On Mon, Jan 22, 2007 at 09:10:09PM -0500, Karen Thomas wrote:
> What I said was: Horses buck (or act out in other ways) because they are in
> pain, fearful or confused. I still say that. That's why I feel so sorry
> for "schooling horses". Often no one bothers to find out which it is before
> they sell them on down the line.
*nod* in the case of our haflinger, i'm pretty sure it was fear -- i
suspect she was badly used before she came to us, and only came "quiet"
b/c she wasn't in good shape enough to buck before we got her. she
would sometimes flip out at sudden noise in the barn as well. we did
not sell her; we returned her to the farm we got her from (they have an
exchange policy) because as a lesson barn our students' safety is a
higher priority than retraining horses. i do hope the farm we got her
from was capable of rehabbing her, or of selling her to someone who
would and could, but i am a bit cynical that a pony ("too small for an
adult", "ponies are for kids", blah blah blah) might receive that kind
of attention.
--vicka
