugal, we have lost respect for others and thereby, do not respect ourselves..
And the poor animals that come into Contact with people who live in a throw away society.. Are subject to the whims of people, who have no patience to nurture and no time to wait..
So rushing into riding a yearling has no real consequence..If the animal breaks down, we just just get another..
Family upbringing and the values one brings to parenting have a dramatic influence on a young person and I think family trends, show a strong trend for bigger, faster, with a now attitude...what you learn at home, or a lack thereof.........
There is plenty of information for those who wish to know what it takes to raise a horse, feed, train and have a wonderful horse in your life.
PRS:
OH. MY. GOD. That is the 2nd Belgian yearling being ridden that I read about TODAY. I have a .pdf copy of Deb Bennet’s Ranger Piece that I e-mail freely to anybody I know that handles young horses. I’ve printed copies and handed them out too. I know when I read it for the first time it was a serious eye opener. I know of several people that I’ve sent it to that have been involved with horses their entire lives that admitted that they learned from it and have since changed their practices in regards to their youngsters. I started my young gelding as a coming 4 year old. I can’t think of one single reason that he would have benefited from being started earlier. Since I plan to keep him for his entire life his soundness is very important to me. His mother is 26 years old and still going strong with zero joint related issues. She was also started after her 3rd birthday.
My daughter in law spends a lot of time on Barrel Horse World forum. She has shared the piece there and has gotten positive responses from some of those women, many of whom had bought into the belief that certain breeds of horses mature faster than others which we now know is bullshit.
I don’t remember if I saw it for the first time here or on some other forum, but keep referencing Dr. Bennet’s study when ever you can because some of us are paying attention. A permanent link to it might not be a bad idea with all the traffic FHOTD already gets.
Anon:
If that horse is 16 hands then that man must be the jolly white giant!!
Cheval Noire:
This is appalling for so many reasons. It breaks my heart to see that poor little girl at the hands of such a moronic clown.
We held off breaking my little arab mare until she was four, which might seem a little long to some but as she has an endurance career ahead of her, I wanted to ensure she was completely mature developmentally and also mentally.
As a result I have the THE most well adjusted and physically able 'youngster' who can now tackle the rigours of riding with ease.
I'm guessing that it would have been too much to hope that the people who bought this baby turned her out for a few years to grow up properly, finish being a baby and mature into a great riding horse; despite her unfortunate beginnings.
Another great story that the 'world' had to know about - thanks.
Anon:
First as a draft owner I am aghast at what I saw. If the yahoo had done ANY research on the breed prior to buying they would know that drafts are late matures and that in fact its probably closer to jumping on a 7 month foal instead of 16 months. Why do SOME people think that if its unacceptable for humans that MUST mean its acceptable for animals. If we had a two year expected to mow the lawn, vacuum the house, or make dinner, then we would be all on the phone with child protections - but somehow some of us either do it or turn a blind eye when we expect infant animals to behave like full grown animals. Good rule of thought is: IF I wouldn't subject myself or my child to it, then don't expect your animal to do it. Case in point, where I live we have a Class 6 Forest Fire raging on the other side of town, (See Kelowna or West Kelowna, British Columbia - Canada) threatening homes and farms. Yet people that are on evacuation alert, still believe its okay to leave their pets at home - although they take their kids with them, just in case something happens. Or because of the raining of soot and ashes and smoke in the air, air quality has been on its worse level. They tell people to stay inside at home, and yet some "equine professionals" still believe that its okay to trot, canter, and jump their horses in this enviroment.... despite the fact that they are struggling with burning eyes, sore throats - and these are people spending most of their time inside their homes...
Once again it makes you believe people should have to have a licence to breed, both humans and animals!
Horsenut81:
i just wanna say, riding a yearling is always wrong, but i guess standing onher back doesnt count as riding (sigh) and if that poor girl is already 16hh, does that make the retard on her back, what, about 8 feet tall?!?!?! his legs are almost on the ground, my hubby is 6 foot 2, and when he rides my 16hh mare, his legs are at the bottom of the cinch, poor poor girl, just a baby and already being treated like that!!!
Serendipity:
That poor little filly just breaks my heart.
And what the fuck is with standing on her back?! That's one fad that needs to go the way of the Wicker Man practice.
Sunny Crunch:
OH NO! It's not!!! It IS. The dreaded camo-fricking-saddle http://tackytackoftheday.blogspot.com/2009/02/dude-wheres-my-saddle.html
What the hell!?!? Somehow it still surprises me that this moron actually owns this saddle. Geeze.
Anon:
I can't believe you also didn't comment on the fact that he had a jump seat on that poor little thing along with the saddle!! He's been riding that baby double!!
Foxxyfjord:
Poor sweet Maggie...no way that she is 16hh and she has NO muscle built up so that oaf sitting/standing on her should be ashamed of himself...probably not going to happen.
I raise Norwegian Fjords and cannot imagine "riding' them as yearlings...there are so many things that you can do to train babies before they are 3 ..sitting on them is the last thing that we would do. You can work them in hand, in a round pen and in harness (after ground driving)..teach them to trailer, hand walk them or pony them out on trails, sack them out with saddle blankets, bomb proof them to anything they might see in the next 20 years, clicker train them...why on earth would you need to puff yourself up by sitting on their immature backs...unless you are a total jerk..whoops, that might be a politically incorrect statement/comment!
Don't expect to make the top 5 but really needed to vent
MaryDC:
Where are their heads? Poor sad filly (probably hungry) and he looks so happy!
Anon:
this sort of foolishness really gets to me – especially when they sound sort of knowledgeable in the ad regarding Coggins, etc. Poor filly looks like a broken down old mule who is wearing WAY too much tack for any reason. When are people going to stop standing on saddles to prove that their horse will not move now cuz we started her too young and she’s about to break down now…
Thanks for the comments! And those of you in the Kelowna area, keep yourselves AND your pets safe! Just remember, every time you think "oh, it'll probably be okay" in life, it probably won't - so load up everything with a heartbeat and get to safety now.
