10/28/2020
There’s a problem within much of today’s horsemanship. I’m calling it out and yet, I don’t see an easy solution.
It’s the one-hour ride time.
Over and over, I’m hearing people say that ‘they don’t make horses like they used to’. I’d have to agree with that, to a point... but honestly, I think horses are fundamentally the same as they were when I was a kid. The difference, then, lies in us.
When I was young, there was very little for kids to do outside of school. Sports were not done after hours, unless you were on a school team or in hockey. There may have been dance lessons, if one was lucky, or 4H or Brownies or Scouts… but there wasn’t anything extra that our parents were driving us to after supper or on the weekends. We rode the school bus and were unceremoniously dropped off at the end of the day.
There were perhaps three channels on the TV. If your mother forbade you to watch ‘Mod Squad’ or ‘The Edge of Night’, you went to the barn. You rode… whether or not there were lessons. In fact, few of us riding had lessons with any regularity. Those of is who did were often ‘barn rats’ by necessity, working tirelessly at the closest barn in exchange for the occasional lesson, or a chance to ride any sort of horse. A kid could learn a lot that way.
Many of us grew up in the saddle, working alongside our parents with the cattle. You rode to help the family earn a living and if things weren’t going well, it was a helluva long walk home.
One step at a time, our ponies carved bridle paths into the ditches for miles around. They were resigned with carrying us to various neighbours for visits and would stand, waiting, at the yard gate while hitched with their bridle reins. There were no computers or cell phones. My sister and I were left to our own devices, finding entertainment for hours on end, with a dog and our horses. In fact, we would be gone and away without a single adult in sight.
When I grew up, there seemed to be more empty hours to fill with horsemanship, than there are today.
We’re now on the phone, checking our emails, bringing our work home with us. Camping on Facebook and Instagram. Taxiing kids to an endless round of scheduled events. Our riding, no matter our ages, has taken a hit, especially when there are fewer rural families with backyard horses. Barn time has become really important for our fitness and to the wellness of our souls… but for the majority, it is now on an hourly basis.
Problem is, horses are animals of habit and constant movement. They are spending more and more time, standing around without us. We are no longer a constant in their day to day lives.
Fewer horses are working, any more, for a living. They are recreational animals, to be enjoyed for an hour or two each week, and then put away. (There are many of us who may even feel that it is cruel, asking our horses to work for a living, but that is a discussion for another day.)
I’m seeing this as a problem that is only going to get worse, as we grow farther away from the lifestyle that surrounds our equine friends. As I say, I don’t know a solution, as we’re forced to work two jobs or more to make ends meet... and as land values rise beyond most families’ means.
The issue came to me during a recent inquiry about one of my horses. “Will she work for an intermediate adult rider?” I was asked.
“How often do you ride?” I replied. “I would think she would be best with someone who rides at least three times a week.”
The silence and disbelief that this statement was met with showed me that this would be a problem. I was suggesting that my horse would require perhaps three hours’ dedicated riding time out of a possible 168 hours in a week! Without leaving the horse in full-blown training, I’m seeing that few owners can spare the time it takes to forge a working relationship with a young or vigorous horse.
We’re seeing more and more so-called ‘problem’ horses, a growing number of fearful riders and stories of wrecks.
I don’t know what the answer is, as fewer horses are even kept on pasture turnout anymore, living within a herd where they can work off their natural energy and innate need for rough play. Because all horses fundamentally require this, today’s equines have no recourse but to take it out on us.
While I've perhaps stumbled on the biggest roadblock to modern horsemanship, it will take someone smarter than me to find the solution. I can only conclude that if we’re having trouble with our horses, they most likely need a job that uses up more than an hour or two, per week.
Remember, man or beast, we all need a purpose in this life.
