How important are bloodlines?

It always amuses me when people brag about their horse's pedigree, especially when the horse is less than impressive. It's even more hilarious when people say, "He goes back to the Bedouin Turk!" or, "He's a great-great-great grandson of Man O' War!"

Ha. Victor is from the Man O' War line, and that's not something I'm particularly proud of. Man O' War was a nasty son of a gun and horses from his line have a tendency to be quirky and high-strung (Vic's living proof!). Granted, knowing a horse's pedigree is nice and it's even nicer when it's a good pedigree. I like to know that my horses have good health and soundness in their family.

On the other hand, it won't turn me off when I'm looking at a horse that has a not-so-famous pedigree or no papers at all. Bloodlines mean next to nothing to me, unless he has an ancestor like Impressive. I care about the animal I'm seeing in front of me. I couldn't care less if he's sired by Doc O' Lena if he has nothing to show for it.

I was at an auction a while back and this snooty girl rides in on a skewbald gelding. The horse is cute, but not gorgeous. She's all cocky and starts spouting off about the horse's incredible pedigree and apparently famous roping stallions that he's descended from (I don't know much about stock breed pedigrees, so I don't remember exactly what she said). But ummm... the only reason I would care about bloodlines is if the horse actually inherited the traits that made its ancestors famous. Or if I was going to do breed circuits. Which I don't and I don't plan to, so I rest my case.

The primary things that I care about are level of training, conformation, and temperament. I know some people who don't care as much about temperament, but to me it's just as important as good conformation. If our personalities clash, it sucks the fun right out of it and it's not even worth it.

One more thing I look for is a "perfect face". It's not as important and I try not to be too picky, but I'm a sucker for horses with perfect necks and faces. I can't get past jug-heads, knife-necks, or ewe-necks. I like curvy, muscular, well-shaped necks that tie in nicely to the shoulders and head. I especially like faces with sharp, chiseled features and gentle eyes. That's just my personal preference. Some people like the softer, cuter look. And some people don't care either way. ;D

I'm not sure how we got on the subject of faces... hehe.

Stop abusing your horse and use a bitless bridle!

Re: A bit is not horse abuse

That video is extremely biased and one-sided. Not to mention utterly uneducated. This is just one of the many anti-bit videos that I've come across. Reasonably knowledgeable horse people see right through it, but beginners probably soak in every word. I can see how it would make a newbie think that anyone who uses bits is a horrible animal abuser.

Here are my two cents. With the exception of things like gags, bike chains, twisted wire leverage bits, etc., the bit itself has nothing to do with abuse. There are some monstrosities out there that are designed to cause pain and those ones should all be melted down and prohibited. However, generally speaking, bits don't hurt horses. People hurt horses. Allow me to illustrate.

On the left, we have a horse in a double bridle. He's slightly ahead of the vertical, as he should be, and he appears relaxed and comfortable. Eyes bright and calm, ears pricked and alert. I don't see anything in his body language that would suggest that he's in pain. I also like the slack on the curb rein. This is the way the equipment should be used.


Now on the right, we have a Rollkur picture, otherwise known as "how NOT to use a bit and bridle".

Are we seeing the difference? Both have essentially the same equipment, but the look on this horse's face is heartbreaking. His mouth is open, despite the crank noseband, his tongue is lolling, his eyes are rolled back. Look at the taught reins and the angle of the leverage bit. This horse's head is in a vice grip, and it must be miserable.

The one factor that determines whether or not a bit is cruel is the rider. Instead of blaming a piece of metal, we need to look to the real source of cruelty: the hands on the other end of the reins. Even something as simple as a halter can turn into a torture device in the hands of a thoughtless rider. The same could be said for any piece of equipment, including hackamores and bitless bridles. It's not what you put in the horses mouth, it's the skill and knowledge of the person using the equipment.

Choose your weapon Pt. 1

I like this guy. He explains bits very well and I think he does a good job of getting his point across.

Is this even healthy?

I was watching Truth Be Told: I'm Obsessed With My Pet the other night, and I was appalled. It's one thing to love your pet, but it's quite another to treat that pet like a human child. Animals are not humans, and they should never be treated like humans. Now, before the sensitive people (and I am one of those sensitive people as well!) flame me, I want to clarify something.

Animals should not be treated like humans because it just doesn't work for them. However, pets should be valued like any other member of the family. That doesn't mean you put sneakers and a sundress on your Yorkie and walk her around in a baby stroller. That's a little creepy.

The lady that had the Italian Greyhound ticked me off for several reasons. She seemed completely convinced that the dog was a little human and enjoyed being treated like a child. She spent thousands of dollars on designer dog outfits because she put the dog in beauty pageants all the time. She kept a record of every time she fed her, groomed her, and even every time the dog peed or pooped. Who does that? And who the hell spends 300 bucks on a doggie outfit? The only "clothes" I would buy for a dog would be a jacket/sweater if he or she needed one. It's just like blanketing a horse in the winter. Dogs are dogs. They don't need shoes or T-shirts. I hardly believe that they like wearing clothes. It's a huge waste of money, besides that.

And then there was the lady with 11 cats. At first I thought, well, that's not that strange. I would have 11 cats too, if I could afford it. But then she had a birthday party for one of the cats. Is it any wonder why she only had one guest? The lady was nuts, and not just crazy-cat-lady nuts. She was fostering that cat named James Bond, who ran away and she was looking for him for like a month. She kept setting a trap up every day for weeks on end, trying to catch a cat that wasn't even hers. If the cat didn't come back after about 2 weeks, I would assume he either found a home or doesn't want to be caught. The cat could have been in the next city for all she knew. I just found it really strange that she was convinced that it couldn't possibly be raccoons or stray cats eating the food in the trap. She just knew it was James Bond. *facepalm*

Finally, there was the lady with the monkey. She dressed the monkey up in little T-shirts and pants every day and took him everywhere she went. She claimed he was a service animal, but I personally don't buy it. You'd think she was caring for a baby, the way she treated him. Her entire life was the monkey. She claims he would never show any aggression to anyone, and that proves how much of a naive fool she is. Monkeys are wild animals. There is no such thing as a "tame" wild animal. Remember the lady with the chimpanzee that attacked her friend? I'm sure the lady never would have thought the chimp would attack anyone. She treated him like a human, and I'm sure she trusted him 100%. And look what happened.

When you bring a wild animal into your house and expect it to act like a domesticated house pet, you're asking for trouble. You can never entirely trust an animal like that. They don't belong in houses. I think that lady will get a rude awakening if and when her monkey turns on someone. It can happen at any time with little to no warning. It's like the people who buy illegal exotics (i.e., tiger and lion cubs) and think they're going to make great pets. Then said tiger cubs grow up and become unmanageable and they end up being taken away by the SPCA and either put in zoos/sanctuaries or euthanized. Wild animals are not pets. Period.

I love this article

The Perfect Horse

Is that cute or what? It pretty much hits the nail on the head. Everyone needs a Perfect Horse in their life at some point. :D

My mouth hurts.

There's a really good article about Wonder Bits that y'all might be interested in.

The "Wonder" Bit.

Why anyone would use something like that is beyond me. Using one sends out the message to the rest of the horse world that you are a moronic excuse for an equestrian.

I cried a little bit on the inside when I came across these bits.

Shame on you, Valley Vet. I would have thought better of you, but now I see that I was naive. Listen to the description:

(Charmayne James) This is a good beginner bit for young horses. Good transition from the D-ring snaffle, allowing more stop and control. An excellent bit for introducing the curb strap. Mouth 5 ½”, shank 6”.

I'm sure your three-year-olds will be thrilled to go from a snaffle to a twisted-wire gag. It's great for introducing the curb strap? That's news to me. I bet it makes a great first impression when this piece of shit has a horse in a headlock.

(Charmayne James) Designed for better turns and stops. Triple jointed mouthpiece is comfortable and will not pinch. Works well on all types of horses. Lifetime guarantee.

You are a dickweed if you think this bit is comfortable. Gags are designed to cause pain. And with that sliding action and the length of the shank, the amount of leverage you can exert on a horse's mouth is pretty much limitless. But hey, it can be yours for the low, low price of $59.95.

Furthermore, Miss James is now added to my Hall of Infamy. Go to her bits page and all you see are thin, twisted-wire leverage bits. All but one of them are leverage bits. Gag, gag, gag, curb, gag, wire, chain, gag. That's all it is.

She and people like her barrel race in these things. Awesome.

And what's more, all three of the stallions on her website are extremely downhill. I find this really irritating:

Clayton is Scamper's clone. Okay, so they're rich enough to clone a horse. Lots of BNT's are. He is horribly downhill and small and his stud fee is a whopping $4,000. He was also broken as a two-year-old and was standing at stud that early as well. This proves the greed of the BNT's. They break out their horses way too early and pimp them out as soon as it's physically possible for them to reproduce. Who cares if the horse is lame by the age of nine when you can still profit off of his stud fees, right?

Off topic, but that is the reason I was suspicious of the Jackson's motives when they put so much money into trying to save Barbaro. I have a hard time believing that any big time racing owners/trainers truly care about the horses. Even if he couldn't have raced again, his stud fees would have been sky high and everyone with a fertile mare would have been lining up to have a few minutes in his breeding shed. I believe that if big name Thoroughbred owners care at all about their horses, they care about their money even more. Do you really think any one of them would give up their class and social status if it meant saving a horse's life? I don't think so. People who have the horses' best interests at heart do not break and race them at two or flog them 30 times in two minutes or dope them up on steroids and/or bute.

[/end rant]

Back on topic. I know not all barrel racers ride like Neanderthals. But enough of them do to give the sport a bad reputation. The bad riders usually ride is some kind of leverage bit and would go flying off the horse if they weren't clinging to the horn for dear life. They do nothing but yank the reins and bludgeon the horse with their legs and reins all the way through the pattern. The horses are running out of the chute like banshees and crash through the pattern looking totally sloppy and out of control.

And Charmayne is marketing her very own signature torture devices for any greenie to purchase. I have no respect for anyone who endorses equipment like that. Like every other BNT website I've seen, there are no warnings about the harsh equipment they sell. Any beginner who has no understanding of bit mechanics can purchase these items under the false pretense that they work magic on problem horses. I know many horses who would flip over backwards with the slightest pressure from a gag. I would too.

Equitation FAIL.

When your horse is on the vertical all throughout the jump, you know something is wrong with your hands. That should be one of the first things a rider learns when beginning to jump.

And yet we have people that are competing with that kind of flaw. Contrary to popular belief, I do not have a problem with beginner riders, or even not-so-great riders (as I am one myself). However I DO have issues with riders who think they need to rush and do things they're not ready for. Even worse is when those riders are completely blind to their lack of skill and continue to move on to more advanced levels before they've mastered the one they're at. The first rider looks really good except for the absence of any kind of release, but that's an important factor. You can hurt your horse if you yank his mouth over jumps.

My trainer had me release over TROT POLES. She would screech at me until she turned red and veins popped in her neck if I didn't get it right. That's when her devil horns come out and she threatens violence against me if I continue to screw up. Not really, but she gets scary as hell. So does Victor, and he's even scarier than Lorena when he's pissed off. Heehee...

Anyway... How much are you willing to bet that none of the riders like the one up top have ever ridden anything but schoolmasters? Their horses must have the temperaments of puppy dogs and about $10,000 worth of professional training.
This rider is another ballgame. There aren't many good things about this photo other than the gorgeous, saintly pinto. I think you can pick out the issues for yourselves.

Again, the horse's nose is cranked in because the rider is leaning on the reins. Bet that hollow back feels real good during landing. The whole thing just looks tense and unbalanced. Horses should look natural over jumps. Not like a 15th century painting of Pegasus leaping into the air. Your horse is not a magical pony. He has a wind pipe and vertebrae that can easily be damaged in the hands of a careless or unskilled rider.

This one isn't all that bad, but it made me laugh. I'm not sure why her stirrups are so short, but that's probably why she's stuck in the chair position. This ended up on the blog because they used it as a sale photo. All they had to do was look at this to realize that it looks goofy and maybe they should have fixed her leathers and taken another picture. Oy.


Okay, last one. I didn't think much of this at first, just one of the thousands of fuglies for sale. I figured the sellers were typical fugly owners because the poor mare's name is Silly. And because she appears to be underweight. But that's to be expected from fugly owners.

But then I saw that they're asking $3000 for her.

Okay. You do not ask a small fortune for a horse that looks like that. No one with a decent head on their shoulders is going to fork over that kind of money for weak, ugly hindquarters and an ewe neck. Her coloring is stunning, but that means nothing to anyone who knows anything about conformation. She will never be athletic, so how do they figure she's worth three grand? There are better horses in auctions that are going for 18 cents a pound as I write this. It makes no sense.

No wonder Arabians are loony.

Not all of them, but most of them. Just look what they're subjected to.

I'm especially cringing at the crown piece. That's one of the most vulnerable areas on a horse and Schneider Saddlery is marketing this thing.

Ever met a horse who didn't like his ears touched? It's probably a trust issue. A horse's cervical vertebrae are pretty well protected until you get to the top of the neck, which is where the bones have the least protection. So if your horse lets you touch his ears and the area behind his skull, that says he trusts you.

This piece of shit would most definitely make a horse headshy. I can just see that curb strap pinching the hell out of there jaws.

Arabs are hot blooded anyway, so why add fuel to the fire? You KNOW any horse would be extremely upset if this was on his head. Imagine a flaky, two-year-old Arab colt. Yikes.

If you can't train a horse to square up and stand with a plain halter, you need to step back and reevaluate your skill level. And question whether or not you should even have horses. It doesn't take long for anyone who knows anything about horses to figure out who knows what. In the horse world, you can't hide incompetence or lack of knowledge. Everyone is gonna know, and you'll look like that much more of a fool if you try to deny it.