Spoiled? Really?!?!

MagsNMe · Advanced

Spoiled? Really?!?!

justice · Grand Prix

Ha! Spoiled? Not at all. Indulged and appreciated? Sure.. I indulge mine every day : )

Operant phrase: "....treated well."

I define a spoiled horse as one that is allowed to get away with deviant and inappropriate behaviours going so far as to even treat the wicked beast for being nappy. S/he bites, kicks, tries one's (never the owner, just the BM, BO, farrier, chiro, masseuse, vet, dentist, mucker, feeder, groom, trainour, rider, mailman, neighbour horse, etc..) patience to the limit, retaliates or sulks when not having gotten their way. Bucks, balks and broods.

An indulged horse would be openly loved, dressed in finer (and more) than necessary, doted on in too many photo albums, cookied and carroted to death, Red Delicious as opposed to Macs, recalled repeatedly and discussed favourably and often, predominantly over the holidays among those of us that have no children, yet this horse still behaves appropriately, gets it done when asked for, kindly, 9 times outa 10 : ) Commonly will be found to have a fine sense of humour and/or willing and ready attitude.

Enjoy, Mags!!

Barbara F · Grand Prix

I sure hope your friends were just teasing you!

Re-using wraps is like reusing dirty socks. Blech! Of course they should be cleaned after use!

And some treats here and there? It's the least we can do for our horses!

My coach who is an Olympic rider HUGS her horse at the mounting block every time before she gets on him!

You just keep on "spoiling" your horse and I'll keep on spoiling mine! ;)

SoftTouchTraining · Well Schooled

It's wonderful to see so many people who love their horses! One of the things I do to my horses is carry either sugar cubes or carrot chunks in my pocket when I'm doing extra hard work. Then either during a break or after they do something excellent or both they have an extra reward:) I don't mind doing extra bit and bridle cleaning to get the slobber off.

Ranna · Well Schooled

I don't think what you describe is spoiling. If it is, I'm afraid my horse's are spoiled as well.

I agree with Justice. A spoiled horse is a horse that can do whatever he wants and never learned how to behave around people.

You treat your horse well and that's how it should be.
And that goes for all animals. If you want animals, that's fine. But treat them well.
If you don't want to take care of them in a proper way, don't take animals into your home of barn. It's that simple to me.

IrideaClyde · Well Schooled

I am also guilty of "spoiling" the horse I lease. The BO's say he is the worlds most pampered horse. LOL
He loves carrots and prefers them over apples, I go to the barn daily and feed him a special high fat high fibre diet, he is brushed, feet picked and if I have the time he is ridden if not he is back out in the paddock.
He comes when I call his name meets me at the gate and puts his nose in his halter, he is a big boy so I do not tolerate him being pushy or rude. He is patient and respectful.
I do not think it is "spoiling" but rather "pampering" biggrin